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With just around a month to go for the re-launch of the East India Company – the world’s first multinational whose forces once ruled much of the globe – its new Indian owner says he is overwhelmed by “a huge feeling of redemption”.

It’s been a long, emotional and personal journey for Sanjiv Mehta, a Mumbai-born entrepreneur who completed the process of buying the East India Company (EIC) in 2005 from the “30 or 40″ people who owned it.

Acutely aware that he owned a piece of history – at its height the company generated half of world trade and employed a third of the British workforce – Mehta, now the sole owner, dived into the company’s rich and ruthless past in order to give it a new direction for the future.

With a $15-million investment and inputs from a range of experts – from designers and brand researchers to historians – Mehta is today poised to open the first East India Company store in London’s upmarket Mayfair neighbourhood in March.

And then there is the inevitable – and daunting – task of launching in India, a country whose resources, army, trade and politics the company had controlled for some 200 years.

It’s a task that Mehta has not taken lightly, he told reporter in an interview. “Put yourself in my shoes for a moment: On a rational plane, when I bought the company I saw gold at the end of the rainbow.

“But, at an emotional level as an Indian, when you think with your heart as I do, I had this huge feeling of redemption – this indescribable feeling of owning a company that once owned us.”

The formal start of the East India Company is usually dated back to 1600 when Britain’s Queen Elizabeth I granted a group of merchants a charter under the name ‘The Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies.’

With its own Elizabethan coat of arms – now owned by Mehta – the company was made responsible for bringing tea, coffee and luxury goods to the West and trading in spices across the globe.

By 1757 the company had become a powerful arm of British imperial might, with its own army, navy, shipping fleets and currency, and control over key trading posts in India – where it was known variously as Company Bahadur and John Company. In 1874, the British government nationalised the company, opportunistically blaming the 1857 uprising on its excesses. But the East India Company army, brought under the command of the Crown, retained its all-powerful presence in India.

“When I took over the company, my objective was to understand its history. I took a sabbatical from all other business and this became the single purpose in my life,” said Mehta.

He travelled around the world, visiting former EIC trading posts and museums, reading up records and meeting people “who understood the business of that time”.

“There was a huge sense of responsibility – I didn’t create this brand, but I wanted to be as pioneering as the merchants who created it.”

“The Elizabethan coat of arms stands for trust and reassurance, but we are not repeating history. It took me four years to do the brand positioning and put up the milestones.”

The ‘relaunched’ company, with its headquarters on Conduit Street in Mayfair, is set to open a diverse line of high-end, luxury goods in London in March and in India some time this year.

EIC products in India will include fine foods, furniture, real estate, health and hospitality.

“India is the spirit of the East India Company in many ways – it evokes a huge amount of connectivity and emotions,” Mehta said. “It’s also a major ambition to bring Indian products to the rest of the world. Today there is no single brand name from the East that can stand alongside, say, Hermes or Cartier from the West.

“The East India Company has that ability.”

Rf: http://smetimes.tradeindia.com/smetimes/news/indian-economy-news/2010/Feb/15/an-indian-now-owns-east-india-company60860.html

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Swap
In finance, a swap is a derivative in which two counterparties exchange certain benefits of one party’s financial instrument for those of the other party’s financial instrument. The benefits in question depend on the type of financial instruments involved. For example, in the case of a swap involving two bonds, the benefits in question can be the periodic interest (or coupon) payments associated with the bonds. Specifically, the two counterparties agree to exchange one stream of cash flows against another stream. These streams are called the legs of the swap. The swap agreement defines the dates when the cash flows are to be paid and the way they are calculated. Usually at the time when the contract is initiated at least one of these series of cash flows is determined by a random or uncertain variable such as an interest rate, foreign exchange rate, equity price or commodity price.
The cash flows are calculated over a notional principal amount, which is usually not exchanged between counterparties. Consequently, swaps can be used to create unfunded exposures to an underlying asset, since counterparties can earn the profit or loss from movements in price without having to post the notional amount in cash or collateral.
Swaps can be used to hedge certain risks such as interest rate risk, or to speculate on changes in the expected direction of underlying prices.
The first swaps were negotiated in the early 1980s. David Swensen, a Yale Ph.D. at Salomon Brothers, engineered the first swap transaction according to “When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management” by Roger Lowenstein. Today, swaps are among the most heavily traded financial contracts in the world: the total amount of interest rates and currency swaps outstanding is more thаn $426.7 trillion in 2009, according to International Swaps and Derivatives Association.

