Mumbai, Filmmaker <keyword id="19932039" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="farhan-akhtar" source="keywords">Farhan Akhtar</keyword> and his wife, actor <keyword id="20026978" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shibani-dandekar" source="keywords">Shibani Dandekar</keyword> are joining hands for "<keyword id="20775333" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dabba-cartel" source="keywords">Dabba Cartel</keyword>", a new Netflix series. Directed by Hitesh Bhatia, the upcoming show revolves around five ordinary women in Maharashtra's Thane who start a drug cartel through the 'dabba' (tiffin) delivery service. It will star Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Farhan Akhtar, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Anand, Gajraj Rao, Sai Tamhankar, Lillete Dubey and Jisshu Sengupta. <br /><br />The first look of "Dabba Cartel", created by <keyword id="20775332" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dandekar" source="keywords">Dandekar</keyword>, was revealed on Thursday at the Next on Netflix event here. Akhtar has backed the show via his production banner Excel Media &amp; Entertainment. <br /><br />"We like narrating stories, and it's been a great association (with Netflix) and there are many more shows (to look forward to). This is an exciting show. It is a special show as <keyword id="20122101" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shibani" source="keywords">Shibani</keyword> is the creator of the show and this gives a special place to the show in my heart," Akhtar said at the event. <br /><br />Dandekar said it was great working with her husband on the series that started off as a "tiny idea" in her head. <br /><br />"It has been a long process. The interesting part is when you have a tiny idea and you sit with writers, and to work with Excel Entertainment, Netflix, and Hitesh Bhatia, and it all begins to grow. <br /><br />"To see the show come alive is, creatively, collaboratively. It has been an incredible surreal experience. I couldn't have asked for anything more as a creator. Working with my husband, and working with the producers, Abbas and Kassim, and Hitesh, was all wonderful. I couldn't have asked for more as a creator as I'm working with my husband," she added.

Farhan Akhtar, Shibani Dandekar team up for Netflix series 'Dabba Cartel'

Mumbai, Actor <keyword id="2069863" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bhumi-pednekar" source="Orion">Bhumi Pednekar</keyword> says the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown led to cost cutting and thus affected the budget of women-centric films. The actor currently features in buddy comedy "Thank You For Coming", which has a predominantly female cast. Also starring <keyword id="7903367" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shehnaaz-gill" source="Orion">Shehnaaz Gill</keyword>, <keyword id="573702" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dolly-singh" source="Orion">Dolly Singh</keyword>, <keyword id="8251961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kusha-kapila" source="Orion">Kusha Kapila</keyword>, and <keyword id="4477193" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shibani-bedi" source="Orion">Shibani Bedi</keyword>, the film will hit the screens Friday. <br /><br />According to Pednekar, "Veere Di Wedding" was the last female-led movie that did well at the box office with earnings of around Rs 130 crore. Its producers Rhea Kapoor and Ektaa R Kapoor have reunited for "Thank You For Coming". <br /><br />"'Veere Di Wedding' is the last female story that worked and the same producers are making this film. After 'Veere Di Wedding' we had more such stories. Then lockdown (due to COVID-19) happened and then obviously there was cost cutting on female-centric films. Then again, we saw Rhea Kapoor, who made this kind of film again," the Mumbai-born actor told PTI in an interview here. <br /><br />Citing the example of her 2019 film "Saand Ki Aankh", Pednekar said the box office collections are not in anyone's control. <br /><br />"It is all about whether the film is good or bad. I remember when I had done 'Saand Ki Aankh', which is a female-led film, compared to another film, which released on the same day, and it did overall business of Rs 350 crore. While my film did Rs 45 crore but our film was running in theatres for 100 days," she added. <br /><br />The beauty of cinema is that good work will always "be remembered and watched for generations", the actor said. <br /><br />"Films earn money but we hope people will come and watch our films. We don't take the pressure because certain things are not in our hands." <br /><br />"Thank You For Coming" is a coming-of-age comedy which follows the story of Kanika Kapoor (Pednekar), a single woman in her 30s, and her quest for true love and pleasure. It is written by Radhika Anand and Prashasti Singh and directed by Karan Boolani. <br /><br />The 34-year-old actor said the film's story uses female desire to explore the theme of patriarchy in society. <br /><br />"Orgasm is a metaphor for a larger scheme of things that the film talks about. The film is against patriarchy, it is not about man versus woman, because patriarchy is not gender specific. <br /><br />"Women and men both are patriarchal. That's the thought of the film. The film is about sisterhood, womanhood... Every film has a thought or a premise, so this is the premise of the film," she said. <br /><br />Pednekar, known for films such as "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", "Toilet: Ek Prem Katha", and "Shubh Mangal Saavdhan", said the cast stuck to the light-hearted tone of the story of "Thank You For Coming". <br /><br />"If we had not kept this tone of the film... We would not have been honest to what we have made. If we are making a film about female pleasure and if we are only shying to talk about it, then what's the point?" <br /><br />She hopes "Thank You For Coming" helps diminish the stigma around sexual liberation of women. <br /><br />"Till the time, 'Shubh Mangal Saavdhan' had not been released people would shy to talk about the topic of erectile dysfunction. It was an issue in families but one would not be able to talk about it, I believe that film eased the conservation. <br /><br />"I feel with this film ('Thank You For Coming'), female orgasm, female desire, and all this is one part of the film, these are small themes in the film, but there are more important things that the film comments about. It is a normal thing," she added.

Pandemic put a break on female-led movies, says Bhumi Pednekar

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51311815.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /><br />
‘Women are complicated!’ it is said. Well, try to be in their shoes when they are trying to buy a gift for the men in their lives and one might realise that reality just might be the other way around. Buying gifts for men has always been one of the most complicated tasks for women; some women even say Rocket Science would be easier to crack! While a wallet seems too informal, a watch seems too formal. Clothing and accessories like cufflinks are just too old school and perfumes just too misleading. They just can’t just decide on that one perfect good-to-go-for-all-occasions gift.<br />
<br /> This dilemma of gifting for men is not limited to women from daily walks of life, even Bollywood Celebs like are at a loss when it comes to finding that perfect gift for the men in their life. Well ladies, Fret no more. <keyword id="136068" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="USL">USL</keyword> has come to the rescue and launched the <keyword id="306294" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Scotch">Scotch</keyword> Whisky<br /> Collection! Celebs like <keyword id="32970" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lisa-Haydon">Lisa Haydon</keyword>, <keyword id="12953" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chitrangada-Singh">Chitrangada Singh</keyword> and <keyword id="601312" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shibani-Dandekar">Shibani Dandekar</keyword> chose the Scotch Whisky Collection to express their feelings for special &amp; unique men in their lives in a special &amp; unique way. Watch the video below to see how they solved the gifting dilemma for themselves and turned up the heat with the help of the Scotch Whisky Collection.<br />
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<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51344378.cms" /><br />
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Whether your guy is throwing a party to celebrate signing of a big deal or just unwinding after a hard day’s work #ScotchAsAGift never goes out of style. Whether he is throwing a birthday party with friends or just wants to show off his prized possessions in the bar cabinet, Scotch is the classiest way to do it. What’s more, each time he looks at his priced Scotch Whisky Collection his awe for your gifting style will only increase.<br />
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<a href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/gifts-for-men">Buying gifts for him</a> was never this easy!<br />
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<a href="http://www.liveinstyle.com/gifts-for-men/scotch-as-a-gift">Know more about #ScotchAsAGift.</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DntnVA2jEaM" width="560"></iframe><br />
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(Image and video credits: USL)<br />



