Do it yourself

Thought for the day “Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” -           Dr. Seuss (American, 1904-1991) Word for the day Transfigure (v) To change in outward form or appearance; transform. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Will FIFA cup 2014 travel to Europe this summer? Blame it on Rio I had a chance meeting with a small group of Rio bound Delhi realtors yesterday. The discussion expectedly was not quite enlightening or intellectually stimulating. Nonetheless, I found a few points worth chronicling. Firstly, none of the group members had any interest in the game of football. They are visiting Brazil for indulging in cheap booze, legal betting and abundant sex! Secondly, they are disappointed in Modi Sarkar. In past three weeks since the new government took over, they have not seen any improvement in business. Buyer enquiries continue to ...

Thought for the day “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” -           Blaise Pascal (French, 1623-1662) Word for the day Cathexis (n) The investment of emotional significance in an activity, object, or idea. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day “Compulsory Tweet and FB in Hindi” is not exactly language of compliance, inclusiveness and development. I feel it’s my constitutional right to communicate in a language me and my audience are most comfortable with. A crash not expected till it actually happens The sharp market correction last week was as much a reminder to the unmindful bulls, as it was an opportunity for the investors sitting on fringes waiting for a correction to occur. Besides, invoking an element of fear, it certainly did revoke memories of 2008 market fall. Greece, S...

Thought for the day “Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot.” -           Niccolo Machiavelli (Italian, 1429-1527) Word for the day Beget (v) (especially of a male parent) to procreate or generate (offspring). (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day If someone can be insulted by ordinary people like me, let me assure you such person was never reputable. Means are equally important Swami Jagadatmananda in his famous work “Learn to Live” extolled the readers   - the sincerity and honesty of the means to achieve a goal is equally important as the goal itself. More popularly, in blockbuster Hindi movie DDLJ the hero Shahrukh Khan articulated this thought in a conversation with the mother of his beloved. When for the fear of her husband’s retribution, the mother advises the two l...

Thought for the day “You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” -           Paulo Coelho (Brazilian, 1947 - ) Word for the day Ambulant (adj) Moving from place to place. Itinerant. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day With US assiduously avoiding any direct intervention in international conflicts in past couple of years, and Russia gaining tremendously from spike in energy prices – who will lead the joint action in Iraq, should a need arise? Bulls’ resolve tested The raging bulls in Indian equity and currency markets faced their first serious test last week. Various local and global events tested the resolve of bulls who are having a free run for past one month. Globally, strife in Iraq sent energy prices soaring, as global leadership continued to dither over a clear stance on military interven...

Thought for the day “Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.” -           Tupac Shakur (American, 1971-1996) Word for the day Schmaltz (n) Informal, exaggerated sentimentalism, as in music or soap operas. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Pride of triumphant is fine, but it should not cross the line of hauteur. Morning dream In order to diminish deflationary pressures and weaken the common currency Euro and thereby stimulate economic growth, ECB announced some measures a few days ago. The most discussed of these was reducing the interest on ECB deposit facility to below zero percent. Though at face value 1/10 th of a percent is not much below zero percent and should not be a matter of additional concern for savers who are now used to earning negative return on their savings, the signals are worth taking note of. It is conspicuous that like Fed, ECB is also...

Thought for the day “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” -           T. S. Eliot (American, 1888-1965) Word for the day Prevaricator (n) A person who speaks falsely; liar. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day The government need to choose between 6,50,000 smart villages and 100 smart cities. If you say we need both – tell me what should happen first? If you say both should happen together – show me the money. Make a beginning The political events in couple of weeks and subsequent up move in equity stock prices have reignited interest of many savers. Many people who drastically reduced weight of listed equities in their wealth portfolio are also showing keen interest in rebalancing of their risk profile by increasing weight of listed equities. I have re...