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Drumbeat: Ad Buzzaar
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Monday, May 25, 1998
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US double standards manifest in WTO
As in the case of other treaties, like CTBT, NPT etc, USA, the chief promoter of WTO, has assumed the role of policing compliance by other members with WTO agreements, and has also been pressing India and other developing countries, to relax import restrictions, and to provide "world class" IPR laws, by raising WTO disputes and invoking Special 301. The self- appointed international policeman also claims to be above the law -- which it has set for others to obey -- whether it be about nuclear arsenal or WTO.
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ITW Signode cleans up its act
The fact that ITW Signode in its first year as an MNC subsidiary has undertaken an operation to clean up its balance sheet and maintain its dividend of 40% (on an annualised basis) despite a year of poor profits in 1997-98 has been taken very well by the stock market. Revenues were higher during the 15-month period ending in March, 1998 but margins have fallen to 12.5% from 15%.
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On its way to a turnaround
What would a large player in the Indian software industry look out for in a smaller company, before mounting a takeover bid for a company in the same industry? Logically he would try to acquire stake in a smaller company, at a cost much less than the cost of setting up an equivalent project. For other industries one could scout for a company whose market capitalisation and debt is substantially less than its turnover. But this criteria might not hold much water for the software industry.
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Statistical decline
It may appear odd that agricultural output data for 1997-98 gets reported six weeks after the close of the financial year. The fact is that the agricultural year is July-June and the crop output data get compressed into the GDP estimate for the fiscal year that has gone by. Thus, current data showing lower output for a variety of crops have raised doubts whether GDP growth for 1997-98 will be even lower than the estimated 5.2% for 1997-98.
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