Here’s why Gift Buying for Men is not Rocket Science Anymore

The star-studded premiere was held at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), here on Tuesday night.<br /><br /><keyword id="6359862" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="srk" source="Orion">SRK</keyword>'s daughter <keyword id="543349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="suhana-khan" source="Orion">Suhana Khan</keyword>, who is making her much awaited acting debut with the movie '<keyword id="12509997" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-archies" source="Orion">The Archies</keyword>', was seen coming to the event with her family. She looked breathtaking in a blood red body con shimmer dress. With her hair open, red lips, and golden high heels, Suhana won the hearts with her glamorous look.<br /><br />She was accompanied by her father and superstar SRK, who was seen in an all black outfit. The 'Pathaan' actor wore a black coat, matching trousers, and a tee shirt with Archies imprinted on it. Suhana's mother Gauri looked beautiful in a black cut out dress.<br /><br />While her brother-Aryan and AbrRam were also present at the venue.<br /><br />The director of the movie <keyword id="36968" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoya-akhtar" source="Orion">Zoya Akhtar</keyword> arrived at the venue wearing a white blazer, matching flare pants and a top. She completed the look with a heavy neckpiece.<br /><br />Megastar Amitabh Bachchan's grandson <keyword id="1438654" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="agastya-nanda" source="Orion">Agastya Nanda</keyword>, who is also starring in the movie 'The Archies', arrived at the premiere with his grand family. Amitabh was accompanied by his wife Jaya, son Abhishek, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, granddaughter Aaradhya, daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda, her husband Nikhil Nanda, and their daughter Navya Naveli.<br /><br />While they were all dressed up in black outfits, Navya opted for a red dress, and Jaya was seen in an ivory white suit.<br /><br />Filmmaker Boney Kapoor's daughter, and actress Janhvi's younger sister- Khushi Kapoor, who is also making her acting debut with 'The Archies' was seen at the premiere wearing an off-shoulder silver shimmer gown, with a matching choker. She tied her hair in a neat bun.<br /><br />The evergreen Rekha arrived at the premiere night in a green and silver saree. She kept her hair open, and opted for her signature red lips. She completed the look with a matching potli bag. Filmmaker Karan Johar posed for the cameras with model and BFF Malaika Arora, and Amrita Arora.<br /><br />'Jawan' director Atlee graced the red carpet with his wife Krishna Priya. The couple was dressed in black outfits.<br /><br />Ranbir was accompanied by his mother Neetu Kapoor. He wore a silver coat, navy blue pants, and a white shirt. He completed the look with red striped tie, and brown formal shoes.<br /><br />The 'man of the hour' Bobby Deol, who is winning love for his performance in the recently released movie 'Animal', was seen at the event wearing a silver shirt and white trousers. He was accompanied by his wife Tanya.<br /><br />Katrina won the hearts with her elegant look. She wore a black sleeveless body con dress and completed the outfit with silver heels. She was accompanied by her sister Isabelle Kaif.<br /><br />Hrithik was spotted with his girlfriend Saba Azad at the event. He wore a black half sleeves shirt, grey trousers, and a bucket hat. While Saba gave retro vibes in a pink crop top and matching floral skirt.<br /><br />Ranveer Singh was seen in his usual funky style, wearing a white coat, shirt and black pants.<br /><br />Others who graced the event were Javed Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar, his wife Shibani Dandekar, Jackie Shroff, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Arjun Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Aditya Roy Kapur, Janhvi Kapoor, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Manushi Chhillar, Konkana Sen, Kapil Sharma, Kajol, Ananya Panday, Hema Malini, Esha Deol, Shilpa Shetty, Manish Malhotra, Genelia and Ritiesh Deshmukh, Shanaya Kapoor, Sonali Bendre, and Kiran Rao. <br /><br />

Bollywood royalty shine at star-studded premiere of 'The Archies'

<ul><li>Despite global headwinds and challenging macro environments, Indian markets have remained resilient compared to their global counterparts.</li><li>The benchmark <keyword id="2931774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nifty50" source="Orion">Nifty50</keyword>’s 12-month forward PE is at a 2% premium to the long period average.</li><li>Kotak Institutional Equities says higher energy prices could derail <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>’s macroeconomic situation “meaningfully”.</li></ul>Indian stock markets have remained resilient even as recessionary concerns gain momentum around the world. The benchmark Nifty50 index is at a 2% premium on forward PE when compared to its long-period average (LPA), according to Motilal Oswal.<br /><br />The Nifty50 is currently down 2% year-to-date even as its global counterparts witness double digit declines – the S&amp;P 500 is down nearly 22%, while Dow is down 18%.<br /><br />So does this mean the Nifty50 and Sensex are overvalued or expensive? Experts remain divided.<br /><br />Dhananjay Sinha, head of strategy research and chief economist, JM Financial, says markets are expensive given that the 12-month trailing PE of Nifty50 is around 22x, suggesting a premium of 18-20% over LPA.<br /><br />“At trailing 12-month PE of around 22x, Nifty50 remains expensive despite the rise in risk-free rate of return, earnings and GDP growth rate downgrades, and expectations of a decline in exports,” Sinha told Business Insider India.<br /><br />“Indian growth outlook appears stable and a relative outlier. In the medium term, the outlook for equity markets remains healthy, given the strength of domestic macro growth and corporate earnings trajectory,” said Shibani Sarkar Kurian, senior EVP and head- equity research, Kotak Mahindra AMC.<br /><br />However, analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities recommend caution, saying higher energy prices could derail India’s macroeconomic situation “meaningfully”.<br /><br />Going forward, the global environment, macro factors and the earnings of India Inc, will determine if the Nifty50 crosses 18k again. “I remain cautiously optimistic about the earnings prospects over the next two quarters,” Kranthi Bathini, director – equity strategy, Wealthmills Securities told Business Insider India.<br /><br />“Indian markets are in a fairly-valued zone – they are in a consolidation phase, sustaining 17,000 levels since July. This is despite the foreign investor selloff, which was covered for by domestic investors to a great extent,” Bathini added.<br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Interest rate hikes add to the volatility" comment="subhead" text="Interest rate hikes add to the volatility"><span data-til="noop">Interest rate hikes add to the volatility</span></cmsannotation><br /><br />Interest rate hikes by central banks around the world – led by the US Fed – have added to the volatility in markets, increasing the woes of investors. Take for instance the Buffett indicator – which compares the total market capitalization to the GDP – is at 92.58% right now, suggesting that Indian markets are not over-expensive. <br /><br />“The ratio has been volatile, reaching 56% of FY20 GDP in March 2020 from 80% in FY19 and then sharply bouncing back to 112% in FY22,” said Motilal Oswal in a note.<br /><br />With more rate hikes in store, markets could continue to see volatility in the near term – the range-bound movement in the Nifty50 since July lends credence to this.<br /><br />“Going ahead, there are multiple global macro factors at play and higher interest rates and inflation are likely to be sticky in the developed world. Given the outperformance of the Indian markets and with relative valuations appearing stretched, it is possible that markets see some volatility in the near term,” Kurian added.<br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What should investors look for in India Inc’s earnings?" comment="subhead" text="What should investors look for in India Inc’s earnings?"><span data-til="noop">What should investors look for in India Inc’s earnings?</span></cmsannotation><br /><br />India Inc is gearing up to announce its Q2 FY23 results, with IT giants beginning next week. While the overall IT sector is expected to report subdued earnings, research firms suggest banking and financial services companies are expected to benefit from the rise in interest rates and strong growth in loans.<br /><br />“By sector, low base is likely to aid strong growth in autos, industrials and consumer services while financials and chemicals shall sustain their momentum. Meanwhile, earnings moderation is likely in IT, pharma, cement and durables,” said a report by Edelweiss Research.<br /><br />Kurian adds that the focus will be on corporate commentary on demand and margins as we enter the Q2 FY23 earnings season. High-frequency indicators have shown an improvement in activity and early trends suggest festive demand is strong, which are positive indicators for investors.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rupee-slips-past-82-per-dollar-to-hit-a-new-all-time-low/articleshow/94695912.cms">Rupee slips past 82 per dollar to hit a new all-time low</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/covid-19-and-flu-coinfection-rising-in-india-who-warns-it-may-escalate-in-the-winters/articleshow/94682987.cms">Covid-19 and flu coinfection rising in India, WHO warns it may escalate in the winters</a><br /><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-7-and-pixel-7-pro-with-tensor-g2-chipset-launched-in-india-starting-at-59999/articleshow/94696867.cms"><strong>Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with Tensor G2 chipset launched in India starting at ₹59,999</strong></a><br />

Nifty50 valuations remain expensive, but experts are divided on India's growth prospects

