Hold LIC Housing Finance; target Rs 160: ICICIdirect.com

"LIC Housing Finance (LICHF) delivered a strong set of numbers as profitability improved 36 percent YoY to Rs 311 crore, which was above our estimates owing to higher-than-expected NII growth of 29.7 percent YoY and lower credit cost. The asset quality, especially in the retail segment, witnessed some pressure that was in-line with seasonal trends. The developer segment witnessed slippages of merely ~Rs 7 crore. We have lowered our estimates by 20 percent+ for FY14E, FY15E, considering the strained economic scenario, which could impact growth along with quality. Margin improvement may be stalled owing to rise in short to medium term rates."

"We have lowered our estimates and the target multiple from 1.65x (five year average) to 1.0x as we factor in a lower loan growth, margins and incorporate higher credit cost. Accordingly, we have reduced the target price from Rs 290 to Rs 160 and recommend HOLD rating on the stock," says ICICIdirect.com research report.

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Home finance companies bet big on education loans

CHENNAI: Housing finance companies are not just targeting young professionals or double income couples with home loan offers. They have now expanded their reach to the growinguniverse of students aspiring for higher education. 

What's driving the foray is the boom in professional courses. As per industry estimates, around Rs 80,000 crore was spent on higher education by Indians last year, most of it in pursuit of professional degrees. Currently, there are more than 15-16 million students in colleges and technical institutes across the country and an additional quarter of a million on campuses overseas. The sector is growing at 20%-22% annually. 

In recent years, the loan business has also 'democratized' with takers from both upper as well as lower income groups. 

California allowed to force-feed hunger-striking prisoners, judge rules

U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson, responding to a request by state authorities, ruled that California prison doctors may force-feed select inmates near death, even if they had previously signed orders asking not to be resuscitated.

Some 136 California inmates are currently taking part in a hunger strike that began July 8 in prisons statewide to demand an end to a policy of housing inmates believed to be associated with gangs in near-isolation for years. Some 69 of the striking inmates have refused food continuously since the strike began.

RECOMMENDED: 10 weird criminal sentences

This is the second time prisoners have launched a hunger strike to protest the state's practice of housing some inmates for years in its four Security Housing Units.

About 4,500 prisoners were housed in the units when the strike began, officials said. State officials say the units are needed to stem the influence of prison gangs – and in fact, administrators have repeatedly characterized the hunger strike as a power grab by gang leaders.

But the state's policy of housing prisoners for years in these units has been condemned by a number of human rights organizations, including Amnesty International. And at least one prisoner on the hunger strike has said that he is willing to die to make his point that the detentions are inhumane.

The hunger strike is the latest problem to plague the state's prison system, which is under federal court order to reduce crowding by the end of the year, possibly by releasing up to 10,000 inmates early.

The hunger strike launched last month has already gone on twice as long as a similar protest in 2011 and has attracted more prisoners – 30,000 at its peak – although numbers have since dramatically dwindled.

Now well into a second month without food, dozens of inmates have been sent to hospitals, officials said.

Prior to the judge's decision on Monday, California policy prohibited force-feeding of inmates on a hunger strike if they had signed medical orders refusing resuscitation in the event they lost consciousness or experienced heart failure.

But officials went to court to seek permission to ignore these "do-not-resuscitate" orders for inmates who signed them during the hunger strike or just prior to it, citing concerns about possible coercion.

Henderson wrote in his order that in view of those concerns, a "do not resuscitate" order signed by such inmates would be "deemed not valid."

ERRING ON THE SIDE OF LIFE

A lawyer for some of the hunger strikers said she was not aware of inmates being coerced.

"They're exaggerating this," said inmate advocate Carol Strickman, adding that the state should not ignore inmates' wishes in such matters of life and death. "As much as I don't want to see anybody die, some people were choosing to sign those requests and some were not."

Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the federal receiver in charge of medical care in the prisons, said Monday's request to invalidate the more recent "do-not-resuscitate" orders was not made on an emergency basis, and that no one was force-fed on Monday as a result.

Rather, she said, officials were trying to be proactive, so the new rules would be in place as inmates continued to become sick from refusing food.

"Inmates can deteriorate rather quickly when they have starved themselves for this long period of time so we wanted to make sure we had the order in place ... for us to be able to save their lives," Hayhoe said.

