Do it yourself

Thought for the day " There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!" -           Percy Bysshe Shelley (English, 1792-1822)) Word for the day Schlemiel (n) An awkward and unlucky person for whom things never turn out right. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none Two Muslims were buried in India yesterday. One was mourned by all125cr Indians. The other perhaps by none outside his family. And some would still argue that it's about religion! Growth vs. sustainability As per an ancient Hindu tradition, all Hindus are obligated to feed Brahmins and crows during the ancestors' fortnight ( पितृपक्ष ) that usually comes in the month of September every year. It is widely believed that feeding Brahmins and crows in this fortnight pleases souls of the ancestors...

Thought for the day " If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" -           Percy Bysshe Shelley (English, 1792-1822)) Word for the day Accouterment(n) Personal clothing, accessories, etc. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none How long could we afford to put the matter of terror attacks to rest just by blaming Pakistan, without assigning any local accountability? Forget lift, some are already talking about QE4 Post Lehman collapse, for once it appeared that the US is becoming a marginal force in the emerging global order. Emerging economies like BRIC, South Africa. Mexico, Indonesia etc. asserted themselves as leaders in a new multipolar world. G-20 was formed to undermine the supremacy of G-3, G-8 etc. The global multilateral financial and development institutions also saw rise in influence of these countries in their affairs. However, the events of past six year...

Thought for the day "First our pleasures die - and then our hopes, and then our fears - and when these are dead, the debt is due dust claims dust - and we die too." -           Percy Bysshe Shelley (English, 1792-1822)) Word for the day Persiflage (n) Light, bantering talk or writing. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none "I AM KALAM!" Some said, some unsaid It is commonly believed amongst borrowers that the RBI’s rather disproportionate emphasis on inflation has proved to be counterproductive. Though many professional investors and global financial and rating agencies have been quite appreciative of the governor's strong focus on price stability, the borrowers find little evidence to the effect that the monetary policy has achieved any meaningful success in reversing the trend in inflation in past two years. The argument that without such strict measures the pric...

Thought for the day "All of us who are worth anything, spend our manhood in unlearning the follies, or expiating the mistakes of our youth." -           Percy Bysshe Shelley (English, 1792-1822)) Word for the day Fumarole (n) A hole in or near a volcano, from which vaporizes. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none Rather frenzied response to any suggestions against commutation of Yakub Menon's hanging in 1993 serial blast case should worry the government. It may be indicating a blemish in the primary fabric of Indianness in the garb of patriotism. Thank Mr. Tharoor and move on Shashi Tharoor won accolades from Indian Netizens, including the prime minister, for his passionate and impressive arguments for reparation payable by the British crown to the people of India. ( see the video here ) Encouraged by the overwhelming acceptance of his argument, many must b...

Thought for the day "Government is an evil; it is only the thoughtlessness and vices of men that make it a necessary evil. When all men are good and wise, government will of itself decay." - Percy Bysshe Shelley (English, 1792-1822) Word for the day Contradistinction(n) Distinction by opposition or contrast. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none Why Togadia, Owaisi, et. al. are important to Indian society and media? Greed still dominates the sentiment YTD Sensex has underperformed midcap and small cap indices. IN particular midcaps have smartly outperformed the benchmark in past couple of months. In past couple of weeks the market momentum has remained low with both volumes and volatility staying below averages. Despite this the midcap outperformance clearly signals the strong investor interest in the market. Therefore, despite political developments (or lack of that) and numerous policy fl...

Thought for the day "The mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools." -           Confucius (Chinese, 551-479BCE) Word for the day Risibility (n) The ability or disposition tolaugh; humorous awareness of the ridiculous andabsurd. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none Some politician says I will make my God bigger and better than the competition's! And yet someone else was talking about India as one Nation!!! Interest rates: let the market decide I received many interesting comments on my yesterday's post ( see here ). Many disagree with my proposition that a marginal rate cut at this juncture will mostly be perfunctory and may not have any material impact on the economic activity. Their argument is mostly based on the premise that rate cut could only stimulate the economic growth by spurring demand, both consumption as well as invest...

Thought for the day " Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. " -           Confucius (Chinese, 551-479BCE) Word for the day Criticaster (n) An incompetent critic. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none In all likelihood that Nestle will eventually win the Maggi battle. It may however not press for compensation as a gesture of goodwill towards the government. But I will certainly seek compensation for the deprivation my kids are suffering due to this unsavory ban. No enthusiasm for rate cut As the date for RBI's periodic policy review date draws closer the anticipation regarding the likely move on policy rate is rising. Like most preceding policy reviews, the opinion is divided this time also. Many believe that strong fiscal correction measures taken by the government, trending lower commodity prices and poor core sector growt...

Thought for the day " To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage, or of principle." -           Confucius (Chinese, 551-479BCE) Word for the day Sidereal(adj) Determined by or from the stars. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none Does a common person refer to a police constable as what AK did? If yes, then AK is true to his positioning. If not, you are true to yourself. Bad economics, poor politics The French President Francois Hollande has again mooted the idea of a United State of Europe (USE). He feels that Geek crisis has weakened the citizens' faith in European project. To renew this faith it is necessary to strengthen the institutions of governance. “ What threatens us is not an excess of Europe but its insufficiency ,”, Holande wrote in the Journal du Dimanche weekly newspaper. The president cautioned that populist movements...

Thought for the day " Death and life have their determined appointments; riches and honors depend upon heaven." -           Confucius (Chinese, 551-479BCE) Word for the day Petrous (adj) Like stone, especially in hardness; stony; rocky (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none Why media loves to stalk Virat and Anushka these days? Who does actually care? Keep eye on the new dawn Continuing with the theme "To Micro from Macro", I would like to clarify that in my view we are still some distance away from a secular bull market in Indian equities. However, it is likely that the next cyclical recovery that is expected to shape up in 6-12 months may lay a solid foundation for such bull market. So the positioning for this cyclical recovery has to factor in the continuation of good times, of course with material rise in volatility. I have been rather insistent that t...

Thought for the day "A gentleman would be ashamed should his deeds not match his words." -           Confucius (Chinese, 551-479BCE) Word for the day Fogdog (n) A bright spot sometimes seen in a fog bank. (Source: Dictionary.com) Malice towards none The Congress' strategy is intriguing. They are just busy cutting the BJP's line short instead of drawing a bigger line of their own. The whole campaign is centered on the theme - "whatever we did bad, you are doing worse"! Nifty breaks the shackles. How far will it travel? Nifty completed a bullish reverse head & shoulder pattern last week. However the volumes and volatility was much lower indicating slower momentum and lack of conviction. It is therefore less likely to show the kind of short covering and buying momentum seen usually seen post such bullish breakouts. Infosys results this week may be a key...