HYDERABAD/MUMBAI: The irony lies in the name - Satyam, meaning truth. The real truth is that Ramalinga Raju, the politically-connected, promoter-chairman of Hyderabad-headquartered Satyam Computers, was lying for years to shareholders, employees and the world at large, building up to India's largest-ever corporate fraud of over Rs 7,000 crore.
The country's fourth largest IT company - after TCS, Infosys and Wipro and ahead of HCL - was for several years cooking its books by inflating revenues and profits, thus boosting its cash and bank balances; showing interest income where none existed; understating liability; and overstating debtors' position (money due to it).
The 54-year-old US MBA Raju's letter of guilt and resignation to the Satyam board and Sebi on Wednesday morning sledge-hammered India Inc, dumbfounded regulators, pummelled the company's stock, knocked the bottom out of the market, and cast a long shadow over industry in general and the IT sector in particular.
It also raised disconcerting questions about corporate governance, the role of auditors (in this case Pricewaterhouse Coopers) and independent directors (Satyam has its share of luminaries such as ISB dean M Rammohan Rao, Krishna Palepu of Harvard Business School who resigned and former union cabinet secretary T R Prasad).
This wasn't some small fly-by-night operator that had been caught out. Satyam is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, boasts 185 Fortune 500 companies on its client list and employs 53,000 people - that's equal to the combined number of employees of Tata Steel and Tata Motors (30,000 and 23,000 respectively).
Within hours of the Satyam scandal hitting the headlines, its employees had flooded job portals across the world wide web in search of alternate employment. Consider that the Rs 7000-plus crore hole in Satyam's books is way more than the company's entire salary bill of Rs 5,040 crore last year. Worse still, it's running really low on cash, and once-potential suitors have turned wary - they don't know what lies beneath.
As for Satyam's shareholders, the stock had gone into freefall before they could even make a decent exit. By the end of the day, large-scale selling by foreign institutional investors, among others, had driven the stock down by almost 78% to just a shade below Rs 40 from Tuesday's close of a little over Rs 179, wiping out Rs 9,376 crore of investor wealth in the space of a day. Compared to its closing price of Rs 225 on December 15, the stock is down more than 82%.
The day after, Raju announced his ill-fated plan to shell out $1.6 billion to acquire his sons' companies, Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra. It created such a furore that Raju was forced to backtrack. But what was widely seen as a move by Raju to bail out his sons was actually aimed at covering Satyam's tracks through fictitious cash transfers (details inside).
The timing of what is being called `India's Enron' could not have come at a worse time - just when the stock market was showing signs of responding positively to the Centre and RBI's moves to stimulate the economy through interest rate cuts, duty reductions and accelerated government spending. A day after the sensex crossed the 10,000-mark, it plunged by 749 points, wiping out almost Rs 1.3 lakh crore (or trillion) of market capitalization.
There's intense speculation as to what finally triggered Raju's confession of wrongdoing. It's clearly more than coincidence that it came hot on the heels of investment banker DSP Merrill Lynch's letter to the company on Tuesday evening (followed by another to Sebi this morning) terminating its 10-day-old agreement with Satyam to advise it on strategic options because of ``material accounting irregularities''. But the beginning of the end came when furious investors forced Raju to reverse his decision to acquire the two group companies (Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra), robbing him of his last chance to wriggle out of a very tight corner.
By the end of Wednesday, the knives were out with Sebi, the stock exchanges, the Indian Chartered Accountants Institute, the department of company affairs and institutional investors announcing/considering a flurry of probes/actions against Raju, Satyam and its auditors. NYSE has halted trading in Satyam ADRs (American Depository Receipts).
Fearing violence, the Hyderabad police threw a cordon around Satyam's offices and Raju's residence in upmarket Jubilee Hills even as the company's wholetime director-now-interim CEO Ram Mynampati, after expressing ``shock'', swung into damage control mode.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/07/2009 19:20 ||
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The parents of a six-year-old boy in the US have been charged with neglect after the boy drove their car for 10km in an attempt to get to school on time.
Police in Virginia said the boy, who was not named, took the keys to the car after he missed the school bus. He drove for six miles (10km) on major roads, weaving through traffic and overtaking slower cars, before losing control and going off the road. The boy told police he learned to drive by playing video games.
