The cutest ass

SWF.

Prediction time

DC should prevail in the fight with DDD, that'll settle the title for the team to beat this around once and for all.

CSK should have it easy over RR, though what RR did against DDD in the last match.

DC Vs CSK & MI Vs KKR

It should be another easy win for the boys from the lands of Nizam.

In the other match, MI should easily put one across KKR.

100 days

So has the promise of change delivered or at least in the pipeline? Well I can't see it any where near the horizon, like I kept saying he is all rhetoric and of little substance. But still GOBAMA!!

Prediction time

More power to deccan chargers today, should be an easy win over Mumbai.

In the other match, KKR should continue losing.

Ranadeb Bose ?

Is he the Fake IPL player? At least if you go by the artice in Indian Express. It doesn't go on to name the player but Ranadeb Bose fits into the bill alright but he ain't playing for KKR this season and this is where it gets interesting, the article goes on to say that maybe it's Ganguly who is providing the cannon fodder for Ranadeb. That'll be something if it were the truth.

Who is the mystery blogger?

P.S: Happy b'day Sachin.

Edit: Looks like it's not him, this is like playing 'where in the world is carmen Sandiego.' Who ever it is, has started blogging again and the fun continues. More power to who ever it is, real or fake.

Yahoo!: We will be closing Geocities later this year.

I had my first ever webpage over there and kinda felt so nostalgic when I got a mail today from Yahoo! to this effect, didn't feel so bummed even when they did the same with yahoo photos.


P.S: Oh and btw my webpage is still under construction and now I don't think it'll ever see the light of the day. ;)

PJ

Q) Why do we see so many banks offering cheap loans for the Nano?




A) They want Nobel Prize. If someone wants can get one for micro-finance, why not for Nano-finance?

IPL-day 5

Deccan chargers FTW!! Seriously B'lore? for heavens sake you can't have Kallis, Kumble & dravid in the same team for a 20-20 match no matter what the last two did in the match against Royals, that's asking for trouble even before a ball is bowled. And on top of it you have Boucher sitting out while Uthappa is keeping? Are you freaking kidding me!!

R.I.P. Sun Microsystems (1982 - 2009)

From: Jonathan I. Schwartz

To: allsun@sun.com

Subject: Today's Sun/Oracle Announcement

Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:34:16 -0700 (07:34 EDT)

Today's Sun/Oracle Announcement

This is one of the toughest emails I've ever had to write.

It's also one of the most hopeful about Sun's future in the industry.

For 27 years, Sun has stood for courage, innovation, a willingness to blaze trails, to envision and engineer the future. No matter our ups and downs, we've remained committed to those ideals, and to the R&D that's allowed us to differentiate. We've committed to decade long pursuits, from the evolution of one of the world's most powerful datacenter operating systems, to one of the world's most advanced multi-core microelectronics. We've never walked away from the wholesale reinvention of business models, the redefinition of technology boundaries or the pursuit of new routes to market.

Because of the unparalleled talent at Sun, we've also fueled entire industries with our people and technologies, and fostered extraordinary companies and market successes. Our products and services have driven the discovery of new drugs, transformed social media, and created a better understanding of the world and marketplace around us. All, while we've undergone a near constant transformation in the face of a rapidly changing marketplace and global economy. We've never walked away from a challenge - or an opportunity.

So today we take another step forward in our journey, but along a different path - by announcing that this weekend, our board of directors and I approved the acquisition of Sun Microsystems by the Oracle Corporation for $9.50/share in cash. All members of the board present at the meeting to review the transaction voted for it with enthusiasm, and the transaction stands to utterly transform the marketplace - bringing together two companies with a long history of working together to create a newly unified vision of the future.

Oracle's interest in Sun is very clear - they aspire to help customers simplify the development, deployment and operation of high value business systems, from applications all the way to datacenters. By acquiring Sun, Oracle will be well positioned to help customers solve the most complex technology problems related to running a business.

To me, this proposed acquisition totally redefines the industry, resetting the competitive landscape by creating a company with great reach, expertise and innovation. A combined Oracle/Sun will be capable of cultivating one of the world's most vibrant and far reaching developer communities, accelerating the convergence of storage, networking and computing, and delivering one of the world's most powerful and complete portfolios of business and technical software.

