Do it yourself

Thought for the day “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.” -           Jesus Christ Word for the day Perspicuous (n) Clearly expressed or presented; lucid; perspicacious (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day AK on many occasions has publically pretended his absolute faith in God, especially when asked about his security. The question is if God is there to secure everyone, why Delhi government needs police to secure the life of its citizens? Or AK believes that God is exclusively on AAP duty these days! An election about personalities and egos The 3QFY14 results have so far been a continuation of 2QFY14. There is nothing to suggest any break in the continuity – slowly improving US demand, poor domestic infrastructure & capex demand and slowly contracting consumption d...

Thought for the day “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” -           R. W. Emerson (American, 1803-1882) Word for the day Bosky (adj) Covered with bushes, shrubs, and small trees; woody; shady (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Does Congress understand the meaning of bipartisan legislations? When you pass a law because the opposition agreed to your request for a bipartisan legislation, you do not claim sole credit for that law (Food Security, Lokpal, Land Acquisition etc.). India needs a true coalition, even if it means a third front Prior to 2009 elections, the scare of ‘insidious’ communists and Mayawati coming to power was so pervasive that nobody was willing to even reason why the communists were bad and why it was not preposterous for Dr. Manmohan Singh (MMS) to destabilize the government and nation in the extremely tough glo...

Thought for the day “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” -           R. W. Emerson (American, 1803-1882) Word for the day Litigious (adj) I nclined to dispute or disagree; argumentative. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day After publically saying that no sitting MLA will be given Lok Sabha ticket, Arvind Kejriwal says he will contest Lok Sabha election if Party tells him to do so! Does someone recall Idi Amin? ‘The great India story’ – revisiting the fable Conventional economists have long argued that monetary and the real economies interact in a limited way through the determination of nominal quantities such as prices, wages, exchange rates and so forth. Therefore although a change in the quantity of money may create short term disruptions, the real economy would eventually settle at the...

Thought for the day “Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.” -           Mahatma Gandhi (Indian, 1869-1948) Word for the day Hornswoggle (v) To swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Given the Binny – Kejriwal mudslinging on TV channels, should   AAP ask people of Laxmi Nagar (East Delhi) as to whether they would like to recall their MLA Vinod Kumar Binny? Begin at the bottom In my “Discover India” tour last summer ( see here ) I found that even after more than 6 decades of becoming an independent political union, India is still far away from becoming a socio-economic union. The failure of national economic policy in recognizing this regional diversity is perhaps one of the primary reasons for sub-optimal outcome. Most of the states, regions within states and communities within regions have diverse socio-eco...

Thought for the day “Know thyself.” -           Ancient Greek aphorism Word for the day Antebellum (Adj) Before or existing before a war; prewar (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Congress supports AAP which publically spits venom against it; does not subscribe to its current favorite policies (like FDI in retail and fiscal prudence); makes unconstitutional announcements (like electricity subsidy without Assembly approving the budget); and makes seditious gestures like “I want complete independence” and “Inquilab Zindabad”.  Is it just to keep BJP out or there is something deeper running here? Not just the cap, we need more of Gandhi Twelve village councils in Niyamgiri area of Odisha rejected the proposal of Vedanta group to mine bauxite from the area for its Aluminum project. Though the mining proposal certainly has other concerns such as environmental deg...

Thought for the day “There are two things in New York, euphoria and disaster.” -           Bill Parcells (American, 1941 - ) Word for the day Infinitesimal (Adj) Immeasurably small; less than an assignable quantity: (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day What if AAP leads the Left Front in general elections to provide a true third dimension to Indian politics with Congress led UPA at center and BJP led NDA to the right? It’s like FY2000 only The Indian stock markets are on the edge, waiting to plunge in the bubble territory, much like 1999-00. The long term stock returns (Nifty 5yr CAGR) in 2013 were 16% (much higher than 25yr average of 12%); the yoy delta in long term equity return in 2013 was 17%, highest in three decades. This happened when the long term economic growth slumped below four decade trend line and long term earnings growth had been consistently down to single to low do...

Thought for the day “No poet or orator has ever existed who believed there was any better than himself.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero (Roman, 106-43BC) Word for the day Suppletory (Adj) Supplying a deficiency. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Mani Shankar Iyer is the best . Says India’s inflation is doing of US Federal Reserve; candidly admits that “If there were an election today, we would do very badly.” Data is your sword and mine too The market reaction to poor November IIP data was not at all surprising; especially short covering in financials. Poor industrial growth and lower consumer inflation could be a perfect excuse for RBI not to hike rates on 28 th January. Turning a blind eye to hike in rates by Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) which manages majority of retirement savings of Indian workers could however be perilous. The production and sales data for automobiles, cement, steel ...