Do it yourself

Some food for thought "New ideas pass through three periods: 1) It can't be done. 2) It probably can be done, but it's not worth doing. 3) I knew it was a good idea all along!" —Arthur C. Clarke (English Writer, 1917-2008) Word for the day Grinch (n) A person or thing that spoils or dampens the pleasure of others.   First thought this morning I do not have any clue how various political parties analyze the election results; which I guess they must be doing, regardless of the election outcome. I therefore find it reasonable to assume that the forward strategy of various political parties does take into account the previous elections' outcome. Logically, the winners would want to emphasize and further strengthen the factors that in their view worked for them; whereas the losers would want to correct the mistakes they made. In the absence of direct access to the strategy rooms of the political parties, ...

Some food for thought "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy." —Frank Sinatra (American Musician, 1915-1998) Word for the day Lunette (n) Something that has the shape of a crescent or half-moon   First thought this morning The recently concluded Madhya Pradesh (MP) assembly elections were special in at least one sense - the analysts and political parties will find it hard to decide who and what won these elections and who and what lost it. BJP who got 5 seats lesser than Congress, has been polled more votes than Congress. All principal parties (INC, BJP, BSP, SP) played the same caste cards. Both Congress and BJP promised Cow protection, and played the same religion card. Both BJP and INC promised loan waivers and other soaps for farmers. On popularity charts, the losing Chief Minister was more popular than all the prospective ones' put together. The national le...

Some food for thought "Some colors reconcile themselves to one another, others just clash." —Edvard Munch (Norwegian Artist, 1863-1944) Word for the day Lardy-dardy (adj) Characterized by excessive elegance.   First thought this morning   Chart of the day   2019 - Outlook The 2018th year of Christ is ending on an anxious note. Volatility in financial markets is elevated. Geopolitical rhetoric is also higher. There are uncertainties regarding US-China trade disputes; UK-EU deal on Brexit; continuation or otherwise of production cuts by OPEC+; financial stability of financial institutions in many European countries including Germany; slowing growth momentum in US and China; and the crypto bubble bursting, etc. Inarguably, none of these concerns is new or unprecedented. Most of these concerns have been present in the past decade, in one form or the other. The global markets have...