After a spectacular year and one of the greatest rallies in the history of the equity markets stocks are now arguably oversold, overvalued and on borrowed time. In terms of their macro 2010 outlook Credit Suisse (CS) sees 4.1% global GDP (3.3% in the U.S.) and muted inflation.  They are quite positive about the first half of 2010, however.  They target 1220 on the S&P by mid-year and 5750 on the FTSE.  However, CS is increasingly concerned about a government funding crisis that eliminates all market gains in H2 of 2010 and sends markets’ reeling again as the problem of debt, once again rears its ugly head.

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The exchange, which is gearing up for its listing, posted higher average daily turnover during the second quarter

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Asia's oldest stock exchange, has said that its second quarter net profit declined marginally despite a 35% jump in total revenues. According to media reports, BSE is preparing for a listing and expects to cut its dependence on revenues from cash trading over the next two years.

For the quarter to end-September, BSE said its net profit declined 4% to Rs55.50 crore from Rs57.80 crore while total revenues rose to Rs140.50 crore from Rs103.60 crore, for the same period last year.

For the first half of FY10, the exchange's total revenues increased to Rs256.20 crore. During FY09, BSE reported total revenues of Rs421.10 crore.

BSE said that during the second quarter, its average daily turnover rose to Rs6,024 core from Rs5,186 crore a year ago.

Revenues from BSE's trading members scaled up to Rs39 crore during the September quarter which in the corresponding previous quarter stood at Rs35.40 crore.

The Exchange spent more on IT-related expenses as its expenditure on computer technology more than doubled to Rs21.80 crore from Rs10.80 crore last year in the same quarter. The earnings per share for the quarter stood at Rs4.70 as against Rs5.37 last year.

During the second quarter, the Exchange's paid-up share capital stood at Rs10.30 crore as against Rs0.80 crore a year ago. The reserves of the Exchange stand at Rs1,717.95 crore as on March 2009.

The exchange, which earns almost all its revenue on the trading side from the cash equity market, is looking to win over investors by offering better technology and products across asset classes.
 

India has once again emerged as the most optimistic nation in terms of hiring plans for the next three months and the recruitment pace is expected to return to the pre-recession level in 2010, said global staffing services firm Manpower.

"There is no more 'cautious optimism' among employers any more; it has given way to 'definite optimism'. Besides, the pace of hiring will be back to the 2007 level in the next year," Manpower India managing director Naresh Malhan said.

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, India has a net employment outlook— a measure of recruiting plans—of 39% for the first quarter of 2010, the highest among 35 countries surveyed.

India has been reporting the strongest hiring plans globally since the third quarter of 2008. The country’s outlook has improved by 11 percentage points on a quarter-on-quarter basis and by 18% year-on-year, Manpower said.

A sectoral analysis shows that hiring outlook has risen across all sectors. Job seekers in the services, public administration, education, mining and construction, finance, insurance, real estate, and the wholesale & retail trade sectors could look forward to the most favourable hiring environment in early 2010, the survey said.

"The good news is that employer hiring expectations across all industry sectors are improving in the first quarter of 2010, and job seekers in key industry sectors can look forward to the most favourable hiring environment in over a year," Mr Malhan said.

A regional analysis shows that employers in India's four regions expect hiring plans to rise considerably over the next three months both on a quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year basis.

The hiring intentions of employers in the north is the most bullish as 44% said that they would hire in the next three months, followed by the western and eastern regions where employment outlook was 40%. The southern region had the lowest hiring intention of 36%, Manpower said.

Many of the world's labour markets are also showing signs of recovery for the next three months. Employers in 25 of the 35 countries and territories surveyed are reporting positive hiring intentions for the first quarter.

Hiring in the next three months is expected to return to the pre-recession pace throughout much of the Asia-Pacific region, while job prospects are likely to improve in the Americas and in some parts of Europe, the survey said.

In the Asia-Pacific region, hiring plans are strongest in India, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia. Japan reported the weakest and only negative outlook.

The survey said that hiring plans for the first three months of 2010 are also strongest in Brazil, Singapore, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Australia, Peru and Hong Kong, and weakest in Ireland, Romania and Spain.

Though employers in 19 countries and territories reported stronger year-on-year outlooks, employers in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania reported their weakest hiring plans to date, the report added.