Mack (an American expat working in India) and Jogin (an economics student) get busy decorating a Christmas tree in the former’s house when their friends Divya (a journalist) and Bidyut (an economics professor) join them with cake and pastries. After a round of hellos, the talk inevitably veers towards the market.

Divya: So, can we hope to seen any Christmas

cheer in the markets?

Bidyut: I hope it brings some sense to all and we

may not have to see promoters buying companies

of relatives with shareholders’ money.

Jogin: Yeah, scares like the Satyam fiasco make

investors wary even if the intentions are decent.

Mack: My prayer is that more Madoff-like skeletons

are not waiting in the cupboard. Now, that would be

a real scare for investors and governments.

Divya: True, such things decimate investor

confidence, considering that the US Securities and

Exchange Commission even had hints that Bernard

Madoff was playing foul.

Bidyut: At least SEC chief Christopher Cox

confessed that they had failed to act on time

despite allegations.

Divya: But Bidyut, your claims that the US would not

let the auto majors fall has been proven wrong.

Jogin: But a short-term bailout loan has been

granted, though it was the move of the President

and not the Congress.

Bidyut: I said the auto majors would not be allowed

to collapse. I still think the same way just because

of the degree of joblessness that would follow.

Mack: Japanese market has been literary trembling

on this count and hoping that the auto companies

would manage to stand. Analysts have said the

markets there would continue to be volatile till 2009.

Jogin: But one good thing Japan can smile about is

that the market condition has brought it closer to

long-time traditional rivals China and South Korea.

The nations are fighting the downtrend together.

Bidyut: How I hope the markets would have such an

effect on India-Pakistan ties.

Jogin: We would definitely be better off united,

both economically and strategically.

Divya: The Indian situation looks comparatively

bright as of now with banks offering competitive

home loan interest. If real estate companies follow up

with affordable housing and if the job loss threats

subside, we could see positive sentiment.

Mack: But it remains to be seen how soon it would

reflect on capital markets?

Jogin: What would help the capital markets is the

NSE futures opening at 8 am. More trading and more

money to be made.

Divya: … or to be lost.

Jogin: You are a pessimist, just like the brokers

opposing the NSE opening early because they have

to get out of beds sooner to reach the bourse in time.

Bidyut: Be like the Sensex. It has beaten pessimism.

The whole of last week it has moved up slowly but

surely, except on the day the Satyam-Maytas deal

pushed the index down.

Mack: Ya, and it has now even crossed 10,000. Hope

Sensex becomes like Santa on a sledge — unstoppable.

Ram with input from Bad

Blog at http://MarketChat.blogspot.com

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