As per statistics, two-thirds of the total corporate borrowings are by firms whose stock prices are hovering around multi-year lows. As a result, the gap between the outstanding liabilities of these companies and their market capitalisation has been widening. This is indeed a worrying sign for banks. Even if they were to resort to wholesale selling of pledged promoters' shares, they would be able to recover just a small portion of the dues. This is a major risk to the banking sector we believe. The chart of the day shows the five most indebted corporate houses in India. As is evident, the total market capitalisation of all the listed entities of each group is significantly lower than their total borrowings. Data source: Business Standard *Aggregate market capitalisation of all listed group companies; **Consolidated borrowings of all group companies for the year ended March 2012

Extravagance Is no Longer a Luxury In Bharat VIJAYA RATHORE NEW DELHI      If you were to name the country’s most fashionable cities, Indore is unlikely to make the list. But luxury handbag brand Judith Leiber, which sells just about 300 of its pricey bags in the whole of India in a year, recently sold 30 pieces priced anywhere from . 25,000 to over . 3 lakh in this central Indian city through a special sale event held in partnership with an existing client. “It was a unique experience for the people of Indore, which worked well for the brand,” says Harshvardhan Bhatia, founder of HI Diamonds, who partnered the trunk show. Buoyed, the American brand will return to the city next month with a similar event with the same partner. Judith Leiber is part of a growing club of luxury goods and service providers that find innovative ways to reach small towns and cities where there is no luxury infrastructure but people have as much money and taste for luxury...