<ul><li>Its 2022, and yet 83% women feel that men don’t see women as equal.</li><li>Ariel's new #ShareTheLoad film See Equal aims to get men to think and introspect their actions at home.</li></ul> Over the last 7 years, Ariel India has continuously sparked conversations around the unequal division of domestic chores within households and urging more and more men to #ShareTheLoad. In the spirit of keeping this conversation going and furthering the cause of equality within households, Ariel launched the #SeeEqual film, to inaugurate the 5th edition of ShareTheLoad. By raising a pertinent question – “if men can share the load equally with other men, why are they not doing it with their wives?” Ariel is urging men to be equal partners playing Equal roles. Because when we see equal, we #ShareTheLoad.<br /><br />During the lockdown, everyone got confined to their homes which transformed into offices, schools, playgrounds overnight. So many men took to household chores actively and proudly- be it cleaning, cooking or laundry. And while this trend faded as the pandemic eased out, it established that men are open to change and can take up chores when needed. Additionally, a new study by an independent third party revealed a startling fact - 73%* men agreed that they did their share of household chores when they were staying with other men or roommates. So, if men have taken responsibility of chores in the past, what stops them from doing this as partners?<br /><br />Ariel's new film- See Equal raises this pertinent question to men. The reason for this disparity could be many but it was alarming to find that 80% women believe their partners know how to do household tasks but choose not to do them. The same men, who chose to take up household chores when living with other men, are not doing their share of work in the house with their wives. This ‘choice’ signaled a mindset issue arising from years of unconscious bias, and 83% women felt that men don’t see women as equal when it comes to housework. By raising a pertinent question – “if men can share the load equally with other men, why are they not doing it with their wives?” Ariel is reminding families, that true equality is only reflected when domestic chores are shared. Because when we SEE EQUAL, we SHARE THE LOAD! <br />    <div type="Youtube" id="DA64FF7MR58" title="When we #SeeEqual, we #ShareTheLoad" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DA64FF7MR58/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />The film is about a woman, who visits the neighbours with her husband. Looking at the two men go about their morning tasks in complete harmony and both contributing equally, she points this out to her husband. The man casually recollects how he used to split all chores back in the day with his college roommate. This incident, along with a few more, make the woman realise that she is not being seen and treated as an equal. After mulling over it, she takes a stand for herself and shares her realisation with her husband, demanding to be seen as an equal. This conversation makes the husband realise, who vouches to drop his bias and ShareTheLoad.<br /><br />The film is fully reflective of the reality of today’s times. On one hand, the woman refuses to accept inequality in her marriage, and on the other, it depicts what men are capable of and how it is that they are changing. The neighbours in the film could be roommates, friends, brothers or in a relationship themselves, but irrespective of their relationship, they represent the men of today who are open to change. While there are many men who have started to do more, a lot of them even take up their full share of responsibilities within the home and ShareTheLoad equally. This is possible only when they See Equal.<br /><br />An exciting panel came together to launch the 5th edition of #ShareTheLoad, comprising of Genelia and Ritesh Deshmukh – Actors, Producers, Entrepreneurs, Environmentalists, Dr. Nandita from Akshara Centre - an NGO whose vision to establish a gender just and violence free society, and works tirelessly towards it, Sharat Verma - Chief Marketing Officer, P&amp;G India, and Vice President, Fabric Care, P&amp;G India, Josy Paul - Chairman &amp; Chief Creative Officer, <keyword id="198975" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bbdo-india" source="Orion">BBDO India</keyword>. The panel was moderated by Shibani Dandekar. In a never-seen-before act, celebrity guest Genelia D’Souza went invisible at the launch of Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad movement to drive a strong message- “If women are not being seen as equals by their partners, they are almost invisible in the relationship”. Genelia and Riteish, who embody an equal relationship, came forward to talk about the importance of equality within the household at the event<br /><br /> The vivacious Genelia said, “Not sharing the load, not seeing me as equal, would be a deal breaker. We Share the Load no matter what - be it with kitchen chores, parenting or laundry. There is nothing like his job or my job. It’s a world we have built, and we are in it together forever. I believe if you really love your spouse and see her as an equal, there is no reason why you won’t divide the chores or any tasks equally. I am so glad to see a brand like Ariel continuing to push for domestic equality and unearth such compelling insights that are sure to create conversations and action”<br /><br />Supporting the #ShareTheLoad movement, actor Riteish Deshmukh said, “Ariel’s #SeeEqual film is an eye opener for most men including me. While I have always tried to be Genelia’s best friend and her constant support, we men do at times tend to overlook piled-up laundry or a sink full of dirty utensils. This film is a reminder to be more conscious and aware, and deliberately try to overcome our conditioned mindsets. Share The Load should be a norm not an exception. Since change begins at home, I urge all everyone to treat their partners with equality and respect and most importantly See them as EQUAL. Because only when we See Equal, we ShareTheLoad equally.”<br /><br />“With Ariel #ShareTheLoad, we strive to trigger meaningful conversations that will help drive positive change. With #See Equal, we want to address years of unconscious bias and conditioning, which may be coming in the way of us all sharing the load. A recent World Economic Forum report claims that at the current pace of change, gender parity is still 135 years away! That is far too long for us to wait for something that comes naturally for men when they interact with each other. Interestingly, over 73% married men agreed that they did their share of household chores when they lived with other men. However, even now in urban India, less that 25 percent of households claim that men share the load equally. This year’s communication is based on this simple insight - when men can ShareTheLoad equally with other men, then why not with their wives? Because we know when we #SeeEqual, we #ShareTheLoad” said Sharat Verma, Chief Marketing Officer, P&amp;G India, and Vice President, Fabric Care, P&amp;G India.<br /><br />“We’ve taken a slightly different track in the latest film for Ariel #ShareTheLoad. There is a definite shift in the tonality. This time, it’s the woman who speaks for herself. It is the woman speaking her mind and sharing her point of view. The film is fully reflective of the reality of today’s times, where the woman refuses to accept inequality in her marriage. Research confirmed this. 88% women believe it is time to talk to men about doing their share of the household work equally. There is a sense of restlessness, an impatience in the women today at the pace of change. So, this film is also a means to encourage conversations so as to truly move us towards an equal tomorrow.” said Josy Paul, Chairman &amp; Chief Creative Officer, BBDO India.<br />

Ariel's latest ad asks, "If men can share the load equally with other men, why are they not doing it with their wives?"

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> has imposed a sweeping security law on <keyword id="24349" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hong-Kong">Hong Kong</keyword> in the wake of mass pro-democracy protests, passing it on Tuesday behind closed doors.</li><li>The bill is designed to clamp down on terrorism and subversion, says Beijing, but critics say it will be used to repress free speech and protests.</li><li>The contents of the bill have not been made public, and Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam refused at a press conference Monday to comment on them.</li></ul><p>China has imposed a sweeping new Hong Kong security law in the wake of pro-democracy mass protests in the region — but exactly what the law says is still unknown even after it passed. </p><p>The contents of the bill have yet to be published, and have been instead disseminated to the public via media reports and press briefings.</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-53230391">The BBC early</a> Wednesday morning confirmed that the controversial legislation had been approved by the Standing Committee of the People's National Congress, the Chinese government's main legislative body.</p><p>The Congress largely rubber-stamps decisions made by the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party.</p><p>Authorities in Beijing said they will only make public the full text after it is passed, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3090155/full-draft-national-security-law-hong-kong-will-only-be?onboard=true">the South China Morning Post</a> reported earlier in June. The officials did not say how long the gap would be between passage and publication.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Shibani Mahtani  (@ShibaniMahtani) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1277783222068248576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2020</a></blockquote><p>Hong Kong's chief executive, Carrie Lam, earlier told reporters that she was unable to disclose the content of the bill because it was still being deliberated by lawmakers in Beijing.</p><p>"I think at this moment, it is not appropriate for me to comment on any questions related to the <keyword id="1244470" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="National-Security-Law">national security law</keyword>," Lam told reporters, as quoted by <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200630-china-passes-hong-kong-security-law-reports">the AFP news agency. </a></p><p>Details of the bill, passed 40 days after it was first proposed, have been obtained by <a href="https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k2/1534894-20200630.htm">local news outlets, including RTHK, </a>which reported that it contains measures punishing offences classed as terrorism, subversion or collusion with foreign powers with tough prison sentences ranging from three years to life imprisonment.</p><p>According to Tam Yiu-chung, a pro-Beijing lawmaker who has briefed the media on the new law, <a href="https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/150078/Tam-Yiu-chung-says-law-a-deterrent">it will not include the death penalty</a>.</p><p>China says the tough new law is needed to quell violent unrest and return Hong Kong to stability. </p><p>Critics, including the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066682">United Nations human rights commissioner</a>, have expressed concern over the bill. </p><p>"The passing of the national security law is a painful moment for the people of Hong Kong and represents the greatest threat to <keyword id="52767" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Human-rights">human rights</keyword> in the city's recent history," said Joshua Rosenzweig, the head of Amnesty International's China team, in a statement. </p><p>"From now on, China will have the power to impose its own laws on any criminal suspect it chooses," he said.</p><p>Last year, mass protests swept Hong Kong after Beijing passed an extradition bill that critics say eroded the special legal status of Hong Kong.</p><p>The region was meant to be governed on different terms from the mainland as a condition of its return by the UK in 1997.</p>

