GTAm

Hey guys thanks a Million for the kind wishes! Much appreciated!

Just a formality. They have a deal with Fiat. Which is good for both companies. IMHO... Link http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/30/obama-a...deal-with-fiat/ Link http://www.motorauthority.com/obama-gives-...-agreement.html

So sad. I can almost feel the fire go out of the Firebird.....

Future currency movements. I'm no currency expert but I'm sure there are instruments to hedge against future rates of forex whether it's up or down. And so it is with TBs and bonds. If I knew when exactly the market would pick up, then I'd sell all my Alfas on a buy back agreement at double the selling price!!! No one knows where the bottom is, but we can make intelligent guesses. And my guess is its close. Waiting for a clear sign will be too late. Foreign investors are quitting our market as their funds all over the world are totally screwed. They have little choice. It's our local guys who'll drive up the market. And of course there will be a new set of foreign investors. Indians for sure. Watch this space. Maybe the boom, will not be spectacular since this is the most investor-UNfriendly government we have had for decades. But after the war is ended they'll have to find new ways of keeping their stellar personal earnings ticking. Also Politics are so unpredictable that there could be changes that we could never predict. Just look at how MR became prez......Could anyone have seen that coming? Anyways our private sector is super resilient. We just need a boost from the International community. I know the govt. is making that all but impossible, but eventually they'll have to cow down and beg. Just like they're doing with the IMF now. So BUY! I'll fax you my invoice for this advice

I mean the "deals" went through during CBKs time and the speculation is that CBK earned something. It's MR vs CBK. Personal vendetta for slandering him....... Vasu was just the guy being totally jobless and useless to everyone.

This was such an unfortunate event for the market as well as the economy as a whole. This is the common way that deals our done in developing countries. Even now we hear some scary stories about how the Central Bank is determining suitors for Seylan. It was just a personal vendetta fronted by that totally useless moron V N. Why on earth did he have to dig into old stuff like this which sent shock waves towards investors when that glaring COPE report was begging for attention!? Has there been a more unproductive politician in SL? And how many votes did he win anyway? In his whole career?? Hats off to JKH for coming out of the situ. They've made a series of smart moves and remains the most favourite stock on the market. In fact I'm certain that this year's figures will be a good improvement despite the loss of earnings from the bunkering. Now that's resilience! Agree Devinda? I know you work for an equally impressive Blue cHip now

Your probably right, we cannot compare a developed mkt like the US with a tiny growth mkt like Colombo. But my view is that being a tiny growth mkt there's a lot more potential than a mature mkt...... Just my opinion. And let's face it the US is still in Sh*t street isn't it? Anyway your right again about finding info in the US being easier than SL. But remember SL is still a grossly under-developed economy. The markets are still very very small even by Asian standards. Btw I was alarmed at the dressing up about the Merril Lynch quarterly report. I had no idea that something like that could get through the SEC or accounting body. I can't recall the exact details but saw a report on it on the BBC. I recall our early 90's boom very well...... And I feel we are preparing for another one again. All the signs are there. I am in no doubt that there are loads of US companies with great ratios. But there are quite a few Sri Lankan companies sitting on cash, waiting. These should have reflected well in their Current and quick assets ratios. Also don't forget that our market P/E is 6.5!!!! It was in the high 20s during the early 90s during the Premedasa regime. So we know the potential an end of a military conflict can have on investor confidence. Admittedly the Beta has been quite low for most stocks. There simply has not been any positive news at all until now. Inflation can also be viewed as positive in the market, where replacement costs increase and so in turn do assets on the Balance Sheet. Devinda Z might not like this view I'm sure !? In a growth market more emphasis is placed on the future and we have to consider that the macro environment will be changed with the drop in military operations. The country has to be viewed in a new perspective. One thing for certain is that corruption will not cease. If at all it will increase. This is the biggest problem I have with SL. Especially as we know in the govt. sector. This could cheese off investors. On the other hand. There's so much of reconstruction and development waiting to happen. Retail sales will increase because of relative normalcy returning. Export earnings are going to shoot up because of the devaluation, and general business confidence is on the way up. This last factor is what is MOST important for the market IMHO. I agree totally our SEC and CSE are out-dated monuments and desperately need to be spruced up. The markets need to be developed a lot. But there's a LOT of potential I think on the SL Mkt.