I do not consider the announcement to be the end of the road, not by any stretch of the imagination. I believe this is the first step down a different path, one that takes us and our innovations to an even broader market, one that ensures the ubiquitous role we play in the world around us. The deal was announced today, and, after regulatory review and shareholder approval, will take some months to close - until that close occurs, however, we are a separate company, operating independently. No matter how long it takes, the world changed starting today.

But it's important to note it's not the acquisition that's changing the world - it's the people that fuel both companies. Having spent a considerable amount of time talking to Oracle, let me assure you they are single minded in their focus on the one asset that doesn't appear in our financial statements: our people. That's their highest priority - creating an inviting and compelling environment in which our brightest minds can continue to invent and deliver the future.

Thank you for everything you've done over the years, and for everything you will do in the future to carry the business forward. I'm incredibly proud of this company and what we've accomplished together.

Details will be forthcoming as we work together on the integration planning process.

Jonathan

Every thing Oracle touches turns into crap, hope Java doesn't go that way. IBM loses out once again and now begins the courting of SAP.

Is Indian media in denial on Indian recession?

At least two major newspapers have informed their desks that the word “recession” is not to be used in connection with India. Recession is something that happens in the United States, not here. The word stands exiled from the editorial lexicon.

And is one of the newspapers Hindu? Maybe the rural editor is myopic or am I missing something. Probably N. Ram can cut short his Tibet trips and get his house in order.

Finally we are charging

Yeah! baby Chargers are on the prowl and this time it's gonna be mauling time for the other teams. Really a perfect performance today, can't get better than this. Everyone played their parts including the cheer girls.

I think I've now perfected the art of predictions with both of them turning out to be bang on target today. For tomorrow lemme stick my neck out for eem ess dhoni.

Veterans' day out?

You had sachin carrying his bat through the innings and then taking two catches to complete a perfect day out for him and his team. Then you had Rahul Dravid playing his skin out to dig his team out of trouble, with Anil Kumble later coming on to bowl Bangalore to win over Rajasthan but not before Shane Warne once again proved to all & sundry as to why he is called as the sheik-of-tweak.

Now that my predictions for today's matches turned out to be partly correct lets make this a regular thing for the remainder of the IPL.

Tomorrows' winners will be Deccan chargers and Delhi daredevils.

Must I say, not bad for the oldies to come good and maybe it'll be gillis' day tomorrow.

The Silly season is upon us...

The second edition of IPL is all set to take off tomorrow.

Let me stick my neck out and predict the results for the matches being played tomorrow.

Mumbai shouldn't have much problems in disposing off Chennai and so should Rajasthan prevail over Bangalore, which could go to the wire.

And yeah it'll be Deccan Chargers who would lift the DLF cup come the finals.

Things I will never understand in life

Why is it that every time you do a good thing, people assume you have an ulterior motive?

How can someone not like Sachin?

Why is it that everyone thinks they got the raw deal? I mean there should be someone out there who must've got what they wanted but I'm yet to see a person who says so.

Why do we long for winter in summer and vice-versa?

How can you even sit through SRK movies or bollywood movies in general without cringing even once?

Why do we get the burnt Roti, every single time?

How can people not watch sport?

How can people fall for the same old populist schemes every 5 years?

How can a major political party say that they don't want to have anything to do with computers or english, the only two things which give Indians a competitive advantage in the world market and still get away with it?

Why do people find solace in herd mentality?

P.S: List is not exhaustive but I'm exhausted with all the typing so feel free to add your own stuff in the comments or wait for me to update em' some other time when I'm suffering from Insomnia.

The Dark Side Of Dubai

I think Dubai is like an oasis. It is an illusion, not real. You think you have seen water in the distance, but you get close and you only get a mouthful of sand.

An eye opener for all those who keep harping about Dubai. Btw it's a very long read but sure worth your time.

TechM... Heads I win Tails You loose!!!

When back in 2005 Roubini said that the home prices were riding a speculative wave which would soon sink the economy, he was called a Cassandra. Cut to present, and he is a sage.