China imposed a sweeping and sinister national security law on Hong Kong, but what it actually says is still a secret

New Delhi, Jan 12 () Quarterly earnings, inflation data and the much-awaited US-China trade deal signing would drive the equity markets this week, according to analysts.
<p> "Market wants to look forward where Q3 earnings and pre-Budget movement will be the theme of this week. In terms of earnings, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies and HDFC Bank will be key companies that will post their Q3 results this week," said Santosh Meena, Senior Research Analyst, TradingBells.
</p><p> He added that Infosys shares may react positively on Monday after the company's audit committee gave a clean chit to the management on allegations of misconduct.
</p><p> Infosys on Friday said the board's audit committee has completed the independent probe into the anonymous whistleblower allegations and found "no evidence" of financial impropriety or executive misconduct.
</p><p> The IT services major reported a 23.7 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,466 crore for the December quarter. The earnings were announced after market hours on Friday.
</p><p> "Markets will first react to IT major Infosys results in the early trade on Monday. Meanwhile, volatility would remain high on the stock-specific front due to prevailing earnings season and global uncertainty," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
</p><p> Among macroeconomic data announcements, retail and WPI inflation numbers will be released on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
</p><p> On the global front, with US-Iran tensions cooling off, focus will largely shift to the upcoming US-China trade deal signing.
</p><p> Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, Senior VP and Head of Equity Research, Shibani Kurian said, "From here on, the equity markets would focus on the upcoming Union Budget and also RBI policy at the start of February. Markets would also take cues from the Q3 FY20 earnings season with key focus being on management commentary on business outlook."
</p><p> Markets would on Monday may also react to industrial production data which was announced post market hours on Friday.
</p><p> The country's industrial output grew 1.8 per cent in November, turning positive after three months of contraction, on account of growth in the manufacturing sector.
</p><p> "Markets are heading for testing times given that the result season has set in and Budget parleys too will have to be digested in weeks to come. Volatility is expected to increase, although prices are not expected to move much till Budget. However, sector specific rallies are likely to continue," Jimeet Modi, Founder &amp; CEO, SAMCO Securities &amp; StockNote said.
</p> During the last week, the Sensex advanced 135.11 points or 0.32 per cent.   SUM ABM
ABM

Markets to eye earnings report card, inflation, global events this week: Analysts

<ul><li><strong>India's benchmark stock indices are set for the best April since 2009.</strong></li><li><strong>However, over half of those gains came in the last week of trading, and a big chunk of it Thursday, April 30. </strong></li><li><strong>At least three out of the top ten weekly gainers, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, and ICICI Bank,  were buoyed by hopes that loan defaults in India won't be as bad as previously expected.</strong></li><li><strong>Follow the latest news and highlights on businessinsider.in.</strong></li></ul>India's top ten listed companies together added a whopping ₹3.1 lakh crore to market capitalisation last week. In a week, shortened by a holiday, India's benchmark indices gained over 7%. However, the sharpest rise in percentage terms, among the blue-chip stocks, came from companies outside of the heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and the HDFC twins. <br /><br />American drug maker Gilead’s success in a clinical trial has given the world hope of finding a cure for COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. That led to an over- 1,000 point rally in the Sensex on Thursday (April 30) morning, in sync with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/dow-soars-530-points-as-coronavirus-treatment-optimism-overshadows-gdp-slump/articleshow/75460930.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">the optimism around the globe</a>. <br /><br />                              <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75459632" title="Indian-American-led clinical trial of remdesivir in COVID-19 treatment shows positive results" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br />The Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, have gone up 14% since April 3, but more than half of those gains came in the last week of trading ⁠— at a time when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/this-is-how-global-economies-are-expected-to-grow-in-the-first-year-after-coronavirus-pandemic/articleshow/75441608.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Moody’s slashed India’s growth forecast</a> for calendar year 2020 to 0.2%, from 2.5% it had projected in March, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/udaan-fires-half-its-contract-employees/articleshow/75357229.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">layoffs continue</a>, earnings from a top lender (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/axis-bank-q4-earnings-show-bad-loans-ease-but-ceo-amitabh-chaudhry-maintains-caution/articleshow/75429938.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Axis Bank</a>) disappointed, and some of the world’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/sachin-bansal-takes-the-same-line-as-donald-trump-and-elon-musk-let-people-work-and-live-with-coronavirus/articleshow/75453465.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">most influential billionaires</a> lost their patience with the economic shutdown. <br /><br />Though they had no impact on the market, two of India's most-talented Bollywood stars, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/irrfan-khans-inspiring-journey-from-chandrakanta-to-macbeth-to-a-father-struggling-to-get-his-child-into-a-school/articleshow/75445225.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Irrfan Khan</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/rishi-kapoor-passes-away-at-67/articleshow/75464201.cms?upache=2" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Rishi Kapoor</a>, passed away making the general mood a lot worse.<br /><br />While the bigger picture looked bleak, there were quiet celebrations happening in different pockets of the Indian share market. At least two out of the top ten weekly gainers, IndusInd Bank and HDFC, were buoyed by hopes that loan defaults in India won't be as bad as previously expected.<br /><br /><strong>Here’s a look at the top 10 gainers among the blue-chip stocks this week ending April 30:<br /></strong><br /><table style="width: 461pt;"> <colgroup></colgroup><col /> <col /> <col /> <tbody><tr> <td class="xl66" style="height:15.0pt;width:128pt"><strong>Stock</strong></td> <td class="xl67" style="border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 98pt;"><strong>Gains this week</strong></td> <td class="xl68" style="border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;"><strong>Trigger</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl69" style="height: 30pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Tata Motors </td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">23.93%</td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">Jaguar Land Rover has <a href="https://www.livemint.com/auto-news/jaguar-land-rover-recovers-up-to-75-production-in-china-as-demand-returns-11588159987336.html" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">restored three-fourths of its budgeted production</a> in China </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl69" style="height: 45pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">ONGC</td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">20.34%</td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">Raised ₹1,000 crore via commercial papers at a cheap rate of 4.13% per annum. This showed debt market’s strong interest in India’s largest explorer despite an oil crash that has hammered its cash flows, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/ongc-issues-cps-worth-rs-1000-crore-at-4-13-interest-rate/articleshow/75416400.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">the Economic Times reported</a>.<br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl69" style="height: 45pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">UPL</td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">19.76%</td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">The agrochemical maker said that the business is less affected by COVID crisis because farming continues with push from governments to ensure adequate food supply during lockdown. The company also repaid 30% of its debt in the last 3 months.</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl69" style="height: 45pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;"><a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/hindalco-industries-ltd/stocks/companyid-13637.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Hindalco</a><br /></td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">17.21%</td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/hindalco-novelis-completes-acquisition-of-aleris/articleshow/75151080.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Aleris acquisition turned out</a> to be better than expected. Hindalco decided to pay an additoinal $50 million due to the better than expected performance revealed in the latest results.<br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl69" style="height: 45pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/article/hero-moto-share-price-is-at-a-six-year-but-exports-karizma-and-xtreme-sports-can-help/articleshow/74190134.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Hero Motocorp</a></td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">17.05%</td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">The stock has been on an uptrend since mid April due to a host of reasons including hopes that COVID fears may push people to avoid public transport in the near future but not everyone may be able to afford a car </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl69" style="height: 30pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">GAIL India<br /></td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">15.74%<br /></td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">At the start of the week, the stock was down 50% in the last one year and nearly 20 'Buy' recommendations. <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl69" style="height: 60pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">Vedanta</td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">15.21%</td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">The rally in Vedanta was part of a larger change in sentiment in favour of metal stocks hoping for a reduction in competition from China.</td></tr><tr><td class="xl69" style="height: 60pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">HDFC<br /></td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">14.96%<br /><br /></td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">The IndusInd Bank experience eases fear of defaults by borrowers of India's largest mortgage lender.<br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl69" style="height: 45pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">HCL Tech</td> <td class="xl65" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">14.58%</td> <td class="xl70" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">Nomura gave a 'Buy' call on the stock on April 20 with a target price 25% higher. The stock has rallied since and is just ₹25 short of the target. <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xl71" style="height: 60.75pt; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none;">IndusInd Bank</td> <td class="xl72" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none;">13.82%</td> <td class="xl73" style="border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-left-width: initial; border-left-style: none; width: 235pt;">Earnings surprise as borrowers continue to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indusind-bank-shares-skyrocket-by-10-as-its-customers-choose-not-to-defer-paying-off-loans/articleshow/75425195.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">repay loan instalments</a><br /></td> </tr></tbody></table><em>There will be no trading on May 1 on account of Maharashtra Day celebrations.<br /></em><br />The money did not come from the foreign investors. They continued to be net sellers in the cash market for the fourth straight month. It was domestic institutional investors like mutual funds that bought the most in this rally. <br /><br />“Markets this week rallied from the lows seen in March 2020. After almost a month of lockdown the world over, early signs of easing of the same along with some signs of the flattening of the COVID -19 curve spurred hope of economic activity resuming albeit at a slow pace. Some promise of a possible cure with positive preliminary results of a few drugs also added to hope and optimism," Shibani Sircar Kurian, Executive Vice President, Fund Manager &amp; Head- Equity Research,Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company said.<br /><br />                              <div type="image" title="fii dii data" msid="75466705" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Foreign investors in Indian share market remain net sellers for the fourth straight month. &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />So, what does the road ahead look like? “The Fear Of Missing Out will drive many investors – including myself – off the sidelines," said Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, a global financial advisory firm. “Investor exuberance is contagious. As the markets move steadily higher - unfazed by the recent poor economic data from the peak of the pandemic – it can be expected that the uptick will further sharpen due to that powerful investor sentiment: FOMO," he added.<br /><br />If FOMO drives some of the global investors back to India, the rally may spillover into May. However, investors must also remember that the month of May is usually one where stocks underperform, leading to the widely-known adage "<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sell-in-may-and-go-away.asp" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">sell in may and go away</a>." Will May 2020 break the trend? <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indusind-bank-shares-skyrocket-by-10-as-its-customers-choose-not-to-defer-paying-off-loans/articleshow/75425195.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">IRCTC share price has jumped 30% in April so far despite the lockdown that’s halted trains, ticketing, and even Rail Neer sales</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tech-mahindra-shares-are-rising-ahead-of-earnings-because-every-two-out-of-five-rupees-in-revenue-come-from-telecom/articleshow/75445808.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Tech Mahindra shares are rising ahead of earnings because every two out of five rupees in revenue come from telecom⁠</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/article/a-corporate-lawyer-explains-why-indias-power-companies-cant-get-lower-tax-rate/articleshow/75442365.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Lawyers explain why India's power producers can't avail the lower tax rate</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/hero-moto-to-tech-mahindra-to-wipro-indias-top-ten-cheapest-stocks-investors-can-buy-now/articleshow/75007066.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">From Hero Moto to Tech Mahindra to Wipro ⁠— ten of India’s cheapest stocks that you could buy for bargain now</a><br /><br />

