Strained co-ordination
The co-ordination between SEBI and the Department of Company Affairs (DCA) is easier said than done. While the two are expected to trace the `vanishing' companies, we now hear that DCA secretary T. S. Krishnamurthy has opted out of chairing SEBI's panel on primary market because it was going nowhere.

Investors' solution
The DCA seems a little more serious about tracking vanished companies. At ameet in Ahmedabad, investor groups resolved to help the DCA create a database of such companies by pooling information from its members. Krishnamurthy in turn agreed to release advertisements in newspapers asking investors to send details. But a database will only help if DCA shows that it means business by cracking down on at least a dozen `vanished' companies, preferably large corporate groups.

Personal and perplexing
SEBI chief J R Varma startled investors at the Ahmedabad meet. Though he said his views were personal, his speech led to an agitated debate. He said SEBI should focus less on regulation and more on development; and that the judicial process does not work. He feels investors need no protection. Finally, he said: ``We should not assume that the regulator is more knowledgeable and less corrupt than the rest of us''. Investors then retorted, ``why don't we wind up SEBI and save tax payers' money''. The worry is that Varma's views do carry weight in the SEBI boardroom.

UTI'ssales
Why is UTI beating the prices of PSUs, mainly refinery stocks, by continuously selling their shares? These shares, says the Deepak Parekh panel, add up to Rs 4,800 crore the bailout sanctioned by the Budget via the special unit scheme. So why are these shares being sold instead of transferred? Sources say UTI has to generate cash through anything saleable and above the purchase price. The refinery stocks qualify. So, UTI is dumping them. What about the Parekh report?

Advertising concepts
In a world where hysterical hamming and loud music are used to grab viewer attention, Contract Advertising's `dadima' is simply `happening'. If Ayurvedic Concepts' ``faster processor'' ad zapped unsuspecting viewers, the `spice girl look' and the ``happening mousse'' have been as good. If the Himalaya Drug's products live up to the curiosity created by dadima's repackaging of Ayurveda, then she is bidding fair to become as much of an icon as Padamsee's Lalitaji.

Tailpiece
We must saythat AIWA's attempt to cash in on the success of the Chicklets ad not only falls flat but also irritates. Get original guys, it's simply not happening.

Author's e-mail:suchetadalal@yahoo.com