December 30, 2007
Reliance Vs Vendors
December 26, 2007
Best Internet service providers in India
I personally feel Airtel and Bsnl are the best ISP providers in India. Both provide unmatched service quality with their wide connectivity and best download speeds. Airtel was one of the first ISP's to introduce 256kbps Unlimited package in India after which it gained a lot commercial success, and for quite a while was called the 'Best ISP in India.Airtel is also the first ISP to provide broadband speeds of 8Mbps .The BSNL DataOne Broadband provides unlimited usage hours between 2 a.m and 8 a.m.The customer care in bsnl is not very prompt and is in a deplorable state.It needs a lot of improvement.I don’t know when they will realize the importance of customers. In contrast,Airtel provides excellent customer care support and there are hardly any downtimes. So if you prefer good customer service and support you can go for an Airtel connection without a second thought.
December 22, 2007
Extraordinary Gifts
Mukesh Ambani(left) gifted his wife Neeta a $60 million(Rs 240 crore) Airbus 319 on her 44th birthday. This corporate jet features a bar, spacious bedroom, showers, an entertainment cabin packed with games, music and movies and a cabin for business with wireless and satellite systems. It also has all the luxuries of a home in it, namely a master bedroom, a master lavatory with a range of showers, galleys and a sky bar in the forward lounge complete with mood lighting.Sharukh khan gifted friend Farah Khan a Merc for Om Shanti Om.The director of Ekalavya,Chopra presented Amitabh a Rolls Royce worth Rs 3.5 crore.Who said that Indian economy is not booming?
December 21, 2007
Amazing facts
- The Guinness Book of world records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from public libraries.
- In Italy,A man can be arrested if he wears a skirt in public
- There are 200 million privately owned guns in the US including 65 million handguns.
- Skepticism is the longest word that one can make using alternate hands while typing.
- The machine that takes a Space shuttle to the launching pad is called a crawler.It moves at 3Kmph.
December 18, 2007
Business Quiz 3 Answers
The answers to the Business Quiz 3 are as follows
1. SOTC
2. America Online
3. Satyam infoway
4. British Airways and Air France
5. Carrier
6. Bajaj
7. Microsoft
8. Manchester United
9. Kwality Wall’s
10. Quality, Service and cleanliness
December 15, 2007
Business Quiz 3
2.'2Market' is the name of the online shopping service run by which internet company?
3.In India who has launched cyber cafes under the name 'i way'?
4.Which are the only two airlines to have used the Concorde supersonic airliner on regular scheduled services?
5.Which company's showrooms are called 'Comfort Shops'?
6.Which Indian company launched the motorbike,Pulsar?
7.Which company provided the operating system for the IBM PC in 1980-81?
8.Red Cafe is the official video restaurant of which club?
9.Which Hindustan Lever brand has the 'Heart' logo?
10.What does the McDonalds motto of 'QSC' stand for?
The answers will be published in the next edition of business quiz...Send in your responses to sekhar232007@gmail.com
December 8, 2007
Gre practice tests
Click on the link below to download the practice tests
http://www.esnips.com/doc/92e67d89-a676-4689-a2ab-5d886caa8304/gre-practice-tests
December 4, 2007
Financial risk
In business mangers—both financial and non-financial professionals make decisions everyday that involve financial risks. Managing financial risks help you to make sound decisions and protect the financial health of your organization. Managing financial risks also encourages investors to have confidence in your organization.
TYPES OF FINANCIAL RISK
There are four common types of investment risks including default, inflation, maturity and inflation risks.
Idle money or money that is not invested tends to lose value because of inflation (the overall general upward price movement of goods and services in an economy).To avoid this loss of value, individuals and organizations generally invest cash that they do not immediately need. In doing so, they hope to recover both the initial investment and a fair return. But investments are generally associated with some level of risk and examples are listed below.
- General economic conditions such as recessions and depressions
- National and international political events, such as elections, political revolutions and terrorism
- Industry trends such as growth of computer use
- Organizational characteristics such as weak third quarter performance
Default risk: Investments made in startup companies typically represent a default risk (if the start-up defaults, the investor can lose the entire investment).In contrast investments made in stable established organizations, such as the U.S government, represent little risk of default.
Default risk assesses the likelihood that the organization in which you have invested will fail to pay interest or principal promptly when it is due. In memorable terms, default risk alerts you to the profitability that the company in which you have invested is likely to default on its obligations. While most investments are subject to some default risk, the level of default risk varies.
Inflation risk: Investing in shorter term investments can minimize inflation risk. The shorter term investments stand a better chance of retaining their value in comparison to longer term investments where yearly inflation rates take their toll in devaluing the initial investment. It reduces the buying power.