Police said the boy was so intent on getting to school after failing to make the bus, that he got the keys to his father's Ford Taurus and took the wheel himself. "When he got out of the car, he started walking to school. He did not want to miss breakfast and PE," said Northumberland County Sheriff Chuck Wilkins. His road trip came to an end only after he ran off the road several times before hitting an embankment and utility pole. He was not, police said, wearing a seat belt. He was treated for minor injuries at a hospital before police took him to school.
It happened at 0740 on Monday, while the boy's mother was still asleep. Both of his parents have been charged with endangering their child. He and his four-year-old brother are now in protective custody.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/07/2009 19:06 ||
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#1
The Washington Post story explained that the father was under a court order not to leave the two children alone with the mother. He did, and the mother was still asleep when the boy went on his journey.
Oh, and he learned how to drive by playing Grand Theft Auto.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
01/07/2009 20:56 Comments ||
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It's been a nine days' wonder down here - Sheriff's been all over the news.
"He did not want to miss breakfast"
Says a LOT about that family....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/07/2009 21:36 Comments ||
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Gotta admire his determination to get to school, though.
YJCMTSU!
A man whose home was so full of rubbish that he had to build an intricate network of tunnels to get around may have died after losing his way in the labyrinth.
Investigators believe Gordon Stewart, 74, died as a result of dehydration, after becoming unable to find his way out of the mass of carrier bags, boxes, old furniture and other junk.
Police had to call in a specialist diving team because the smell from the house, Broughton, Buckinghamshire, was so overpowering.
Neighbours had become concerned that they had not seen Mr Stewart for several days and raised the alarm.
According to witnesses, the officers were faced with mounds of foul-smelling garbage which he had used to construct tunnels around his home.
The smell was so over-powering police had to call in a specialist team - equipped with breathing apparatus - to search the two-storey house. They discovered a confusing system of tunnels networking around the interior of the building, with Mr Stewart lying dead inside.
Locals say Mr Stewart, who wore a pony-tail, was often spotted riding his bike around the streets. When he was not tunneling.
One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "He was slightly eccentric, but very clever. He was just a collector. He came home with a load of cardboard boxes and lived in his own world." A second described his death as a "tragedy". Tragedy, stupidity, and other adjectives come to mind.
Neighbours said Mr Stewart's home had been accumulating rubbish for at least 10 years.
A car dating back to the 1950s stands in the garage believed to have been left untouched for years as garbage built up around it.
A spokesman from Thames Valley Police, said: "Police were called on Friday at 12.26pm by a member of public who was concerned for welfare of a resident on Narbeth Drive. Police forced entry where they found a man's body. "There are no suspicious circumstances." No question about it. The old codger got lost in his tunnel world and died.
Police also confirmed that officers had to call on the help of the Thames Valley Police Specialist Search and Recovery team to find the body. The team specialises in diving rescue operations, but is equally well equipped and trained in recovering bodies during land searches.
With the use of protective equipment, breathing apparatus, gas detectors, analysers and remote cameras, SSRT officers can enter and search confined and contaminated spaces, where the atmosphere may be noxious or poisonous, with out putting their own safety at risk. Thank you for the lecture on confined space entry.
It is believed Mr Stewart lived alone and has no next of kin. A post mortem examination is due to be carried out at a later date." Call Dr. G., Medical Examiner. And bring the cool skull saw. She will get to the bottom of this.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/07/2009 17:59 ||
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Police had to call in a specialist diving team because the smell from the house, Broughton, Buckinghamshire, was so overpowering.
#7
Laugh all you want, sometimes I wonder if a family member of mine is going to end up like this. Wish I knew what kind of crazy makes someone do this kind of thing, and what kind of treatment (if any) can fight it.
As a candidate, Barack Obama promoted hybrid cars.
As president, he'll be handed the keys to one. Sort of. Can he vote "Present" from it, too?
Shortly after taking the oath of office, Obama will climb into the Mother of All Hybrids -- part car, part truck and, from the looks of it, part tank.
In keeping with recent tradition, the Secret Service will place a brand-new presidential limousine into service January 20 to drive the new president on the 2-mile jaunt down Pennsylvania Avenue during the inaugural parade. Already, spy photos of the limo -- with patches of gray primer -- have leaked out. And already, the reviews:
"Ugly as sin," says one car enthusiast on an auto Web site. "Can't we make a hotter ride for our pres?" What do you expect from an American manufacturer? They have refused to learn anything more than necessary since the 70's.
"Sheesh," says another, "why don't they just transport the president around in an Abrams tank." It would probably get better mileage.
One news agency, noting its 8-inch-thick doors, says the limo can withstand a "direct hit from an asteroid." But GM spokeswoman Joanne K. Krell laughed off the comments. "And it will fix you a latte if you ask," she jokes.