India's blue-chip indices see a dizzying rally this week⁠— these are the top ten gainers and what pumped them up

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56e97372910584cc5e8b68a4-2501-1876/rtr2ay0y.jpg" alt="Bull peeking" data-mce-source="Arko Datta/Reuters" data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C04WNMQB40YO&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1257&amp;RH=871" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C04WNMQB40YO&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1257&amp;RH=871">Arko Datta/Reuters</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The biggest Valeant bull on Wall Street has thrown in the towel.</p><p>Shibani Malhotra, of the Japanese investment bank Nomura, wrote in a note published to clients on Wednesday that she and her team had "lost conviction" in Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and she reduced her price target to $60 from $175.</p><p>The stock is trading at about $35.</p><p>"We admit upfront, we have been humbled by our stock call on VRX, which we have defended despite the continuing spate of bad news, as we believed that despite the noise surrounding the company, much of the fundamental businesses had been performing well," she wrote.</p><p>"Despite the fact that our new PT for $60 represents 79.1% potential upside, we do not expect VRX shares to outperform the market near term, as we have lost confidence in management's ability to understand its own business and to provide reliable guidance."</p><p>Malhotra had to change course after Tuesday, when Valeant's stock crashed 51% after management <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/valeant-q1-guidance-call-2016-3">seemed unprepared for its conference call</a>, which was filled with mismatching numbers, wild estimates, and unanswered questions. It was the culmination of a rout that started in October, when allegations of malfeasance from a short seller combined with government scrutiny over its drug pricing to bring the former Wall Street darling to its knees.</p><p>Malhotra's price target had been the second highest on the Street, and she has been more vocal than any other analyst in her support of the company.</p><p>She previously<span> questioned not Valeant's value, but the company's reaction to the controversy. She was a supporter of Valeant's previous business model and expressed fears that Valeant might be changing strategy in haste.</span></p><p>On the company's November 10 conference call, for example, she asked management if the company had moved too soon to drop Philidor, a mystery pharmacy at the heart of allegations from a short seller.</p><p><span>"You made a comment that Philidor management had assured you that they had done nothing wrong, in which case, was it premature for you to just stop working with the company?" she said.</span></p><p><span></span>She also called the allegations directed at the company "<span>misinformation or misunderstanding," and</span> she was unwavering in her support for Valeant CEO Michael Pearson. She described his return to the CEO role after a medical leave the "best case" for the company.</p><p>She wavered only at the end of last month, when Pearson decided to delay releasing Valeant's guidance.</p><p>"<span>Following our earlier note Pearson's Return is Best Case for Valeant, in which we wrote that Valeant's announcement that J. Michael Pearson is returning as the company's CEO is the best outcome following his medical leave, we wanted to clarify that this is because we see it as an indication that the board is comfortable with his prior stewardship of the company and does not believe he was involved in any misconduct during his tenure as CEO," she wrote.</span></p><p><span>Malhotra did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-speech-for-mark-zuckerberg-axel-springer-award-berlin-2016-2">Billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel explains precisely how Mark Zuckerberg changed the world</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="RrbDNkMTE6KF4LVuh3LthYN1-O6vJybj" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'RrbDNkMTE6KF4LVuh3LthYN1-O6vJybj',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The biggest Valeant bull on Wall Street has 'lost conviction'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56126ef0ecad046b30b21a47-800-600/molten-gold-smelting-pour-gold-bar-1.png" alt="Molten Gold Smelting Pour Gold Bar" data-mce-source="Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Sergio Alexander pours molten gold to make a 6.5 kg bar of gold at his melting laboratory in Los Angeles, California." /><p class="source"><span>Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Stocks closed in the red on Wednesday amid lower-than-usual trading volumes, and gold dropped to a five-year low as the bond market wasn't open for Veterans Day.</p><p>The energy sector led declines on the S&amp;P 500 amid a drop in oil prices.</p><p>First, the scoreboard:</p><ul><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Dow:</strong> </span>17,702.22, -55.99, (-0.32%)</li><li><strong>S&amp;P 500:</strong> 2,075.00, -6.72, (-0.32%)</li><li><strong>NASDAQ:</strong> 5,067.02, -16.22, (-0.32%)?</li></ul><p>And now, the top stories:</p><ol><li>Gold plunged to a five-year low. Gold futures for December delivery closed at $1,084.90 an ounce, down about 0.3% and at the lowest level since early 2010. Gold got crushed on Friday after the stellar jobs report that raised the market's confidence that the Fed could raise interest rates next month.</li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/crude-oil-prices-november-11-2015-11">Crude oil fell</a> to the lowest level in nearly three months. West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York dropped by as much as 3% to around $42.63 per barrel. Data due from the Energy Information Administration on Thursday are expected to show that US oil inventories rose for a seventh straight week, according to a Reuters poll. Already, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that inventories rose by 6.3 million barrels last week. This all adds to concerns about oversupply.</li><li>As this year runs out, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-us-economic-outlook-2016-2015-11">2016 market outlooks</a> have started rolling in. UBS's Julian Emanuel published the firm's forecasts on Tuesday. Its year-end target for the S&amp;P 500 is 2,275, but it's unlikely that we'll see a drop to 1,750 that would end the bull market in stocks, according to Emanuel. He wrote that, whether up or down, it's likely to be a wild ride for the stock market with lots of volatility, as rising risk is now normal. <span>Emanuel forecast an increase in S&amp;P 500 earnings per share from an estimated $120 this year to $126 next year, up 5% and driven by stronger GDP growth and consumer spending.</span></li><li><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/macys-stock-price-after-earnings-q3-2015-11">Macy's shares plunged</a> by as much as 14% after the department-store chain said that its sales growth was weak because of muted consumer demand. Sales fell 5% to $5.87 billion, below the expectation for $6.1 billion. Macy's also lowered its guidance for 2015 earnings per share, to a range of <span>$4.20 to $4.30 from $4.70 to $4.80. Shares are down 39% year-to-date.</span></span></li><li><span><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nomura-lowers-valeant-price-target-2015-11">Nomura lowered its price target on Valeant</a> Pharmaceuticals to $175 from $220. That's significant because the firm had been one of the most bullish on the company. <span>"Valeant's business update call did not address all our outstanding questions; however, management's willingness to be as open as possible in its responses was a positive first step towards rebuilding credibility with investors," wrote analyst Shibani Malhotra.</span></span></span></li></ol><p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-on-bond-market-liquidity-2015-11">Goldman Sachs has a scary warning for the bond market</a>.</strong></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/good-linkedin-photo-guide-networking-2015-11">How to take the perfect LinkedIn profile photo</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="x3aGVrcTr37d1QU1phoKanpvkRPCzFxW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'x3aGVrcTr37d1QU1phoKanpvkRPCzFxW',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

