Maruti slips as Gates' India visit catapults Microsoft to the top

The period October 18 to November 14 saw a new No 1 on the Cirrus Image Index. Cirrus is a service from agencyfaqs! that tracks the image (positive coverage minus negative coverage) of over 1,100 companies in the media. Microsoft, the new index topper, pulled a real hat-trick this month, jumping from No 12 to No 1. This was no mean task considering how close the companies were in terms of image points towards the top of Cirrus 100 (Cirrus 100 lists the top 100 companies on Cirrus). Bill Gates' visit to India was the event that garnered tremendous positive coverage and propelled Microsoft to the No 1 spot. So widely covered was the Microsoft chiefs' visit that auto giant Maruti, the previous No 1, was pushed down to No 5.

The auto sector's performance was a mixed bag during this period. Two-wheeler companies saw a positive trend this month. While LML and Kinetic Engineering debuted on Cirrus 100 at No 81 and No 97 respectively, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda saw moderate increase in image points. TVS Motors was the real gainer, jumping nine spots to No 60.

Among the car-makers DaimlerChrysler performed well on Cirrus 100, rising 13 ranks to No 63. Toyota Kirloskar also fared well, rising from No 61 to No 54. Hyundai, Fiat and Honda Siel were the ones that stayed put, maintaining their positions on the index. The rest of the car-makers - including Ford, Telco, Suzuki, Mahindra, General Motors and Hindustan Motors - fared rather badly on Cirrus 100. Ford was the worst hit; it slipped 11 ranks to No 64.

This month also saw eight new entrants - LML, Sahara India Media, Jet Airways, Doordarshan, United Breweries, Reliance Infocomm, Corporation Bank and Kinetic Engineering - on Cirrus 100.

Companies that did badly on Cirrus 100 this month include Grasim, Standard Chartered, HCL Technologies, Pepsi, Larsen & Toubro and Citibank. Idea Cellular, ESPN-STAR, Union Bank of India and Steel Authority of India were among those that performed well on the index.

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