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The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has implemented stricter rules for carrying lithium batteries and power banks on aircraft, allowing only cabin storage, limiting capacities, and banning in-flight charging to enhance safety.

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Key Points

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has implemented stricter safety rules for carrying lithium batteries and power banks on aircraft, aligning with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

Power banks can only be carried in cabin baggage, with a maximum capacity of 100 watt-hours permitted. Those between 100 Wh and 160 Wh require airline approval, and passengers may carry a maximum of two. Charging devices during flights is prohibited.

CAAT’s regulations arise from recent lithium battery incidents, urging travelers to check airline guidelines and adhere to rules to protect passengers and crew during flights.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has introduced new rules governing the carriage of lithium batteries and power banks on aircraft, tightening safety requirements in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. 

Under CAAT Regulation No. 122 on the Criteria, Procedures, and Conditions for Carrying Lithium Batteries on Aircraft, power banks may only be carried in cabin baggage and are strictly prohibited in checked luggage. Power banks with a capacity of up to 100 watt-hours (Wh), or approximately 20,000 mAh, are permitted, while those exceeding 100 Wh but not 160 Wh require prior airline approval. Each passenger may carry a maximum of two power banks.

The regulation also bans charging power banks on an aircraft or using them to charge mobile phones and other electronic devices during a flight. Power banks may not be stored in overhead compartments and must instead be kept in easily accessible locations, such as a seat pocket, under the seat in front, or on the passenger’s person. Devices without a clearly displayed energy rating or with unverifiable specifications are also prohibited. Passengers are required to take precautions against short circuits by using original packaging or protective cases.

CAAT said the new requirements follow a number of lithium battery-related incidents reported by airlines in Thailand and overseas in recent years, including cases involving cabin smoke, onboard fires, emergency landings, and evacuations. The authority urged travelers to review airline requirements before departure and comply with the regulations to help ensure the safety of passengers, crew members, and flight operations. 

Source : Thailand Tightens Rules on Power Banks During Flights

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NEW DELHI: Dalal Street is expected to see range-bound trading this week in the absence of any major trigger either on the domestic or global front, say analysts.

“Though the market has been moving up it seems to be running out of steam as the indices are still moving within a strong range,” according to broking house ICICI Direct.

“In terms of valuation and from the angle of risk-return trade-off also, the domestic market is looking slightly vulnerable and is likely to see some downward correction in the short-term,” it adds.

Despite the overall rise, the domestic market has been under-performing against most of its global peers including China, which has seen a 19% rise in the same time period.

“Investors are cautious and the market is likely to see a side-way trading this week,” said Bonanza Portfolio assistant vice-president for research Avinash Gupta.

Analysts further say, following the negative global cues, the market may open with negative bias on Monday, however, it may bounce back later on fund inflow.
“Tracking the weak US and European markets, Dalal Street may open with a negative bias on Monday. However, FIIs are still bullish about the India growth story and a sustained inflow will help the market to bounce-back,” said Geojit BNP Paribas research head Alex Mathews.Foreign Institutional Investors are positive on the domestic market and last week itself infused a net of `5,590 crore in local stocks, taking their total investment so far in 2010 to `51,185 crore as per the data with Sebi.

“Global parameters will be important to decide the direction of the domestic markets,” added Mr Mathews .

On the domestic front, the faster progress of the monsoon remains the key factor for the market. The IIP figures for June, which are due this week, will also be important and needs to be watched.

Domestic markets recovered during the past week and both indices made their fresh 2010 highs, as FIIs continued their buying spree. On a week-on-week basis, the Sensex went up by about 276 points, or 1.5%, to close at 18,143.99.

On Friday, Wall Street too settled in the red on sluggish jobs market data and unimpressive July retail sales figures. The Dow Jones lost 0.20% and S&P 500 ended 0.37% lower.

Mumbai: Valuations have been the big buzzword on Dalal Street for a while now but its suddenly gaining momentum. These days every conversation begins with the P/E ratio (price to earning ratio, which compares the current price of the share with its per share earnings) and ends with a loud proclamation that the valuations look ‘a bit stretched.’

However, many experts believe that looking at a ratio in isolation won’t help investors grasp the realities of the market and a higher valuation may not be the only deciding factor driving the market.

‘‘Valuations matter in the long run, but it need not have an impact in the short run. This is because there is never a right valuation for a stock, as it is a highly individual call,’’ says Mukesh Dedhia, director, Ghalla & Bhansali Securities.

‘‘For example, a stock with a higher P/E may be moving ahead further as there is greater demand for the stock because of its higher earnings possibility. So, there is always a bit of confusion about the right valuation,’’ he adds.

‘‘If you look at the broader market, it is difficult to get a value pick. But if you are doing a bottom up method, you would still find many stocks in the market with the right valuation,’’ says Rajiv Thakkar, CEO, Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services. Though he is a firm believer of value investing, he says looking at a ratio alone won’t be the right way to investing in a stock.

‘‘There are many things you have to consider. For example, you have to find out whether the growth rate is sustainable or how much capital is required to keep the growth. Sometimes, there would be volume growth, but the margins could be under pressure. There are a host of issues to consider, just looking at a ratio is not enough,’’ he adds.
Some experts also believe that the higher valuations could be justified if foreign investors continue to pump money into the stock market with the hope of better performance by Indian companies.