In truth, the new presidential limo is a Cadillac, Krell said, although it is "not a direct extension of any single model." Ha! Never doubt the marketing geniuses at Cadillac. I'll bet the guy who told them they'd never sell that last DTS is having himself a big helping of crow as we read this.
"The presidential vehicle is built to precise and special specifications, undergoes extreme testing and development, and also incorporates many of the top aspects of Cadillac's 'regular' cars -- such as signature design, hand-cut-and-sewn interiors, etc.," Krell told CNN. And from the looks of things, they probably hand-rubbed the lacquer. With a sledge hammer.
"Cadillac is honored to serve and ressurect renew this great tradition," she said. "And it is entirely appropriate that an American president has at his service a great American vehicle."
For much of the country's history, the Secret Service didn't even drive the president, evidently oblivious to the dangers of asteroids. In the post-Lincoln horse-and-buggy era, it was customary for a security detail to closely trail the president, according to a Secret Service history.
With the advent of automobiles, the Secret Service acquired a 1907 H. White Steamer to follow Theodore Roosevelt's horse-drawn carriage.
White House chauffeurs drove later presidents, until the Secret Service assumed many of the driving responsibilities after Franklin Roosevelt's death in 1945.
In 1965, Lyndon Johnson was the first president to ride in a bulletproof limo in an inaugural parade, less than two years after his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, was shot and killed while riding in an open car.
Obama should expect two seemingly contradictory feelings when riding in the presidential limousine, said Joe Funk, a retired Secret Service agent who was President Bill Clinton's driver during part of his career. "I think he will be surprised about how when he's in the limo, it's a cocoon," Funk said. "The everyday noises will be gone, and he will be totally isolated in this protective envelope." Don't worry. He's pretty used to it.
"At the same time, I think he will be surprised at the communication capabilities, how the phones, the satellites, the Internet -- everything is at his fingertips," he said. "So at one end, you are totally removed from society. The other side of the coin is that he can have any communications worldwide at a moment's touch." Hopefully he'll run across an article on RB and figure out that people don't like Socialism.
Funk says presidents sometimes chat with the agents, and sometimes don't. "Every day is different, just like every person," he said. "Sometimes they get in the car and they have a lot on their mind. They're involved in reading material, they're involved in the newspaper, they're talking to local dignitaries or they are talking to Cabinet-level.
"Other times, they are interested in sporting events, in doing the crossword puzzle, interested in the feedback they get from talking to the agents -- primarily the supervisor that sits in the front seat," Funk said. And playing with the up/down button for the window that separates them.
While the government spares no expense for the presidential limo, the weight of the car makes it less maneuverable and more sluggish than comparable sport utility vehicles, Funk said. And the door and window frames, which accommodate thick ballistic glass, create large blind spots, he said.
Funk's own experience driving Clinton was uneventful, he says, which is a good thing, considering his line of business. "I was very lucky. We didn't have any close calls," he says. "Everything was very smooth."
But he still considers the experience a career highlight. "At the end of the day, if you had a good driving day, you do kind of sit back with a certain amount of pride and say, 'I had the president of the United States in the car with me for an hour, two hours, and I got him from point A to point B safely in conjunction with all the other team members,' " he said. "When it's done, you can sit back and take some pride in knowing that you pulled it off." Hopefully it will remain not such a big deal.
One Internet wag, adding to the rampant speculation about the new car, made this prediction: It will be painted black. But environmentalists may ask, will it be green? No, dumbasses.
Not likely. Car enthusiasts believe the overweight vehicle burns diesel and will have low mileage. And with diesel costing about $2.40 a gallon Monday, versus $1.67 for gasoline, this new limo can't be called an economy vehicle. I wonder how many gallons per mile it will get.
"The limousines of yesteryear were designed just well enough to provide protection to get the president out of the situation," says Ken Lucci, CEO of Ambassador Limousine Inc. and owner of two Reagan-era limos. "In today's case, they [the Secret Service] expect a prolonged attack, and they expect an attack that is a lot more violent than [with] a weapon you can hold in you hand."
"It literally is a rolling bunker," he says. "It just happens to have wheels on it."
And it's not a bad vehicle for someone whose job is to fix the economy, even if it won't brew coffee on command. Well, they can always stop at McDonalds, if they don't mind tepid coffee.
#3
"It literally is a rolling bunker," he says. "It just happens to have wheels on it."
