Even senior investors require equity in their investment basket. It may not be a question of whether they can afford to invest in equity, but whether they can afford not to.

The merger between the RIL and RPL would enhance value for shareholders of both the companies, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said in Mumbai on Monday.

The Board of Directors of Reliance Industries on Monday approved a scheme of amalgamation of its subsidiary Reliance Petroleum with the parent company under the provisions of Sections 391 to 394 of the Companies Act, 1956.

Replying to a Calling Attention Motion, labour minister Oscar Fernandes, however, said there will be no amendment to the Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 in the wake of Sixth Central Pay Commission as the two issues are not related. He said two committees, including one headed by a special secretary, have been set up to review the EPF scheme and ensure that it brings better benefits to the employees.

Stock market expert Rajan Malik offers some valuable tips.

The chief minister and the party secretary were at logger heads for the past several years and Pinarayi Vijayan has successfully emerged as the most powerful leader of the CPI-M in Kerala for the past few years cutting to size Achuthanandan who had in fact promoted Vijayan into the higher echelons of CPI-M power ladder.

As uncertainties prevail and a revival expected only post second quarter of 2009, it will pay to focus on large cap companies with a proven track record, high earnings visibility and low leverage.

Though the controversial Satyam-Maytas deal has been called off, regaining investor confidence will be an uphill task.

Strong risk management systems, a diversified loan portfolio and an impeccable track record make HDFC a safe bet.

Now, more than ever, is the time to run rigorous quality checks on stocks. Tests on debt, cost and cash levels will show a company's financial health.

HDFC Bank's track record of consistent growth with high profit margins and robust risk management systems bode well for the future.

Near the bottom of bear markets, broad buy signals are generated by several rules-of-thumb. Those check out positive. The first buy signal is that the earnings yield is higher than the yield from risk-free instruments.

Stick to disciplined investing. Do your homework thoroughly before committing your funds or you will be speculating. This is not advisable on both counts of managing risk and enhancing returns. Preferably, add companies that are leaders in their respective businesses. The companies should have reasonably decent prospects, sound management and strong entry barriers, apart from healthy financials that will help them tide the current rough patch.

Pune-based IT services and BPO firm Zensar Technologies posted a net profit of Rs 18.56 crore during the quarter ended September 30, 2008 a growth of 31.16 per cent over its net profit figure of Rs 14.15 crore reported during the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.

The three stocks from the Sensex that managed to break the trend in the falling markets are from the FMCG and pharmaceuticals space

'Stick with the index stocks. Buy in small parts and only on dips in the index. Do not buy when the markets are up.'

I would be scared to touch an airline stock with crude prices high and hot local competition. I like ICICI bank and that could be looked at with a long term outlook but on corrective days and not a day of rallies like today, says Pranav Sanghavi.

Serious money will only come in if there is a fall of another 5-10 per cent, or the market stays in the current price band for the next 6 to 8 months.

How they compare

The bulls are faced with tough times, thanks to concerns pertaining to high inflation, rising input costs and earnings deceleration among other factors.

Markets are a bit weak with no clear direction and very low volumes from the FIIs. There could be a downward correction as the markets are very news sensitive and any negative news either globally or locally could bring the markets down. One has to be careful before investing afresh, says Pranav Sanghavi.

A combination of value and growth helps in achieving healthy returns, yet keeping the margin of safety.

'If there is any drastically negative news either in the local or global markets we could touch the previous bottoms again.'

The markets could correct a bit more. One should not get euphoric over the rise in the last couple of days. You still have to tread carefully and pick quality stocks with high growth rates in profit. I still maintain that you could look at buy small parts on days of large corrections in the index, says market expert Pranav Sanghavi.

The earnings per share (EPS) ratio indicates the earning of a common share in a year. This ratio enables investors to actually quantify the income earned by a share, and to determine whether it is reasonably priced. The ratio is arrived at by dividing the income attributable to common shareholders by the weighted average of the number of common shares. In countries, where employees are given stock options, investors check a company's fully diluted earnings per share.

Check out these 8 financial ratios offer terrific insights into the financial health of a company -- and the prospects for a rise in its share price.

Market players don't expect any major benefits or negative policy for the corporate sector, says market expert Pranav Sanghavi.

Accenture announces opportunities for experienced professionals.

After witnessing a historic launch, the Nano could prove to be a flagship brand for Tata Motors' fortunes.

Despite the hiccups experienced by the auto component industry, better growth prospects and low valuations suggest that it's a good time to buy solid companies in this space.

Government companies are always looked with a shadow of doubt. Although STC has been performing well. But with the current market scenario, investors are vary of touching scripts which are not frontline and not as liquid, says market expert Pranav Sanghavi.

In the next two years, invest in leading companies in key sectors and buy more when prices fall further.

Despite "positive" signals from Beijing during the PM's visit on the civilian nuclear technology issue, no progress is made on either a nuclear "de-targeting" or "non-targeting" agreements between the two countries. Nevertheless, it needs to be pointed out that Beijing is now prepared to support India in "important" international institutions and expressed its view to work with New Delhi in regional and international affairs.

The IT major's net sales increased to Rs 4,271 crore (Rs 42.71 billion) from Rs 4,106 crore (Rs 41.06 billion) quarter on quarter.

Mudar Patherya has always had a soft corner from small-caps. This week, he gets excited about even smaller companies.

To ease your effort of picking the juiciest stocks, we have handpicked a few likely winners of 2008.

In the era when shops were still named after the owner and his sons' names, it took one high school student to start a new trend.

Mid-cap stocks, which are trading at cheaper valuations compared with large-caps, can be rewarding investments.

Most of the capital goods stocks are trading at their historical highs, which often scares a potential investor. But at the same time, one cannot afford to miss the bus.

Meanwhile, Biocon Ltd has received approvals from the Drug Controller General of India to market Abraxane (nanoparticles based, albumin bound paclitaxel) in India.