Risk and returns are two sides of the investment coin. During a boom period, investors only look at returns; they forget that there is risk attached to them. During a recession, investors are so worried about risk that they forget that investments also give returns. There is one more aspect to investing. I have seen many experts argue that we must invest in ‘defensive sectors’ – consumer...

Visaka Industries (VIL) makes asbestos cement sheets (ACS) and synthetic blended yarn. India has a total annual production capacity of 2.70 million tonnes of ACS which is mainly used as roofing material in rural and semi-urban areas and by the industrial sector. There are mainly four major players commanding 59% of the total production capacity. In 2006-07, the industry grew 16%. VIL has gone...

Writing about TN Shanbhag brings a myriad memories going back nearly half a century. I first visited Strand Bookstall and met Mr Shanbagh in 1963. Then new to Bombay, I wanted to ‘discover’ the ideal places for ‘adda’ that I was addicted to. Strand Book Stall was then about a decade old but well on its way to becoming an institution inseparable from the culture of Mumbai.

At first...