Whistleblowers will not leave Infosys alone, has ICICI Bank emerged from lost decade; all this and more on Moneycontrol Pro

Finally, some great news! India’s fastest-growing financial subscriptions service, Moneycontrol Pro, is available both on the website and mobile apps.Moneycontrol Pro offers curated markets data, independent equity analysis, insights into investment styles and exclusive trading recommendations. In sum, all the information you need for wealth creation.Global Markets | Look at the Fed chief’s view for cuesThe probability of the US Federal Reserve reducing the Fed Funds rate by another 25 basis points to 150-175 basis points, at its meeting this week, is as high as 94 percent, according to the CME Group’s Fedwatch tool. What’s more interesting though is that the market doesn’t seem to believe more rate cuts are in the offing anytime soon. The question the markets are asking is: what will the Fed do after that? In short, as the market anticipates, the Fed will very likely cut interest rates by 25 basis points this week, but what will move markets is Powell’s commentary. Read more.[caption id="attachment_6847201" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image[/caption]Whistleblowers will not leave Infosys aloneA pattern of sorts seems to have emerged at Infosys when it comes to whistleblower complaints. Irrespective of whether the complaints are proved right or not (the jury is still out on the latest allegations) the company has paid a price. Why is this so? Infosys can be particularly vulnerable because it is big in its own space and more so because it has set great store by high governance standards right from its early days. Software companies founded by professionals set a new standard in corporate governance in India. It is inevitable that they will be judged by their own higher standards. A second reason is the nature of the average Infosys employee. Read more.After prolonged asset quality problems, has ICICI Bank emerged from its lost decade?ICICI Bank has been a tough stock for investors in the past 10 years. The bank faced two asset quality cycles in the last decade - a retail bad loan cycle starting FY08 coinciding with the global financial crisis, and then a corporate bad loan cycle, which has been going on since FY13. Then, there was the corporate governance issue involving its former CEO Chanda Kochhar. But now, the stock has gained around 48 percent in the last one year and has been one of the best-performing stocks in the Nifty index despite widespread concerns in the financial sector. Following such huge outperformance, the big question is—can the rally in ICICI Bank’s stock sustain? Our in-house research team believes so. Read more.Marico’s high margins give it flexibility to respond to challengesMarico’s September quarter results were disappointing. The company is facing roadblocks on many fronts. These include the drying up of liquidity in general trade channels, lack of consumption demand in the Indian hinterland and floods in several parts of the country. Still, there is cause for comfort. For e.g., the company’s foods business has bucked the weak demand trend, working capital optimisation is underway, new-age supply mechanisms are being implemented to facilitate operational efficiency in traditional channels and low input costs remain a tailwind. Read more.Picks from our technical analystsMaruti: Maruti, after a stupendous run and post its weak September- quarter results, looks like an exhausted scrip waiting for some time correction. Click here for a futures trade idea.Infosys: Infosys is near its support level after the recent whistleblower news. As it is able to maintain the current level, our chartist is assuming that it will not go below Rs 610. Click here for an options trade idea.