Snip Snap- Companies get a Haircut

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Its snip- snap time...the companies have got themselves Edward scissor hands- they are all aggressively cutting either jobs, man hours, pay or even businesses.

With the recent financial turmoil putting in a lot of insecurity into every average employed household- especially the BSFI[ Banking Financial and Insurance] sector and Tech sectors. We are not asking if there are appraisals happening- we rather ask each other if the other still has a job.

No wonder then that my friend who didn't contemplate further studies after 6 years of work ex decided to take the CAT this year.

Here are some of the shocking news that reflects the business scenario :

• The best and the craziest of all- Air India(AI) is not cutting jobs, but is offering leave without pay for 3-5 years.Oh! isn't that good? so considerate! Not removing the employees form the pay rolls, just not paying them for 3-5 years, asking them to go on a forced leave. Hats off to you Raghu Menon- CMD,AI.
• Tata Yazaki- manufacturer of wire harnesses for auto industry- says no electricity in its company after 06pm- OOps!.. Dark days ahead fo the employees- I am sure the management would fend this off saying- "its an eco friendly decision" [hmm...]
• The tops execs at ThyssenKrupp and Kirloskar no longer would travel by Business class, in fact, Kirloskars went a step further and shun the practice of using luxury cars like the Mercs for travel- The top brass may have to be content with an Indica!! Perhaps the Three wheelers and bicycles would be the next viable option.
• Citi's Vikram Pandit announced that the company would cut 52000 jobs across the globe to get a leaner look- However, speculation is rife that Pandit himself may not be able to hold on to the job for long.

Even as i write, the Sensex is down 88 points, eroding all of Friday's gains. Readying for darker days ahead..

Opening Bell

Trinng!! My first post.. I probably thought this is the best topic to start blogging with.. For i can brag anything and predict any Goddamned outcome of the market- and brag a bit more if anything..anything at all works out as per my "estimate"- Else, I always have the option of going underground- thats what a lot of my investment banking friends have done- the guys in sales have not seen their clients for quite some time- Some died of an attack, some committed suicide, the rest didnt have the money to call these guys.. [Idea,Airtel..are you listening?]

Well..Why is Sensex NonSensex?? Coz the best brains lose it when it comes the mayhem. I have a friedn who met me the other day- lets call him Rahul- He met up after a very long time, and immediately inquired what about my job at Lehman? [Oh Please! No more condolences!]. The discussion soon shifted to the markets, and he seemed very concerned about the sliding indices.

"Do you have a lot of money into the Futures Bud?" i Aksed, trying to find out how much loss is he sitting on.

He said- "No, i don't play in futures."
Smart guy, I thought, doesn't want to burn his fingers out of greed.

"Oh, what stocks have you locked yourself up in?" I pressed,trying to analyze his quantum of loss which made him feel so woebegone at the red index.

"Oh No...Aisa kuch khaas nahi...Haven't bought any individual stock as such.."

Now, that was weird. Did i miss something- Did he talk about some death or something that i failed to hear- This man has no investment apparently but is dejected to see the index fall.

" Then what kind of investment do you hold?"- I needed to know...
"Well, I have these Tax Saving MFs that hold, don't have the appetite for Cash Market risk and all" he said.

Urrrrgggggh... Here's a man who has nothing to lose or gain, whichever way Sensex or Nifty moves, but he echoes the market concern. No different than how we cheer for MSD or 10dulkar walking away with an award [the latter has become a rarity, i know], and feel as if we ourselves have won it.
This market fever grips almost everyone-Even those holding no investments cry with the brokers when markets crash- Jeez, they even worry about support and resistance!!

More market stuff and crazy people from around the world..soon to come..