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Is shareholders' interest in Lakme's mind?
Going by the experience shareholders have had with Lakme's attempt at divesting its businesses, it is unlikely that its sale of stake in Lakme Lever and its brands to Hindustan Lever will be any different. The net consideration that Lakme and its subsidiary will receive will be reduced by the amount owed to HLL -- which could be as much as Rs 70 crore -- so the net consideration to Lakme and its subsidiaries will be around Rs 130 crore before tax.
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Icor decline is a statistical moonshine
The incremental capital output ratio declined in 1996-97. This is big news (on the assumption that a decline in a single year is indicative of a trend). In 1996-97, with an aggregate investment of 27.4% of GDP, the Indian economy churned out a growth rate of 7.5% , the peak rate under reform. This gives an Icor of 3.65 against the previous 4.
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The markets are like that only
The past few months have seen a slew of analyses of the SE Asian crisis, with every analyst and commentator preferring his view of the reasons for the debacle. These range from technical reasons such as the tying of the baht to the dollar to wholesale condemnations of the "Asian way". Small wonder that, at the end of all the economists' deliberations, the reader is often thoroughly confused. Part of the reason for that, of course, is that the experts do not agree among themselves.
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Countervailing duty: The facts
The Indian capital goods industry which had recorded a growth rate of 29.8% in 1994-95, 17.8% in 1995-96 and finally negative growth rate in 1996-97, has been dealt a body blow by a recent Supreme Court judgement. In December 1997, in Sirpur Paper Mills Vs Collector of Central Excise, the apex court delivered the judgement that machinery assembled at site will be excisable.
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