Swap market
Most swaps are traded over-the-counter (OTC), “tailor-made” for the counterparties. Some types of swaps are also exchanged on futures markets such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc., the largest U.S. futures market, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, IntercontinentalExchange and Frankfurt-based Eurex AG.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) publishes statistics on the notional amounts outstanding in the OTC derivatives market. At the end of 2006, this was USD 415.2 trillion, more than 8.5 times the 2006 gross world product. However, since the cash flow generated by a swap is equal to an interest rate times that notional amount, the cash flow generated from swaps is a substantial fraction of but much less than the gross world product—which is also a cash-flow measure. The majority of this (USD 292.0 trillion) was due to interest rate swaps. These split by currency as:

Usually, at least one of the legs has a rate that is variable. It can depend on a reference rate, the total return of a swap, an economic statistic, etc. The most important criterion is that it comes from an independent third party, to avoid any conflict of interest. For instance, LIBOR is published by the British Bankers Association, an independent trade body.

Types of swaps
The five generic types of swaps, in order of their quantitative importance, are: interest rate swaps, currency swaps, credit swaps, commodity swaps and equity swaps. There are also many other types
Interest rate swaps
The most common type of swap is a “plain Vanilla” interest rate swap. It is the exchange of a fixed rate loan to a floating rate loan. The life of the swap can range from 2 years to over 15 years. The reason for this exchange is to take benefit from comparative advantage. Some companies may have comparative advantage in fixed rate markets while other companies have a comparative advantage in floating rate markets. When companies want to borrow they look for cheap borrowing i.e. from the market where they have comparative advantage. However this may lead to a company borrowing fixed when it wants floating or borrowing floating when it wants fixed. This is where a swap comes in. A swap has the effect of transforming a fixed rate loan into a floating rate loan or vice versa.
For example, party B makes periodic interest payments to party A based on a variable interest rate of LIBOR +70 basis points. Party A in return makes periodic interest payments based on a fixed rate of 8.65%. The payments are calculated over the notional amount. The first rate is called variable, because it is reset at the beginning of each interest calculation period to the then current reference rate, such as LIBOR. In reality, the actual rate received by A and B is slightly lower due to a bank taking a spread.

Currency swaps
Currency Swap involves an exchange of cash payments in one currency for cash payments in another currency. Mostly international companies require foreign currency for making investments abroad. These firms find difficulties in entering new markets and raising capital at convenient terms. Currency swap is an easy alternative for these companies to overcome this problem.

Suppose Ranbosche, an Indian pharmaceutical company, has subsidary in Malaysia, It wants to expand its operation in Malaysia which will cost the company 50 million ringits. The ringit interest rate is 8 per cent per annum.
The company is well known in India; therefore, it is in a much better position to raise rupee loan in India than ringit loan in Malaysia. The financial manager decides to issue 10 per cent bonds of Rs 600 million to Indian investors. As a result, Ranbosch will receive cash flow of Rs 600 million now and will undertake to pay Rs 60 million interest each year for five years and repay Rs 600 million after five years.
The financial manager simultaneously enters into a swap deal with National Bank of India to exchange its future rupee liability for ringits. Suppose the spot exchange rate is 1 Malaysian ringit = 12 Indian rupees. The bank will pay Ranbosche rupees to service its rupee loan; and the company will make annual payments in ringits to the bank.

