Fake letters, deliberate rumours and vicious bad mouthing of a company or its management are not new to capital
markets around the world. That is exactly why regulators invest in expensive software to track price manipulation and frame regulation to nab the culprits. Even by these dirty standards, what happened with Pyramid Saimira is rather bizarre for the number of players involved....

In the previous issue, we had forecast that it was time for a brief
relief rally, which would fizzle out. This is what has happened. On 5 December 2008, the Sensex ended at 8,965 and then rose to a high
of 10,099 in the week ended 19th December. At the time of writing, the Sensex has declined to 9,566. We had also suggested watching out for support at 8,700, which the Sensex did not...

On 19th and 20th December, a galaxy of academics met in Mumbai for a seminar on the securities market by an institute set up by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Although corporate governance was just one session on the second day, it was the most discussed issue since the Satyam imbroglio was played out on the eve of the meeting. Chairman B Ramalinga Raju’s misfired heist...