Satyam fraud hit the India Inc when the global economy was in shambles and ours had caught this bad cold because of their fever. But one's loss is a gain of the other. There are a plethora of those who understand that the best and infact the only way to grow given the current scene is through mergers and acquisitions. Of all, Tech Mahindra grabs the lucrative deal of purchasing a 31 equity in Satyam at Rs 58 a share which is a tenth of pre-fraud-hit satyam share price. The company is betting it can plug the leak, cut the flab and yet make a meal out of Satyam Computer Services.

The actual cost for acquiring Satyam is just the money that has to be paid towards open offer. The fund being used to subscribe to the equity will anyway be with the company itself. With the expected Rs 200 crore profit, it would take about five years for Tech Mahindra to get its entire money back. In fact, it is a low-risk game for Tech Mahindra. Satyam will also bring in non-telecom expertise for the company. TechM plans to finance the deal through debt.

The main challenge for Tech Mahindra is to maintain value proposition to Satyam clients. It needs to iron out conficts of interest. It would be useful to examine how the implicit walk away option can prove so damaging to the current Satyam shareholders and how it can be hugely beneficial to Tech Mahindra. This analysis confirms what has been argued for some time now: the decision to sell a partial controlling stake instead of selling the whole company was not in the interests of the shareholders.

The implied valuation of probably less than six months revenues for the transaction is quite low except for the unknown liabilities of the company in several US class action law suits. It is these unknown liabilities that make the walk away option hugely valuable. What makes walk away feasible is the fact that Satyam’s value is not in the form of tangible assets, but largely in the form of its customers and employees.

Over a period of two to three years, Tech Mahindra which is itself in the same industry could transfer the entire Satyam business to itself. This could be done as new contracts are signed or existing contracts are renewed. Over the same time frame, the employees of Satyam could also be shifted to the Tech Mahindra payroll. Once this process is complete, Satyam would have some cash and other assets and potentially huge liabilities.

The walk away option is that if the liabilities turn out to be larger than the cash and other assets, Tech Mahindra can walk away and put Satyam into bankruptcy. If the liabilities turn out to be small, then Tech Mahindra can merge Satyam into itself and absorb the surplus assets. Option pricing theory teaches us that the more the uncertainty (volatility) the greater the value of this walk away option. Since the uncertainty today is huge, the option is hugely valuable.

The fact there were (as some people put it) only two and a half bids for Satyam suggests that a number of potential bidders who thought that they would never exercise the walk away option (for reputational or other reasons) chose not to bid at all. Without the walk away option, the risks were simply too high.

There are two other reasons why Tech Mahindra would prefer to transfer the Satyam business to itself. First, it owns only 51% of Satyam and therefore earns only 51% of the revenues of Satyam. If the contract is renewed with the parent company itself, it gets 100% of the revenues. Second, Satyam commands a low valuation in terms of price-revenue multiples (less than 0.5 at the bid price) while Tech Mahindra commands a higher valuation (about 1.0). Moreover with the Satyam acquisition, Tech Mahindra would try to position itself in the league of the top tier software companies which command multiples of about twice revenues.

Even if we consider a price to revenue multiple of 1 for the parent and 0.5 for the subsidiary, a dollar of revenues at the parent adds a dollar to the market capitalization, while a dollar of revenue at the subsidiary adds only 0.25 to the parent’s market capitalization. The financial motivation for shifting business to the parent are very high even without the walk away option.

What this means is that while today’s sale is great for the employees and customers of Satyam and for the Indian software industry, it is not so great for the shareholders. They get very little money now (except for the 20% open offer) and might find after three years that they own shares in a shell company that has little or no value.

The shareholders would certainly have preferred a sale of 100% of the company that gives them cash now.

Wells Fargo out of Red?

Wells Fargo earnings surprise sends market surging

Stocks surged Thursday to their highest levels in two months after banking giant Wells Fargo & Co. surprised the market with an early profit report that blew past analysts' expectations thanks to a strong increase in its lending business.