GOLD HITS 5-YEAR LOW: Here's what you need to know

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56e82355910584cc008b66b2-500-375/rtr3q0x9.jpg" alt="Michael Pearson" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="Michael Pearson, Valeant CEO" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Michael Pearson, Valeant CEO.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Wall Street just turned its back on Valeant Pharmaceuticals and its CEO Mike Pearson, and it is unlike anything we've seen before.</p><p>The company was a darling of The Street, and it remains a popular investment for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-valeant-2016-3">a bunch of well-known hedge funds</a>.</p><p>But on Tuesday it fell 40% as t<span>he company lowered guidance for 2016 to </span><span>$11 billion to $11.2 billion from December's guidance of $12.5 billion to $12.7 billion.</span></p><p>Pearson addressed Wall Street publicly for the first time since he took medical leave in December, leaving an interim CEO to face an aggressive congressional hearing on drug prices. </p><p>He came back to find that Wall Street had turned equally aggressive.</p><h2>Confidence is key</h2><p>The way analysts talked to CEO Mike Pearson Tuesday morning was the same way a parent talks to a teenager who just had the police called on their house party. It was the same way you talk to a dog that just chewed up the furniture. One analyst, David Marris of Wells Fargo, even asked Pearson if he would forego his golden parachute in the event that the board asked him to leave.</p><p>Pearson sounded completely clueless. He said he didn't even know he had a golden parachute totaling around $200 million. He also said he didn't know when the company would release its annual report, giving April as his best guess. Valeant will be penalized if it isn't released by March 16.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56e821a49105842a008b666e-940-702/screen shot 2016-03-15 at 8.08.20 am.png" alt="vrx slide can't provide" data-mce-source="Valeant" /><p class="source"><span>Valeant</span></p><p class="caption">This does not make investors happy.</p></div><p></p></div></div>It was just one of many missteps on the call led by a man who once could do no wrong on Wall Street. Fudged numbers, estimate changes, issues with the company's new business model and partners - the analysts, usually so lenient with Valeant - caught it all.</p><p>Before Valeant became a pariah, its CEO was a considered genius. He was the man who came up with the method to grow a pharmaceutical business without spending significant cash on expensive R&amp;D. He was the man who convinced billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman to help him acquire another pharmaceutical company.</p><h2>Not any longer</h2><p>To illustrate this turn, we should probably use one analyst specifically. Nomura's <span>Shibani Malhotra defended Valeant after it was attacked by a short-seller, writing that the short-sellers accusations were based on "gross misinformation." When it seemed the board might replace him she said that his ouster would mean the company would lose its "competitive advantage."</span></p><p><span>She took a very different tone Tuesday. She told Pearson that it was "difficult for us to fathom" that Valeant's Q4 revenue collapse was due to a misunderstanding between the company and its new partner, Walgreens.</span></p><p>"Management needs to rebuild credibility with investors," she said. She pointed out that the company lowered guidance far more than any investor anticipated.</p><p>"How can we be confident in what you're saying in the business given that you were positive in December and January and how can we get confident that Valeant is able to deliver for shareholders," she asked.</p><p>The call sounded like that over and over again. </p><p><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56e823d7910584155c8b6459-3237-2428/rts6cfx.jpg" alt="bill ackman" data-mce-source="Reuters" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Probably not smiling Tuesday morning.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p><h2><span>You're either making money or you're not</span></h2><p>The analysts didn't understand Valeant's cash flow. They didn't understand how the company, which generated around $300 million in cash in Q1, could possibly generate $2.3 billion (as projected) over the course of the year.</p><p>They were concerned too about the company's new model of relying on volume, rather than prices increases, fretting that this would simply not generate enough cash to satisfy all the needs of the business. Pearson is committed to paying down around $1 billion in debt in 2016, and the company hasn't managed to cut costs. It also has two product launches to handle this year.</p><p>One question they asked over and over was - will Valeant sell non-core businesses? Pearson could provide no color on that - not on which businesses are non-core, or on how much money a sale could generate. You can expect this to be a sticking point. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman has suggested an asset sale to raise cash, one Pearson rejected already.</p><p>There was one glaring error that crystallized Wall Street's frustration with the stock. It's pretty simple, and analysts brought it up over and over on the call. Earlier in the day, Valeant said that its <span>Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) for 2016 was expected to be ~$6.2 - $6.6 billion. On the slide presentation during the call, that number was changed to $6 billion.</span></p><p><span>The analysts called Pearson out on it. Hard. One by one. Until he was forced to apologize.</span></p><p><span><span>"It wasn't switched intentionally," he said. "It was the wrong number and we apologize."</span></span></p><p><span><span>Valeant is not in the position where it can make that kind of mistake.</span></span></p><h2><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsider.Finance/">Follow BI Finance on Facebook</a></strong></h2><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-speech-for-mark-zuckerberg-axel-springer-award-berlin-2016-2">Billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel explains precisely how Mark Zuckerberg changed the world</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="RrbDNkMTE6KF4LVuh3LthYN1-O6vJybj" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'RrbDNkMTE6KF4LVuh3LthYN1-O6vJybj',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