Inflation risk addresses the likelihood that the predictable overall economic rise in prices for goods and services will cause the investment to lose some of its buying power. By devaluing the initial investment, over time, inflation results in the investor losing an increasing number of cents on every dollar. Inflation affects the entire economy, and inflation risk applies equally to all investments. The significance of inflation risk, however, is a threshold that all organizations must determine for themselves—there is no predefined range.
Maturity risk: Maturity risk can be represented as an investor presented with a more profitable investment opportunity, however the investors cash is tied up in their current investment (as the investor waits for the investment to mature).
Maturity risk addresses the gamble taken when investors tie up their cash in investments that require an investment period. Similar to inflation risk, maturity risk is dependent on time. When money is tied up in long term investments, it cannot be used for other perhaps more profitable, purposes. Similar to inflation risk, maturity risk increase in direct proportion to the length of the investment period.
Liquidity risk: Liquidity risk can be represented as an investor who is in urgent need of some cash back from their investment before it matures. The degree of liquidity risk can be assessed by how readily the investment can be converted back into cash. The easier it is, the lower the liquidity risk.
Liquidity is the degree to which an investment can be bought or sold on the market. Liquidity risk is an indication that an investment cannot be bought or sold readily.
Investments made in startup companies typically represent a default risk, while the 1% initial investment value loss ,over time is representative of an inflation risk.Likewise,the inability to readily convert the investment back into cash before it matures ,to replace the broken machinery, represents the liquidity risk. And finally the investor unable to free his or her funds from their current investment,(to invest in the better, more profitable investment opportunity) is representative of a maturity risk.
The types of risk are not the only factors that financial managers must consider when they review investment alternatives. They must also take into account general economic conditions, other opportunities, management philosophy, and the levels of risk. However, analyzing potential business investments to determine which types of financial risk they represent is an important part of financial decision making.
December 1, 2007
Business Quiz 2 Answers
The answers for the business quiz 2 are as follows
1. Daimler-Benz
2. Adam Gilchrist
3. Pizza Hut
4. Education of young people
5. Airbus A300
6. Castrol
7. IBM
8. HDFC.It was incorporated in 1977
9. Sharp corporation
10.Marks&Spencer
November 28, 2007
Launchy....Fast,Quick and Easy
Launchy is a free windows utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager.Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes!.....You can download this software from www.launchy.net.
November 24, 2007
Business Quiz 2
2.Who was the first international cricketer to carry commercial sponsorship on his bat?
3.Which company's pizza was the first to be served in the International space station thereby making it the first pizza consumed in space?
4.The Goldman-Sachs Foundation extends assistance on a global scale in which field?
5.Which was the first commercial passenger made by the Airbus consortium to enter commercial service?
6.Which lubricants company was setup by a man named Charles Cheers Wakefield?
7.Which organization developed the Department purpose Analysis Technique to define the real purpose of each department?
8.Which large Indian housing finance company celeberated its twenty-fifth year of existence in 2002?
9.In 1970 Hayawaka Electric industry Co Ltd changed its name to what?
10.Blue Harbour is a range of clothes from which international retail chain?
The answers will be published in the next edition of business quiz...Send in your responses to sekhar232007@gmail.com
November 20, 2007
Worlds fastest Train: 574.8kmph.
The French claimed the world's fastest "train on rails" title by accelerating a modified TGV to a top speed of 574.8km/h (356mph).
November 17, 2007
Amazing masterpiece- Archos 605 WiFi
The Archos 605 Wifi is a sleek media player with a high resolution, 4.3 inch touch screen that can play all your favorite music, movies, television programs, photos and pdf files. And with 160GB of storage disk there is room for everything. The player is enabled with WiFi to surf the web, share content and for streaming video. It has the highest resolution screen(800*480) which is better than the ipod and the touch screen enables better navigation.
Features
- Capacities: 4GB Flash + SDHC Slot, 30GB, 80GB, 160GB
- Size: 122 x 82 x 15 mm (4GB / 30GB), 122 x 82 x 20 mm (80GB / 160GB)
- Weight: 150gr (4GB), 190g (30GB), 260g (80GB / 160GB)
- Screen: 800x480 pixels, 4.3'' TFT LCD, 16 million colors – Touch Screen
- Video Support: WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG4, (H.264 +AAC*, MPEG-2 AC3 5.1*Optional Plugin)
- Audio Support: MP3, WMA, WAV (AAC*, AC3* Optional Plugin)
- Photo Support: JPEG, BMP, PNG
- Battery Life: 17 Hours Audio, 5.5 Hours Video
- Recording: Video (MPEG4 640x480 @ 30FPS), Audio (WAV)
- Other Features: Wi-Fi (802.11g), Opera Browser (optional), PDF viewer
This amazing masterpiece which is considered to be the next generation of portable entertainment comes at $400 price tag for a 160gb model...It can be a little heavy on the pockets but no other player can match the features of archos..It's definitely worth it..