Currency swaps are a form of back-to-back loan. For example, an Indian company wants to invest in Singapore. suppose the government regulation restricts the purchase of Singapore dollars for investing abroad but the company is allowed to lend rupees abroad and borrow Singapore dollars. The company could find a Singapore company would borrow Singapore dollars and simultaneously lend rupees to the Singapore company. Currency swaps have replaced the back-to-back loans. Back-to-back loans developed in UK when there were restrictions on companies to buy foreign currency for investing outside the country.

Commodity swaps
A commodity swap is an agreement whereby a floating (or market or spot) price is exchanged for a fixed price over a specified period. The vast majority of commodity swaps involve crude oil.

Equity Swap
An equity swap is a special type of total return swap, where the underlying asset is a stock, a basket of stocks, or a stock index. Compared to actually owning the stock, in this case you do not have to pay anything up front, but you do not have any voting or other rights that stock holders do have.

Credit default swaps
A credit default swap (CDS) is a swap contract in which the buyer of the CDS makes a series of payments to the seller and, in exchange, receives a payoff if a credit instrument – typically a bond or loan – goes into default (fails to pay). Less commonly, the credit event that triggers the payoff can be a company undergoing restructuring, bankruptcy or even just having its credit rating downgraded. CDS contracts have been compared with insurance, because the buyer pays a premium and, in return, receives a sum of money if one of the events specified in the contract occur. Unlike an actual insurance contract the buyer is allowed to profit from the contract and may also cover an asset to which the buyer has no direct exposure.

Other variations
There are myriad different variations on the vanilla swap structure, which are limited only by the imagination of financial engineers and the desire of corporate treasurers and fund managers for exotic structures.[1]
A total return swap is a swap in which party A pays the total return of an asset, and party B makes periodic interest payments. The total return is the capital gain or loss, plus any interest or dividend payments. Note that if the total return is negative, then party A receives this amount from party B. The parties have exposure to the return of the underlying stock or index, without having to hold the underlying assets. The profit or loss of party B is the same for him as actually owning the underlying asset.
An option on a swap is called a swaption. These provide one party with the right but not the obligation at a future time to enter into a swap.
A variance swap is an over-the-counter instrument that allows one to speculate on or hedge risks associated with the magnitude of movement, i.e. volatility, of some underlying product, like an exchange rate, interest rate, or stock index.
A constant maturity swap, also known as a CMS, is a swap that allows the purchaser to fix the duration of received flows on a swap.
An Amortising swap is usually an interest rate swap in which the notional principal for the interest payments declines during the life of the swap, perhaps at a rate tied to the prepayment of a mortgage or to an interest rate benchmark such as the LIBOR.

Valuation
The value of a swap is the net present value (NPV) of all estimated future cash flows. A swap is worth zero when it is first initiated, however after this time its value may become positive or negative. There are two ways to value swaps: in terms of bond prices, or as a portfolio of forward contracts.

Using forward rate agreements
Consider a three year interest rate swap with semiannual payments. The first cash flow is known at the time the swap is initiated, however the other five exchanges can be regarded as forward rate agreements. The payment for these other exchanges is the 6 month rate observed in the market 6 months earlier. Assuming that forward interest rates are realised, this method values the swap by firstly calculating the required forward rates using the LIBOR/swap curve, then calculating the swap cash flows using these rates, and then finally discounting these cash flows back to today.

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)
LIBOR is the rate of interest offered by banks on deposit from other banks in the eurocurrency market. One-month LIBOR is the rate offered for 1-month deposits, 3-month LIBOR for three months deposits, etc. LIBOR rates are determined by trading between banks and change continuously as economic conditions change. Just like the prime rate of interest quoted in the domestic market, LIBOR is a reference rate of interest in the International Market.