We've never seen Wall Street turn on a stock this violently before

<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5617cee2bd86ef10008c0899-1956-1467/rtr1fkqk.jpg" alt="man photographer volcano" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="A photographer takes a snap as Mount Etna spews lava on the southern Italian island of Sicily in the early hours of July 17, 2006." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Bill Ackman, the hedge fund billionaire, looked calm at the Bloomberg "Most Influential" Conference on Tuesday last week.</p><p class="p1">He usually does, especially when he's offering his help.</p><p class="p1"><span>"I guess maybe I could help Valeant with PR," he said with a chuckle. </span></p><p class="p1"><span>"They are not good at PR and perhaps government relations ... they went from being a very small pharma company to being a very big pharma company fairly quickly. And they're a bit of what I call an outsider company."</span></p><p class="p1">The crowd didn't share Ackman's sense of humor that day, it seemed, as no one else laughed.</p><p class="p1">Perhaps that's because Ackman, the ultimate insider, was defending a hedge fund darling that had seen better days. S<span>ince September 18, Valeant's stock has lost a quarter of its value.</span></p><p class="p1">Over the last two weeks especially, accusations that it arbitrarily and exorbitantly jacks up the prices of drugs it purchases into its portfolio while dramatically under spending its peers on R&amp;D have started flying at Valeant from all directions.</p><p class="p1">This year, Valeant raised the prices of its brand name drugs by 66%, Deutsche Bank said in a recent report. That's 5 times more than other drug companies in the space.</p><p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5617f7f99dd7cc04308b553b-671-503/screen shot 2015-10-08 at 7.03.34 pm.png" alt="bill ackman" data-mce-source="Bloomberg, screenshot" data-mce-caption="Bill Ackman at Bloomberg" /><p class="source"><span>Bloomberg, screenshot</span></p><p class="caption">Bill Ackman, the hedge fund billionaire, at Bloomberg.</p></div><p></p></div></div>House Democrats have even asked to subpoena the company and call its CEO to Washington to explain himself.</p><p class="p1">Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have both called out the company.</p><p class="p1">This price-gouging issue was brought to America's attention when hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli got a nationwide wag of the finger for j<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/martin-shkreli-update-on-daraprim-price-2015-10">acking up the price</a> of a drug he'd purchased by 5,000%.</p><p class="p1">The practice wasn't illegal of course, but it was arguably unethical - something that the market has never had much success at differentiating.</p><p class="p1">Bloomberg's Stephanie Ruhle made that ethics point - and brought up Shkreli - to Ackman during her interview.</p><p class="p1">"<span>That's not my favorite version of how to make money for sure," he responded.</span></p><p class="p1"><span>"And obviously those kind of glaring examples are going to attract a lot of attention. There's been a lot of attention on Valeant cuts dragged into the story. A very small part of Valeant's business is repricing drugs."</span></p><p class="p1">The question is, then, why has Valeant been dragged in? And what is its business anyway?</p><p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5616f3889dd7cc1d008c07ef-970-463/screen shot 2015-10-08 at 6.00.00 pm.png" alt="VRX one month" data-mce-source="Yahoo Finance" data-mce-caption="Valeant over the last month" /><p class="source"><span>Yahoo Finance</span></p><p class="caption">Valeant over the last month.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2 class="p1">Love it</h2><p>If you love Valeant, this is how you explain its business model:</p><p><span>Valeant "is not a company whose strategy can be easily categorized," said Nomura's Shibani Malhotra in a recent note, reassuring clients that the stock was still a buy.</span></p><p>Malhotra also said that it is not built on predatory pricing post acquisitions, but rather on efficient capital allocation.</p><p><span>Ackman explains it in much the same way. He also says that it has had a "massive contribution to drug development, almost more than any other company" despite the fact that its peers spend 15%-20% of their revenue on R&amp;D to its 3%.</span></p><p><span>"</span>Valeant doesn't pay dividends, so it's no cash leaving the system," Ackman said on Tuesday. "And it's not buying back stock, right. So they generate a lot of cash flow. Where does it go? Well, they spend about 3 percent of revenues on R&amp;D."</p><p><span>Ackman continued: "<span>They spend money building plants to make pharmaceuticals. They pay their employees. Valeant believes that they are not good at drug development, i.e., or really coming up with new molecules and taking them all the way to the approval process.</span></span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5617ce77bd86ef1b008c0942-3071-2303/rtx1dn8o.jpg" alt="Valeant CEO Mike Pearson" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Christinne Muschi" data-mce-caption="Michael Pearson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, poses following their annual general meeting in Laval, Quebec May 19, 2015." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Christinne Muschi</span></p><p class="caption">Michael Pearson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, poses following their annual general meeting in Laval, Quebec May 19, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div>"That's a - has been historically a very low return business."</span></p><p>And no one wants a difficult, low return business by definition.</p><p>Instead, Valeant focuses on marketing and distributing the drugs it acquires through M&amp;A. That is what the company believes it is good at.</p><p>To make that happen, though, it must increase the prices of the drugs it acquires, according to Ackman.</p><p>An unfortunate side effect, according to this argument.</p><p>So where a traditional drug company raises prices so that it can work on the next innovation, Valeant is raising prices so that it can buy the latest innovation.</p><p>"<span>Now if you regulate prices, if you say you can't charge market for a drug, that's going to reduce the profit," Ackman said.</span></p><p><span>"</span><span>That's going to reduce the cash they have to buy the next drug company. That's going to reduce the returns the entrepreneur, the scientist, the startup can receive starting a drug company."</span></p><h2>Hate it</h2><p class="p1">If you hate Valeant, this is how you explain its business model:</p><p class="p1">Valeant jacks up the prices of the drugs it purchases because it doesn't grow organically. In fact, for years short-sellers have accused the company of being a roll-up - a company that uses aggressive accounting to appear healthier than it is.</p><p class="p1">"Drug revenues have always been a withering asset class; even more so for Valeant's strategy of buying mature drugs already in the market," wrote short-selling firm Citron Research in a recent note.</p><p class="p1">"Attrition of drug revenues is normal in the pharma business, as newer products, better treatments, expiring patents and competition from generics all eat away earlier-achieved revenue runs."</p><p class="p1">For most companies, this is a cyclical thing as old drugs get older and new drugs go into the pipeline. But since all of Valeant's drugs are old, its detractors posit that it has to raise the prices of all the drugs it acquires.</p><p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5617cb819dd7cc01308b5380-800-354/screen shot 2015-10-09 at 9.51.25 am.png" alt="pharma average price increase" data-mce-source="Morgan Stanley" /><p class="source"><span>Morgan Stanley</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p class="p1">Last year, Ackman unsuccessfully tried to help Valeant buy Allergan, another pharmaceutical company. Allergan also claimed that Valeant had no organic growth. On top of that, it was concerned that Valeant would take Allergan's R&amp;D cash to do M&amp;A deals, acquire more companies and move on.</p><p class="p1"><span>And it needs that cash. Because Valeant's valuation is low as measured by P/E, it's not very attractive for them to use their stock to finance M&amp;A. After its failed Allergan purchase attempt, Valeant acquired another drug company, Salix, in an all cash deal.</span></p><h2 class="p1">And then there's the consumer</h2><p class="p1">"Obviously if you're a consumer and all of the sudden your drug goes up in price, that's something you're going to be sensitive to," said Ackman on Tuesday, "but very few people pay gross price."</p><p class="p1">What does it matter if you're not paying gross price, though, if the price you're paying is still too high?</p><p class="p1">That, according to the <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/07b928cc-6bd9-11e5-aca9-d87542bf8673.html#axzz3o4nDhVRc">Financial Times</a>, is what Berna Wilson experienced when Valeant increased the price of Syprine, a drug used to treat a rare condition called Wilson's disease. Despite having good insurance, her out of pocket cost went from $510 a year in 2010 to $12,000 a year in 2014.</p><p class="p1">That's some kind of gross price.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-raised-the-price-of-a-pill-5000-percent-is-doubling-down-2015-9">The CEO who raised the price of a life-saving pill 5,000% is doubling down</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="4xZm9udzobolP_ZeZXG2IBoQ3LWSOQUU" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '4xZm9udzobolP_ZeZXG2IBoQ3LWSOQUU',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

