TROUBLED WATERS: & TROUBLED FISH !!!

Markets worrie that there will be more bank write-downs in the US after a prominent analyst lowered first-quarter profit forecasts for four major US banks namely -- Citigroup, Bank of America Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Wachovia Corp.

Monsoon Capital LLC, a $1.20 billion hedge fund firm run by Gautam Prakash, has been hit hard by a slump in Indian stocks this year. The news may trigger more redemptions from hedge funds with higher exposure to India, reports suggest.

Brokerage firm Prime Securities slumped 5% to Rs 87.95 after the firm said it incurred a loss of about Rs 3 crore in the futures and options segment and had made a provision of Rs 23 crore for 2007/08 towards depletion in value of securities. The comapny expects profit before tax for the current year to be Rs 27 crore after the write-off of investment, it said in a statement.

Subprime crisis to persist for 2-3 years
The impact of the subprime crisis is likely to persist for two to three year before the US economy recovers, Nobel laureate US economist Joseph E Stiglitz said here on Friday.

The book argues the IRAQ war will cost at least $3 trillion, assuming that US troops won't withdraw completely before 2017.

Kotak, Indiainfoline, Motilal, Religare, ILFS, ICICI and who else are the

big chaps who're in stock broking?

Who else lent huge monies in F&O and for

deliveries to their super-leveraged clients? Who else were earning oodles last

year from broking incomes?

Be sure all these brokers, and that last-mentioned who's really a bank, face the

brunt of the bad-bad-bad mood of stock players. Each of these shares will

continue getting beaten this year.

Sunday's Business Line: MFs selling to pay up for redemptions.

Mutual Funds selling stocks? Aren't they the ones who put thier hand on their

mothers' hearts and say they love buying low and selling high? Why're they

selling at these dirct cheap rates then?

Answer: Fund manager's job is at stake. Bonus is at stake.

Orchid Chemicals plunges on promoter follies

Shares of Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. plunged nearly 50% this week on news that two financial institutions had sold promoters' shares as they could not meet margin calls. On March 17, the stock tumbled 39.09% to Rs127.05 and lost another 10% on Tuesday to Rs113.60. On Wednesday, the stock closed 2% higher at Rs116. Kailasam Raghavendra Rao, founder and MD of the Chennai-based company said it incurred a personal loss of Rs 750mn after his lenders sold off 7.5% stake from his family's holdings on March 17. He denied market talk that the company has suffered forex losses. However, some industry analysts feared that the biggest danger is that the company could become a takeover target now that the promoters' stake in the company is just 17%. In March-April 2007, Rao borrowed around Rs 850mn from Indiabulls and Religare to raise the promoters' stake from 17% to 24%. Rao cleared his dues to the two lenders, but still owed nearly Rs 650mn to the FIs and his current stake is pledged to them. Commenting on the recent developments, Orchid Chemicals spokesperson said a combination of macro factors and market rumors contributed to the sudden negative sentiment on the stock.