Nicely done...... but where's Anthony?

Inflation has dropped a lot. Yes the rupee will be devalued further. As for stocks, I'm surprised that you have not come across great fundermentals. We don't have good funds but the stockmkt looks very tasty Could I know the parameters of the ratios you compared them with?

Hi Mani, You can have an NRFC - Non resident foreign currency account in SL. The rupee is being devalued at the moment, so it might be better to hold onto your $$$ or Euros for now. That said interest rates over here are also on their way down so it could be advisable to lock in funds on a long term deposit. The experts at banks will be able to forecast when and by how much and then advise you what exactly to do. Of course no one can predict the future 100% given so many variables in our economy especially at this critical stage. So it really depend on which is the most convincing opinion. For example if or when we get the IMF loan, Rupee interest rates will come down further. And the Rupee will be devalued further. Hope I have not confused you even further . My personal advice is to spread your risk. Lock part in rupees on High interest and part can be left in Foreign currency. If your talking large amounts you could even hedge (I know this is a dirty word to many) against future movements and make a load of money. U might also want to put a small % of your funds in shares. The market has never been this under-valued........ And if the war is really over...........

Does anyone know how the Axela, Miata and the Renault 4 faired? It's always interesting to see a variety. I'm kinda bored with the Ford Lasers.........

More inspiration....

Here I am. Here I am! My vote is still Black. Nero in Italian. It's as Italian as Rosso (Red). Since your Sud is from the 80's and colour coding was all the rage, black would mean that the bumpers and grille is auto colour coded. Red could make it look like a poverty model and if you code the bumpers and grille red it'll look a bit of a Mus kade!!!? No? On the other hand if you go for white, then my vote is for "ALITALIA" livery, just like the trofeo cars!!! Fix a roll cage and get to Mahagastoite next yr

Recent encounter in Vienna Austria, - A taxi driver who had a resemblance to Seb Vettel and did 180kmph (for long stints) in a Passat TDI while dropping us at the airport. Asked him if he liked the car and he said its ok but he'd like a bit more HP

I think if the any agent wants to flog cars in decent numbers in this country, then right now an assembly plant in SL is the only way. Of course the "royal" family will have to be compensated properly to get this going. I think the Nano is in a great position to cause a revolution in our market, if marketed properly. Whether the agents are capable of such a thing is another question.

The guy who owns the Alfa Spider owns 3. There are at least 3 others with others excluding the blue one.

I think Tata are onto something great here. A revolution. They might not be able to export it so soon as there's bound to be a huge rush in India itself. So far all the reviews have been very good. I had my doubts at the begining, but looks like they've made it happen. Great! SL better start building a LOT more roads before this is unleashed on our market!

That's KMPH not MPH

How long lasting are the local jobs? I've heard many classic car owners complain about peeling of prematurely. Thankfully my Alfas have Stainless steel instead.

As with most joe-public reader votes its never going to be very accurate. Its far better to have a handful of auto experts/critics to vote on something like this one. I'm baffled by the absence of the Ferrari 250 series (and the inclusion of the F430 - the Scuderia maybe...) and the '30s Alfa 8C (down at #88) Aston DB9????? Ahead of the 911 Silly Brits! Ford Escort??? London Taxi in 240Z out ?? One surprising omission is the MGB - Britain's favourite Classic Car! The more I look at the list the more disappointing it gets. I give up!

What do you mean?? One?? I know one man who owns 3!!!!

Only 3.0 in SL mate. And there are 3.2s but no 3.4 unless your 166 was some one off ??

Only 3.0 in SL mate. And there are 3.2s but no 3.4 unless your 166 was some one off ??