Do it yourself

Thought for the day “Give thy thoughts no tongue.” -           William Shakespeare (English, 1564-1616) Word for the day Ugsome (adj) Horrid; loathsome. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day From “Solid BRIC” to “Fragile Five” – India has traveled long distance (to south) in last one decade. Cognitive dissonance In past one week, I dialed 30 numbers selected randomly from my professional phone book. Given the conflicting signals coming out of markets, I just wanted to assess the mood of the market. The people I called were a boring mix of investment managers, credit managers, corporate bankers, equity analysts, economist, wealth managers, insurance brokers, some seasoned investors and couple of corporate treasury managers. Each conversation lasted 10-25minutes. I asked one simple question to all the people I had called – “what are you most excited about and what is ...

Thought for the day “Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.” -           Leonardo DI Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519) Word for the day Riposte (n) A quick and effective reply by word or act. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day A UNESCO report reveals that in India 90% of poor children remain illiterate even after 4yrs of education. AK and AY propose to reward the teachers responsible for achieving this amazing feat by making their jobs permanent! For a few Yen more India’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki Limited (MSL) announced some significant changes to its India strategy on Tuesday. The company stated that the plans to set up a new manufacturing plant in the state of Gujarat are being shelved in favo...

Thought for the day “Honesty is the cruelest game of all, because not only can you hurt someone - and hurt them to the bone - you can feel self-righteous about it at the same time.” -           Dave Van Rank (American, 1936-2002) Word for the day Squib (n) A short and witty or sarcastic saying or writing (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Joke of the century “The government of the day had no role in 1984 Delhi genocide.” Rajan paints the town red The RBI governor Raghuram Rajan appeared a much worried man as he made a statement on the RBI monetary policy yesterday. Contrary to the market expectations, and much to the chagrin of his political bosses and large borrowers, he not only raised the policy rates but also smashed all claims of economic revival having taken firm roots. Despite reluctant euphemism and smart camouflaging, the picture he painted was dis...

Thought for the day “The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” -           George Bernard Shaw (Irish, 1856-1950) Word for the day Boîte (n) A nightclub; cabaret (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Who plays the game of anarchy better AAP or MNS? Nothing new to panic about The sky over global financial markets has suddenly turned overcast. There is little sign of sunshine that was bedazzling investors’ eyes till middle of last week. The problems which were always there for everyone to see and feel have captured headlines in perfect synchronized fashion. Consequently, here it is – the first risk off trading spell of the year 2014. Since there is little evidence of any fresh catalyst for the synchronized global “risk off”, the only plausible reason I could think is the impending FOMC meet on 28-29 January and expect...

Thought for the day “Every positive value has its price in negative terms... the genius of Einstein leads to Hiroshima.” -           Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) Word for the day Idem (pronoun) The same as previously given or mentioned. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Degeneration of a movement: 2012: Our struggle is only to make the life of common man better. 2013: Only AAP can make common man’s life better. 2014: Whatever AAP does is the only thing that is good for common man. Modi in a Chakravyuh From business confidence and financial market view point a large majority of participants feel that Narendra Modi’s elevation to PM office would be a good thing. Even rating agencies like Moody & S&P and many global research firms have also echoed similar sentiments. Besides, many have also expressed concerns that the continuation of current regime c...

Thought for the day “If anything is certain, it is that I myself am not a Marxist.” -           Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day M isoneism (n) Hatred or dislike of what is new or represents change. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day I do not know why there is so much excitement over AAP’s sarkari dharna in Delhi. Communists ran West Bengal for 35yrs in this manner only. Kolkata used to be choked almost every week for 35yrs. The only difference was that Jyoti Babu did not sit on dharna. They had cadre who zealously believes in them. In this Mahabharata no one shall remain neutral 2014 general elections in India are no ordinary elections. It is decidedly a referendum on the desire and commitment of people for change in the popular political discourse of the country. It is a two layered contest (a) between continuity of feudalistic politics dominated...