Gievn that is a rolling bunker, having wheels on it was not unexpected. Unless they considered it being fully tracked and, while we are it, armled with 120mm cannon and nicknamed Abrams.
The economy is self fixing, you just need government to get out of the way, stop supporting failed business, stop punishing success, stop destroying the currency and stop frauds.
#5
In keeping with recent tradition, the Secret Service will place a brand-new presidential limousine into service January 20...
Wonder what they do with the previous president's ride after he leaves office?
#6
Car enthusiasts believe the overweight vehicle burns diesel and will have low mileage. And with diesel costing about $2.40 a gallon Monday, versus $1.67 for gasoline, this new limo can't be called an economy vehicle.
Funny. In Europe Diesel has ever been much cheaper than gasoline. Also for the geniuses who wrote that article, if you are so concerned about assasination attempts that you built a near tank then it makes no sense to use something as flamable as gasoline.
#10
Once "The One" passes National Health we'll be driving a new line of vehicles, Obama Wagons. This will also reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lower our carbon footprint. It's a win/win. Of course, PETA will go ballistic.
#11
GK
Reagan's ride Gipper is on exhibit in his Presidential Library near LA. Note they also have Air Force One in the exhibit. What makes it complete of course is they have same helicopter as Marine One.
#12
Ha! Never doubt the marketing geniuses at Cadillac. I'll bet the guy who told them they'd never sell that last DTS is having himself a big helping of crow as we read this.
Cut GM some slack; at least they didn't foist off a Pontiac Aztek on Bambi.
The US would have really been the laughing stock of the automotive world then.....
#15
Nahhh, the real wone is a Ford Focus clown car, not town car. Everytime it stops the 24 SS will jump out with squirty flowers, floppy shoes and Bozo wigs. BO will dress as he usually does.
LUCKNOW: Typing the word talaq on an SMS which may not be sent or uttering the words talaq thrice even under influence of alcohol or in a fit of rage amounts to separation under the sharia. Darul Uloom-Deoband recently issued a fatwa on three issues contrary to the common belief that the state of intoxication or anger or not communicating the decision of talaq to the partner did not amount to divorce in Islam.
In a recent query from Bangladesh (dated December 28, 2008) it was asked: A person intending to give his wife one talaq, typed I give one talaq to you. in his cellphone SMS. But after thinking over, he changes his mind and does not send the SMS at all. Will this result in talaq? According to the Dar-ul-Ifta, in the above condition, one Talaq will be deemed to have occurred, whether the SMS was sent or not.
In Fiqh term, SMS is a text which, if written by husband with the intention of Talaq, will be valid. In another question (dated January 3, 2009) a man asked Dar-Ul-Ifta that he said the word talaq three times in anger during a fight with his wife though it was not his intention to give his wife talaq. A week after the incident we came to know that she was pregnant, we want to live together the question asked. In its response, Dar-ul-Ifta ruled: That since the divorce came in clear words thrice, the element of intention looses its legitimacy. Another question is, if a husband is completely drunken and unconscious and beat his wife and he says talaq three times, will the marriage end? According to Dar-Ul-Ifta, talaq given after drinking in state of intoxication is valid in Hanafi sect. Now, the husband can not marry her without Sharai halalah, Dar-Ul-Ifta ruled.
As per the Sharia, according to Islamic scholars, Talaq should be given once at a time after a period of 30 days each. This wipes off all possibilities of taking the drastic step in a fit of rage or under the influence of alcohol. If a person changes his mind after uttering the word talaq once or twice, he can always take his words back within the next 40 days (the Iddat period) of the last utterance and the marriage will stand intact.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/07/2009 00:00 ||
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"Darul Uloom" -- is that a nym for Thulsa Doom?
The US Treasury department yesterday banned any Americans from taking part in a construction project in Beirut, accusing Hizbollah of using the project to raise funds for terrorism.
The $370m Waad (Promise) Project is centred around rebuilding the suburb of Dahiyeh, a Hizbollah stronghold that was devastated during the 2006 war with Israel. It includes homes and businesses and is the biggest construction project in the country since the redevelopment of downtown Beirut after the 1975-1990 civil war. But the US Treasury accused Hizbollah, which the US considers a terrorist group, of having used the company behind the project - also called the Waad Project - to rebuild its command headquarters in Dahiyeh and underground weapons storage facilities and other military infrastructure.
Hizbollah could not be reached for comment last night.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
As a candidate, Barack Obama promoted hybrid cars.
