Fantastic interview with Mohanish Pabrai

Steve Forbes does a very god job in interviewing Mohnish Pabrai of Pabrai funds. Mr Pabrai's views Chinese and Indian companies with a dose of skepticism as he doesn't trust the accounting balances sheets and the audit process in these countries. Great viewing for anyone who is swayed by the morons on CNBC TV, whether in the US or India. Greed is universal. Here is the full video.

Infosys posts Q4 profit of 1600 cr; to hire 30,000

The hiring number looks ridiculously large. Getting 30,000 employees productive is a challenge of mammoth proportions. Its going to drive recruitment consultants crazy.

Tuhina Pandey and Mokshada Batra, April 13, 2010 (Bangalore)

Infosys, the second largest Indian IT company, kick started the earning season on Tuesday posting numbers quite aligned with the street's expectations.

Infosys on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1600 crore for the quarter-ended March 31, 2010, a quarter-on-quarter growth of 2.6 per cent and year-on-year decline of 0.9 per cent.

The company registered revenues of Rs 5,944 crore for the March-ended quarter 2010, up by 3.5 percent quarter-on-quarter and a year-on-year-growth of 5.5 per cent.

But investors were, as always, more focused on the keenly awaited guidance for next fiscal which came in healthy at 16-18 per cent for dollar revenue growth but more muted in rupee terms at 9-11 per cent with earnings seen largely flat in FY11.

"We have done very well to what we thought we would. We have been able to take advantage of the opportunities in the market and grow faster due to our investments in capacity and capability building during the economic downturn", S Gopalakrishnan, CEO and MD said on Tuesday. "This quarter we added 47 new clients, the highest in recent times", he said.

Infosys also said it was looking at recruiting nearly 30,000 persons for this fiscal year including over 2000 from overseas.

In India it had already made 19,000 campus offers, T V Mohandas Pai, Member of the Board and Head-HRD and Education and Research said.

The company was planning to induct 5,500-6,500 laterals, he said while talking about Infosys' hiring plans. It was planning to recruit 1000 each for its China and US office and around 400 in Manila.

Infosys also saw one of the largest wage increase. "There has been a large wage increase for middle and junior level employees. In senior level there has been a 10 per cent increase in wages". Overall the average wage hike has been around 14-17 per cent, he said.

All expect Infosys to beat its indicated guidance as it has in the past but the margin contraction by 150 basis points next fiscal on the back of rupee appreciation and wage hikes, and rising attrition are causes for some concern.

An upbeat management at Infosys headquarters and the most widely used phrase "cautiously optimistic” is out of fashion for now. However, as of now it seems like "play it safe" is still the Infosys mantra.

Times of India now calls the bubble in Mumbai

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. If I had bought in Mumbai in before 2006, I would just sell it and sit on the money. The profits are just too good to be true.

Beneteau yacht for a crore, but not a flat

Anil Singh | TNN

Mumbai: A brand new fourseater Cessna 172 aircraft,a new Beneteau 35-footer coastal cruiser yacht that can comfortably carry a family of six to Goa, three Mercedes ‘C’ class saloons; each of these can be had for one crore rupees. But raised eyebrows and blank stares is all you will get at the ongoing property expo at Bandra-Kurla Complex if you ask what you can get for this sum. “Please pick up the rate charts from that corner,’’ sales executives at several counters told this correspondent disinterestedly on learning that the budget was a mere Rs 1 crore. It was as if a slum dweller had strayed into a mall.

Nonetheless, if one is willing to visit every stall in the 14,000 sq ft air-conditioned hall put up by the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), one can find apartments costing less than one crore in the municipal limits of Mumbai. Only that they may be in under-construction,standalone buildings on the outskirts of the city or in rundown localities. For instance, a 2BHK flat at Bhandup by Neptune builders measuring 1,000 sq ft (carpet area 700 sq ft) comes for Rs 67 lakhs. The 30-storey building, Flying Kite towers, behind Metro mall, is still under construction.

The more affordable options include a 2BHK flat at Mantri Park, Goregaon (E), off Film City road for Rs 70 lakh. A 1,160 sq ft 2BHK flat at Gundecha Altura, Kanjurmarg (W), LBS Marg, is going for Rs 76.5 lakhs. HDIL is selling 1BHK and 2 BHK flats at Galaxy Apts at Kurla East at 5,251 per sq ft. A 1,035 sq ft, 2BHK flat at ‘US Open’ by Nirmal Lifestyle at Mulund (W) will cost you Rs 85 lakh at Rs 6,552 per sq ft if you are willing to wait four years for possession.

According to builders specialising in SRA projects, it is possible to get an 800-sq ft carpet area flat for Rs 80 lakhs in Andheri. MHADA recently sold 2BHK flats with a carpet area of 700 sq ft at Versova for Rs 42.5 lakhs. However, at the MCHI expo, most of the 2BHK flats are tantalising out of reach if your budget is Rs 1 crore. For instance, a 2BHK at Ackruti Shikhar at Parsi Panchayat Road, Andheri (E), will cost you Rs 1.3 cr at Rs 12,500 per sq ft. A 2BHK flat with a carpet area of 775 sq ft at Kohinoor City, which has replaced the Premier auto works at Kurla, comes at Rs 1.18 cr. A 2BHK at Kalpataru Aura at LBS Marg, Ghatkopar, comes for 1.1 cr. Flats at HDIL’s Metropolitan at Andheri are being sold at Rs 11,500 per sq ft and a 2BHK with a carpet area of 765 sq ft costs Rs 1.31 cr. At Ajmera Pristine, Yogi Nagar, Eksar Road, Borivli (W), a 3BHK with an area of 1,595 sq ft can be had for Rs 1.43 cr.

Of course, all these flats come with amenities such as a swimming pool, a gym, a clubhouse, multi-level car parking and the like. But then, it would be much cheaper to live in a trailer, or for that matter in a Beneteau cruiser yacht bobbing on the waves.