Bizination - Dhando, Takko, Rokdo

Satyam made headlines not too long ago. Now Tech Mahindra has brought it back in the news. Satyam will soon be bought out by Tech Mahindra. Most of this rather short podcast focuses on the deal and what is there in it for Tech Mahindra which had to pay more than a 1000 crore for this deal. Quarter 4 results are out and surprisingly a few of Indias IT companies have posted profits.

The interim budget was as bland as Russian food. But Pranab Mukharjee spiced it up just in time for the elections. With the benevolent excise duty, service tax and a few other rate cuts, the consumer will have to spend less on mobile phone bills, buying an LCD TV, etc. In the corporate sector, after the Satyam debacle, SEBI has asked for full disclosure from the promoters of companies who pledge their shares to raise more money. In cricket, the multi million IPL season will kick off very soon. On other side of the world, in England, Sir Allen Stanford, the man who sponsored the million dollar T20 tournament in West Indies has been booked for fraud.

And we are back after a pretty long time, but nothing much has changed since we spoke about bad news that surrounded the world economy. In fact, things have only gone downhill. Layoffs have begun even in India. The US economy is reeling and is hoping under Barack Obama's slogan of Hope, not fear. The US congress has approved the $700 billion odd stimulas package. In other news from India, Subhiksha, the ailing retail chain is fighting hard to survive bankruptcy.

"They can have it in any colour they want as long as it is black," Henry Ford's arrogance back in the 19th Century was justified when he was selling his cars and telling consumers what they NEEDED because he didn't believe that the customers knew what they wanted. Given a choice, Ford's customers would have demanded a faster horse, but he built the Model T anyway. CUT TO 2008. The swaggar which the auto makers had gotten used to is now reduced to a limp. With people shoving their hard earned money under the mattress, today, a sleek sports car is no more than a gas guzzling peace of metal meant for the foo ish few who are skating on thin ice. With the auto industry consistently posting losses, it hope to get a 25 bn USD loan from the treasury to fix a few things. We talk about the mess and some dope from the aviation industry in India as well.

Two years after TATA announced the one lakh car, argubly a revolution of the magnitude of Henry Ford's Model T, the car industry's most binouculared project is yet to lay its foundation stone. After elaborate protests, some violence and lots of confusion, TATA took the painful call of relocating to another state. A week later, all the newspapers carried a picture of Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat shaking hands with Ratan Tata. This podcast is more about our thoughts on how politics can ruin capitalism. We want to know your take on this one. In another news, HCL is set to acquire Axon, an SAP consulting firm and TCS has bought over the back office arm of Citigroup.

When they asked Tom about his occupation, he balked. He wanted to keep that as a secret. But they persisted wanting to know about what Tom does for a living. He finally relented, "I work as a piano man in a brothel." He had lied. He was too ashamed to admit that he was an investment banker. This podcast is dedicated to all the innocent Toms from the unsinkable 'Titanic' like industry in the US called Investment banking where the lifeboats are afloat with people who's jobs and families are on the line. We would love to know your take on this unceremonius downfall of goliaths likeLehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, etc. How bad is it out there?

We are back after getting stuck in a rather unhealthy habit of not being on time. The last month was plump with a number of mergers and acquisitions on a national and an international scale. Spice married Idea in the telecom sector. On the global front, Anil bhais ADAG and MTN, the South African telecom giant are contemplating a merger of sorts, but Mukesh Ambani comes in his younger bro's way yet again. Ranbaxy, the Indian pharmaceutical major has been acquired by its Japanese Counterpart, Daiichi Sankyo in a landmark deal. This season, in India, as the rains pour, so do the mergers.

The epidemic is back. It is called inflation. USA, India, China, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Haiti, Egypt are searching for the medicine to cure themselves. The medicine itself is not only bitter, but sometimes fatal! Among the developing economies, India leads the pack. In this podcast, we talk about how relavent is this whole issue to the common man or the housewife who buys vegetables on the street in a city in India. We recorded this episode when the inflation was around 7 per cent. Two weeks later, now, as I type, it has notched up to 9 per cent. We would love to know your take on this issue that has perplexed economists from around the world.

Richard Branson does a James Bond like stunt again. To announce his tie up with Tata Teleservices, he jumped from some high rise building to get to the front pages of all leading publications here in India. He made a bigger splash when he experimented flying one of his planes on Alternative fuel. VISA has announced its intensions for the world's biggest IPO and in another news, the Indian Banking industry boasted of the biggest deal ever.

Every year, on the last day of February, all the guns are out aiming at two men, the Railway Minister and the Finance Minister of India. This year was no different. We attempt to give you a run down of the Railway Budget presented by the flamboyant Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Union Budget announced by the calm and composed Chidambaram, the CFO of India. Everything from the huge Rs. 60,000 crore agricultural debt waiver to increasing the income tax slabs unabashedly knocked the voter's doors to draw their attention. We have our share of light moments where Ritika does a Lalu impersonation. No kidding!