November 14, 2007
Business Quiz 1 Answers
The answers to the business quiz 1 are as follows
1. BMW…It was launched in 1929
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. The Boeing Company
4. Coca-cola
5. AOL Time Warner
6. Ernst & Young
7. Jet Airways
8. Smithkline Beecham
9. Standard chartered bank
10. Amazon.com
November 11, 2007
Amazing facts
- Want to try your hand at some paper folding?A dry sheet of paper cannot be folded in half more than 7 times
- A single bolt of lightning can heat up the atmosphere to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit
- A compass never points to the geographic north but to the magnetic north
- Ancient science? In the 2nd Century B.C Greek astronomer Erstosthenes accurately measured the distance around the earth at about 40,000 km but nobody believed him
- You do know that light travels faster than sound.But did you know that sound travels 3 times faster through water than through air?
November 10, 2007
MSF/MBA in U.S Universities
I have compiled a list of the best US universities that offer MSF/MBA programs. The duration of MSF(ms in finance) is short and it strictly focuses on finance and financial markets while an MBA, by contrast, is more diverse, covering general aspects of not dealt with in the MSF - such as human resource management and operations management. Moreover the MBA program is very expensive when compared to MSF.I am sure that this list along with the application deadlines and the exam requirements will certainly prove beneficial to the 2009 applicants.
Click on the link below to download the file
http://www.esnips.com/web/msmbauniv
REFERENCES:
http://www.iafe.org/resources_acad.html
http://www.global-derivatives.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55
http://www.bus.lsu.edu/academics/finance/faculty/dchance/MiscProf/MSPrograms.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/
http://www.princetonreview.com/mba/research/rankings/rankings.asp
It’s really hard to find any information regarding MSF.The reference links above can provide requisite information on MSF...If you know of any corrections or additions to the list please mail them to sekhar232007@gmail.com I wish you all success in the pursuit of your MBA/MSF program.
November 7, 2007
Business Quiz 1
2.Which television personality founded Oxygen Media in 1998 with Geraldine Laybourne,Marcy Carsey,Tom Werner and Caryn Mandabach?
3.Which company was initially incorporated as Pacific Aero Products Company?
4.Which corporate giant purchased Columbia in 1982?
5.New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment belong to which company?
6.Which professional services company would you associate with the motto 'From thought to Finish'?
7.Naresh Goyal is the founder of which Indian airline?
8.Which company launched the world's first Hepatitis A vaccine?
9.In association with which bank did the Indian Railways launch its first credit card in June 1999?
10.Which online retail organization has a patented ordering system named '1-Click'?
The answers will be published in the next edition of business quiz...Send in your responses to sekhar232007@gmail.com
November 4, 2007
Business Quiz
Friends, I will be posting questions relating to business once in every two days... This quiz tests your knowledge of all things relating to business...So participate in this quiz regularly and sharpen your business knowledge...Best of luck!
November 1, 2007
Best Internet Shopping Sites in India
I reckon that the internet shopping has gained a lot of momentum in the past few years. A recent online survey on internet shopping habits by Nielsen revealed that about 78% of the Indian respondents (those having internet access) have used the internet to make a purchase while more than 55% of the respondents have made at least one online purchase in the past one month… As many as 73 per cent Indians have purchased airline tickets/reservations in the past three months, this percentage being the highest for any country in Asia Pacific. Globally, travel is the fourth most popular shopping category on the web. .It has also been found that about 84% of the Indians prefer credit cards as the mode of payment option over other alternate options…. For Indians, other popular items for Internet shopping include books (46 per cent), electronic equipment (29 per cent), tours and hotel reservations (24 per cent), videos/DVDs/games (23 per cent), event tickets (23 per cent), clothing/accessories/shoes (21 per cent), and music (20 per cent).So most of the people prefer buying books online. There are a number of shopping sites but it difficult for a layman to choose which one is the best. Here you will find the best shopping sites for various items…
Buy and sell electronics, cars, clothing, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods, digital cameras, and everything else. This site also provides free online auctions on various products.
IndiaPlaza is India’s largest online shop with the best shopping bargains. Purchase online and get the best shopping deals on all our online stores. I am really satisfied with the overall performance of this website. The delivery of products is prompt and safe but the customer service is really bad and needs a lot of improvement.
India's No. 1 online shop and gifts store. Buy mobile phones, MP3/4 players, cameras, computers, ACs, flowers, Indian music etc.