Hayhoe conceded that some of the "do-not-resuscitate" orders put in place during the hunger strike were submitted after prison medical officials advised inmates that this was the only way to avoid force-feeding. But she said officials with the Department of Corrections had presented compelling evidence that some inmates had indeed been coerced.

"It's better to err on the side of life," she said.

Hayhoe said she had talked to two inmates at California State Prison, Corcoran, who refused food or medical care because they were afraid other prisoners would find out if they didn't.

All three groups involved in a years-long lawsuit over conditions in the prisons signed on to the request to invalidate the "do-not-resuscitate" orders – the lawyers who brought a suit challenging the poor medical care and overcrowded conditions, the federal receiver, and state prison officials.

Prosecutor in Manning case calls for 60-year prison sentence

FT. MEADE, Md. — Military prosecutors in the court-martial of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning asked the judge Monday to sentence him to at least 60 years in prison, arguing that his leaks of classified documents severely damaged U.S. intelligence operations and made a mockery of the country's diplomatic missions.

"There may be no soldier in the history of the Army who displayed such an extreme disregard," Army Capt. Joe Morrow said of the 25-year-old former junior intelligence analyst in Iraq. "At least 60 years is justified. Pfc. Manning is young. He deserves to spend the majority of his remaining life in prison."

But Manning's legal defense team, led by David Coombs, said the government was "only interested in punishment" rather than "the needs of the individual soldier" and urged the judge to hand down a term short enough to permit Manning to make parole and someday return to society.

"The defense requests a sentence that allows him to have a life," he said.

The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, said she would begin considering the sentence Tuesday. The maximum she could give Manning is 90 years, without the ability to apply for parole until he has served a third of his term.

In the trial, prosecutors portrayed Manning as having acted as an arm of Al Qaeda by giving the group access to 700,000-plus confidential diplomatic cables, war logs and terrorism detainee assessments when he provided the cache in 2010 to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.

The defense characterized him as a whistle-blower who wanted the public to see secret material that he believed proved the United States was being untruthful in how it was carrying out two wars and international diplomacy.

The judge acquitted Manning of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, but convicted him on others, including six counts of violating the Espionage Act.

Morrow, in his half-hour presentation, also asked that Manning pay a fine of $100,000 to help defray the costs of assessing the damage he caused with the leaks, which had made their way to Al Qaeda's leader.

"The information was found in the digital media of Osama bin Laden," he said.

He noted that Manning filled a "most wanted list" of classified documents sought by WikiLeaks and knew exactly how to circumvent safeguards protecting secret material. "Pfc. Manning was fully aware of the weaknesses in the system, and he took full advantage of those weaknesses," the prosecutor said.

In asking for 60 years, Morrow told the judge: "This court must send a message. National security crimes that undermine the entire system must be taken seriously."

And Morrow dismissed contentions from the defense that Manning might not have leaked the material if he had received mental health counseling because he was gay and struggling with a "gender identity disorder." Morrow pointed out that there are thousands of gay and lesbian military service members who have not betrayed their military oaths.

The Army does not question Manning's inner struggles over whether to become a woman, Morrow concluded. "Our problem is with what he did."

Coombs described a completely different Manning.

He said his client was "young, naive, had limited experience and good intentions" when he began leaking the material to spark a debate to end the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"He really believed this information could make a difference," Coombs said. "More importantly, he did not believe this information could be used to harm the United States."

Further, Coombs charged that the Army let Manning down by not recognizing his emotional problems, getting him therapy and moving him out of the combat area southeast of Baghdad. He said Manning was "crying out for assistance," yet his commanders did little or nothing to help him. He called it an "utter failure to take action," implying that had Manning been helped, he never would have leaked the documents.

Coombs concluded by saying he had expected the government to ask for 40 years, not 60. He showed a slide presentation to the judge about the last four decades. There were pictures of the moon landing, the Supreme Court deciding Roe vs. Wade, President Nixon and Watergate. There were pictures of cellphones, the movie "E.T." and President Clinton on Inauguration Day.

The images, he told the judge, showed how long 40 years is — and how much longer 60 years would be.

Manning has already served three years, Coombs observed, and despite harsh jail conditions — for a while he was held naked in solitary confinement — he said Manning still hoped to turn his life around.

"This is a young man capable of being redeemed," the defense lawyer said.