Arbitrage arguments
As mentioned, to be arbitrage free, the terms of a swap contract are such that, initially, the NPV of these future cash flows is equal to zero. Where this is not the case, arbitrage would be possible.
For example, consider a plain vanilla fixed-to-floating interest rate swap where Party A pays a fixed rate, and Party B pays a floating rate. In such an agreement the fixed rate would be such that the present value of future fixed rate payments by Party A are equal to the present value of the expected future floating rate payments (i.e. the NPV is zero). Where this is not the case, an Arbitrageur, C, could:
assume the position with the lower present value of payments, and borrow funds equal to this present value
meet the cash flow obligations on the position by using the borrowed funds, and receive the corresponding payments – which have a higher present value
use the received payments to repay the debt on the borrowed funds
pocket the difference – where the difference between the present value of the loan and the present value of the inflows is the arbitrage profit.
Subsequently, once traded, the price of the Swap must equate to the price of the various corresponding instruments as mentioned above. Where this is not true, an arbitrageur could similarly short sell the overpriced instrument, and use the proceeds to purchase the correctly priced instrument, pocket the difference, and then use payments generated to service the instrument which he is short.

A new report says job-seeking grads should consider looking into 14 booming niche sectors.

Hot Jobs For College Graduates

When President Obama gave the commencement speech on May 9 at Hampton University in Virginia, he reminded the crowd of graduates about the importance of their diplomas: “The unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is twice as high as it is for folks with a college degree or more.”

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, 3.2 million college degrees have been or will be awarded this year, adding millions of new applicants to the job market. And with 15 million unemployed Americans, this year’s graduating classes face an overwhelmingly tough employment arena.

“Graduates may feel like they were sold a false bill of goods,” says Lindsey Pollak, a Gen Y career expert. “They were told upon entering school that they would graduate into a thriving job market. Unfortunately that’s not the case.”

However, there are jobs available for those who are open to expanding their search. A new report from the University of California San Diego Extension says graduates can enrich their job prospects by seeking employment in 14 niche industries that are on the rise.

New on the list this year is health care information technology, which report author Henry Devries says was added because of the health care debate in Washington. “Health care is being forced to go digital, which is creating an overwhelming amount of information to be managed. To make this possible, either health care workers had to learn information technology, or information technology specialists must become well-versed in health care,” he explains.

According to career expert Pollak, it’s important for graduates to understand that their college major doesn’t have to be an exact fit for a sector. “Remember that if a sector is hot, it will include public relations jobs, marketing jobs, accounting jobs and more,” she says. “It means the employer and the industry is a great place to start your job search because they will be hiring across the board.”

She adds that it’s important for grads to keep in mind that the first post-college job is really about gaining skills and building professional connections. “Doing those things in an industry that’s booming is all the more exciting.”

Ref:http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/21/best-jobs-college-grads-careers-forbes-woman-leadership-employment.html

A simple but beautiful and profound story, MOST quietly stuns audiences everywhere it plays. Rich with meaning and symbolism, some viewers have said its better than many feature films they have screened. Indeed, this 2003, 33-minute short earned an Academy award nomination for best short film and went on to win top prizes at three other film festival competitions Dances with Films, Heartland Film Festival and Palm Springs International Short Film festival.
The Plot of MOST the movie:-

A father and son love each other very much. Stargazing or enjoying tea together, the two are nearly inseparable. One day, Lada, the son, asks his father if he can join him at the bridge. The bridge is where the father works as an operator, raising a drawbridge when a boat must pass and lowering it when the train arrives. On the one day that Lada joins his father at work, a train arrives early. Lada tries to alert his father that the train is early, but his father cannot hear him. Father is away, inspecting some machinery. So, the boy rushes to throw the switch manually, enabling the drawbridge to drop and let the train safely pass. But, by the time the father discovers the problem, Lado has accidentally fallen into the drawbridge wheel and pulley mechanisms. The father must make a choice. Save his son and let the train wreck. Or, lower the bridge, save the train and sacrifice his son to the crushing wheels.

MOST goes the extra mile in packing the story with strong symbolic images. Many of these symbols are left unexplained, but the discerning viewer will understand them. MOST lets the viewer see some of the sin and depravity of some of the train passengers. And, it also depicts new life and new hope to one of the train’s most desperate passengers. MOST is not a frontal assault, blatant in its storytelling. It creeps up on your and enters your spirit through the backdoor.

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