Landmark has the widest range of titles i.e. over 100,000 titles across different sections - bestsellers, business guides, fiction, biographies, computer science, engineering, literature, marketing, art, cinema, religion, graphic novels and many more.
Future Bazaar is India's online shopping site partnered by Big Bazaar, India. Here buyers can buy products ranging from Apparel/Clothing, Mobiles, Cameras, electronics, consumer durables, cameras etc.
It offers a wide range of brands, products and gift certificates. Check out the great shopping deals hers.
Offers online rail ticket booking, and checking of ticket reservation status. Includes train schedules, availability of tickets, and a travel planner. This is the only authorized site available for train bookings online.
For buying mobiles you may consider the following sites.
www.subhiksha.in/mobile_store.htm(this site is still under construction)shopping.indiatimes.com
October 27, 2007
Beginner's Guide to Financial statements
The three financial statements that most companies include in their annual reports are the balance sheet, the income statement and the statement of cash flows.
The balance sheet also known as the statement of financial position or statement reports what the company owns(its assets), what it owes(its liabilities), and the value of stockholder’s interest(owners’ equity) at a moment in time.
The income statement also known as the statement of operations or profit and loss statement reports the money received by the company (revenues), money spent by the company (expenditures) during the reporting period.
The statement of cash flows summarizes where company funds came from and where they were used.
BALANCE SHEET
· It provides information on the financial strengths and weakness of the company.
· You can learn about the company’s ability to satisfy its creditors, mange its inventory and collect the receivables.
· You can see whether the company can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses, or whether it needs to bolster its cash reserves.
· You can analyze and identify trends, especially in receivables and payables that may need attention.
INCOME STATEMENT
· It provides information on revenues and expenditures. You can use the income statement to determine the operating performance of your company over a period of time.
· You can find out what areas are over or under budget.
You can identify specific items that are causing unnecessary expenditures.
· You can track increases in product returns or cost of goods sold as percentage of sales.
· You can determine income tax liability.
· Together, balance sheets and income statements provide financial information to potential lenders, such as banks, investors and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant the company.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
· It provides information on where the company acquired its money from and where the money was spent.
· You can use cash flow statements to forecast cash requirements, to identify financing needs, to locate cash drains, and to identify problems in cash budgeting process.
· It can be used to identify cash shortages and surpluses.
October 25, 2007
Amazing facts
- 14 out of 45 vice presidents of the US have become Presidents!
- The world's oldest existing governing body operates in Althing in Iceland.It was established in 930 A.D
- The world's first democracy was introduced 2,500 years ago in Athens in Greece.Today,the world's largest democracy is India,with over 600 million voters.
- The United Nations organisation(UN) first came into being after the World War II,in 1945
- The shortest term as President was served by William Henry Harrison.He served for 32 days,from 4 March to 4 April 1841.
October 23, 2007
Some Essential Health Tips
1. Shake your Body!
Every day find new ways to move your body. Use the stairs rather than an escalator or elevator. Walk your dog (or a neighbor’s dog if you don't have one!) , chase your kids, play ball with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it's a stress buster.
2. Cut the Fat
Don't eat fat rich foods such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats. Eat dairy products like cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream having low fat versions.
3. Reduce Stress
Stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e., go back to number one above!, exercise is a great stress reducer, Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie).
4. Stop Smoking
All the experts agree on this one. Ever since 1960 when it was announced that smoking was harmful to your health, people have been reducing their use of tobacco products. Just recently, we've seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens.
5. Reduce your exposure to Pollution
Not everyone can live in a smog-free environment, but we can all avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares.
6. Take precautions
Statistics show that the wearing of seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes.
7. Don't drink too Much Alcohol
It is true that a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more alcohol than that, or binge drinking on a night out, can cause other serious health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer.
8. Floss Your Teeth
Harvard Medical School studied longevity and found one of the most important contributing factors was daily flossing! Flossing and brushing your teeth daily can make your real Age as much as 6.4 years younger.
9. Maintain a Positive Mental Outlook
There's a definitive connection between living well and healthily and having a cheerful outlook on life. Yes, keep on smiling and laughing!
10. Pick Your Parents Well!
October 20, 2007
No Fizz for Kids
If your child loves sweet drinks and avoids water, it’s time to take action. A study published in US magazine Pediatrics suggests that a fizzy drink a day could equate to about 6 kilos a year in weight gain.”Swap sugary drinks for pure fruit juice, says Annie Seeley, registered public health nutritionist.Dilute the juice until its just water. Avoid juice drinks as these can contain as little as 5% fruit juice. And remember, you decide what goes in the fridge, so if you don’t buy fizzy drinks they can’t have them.