One of the hottest debates in hedge funds is starting to boil over

<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5617cee2bd86ef10008c0899-1956-1467/rtr1fkqk.jpg" alt="man photographer volcano" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="A photographer takes a snap as Mount Etna spews lava on the southern Italian island of Sicily in the early hours of July 17, 2006." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Bill Ackman looked calm at the Bloomberg 'Most Influential' Conference on Tuesday.</p><p class="p1">He usually does, especially when he's offering his help.</p><p class="p1"><span>"I guess maybe I could help Valeant with PR," he said with a chuckle. </span></p><p class="p1"><span>"They are not good at PR and perhaps government relations ... they went from being a very small pharma company to being a very big pharma company fairly quickly. And they're a bit of what I call an outsider company."</span></p><p class="p1">The crowd didn't share Ackman's sense of humor that day, it seemed, as no one else laughed.</p><p class="p1">Perhaps that's because Ackman (the ultimate insider) was defending a hedge fund darling that had seen better days. S<span>ince Sept. 18th, Valeant's stock has lost a quarter of its value.</span> </p><p class="p1">Over the last two weeks especially, accusations that it arbitrarily and exorbitantly jacks up the prices of drugs it purchases into its portfolio while dramatically under spending its peers on R&amp;D have started flying at Valeant from all directions.</p><p class="p1">This year, Valeant raised the prices of its brand name drugs by 66%, Deutsche Bank said in a recent report. That's 5 times more than other drug companies in the space.</p><p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5617f7f99dd7cc04308b553b-671-503/screen shot 2015-10-08 at 7.03.34 pm.png" alt="bill ackman" data-mce-source="Bloomberg, screenshot" data-mce-caption="Bill Ackman at Bloomberg" /><p class="source"><span>Bloomberg, screenshot</span></p><p class="caption">Bill Ackman at Bloomberg</p></div><p></p></div></div>House Democrats have even asked to subpoena the company and call its CEO to Washington to explain himself.</p><p class="p1">Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have both called out the company.</p><p class="p1">This price gauging issue was brought to America's attention when hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli got a nation-wide wag of the finger for j<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/martin-shkreli-update-on-daraprim-price-2015-10">acking up the price</a> of a drug he'd purchased by 5,000%.  </p><p class="p1">The practice wasn't illegal of course, but it was arguably unethical - something that the market has never had much success at differentiating.</p><p class="p1">Bloomberg's Stephanie Ruhle made that ethics point - and brought up Shkreli - to Ackman during her interview.</p><p class="p1">"<span>That's not my favorite version of how to make money for sure," he responded.</span><span>  </span></p><p class="p1"><span>"And obviously those kind of glaring examples are going to attract a lot of attention.</span><span> </span><span>There's been a lot of attention on Valeant cuts dragged into the story.</span><span>  A v</span><span>ery small part of Valeant's business is repricing drugs."</span></p><p class="p1">The question is, then, why has Valeant been dragged in? And what is its business anyway?</p><p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5616f3889dd7cc1d008c07ef-970-463/screen shot 2015-10-08 at 6.00.00 pm.png" alt="VRX one month" data-mce-source="Yahoo Finance" data-mce-caption="Valeant over the last month" /><p class="source"><span>Yahoo Finance</span></p><p class="caption">Valeant over the last month</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2 class="p1">Love it.</h2><p>If you love Valeant, this is how you explain its business model:</p><p><span>Valeant "is not a company whose strategy can be easily categorized," said Nomura's <span>Shibani Malhotra in a recent note reassuring clients that the stock was still a buy.</span></span></p><p>Malhotra also said that it is <span>not built on predatory pricing post acquisitions, but rather on efficient capital allocation.</span></p><p><span>Ackman explains it in much the same way. He also says that it has had a <span>"massive contribution to drug development, almost more than any other company" despite the fact that its peers spend 15%-20% of their revenue on R&amp;D to its 3%.</span></span></p><p><span>"</span>Valeant doesn't pay dividends, so it's no cash leading the system," Ackman said on Tuesday.<span> </span><span>"</span>And not buying back stock, right.<span> </span>So they generate a lot of cash flow. Where does it go?<span> </span>Well, they spend about 3 percent of revenues on R&amp;D."</p><p><span>Ackman continued: "<span>They spend money building plants to make pharmaceuticals.</span><span>  </span><span>They pay their employees. </span>Valeant believes that they are not good at drug development, i.e., our really coming up with new molecules and taking them all the way to the approval process.</span><span>  </span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5617ce77bd86ef1b008c0942-3071-2303/rtx1dn8o.jpg" alt="Valeant CEO Mike Pearson" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Christinne Muschi" data-mce-caption="Michael Pearson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, poses following their annual general meeting in Laval, Quebec May 19, 2015." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Christinne Muschi</span></p><p class="caption">Michael Pearson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, poses following their annual general meeting in Laval, Quebec May 19, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div>"That's a - has been historically a very low return business."</span></p><p>And  no one wants a difficult, low return business by definition.</p><p>Instead, Valeant focuses on marketing and distributing the drugs it acquires through M&amp;A. That is what the company believes it is good at.</p><p>To make that happen, though, it must increase the prices of the drugs it acquires, according to Ackman.</p><p>An unfortunate side effect, according to this argument.</p><p>So where an traditional drug company raises prices so that it can work on the next innovation, Valeant is raising prices so that it can by the last innovation.</p><p>"<span>Now if you regulate prices, if you say you can't charge market for a drug, that's going to reduce the profit," Ackman said.</span><span> </span></p><p><span>"</span><span>That's going to reduce the cash they have to buy the next drug company.</span><span> </span><span>That's going to reduce the returns the entrepreneur, the scientist, the startup can receive starting a drug company."</span></p><h2>Hate it.</h2><p class="p1">If you hate Valeant, this is how you explain its business model:</p><p class="p1">Valeant jacks up the prices of the drugs it purchases because it doesn't grow organically. In fact, for years short-sellers have accused the company of being a roll-up - a company that uses aggressive accounting to appear healthier than it actually is.</p><p class="p1">"Drug revenues have always been a withering asset class; even more so for Valeant's strategy of buying mature drugs already in the market," wrote short selling firm Citron Research in a recent note.</p><p class="p1">"Attrition of drug revenues is normal in the pharma business, as newer products, better treatments, expiring patents and competition from generics all eat away earlier-achieved revenue runs."</p><p class="p1">For most companies, this is a cyclical thing as old drugs get older and new drugs go into the pipeline. But since all of Valeant's drugs are old, its detractactors posit that it has to raise the prices of all the drugs it acquires.</p><p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5617cb819dd7cc01308b5380-800-354/screen shot 2015-10-09 at 9.51.25 am.png" alt="pharma average price increase" data-mce-source="Morgan Stanley" /><p class="source"><span>Morgan Stanley</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p class="p1">Last year, Ackman unsuccessfully tried to help VRX buy Allergan, another pharmaceutical company. Allergan also claimed that Valeant had no organic growth. On top of that, it was concerned that Valeant would take Allergan's R&amp;D cash to do M&amp;A deals, acquire more companies and move on.</p><p class="p1"><span>And it needs that cash. Because VRX's valuation is low as measured by P/E, it's not very attractive for them to use their stock to finance M&amp;A. After its failed Allergan purchase attempt, Valeant acquired another drug company, Salix, in an all cash deal.</span></p><h3 class="p1">Oh and then there's the consumer ...</h3><p class="p1">"Obviously if you're a consumer and all of the sudden your drug goes up in price, that's something you're going to be sensitive to," said Ackman on Tuesday, "but very few people pay gross price."</p><p class="p1">What does it matter if you're not paying gross price, though, if the price you're paying is still too high?</p><p class="p1">That, according to the <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/07b928cc-6bd9-11e5-aca9-d87542bf8673.html#axzz3o4nDhVRc">Financial Times</a>, is what Berna Wilson experienced when Valeant increased the price of Syprine, a drug used to treat a rare condition called Wilson's disease. Despite having good insurance, her out of pocket cost went from $510 a year in 2010 to $12,000 a year in 2014. <span> </span></p><p class="p1"><span>That's some kind of gross price.</span> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-raised-the-price-of-a-pill-5000-percent-is-doubling-down-2015-9">The CEO who raised the price of a life-saving pill 5,000% is doubling down</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="4xZm9udzobolP_ZeZXG2IBoQ3LWSOQUU" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '4xZm9udzobolP_ZeZXG2IBoQ3LWSOQUU',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

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