The stock markets around the world tumble as America faces prospects of recession. It does not help when banks like Societe General face losses due to rogue trading. Starbucks sees the back of its CEO as competition with McDonalds heats up. Meg Whitman passes on the baton to Danahoe. In another news, HPCL answers natures call rather literally and we wonder whether the Indian Premier league has got bigger than the game?

This episode was recorded a couple of days before the Auto Expo at Delhi which unveiled the one lakh car from TATA after a long long wait of two years. The Indian car industry is going great guns with some nitro boosting mergers and joint ventures. TATA Motors has bagged the Land Rover and Jaguar deal from Ford Motors and we discuss a string of tie ups that the Indian companies have been involved with. And there is some good News for Non Resident Indians who feel home sick and God sick. A unique concept now allows all you folks to outsource your pujas. Celebrity endorsements continue to rule the roost in our ad world.

Chuck Prince of Citigroup and Stan O'Neal quit admist the sup prime crisis, but, their exit packages are getting more eye balls! We feel that they deserve the millions that they beget even after goofing up big time! Another CEO, Rick Wagoner stands strong among the ruins at General Motors as it wrote off $38 billion. Petrochina rocks the corporate world by being the most valuable company beating Exxon Mobil. Two Indian wine companies, Sula Wines and Champagne Indage are on an expansion spree. And Bollywood is finding different ways to earn revenues. It's not only about tickets anymore

If the Indian stock market is galloping, the Indian Art Market is on LSD. It is swaying to a mood swing that is helping it grow by 50 per cent year on year. And buying expensive paintings is seen as a very intelligent investment option. As the marriage season hits India, people are insuring their marriages! In HCL, you can rate your bosses and what more, the results will be displayed on the Intranet. Vikram Pandit has been named as the CEO of Citigroup and this time India can pat its back since Pandit completed his schooling in Nagpur. As Burger King competes fiercely with McDonalds, we choose to talk about the Indian McDonalds - Jumbo King Vada Pav from Mumbai.

Mukesh Ambani is not the richest man after all. Ever heard of peer to peer microfinance? Ask eBay about it! Also, a Microsoft former employee starts a networking site for the unorganised sector; so, you can find yourself a driver or a household maid on the web! Yuvraj Singh has pulled off a coup! He is slated to earn a 100 cr contract, but, there is more to it than just the money. The mobile telephony has too many cooks which might just spoil the broth and Bharati's Mittal is livid! GAP and sweatshops are made for each other.

SRK, Salman, Govinda, Suniel Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra... the list is endless. All these celebs have successfully endorsed apparels and we feel that such endorsements work well in the Apparel industry than in any other. In entertainment, I and B Ministry has some good news for all of us with the Entertainment tax being pared down Also, you can watch a movie on a petrol pump. Ask BPCL about it. In another common NEWS, Vodafone has taken over Hutch and has painted the entire Mumbai City red

The SENSEX has crossed the 20000 mark and Mukesh Ambani is the richest man! Well, not quite. Like everyone we got this news wrong! We discuss how Participatory Notes is acting as the LSD to the big spike in the market cap of companies on the BSE. Ritika brings in a political angle to the mercurial nature of the stock market! On another flight, Singapore Airlines has flown the worlds largest aircraft. Vijay Mallay's Kingfisher will fly the super Jumbo soon. While BBC plans laying off a huge chunk of its workforce, Shiv Nader of HCL has resigned as the CEO is the chief mentor and Microsoft's Chief Software Architect has just bought his company a stake in Facebook.

The US financial market is like an avalanche. When things go wrong out there, they bring the world economy down to an extent. Ritika gives a user friendly description of what is the big deal with the sub prime markets crisis! This week, while Anita Roddick of Body Shop passed away, her legacy of eco-friendly practice still lives on. In another news, Starbucks opened shop in Russia, it is contemplating for the nth time to enter India. And SRK's 'Om Shanti Om' is the biggest financial hit of Indian cinema (inflation adjusted) and his biography is selling at a neat 3000 Rupees

Indias largest bank, SBI which already has a good chunk of the Islamic Banking market feels that India is a largely untapped market. While the aviation industry in India breathes a sigh of relief with steadily increasing fares, in the British Aviation industry, BA faces litigation for fixing the fuel surcharge in collusion with Virgin. Multi million deals are being signed in India with Mallya scooping up Spyker Ferrari and in entertainment, Pritish Nandy signed a 100 crore deal to remake Sholay.

There are bad ads, good ads and then there is the third kind... The controvertial ads! Amul Macho was successful in raising a few eyeballs and more (no pun!) among a few in the Information and Broadcasting Industry of India. Also, RBI has fingered the corporate sector again to check the appreciating rupee. Closer home, the Indian farmer plays David to the Goliath, Reliance. It's right out of a hindi movie!