Wells Fargo says it expects 1st-quarter profit of $3B, easily surpassing expectations

It's be a interesting week ahead with most of the banks coming out with their 1st-quarter results. This ain't a bad start and lets just hope that they have done well too.

Things Change

All the time and the sooner you get used to those changes the better.

Everyone knows that but they still cling on to their old times and expect that it'll get back to how it was even when they know that it can never be back to what it was. Ah! the optimism, sometimes is a wee bit stifling and doesn't let you grow.

Well

Does it really matter if Rahul Gandhi is from trinity college or not as long as he is not a stupid? And what the hell is wrong with media both print and electronic; elections are not about personalities they are about policies and do us the aam-junta a big favor by focusing on that rather than who said what or did what or wore on the day of putting up their nomination papers. I would be more interested to know what people make of the speech Rahul gave in Nasik and how he went on to the neighboring state and contradicted what he said a mere 3 hours back. Question his motive behind his double speak not why he submitted a false affidavit.

Knowing

Sometimes you read a book or a movie which complete shakes up your belief system and then starts’ the struggle to come to terms with the fact that something which you have believed all your adult life might not be sound, after all. Given a chance, I don’t lose an opportunity to ridicule all those creationists and the same goes the case with those who believe in intelligent design. I being a firm believer in the theory of evolution couldn’t imagine or dream of questioning this theory, ever. Now for the past 24 hours I’ve been wondering whether there is actually some invisible force out there guiding the mankind or which can predict what might happen in the future?

Actually do I believe if things happening all around us are some random sequences of events or if there is a method to this madness? Till yesterday for me, they were all random events with no relation to each other and only by coincidence did some of them fit together but now wonder if they are all a part of big plan, whose plan? I don’t know.

Saw knowing yesterday and this movie in normal times shouldn’t have made any sense to me but the circumstances and the way the movies’ plot is built up makes it very believable that an Omnipotent force or entity does really exist. If this is the case then from here where do we go, will the world end? Basically every religion talks about the end of days, then what? What was the whole purpose of who ever that invisible force is, in creating this world when in the end it’s getting destroyed? Or like in the movie will a select few get to start all over again in some other distant earth like celestial body. But that doesn’t answer the question of why go through the pain of creating something which you know that come the time, will be annihilated.

Coming to the movie, the premise is pretty formulaic once the initial 20-30 minutes is done. Who else but Nicolas cage can make a pretty watchable movie into a boring one with his come-what-may-look like a douche or a guy on the verge of puking his guts out. Seriously, why do they even bother having this guy in movies? Haven’t they learnt their lesson from all those great movies ending up mediocre with his association. There is nothing much to write about other aspects of the movie other than it being your usual end of days movie, where everyone actually dies in the end.

I don’t think there is some invisible force out there playing the puppet master with us but it doesn’t hurt to think that there is one. At least that way you will be in peace with yourself knowing that there is some one out there who knows what he is doing but then if in the end, everything is destroyed what was the whole purpose of letting this go on for such a long time? If you can predict when the world ends, then why wait for it till the last moment and why pick only a handful of people to start it all over again? Why not just transfer instead of starting all over? At least with transferring you have the liberty of watching life go on from where you left, instead of watching the whole thing play out all over again.

You can catch the movie once the DVD is out but don’t expect much from it. It’s one of those movies which makes you think but at the end of the day leaves you with more questions than answers. Well that’s life I guess everyday you end with the questions of yesterday unanswered but still keep going in the hope of finding the answers tomorrow.

Guha breaks the 1 crore barrier.

Contemporary history’s best-known ‘fakir’ has landed his latest biographer the fattest kitty in the annals of Indian publishing. Penguin India has offered an advance of Rs 1 crore to bag historian Ram Guha’s two-volume project on Mahatma Gandhi in a quiet but stunning recession-era deal that has wowed the competition and pitched Indian book industry into the global league.

Tis' crazy, even the more considering the subject which has been beaten to death but tas' how things work.

Obama’s Nobel Headache

Paul Krugman has emerged as Obama's toughest liberal critic. He's deeply skeptical of the bank bailout and pessimistic about the economy. Why the establishment worries he may be right.