Do it yourself

Thought for the day "Reason has always existed, but not always in a reasonable form." -           Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day Nostomania (n) An irresistible compulsion to return home; intense homesickness. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day For the sake of 10cr Biharis, should NiKu patch up with NaMo and join NDA? Let people set the agenda Continuing from yesterday , I would like to clarify here that I fully support and admire any effort to improve the efficiency and productivity of government administration. All the regulatory and procedural changes that enhance competitiveness and profitability of corporates are also welcome. My concern is that these measures bring incremental changes in the direction and trajectory of economic growth. These measures are usually inadequate in bringing any structural change in the economy, something we need ...

The consensus amongst analysts and economists is stacked heavily against rate cut on 2nd December. However, the bond traders and investors appear convinced of a rate cut. This dichotomy is not unprecedented. It is often seen during peaks and troughs of the rate and economic cycles.   More often the traders get it right. However, whenever they are wrong, the losses are huge. Whereas economists and analysts usually have not much to lose, should their expectations not materialize.   In the current instance, I am inclined to go with the bond traders and expect not a 25bps but even 50bps rate cut on 2nd December.   This is nothing to do with the FM or industry urging for a rate cut. I believe that under the current circumstance (credit demand growth 13% and deposit supply growth at 17%) a 25bps policy rate cut will hardly make much difference.   My premise for a rate cut is that it is perhaps the last chance for ...

Thought for the day "For the bureaucrat, the world is a mere object to be manipulated by him. " -           Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day Gaslight (v) To cause (a person) to doubt his or her sanity through the use of psychological manipulation. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Should Manmohan Singh volunteer for examination before Coal block allocation and Telecom Spectrum investigation teams/courts? Peripheral changes would not do much I have been insisting since ever that "Economic Reform" is perhaps the most misinterpreted, misrepresented, misused, and abused terminology, especially in Indian context. Businesses have invariably interpreted it as (a) lesser controls; (b) lower taxes; (c) protection from global competition; (d) deeper and easier access to foreign capital; (e) privileged access to natural resources; and (e) freedom to run var...

Thought for the day "The ruling ideas of each age have ever been the ideas of its ruling class." -           Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day Grok (v) To understand thoroughly and intuitively. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Imagine the chaos if "No parking - no car" rule is implemented retroactively! "Kya lagta hai?" In a recent interview, Rahul Dravid famously commented that had he charged one rupee each time he was asked to answer the question "why did he declare the innings at Multan (2004) when Sachin was batting not out at 194?", he would be millionaire by now. I can also say the same thing with some confidence if I consider how many time my friends ask the question "Kya lagta hai?" (how does the market look?) I have no hesitation in admitting that I have been often far off the mark in predicting Nifty or Sensex targets over n...

Thought for the day "The English have all the material requisites for the revolution. What they lack is the spirit of generalization and revolutionary ardour." -           Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day Ardour (adj) Great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion: (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Ajay Maken: Erapalli Prasanna sent in to bat against Malcolm Marshall without any protective gears! Reset the counter to zero In past six months we heard Prime Minister giving inspirational speeches around the world. His diligence, zest and devotion to work are already part of folklore. He has taken noble initiatives like adoption of villages by elected representatives and cleanliness drive. More admirably, he has successfully skirted controversies. He has earned accolades from many adversaries and established remarkably friendly relations with heads of states of ...

Thought for the day " The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people. " -           Karl Marx (German, 1818-1883) Word for the day A pocryphal (adj) False; spurious (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day I forcefully reject the system which makes it compulsory for my child to study something which she is not interested in. Neutralize Jayadratha before Abhimanyu crosses the point of 'no-return'     In the epic 18 day war of Mahabharta 13th and 14th day are dedicated to the young Pandava prince Abhimanyu. On 13th day, the Kaurava General Dronacharya laid out an impregnable 7 tier formation of his army, Chkravyuh, to capture the Pandava King Yudhishtra. He knew that on Pandava side only Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna knew the technique of penetrating and breaking this defense formation. He accordingly planned to dis...

Thought for the day "Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do." -           Voltaire (French, 1694-1778) Word for the day Flummox (v) To bewilder; confound; confuse. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Wonder why Salman Khan's sister's wedding is so much news! Maid in India For past couple of days many readers have been losing patience with me. They find me totally distracting. The common refrain is "why do you bother so much about decades. Tell us what the market will do between 9:15AM to 3:30PM today". They are not wrong. Neither am I. It's only matter of different approaches to achieve same goal. Many live life as a series of discrete days. I see life as a continuous time series. I do not assign much importance to the discrete days, like last or first days of months, quarters, and years, in the infinitum of time. The random data points published on t...

Thought for the day "Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors." -           Voltaire (French, 1694-1778) Word for the day Star-crossed (adj) Ill-fated; Thwarted or opposed by the stars; (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Should the government consider setting up a regulatory body for the Business of Religion? Broaden the horizon Continuing from yesterday... Now, if demographic rebalancing is going to be a critical factor in the transition of emerging global economic and market to a new paradigm, and Indian youth has to play a critical role in this process, most profitable business and investment themes have to revolve around him. I know this is cliché. But the unfortunate fact is that Indian growth in past two decade or so has miserably failed in creation of adequate productive jobs for the burgeoning workforce of the country. I feel in ...

Thought for the day "He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead." -           Voltaire (French, 1694-1778) Word for the day Gravitas (n) High seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject). (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Does MSY seriously believe that he can keep people in dark by not providing them free laptops? For the fear of Viking age - II Ever wondered why the leaders from most developed countries in Americas, Europe and Pacific rim are embracing PM Narendra Modi so tightly; especially in light of the fact that he was a persona non grata in many of these countries, including USA, just a year back! Is it his oratory skills; his charming and warm persona; his popularity; command over a market of 1.25bn, or something else? I guess it is his receptiveness and responsiveness to ...

Thought for the day "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." -           Voltaire (French, 1694-1778) Word for the day Celerity (n) Rapidity of motion or action; quickness; swiftness. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Have we learned any lesson from KFA that could be applied to SpiceJet and Air India? This set and game goes to US Continuing from yesterday... I am increasingly inclined to believe that perhaps the paradigm is shifting in global markets. I am certainly not suggesting "it is different this time". What I am saying is "it is the same as always". The global market paradigms have shifted every few decades. The shifts have been caused by a variety of factors. Sometimes it has been led by shift in strategic and geo-political power (spread of European empires in 17th and 18th centuries and strength of US post second War). Somet...