‘‘The current valuations doesn’t justify the long term growth potential of India. The market is trading 17 times the earnings potential in 2011 and around 13.8 times the earnings forecast for 2012. It even carry a premium of around 50% to other emerging markets and around 25% premium to other global markets,’’ says Devendra Nevgi, Founder & Principal Partner, Delta Global Partners. He believes that the premium can be justified if the foreign investors continue to bet on Indian stocks.

Lululemon Athletica LULU -8.56%decrease; red down pointing triangle cut its outlook for the year, citing fresh challenges, including a spike in negative commentary around the brand and a lackluster response to new products.

The headwinds derailed what the athleisure company said were some budding signs of positive traction in the fiscal first quarter as it worked to improve results in North America, its largest market.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

The Nifty started Wednesday’s trade on a rather timid note. As the underlying index was quietly drifting downwards, the futures started trading at a deeper discount of nearly 10 points.

It was the last hour of trade that saw better volumes and a sharp movement. The fall amid global uncertainties has brought the Nifty once again to the level of 5400. Even the participation seems to be a little scared, as Nifty futures ended the day’s trade with an addition of over a million shares in open interest indicating creation of hedges.

As far as stock futures are concerned, we are very near to the highest-ever open interest with 195 crore shares in open interest. With nearly 70% of the stocks still trading with a premium, the bias among participants seems to be upwards. This would create a bit of pressure on the market in case of any macro uncertainty.

As we are almost half way through to expiry, it makes sense to continue with long positions, but along with long puts simultaneously so that losses are capped, still keeping all the upside open.

On the options side, Nifty August series open interest put-call ratio is at 1:58, indicating a moderately bullish composition. Even the implied volatilities element of the options which indicate the assumption of the risk remains very low. This indicates we may not see a huge downside as far as the August expiry is concerned. With over 10 million shares in 5300 August Put, the Nifty may find support around the level of 5300.

We feel one can do a Nifty bear ratio spread to hedge trading longs, by buying 1 lot Nifty August 5400 PE & selling 2 lots of Nifty August 5300 PE.
This strategy accrues profit within the 5200 & 5400 range in case the Nifty ends up in this range on expiry. On the event the Nifty heads upwards to close above 5400, one can still have a cash inflow and no cost of hedging. The strategy does incur loss below 5200, which we feel shall hold good for the August expiry.

(Bhavin Desai is Manager (derivatives), Motilal Oswal Securities )

Indian funds have grabbed seven out of the top 10 spots in the league table of leading small-cap funds across Asia, thanks to some canny stock-picking amid growing investor appetite for cheap stocks with potential to deliver multi-bagger returns.

An analysis of nearly 300 Asian small-cap schemes shows DSP BlackRock Micro Cap Fund leading the charge, delivering an 82% return over the past year. Managed by Vinit Sambre, who has been with DSP BlackRock for a little over three years, this fund has also soundly beaten the 58% rise of BSE’s Small-Cap Index since August 2009. The 30-share benchmark Sensex has gained 20% during this period while the wider BSE 500 Index is up 27%.

The other six schemes — Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Small Cap, HSBC Small Cap, JPMorgan Smaller Companies, Franklin India Prima, Franklin India Smaller Companies and ING Vysya CUB — have given investors returns between 44% and 57% on a trailing 12-month basis. These schemes manage anywhere between `46 crore and `954 crore.

Four of these funds were launched during the peak of the previous bull run between January 2007 and March 2008, and investors in them have also had to endure a massive erosion in their initial investment in the downturn that followed.

Mutual fund tracking firm Value Research called the DSP fund as an impressive product in the entire “small-cap universe”, noting that the stocks held by it were “credible, known names and there is a marked absence of momentum in the portfolio”. The fund’s holding includes companies with a high return on equity and strong leadership niches in their industries.

Value Research CEO Dhirendra Kumar said the closed-ended nature of some of these funds helped them weather the market turbulence. “These funds did not face redemption pressures through the declining phase. This, in turn helped them invest for the longer term,” he said.The DSP fund became open-ended in June this year and fund manager Mr Sambre has kept nearly 10% of his `311-crore corpus in cash to meet potential redemptions and to latch onto any opportunity in the market.

There are 10 small-cap funds in India, which manage roughly `3,450 crore in stocks. These account for just 2% of the total AUM under equity schemes.

Market experts say that as many large-cap stocks became fully priced and relatively unattractive over the past year, the rally shifted to small caps. Stocks such as cooler maker Symphony and luggage maker VIP Industries have led the small-cap charge in the market. Ahmedabad-based Symphony has surged 830% while VIP has risen 548% in the past 12 months. In comparison, top two gainers on the Sensex — Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services — are up 135% and 61%, respectively.

“Many small caps with excellent businesses were trading at a pathetically low valuations — many were trading below book value and at dividend yields of 5-7%,” says Deven Choksey, chief executive officer at KR Choksey Shares & Securities. “They just got purchased heavily.”

Even though small-cap funds have delivered solid returns in the past one year, experts say that investors must be cautious and have just 10-15% of their equity exposure in such funds or companies. This is largely because of the volatile nature of their stock performance.

“Investors should have a strong stomach and the ability to

withstand substantial declines in such funds,” says Mr Kumar at Value Research.