Do it yourself

The script in the US is playing mostly on the expected lines (see   here   and   here ). Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – crash landing Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is apparently on its way to crash land, with the pilot (Elon Musk) ejecting himself out shortly after taking off. DOGE’s actions have faced multiple lawsuits, with critics arguing that Musk and his team have violated federal laws, union agreements, and civil service protections. A federal judge halted parts of USAID’s shutdown, and courts have restricted DOGE’s access to payment systems. Despite Musk’s goal to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, 2025 spending is slightly up from 2024, per Brookings Institution data. Mandatory spending (e.g., Social Security, Medicare) limits achievable cuts. Over two million federal employees were offered buyout deals, with some agencies facing mass layoffs. However, some fired staff have been rehired, indicating implementation challenges. Though...

“There are events in the womb of time, which shall be delivered in time”.   (Othello, William Shakespeare) Beginning of the current year, I commented that “the trend seen in the past few months is indicating that the conditions might change materially in the next 12-24 months. The macro trends may become ambivalent and unpredictable. Investors may need to make choices; and the return they would earn on their investment portfolios would largely depend on the choices they would make. Making right choices, in my view, would be the central investment challenge for the year 2025.” Barely one month into the year and it appears that earth already witnessed many seasons. The conditions are becoming more uncertain with each passing day. The 47 th  President of the United States (P47), appears in a tremendous hurry to deliver on his promise to Make America Great Again (MAGA). He is using all his negotiating skills to secure good deals for his country. How much success will he achieve wi...

The 45 th   President of the United States of America (POTUS), Mr. Donald John Trump (Trump) has assumed office with an onerous promise to “Make America Great Again” (MAGA). In the past two months, POTUS and some of his team members have expressed their intention to implement radical policy changes in a variety of spheres. A close study of the entire election campaign of Trump, his actions during his previous presidential tenure (2016-2020), his selection of team members for his latest presidential term, and his various utterances since the election results in November 2024, would reveal that as of this morning MAGA is mostly an aspirational slogan lacking a credible conceptual framework. For example— ·           Trump has spoken about strict border controls, tougher immigration rules, and restrictions on the skilled worker visa (H1B) program. Presently, many US corporations which would play a pivotal role in MAGA, have first generation ...