Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Obama’s secret weapon!

Countries like Iran and India have strangely not realised the importance of Rahm Emanuel; it is time...

Rahm Emanuel is a name that irritates many more than it intended to in the first place; some say because the man shoots first and doesn’t even ask later. That Obama is using Rahm to straighten numerous issues in America’s foreign policy – be it for Afghanistan or Israel or Arabs – is now well known, but what might not be known is that it was William Daroff (who directs the Washington office of the United Jewish Communities or the UJC) who first called Rahm Emanuel “Obama’s secret weapon.”

For the uninitiated, ‘Rahmbo’ Emanuel began his political career raising money for several Democratic campaigns and later in 1991, became a fund-raiser for Bill Clinton’s Presidential bid. A few years later, in 2006, he was central in devising the Democratic takeover of Congress. Currently, Rahm is Obama’s Chief-of-Staff – a position widely accepted to be the second most powerful in the US government – and although Obama may not like the inference, Emanuel is believed to be the cerebral force and pusher behind Obama’s ‘do-everything-at-once’ strategy. From supporting and promoting Obama’s stimulus package plan, to helping overhaul the healthcare bill and getting it passed, Rahm has worked fanatically for most of Obama’s initiatives, lobbied with numerous research groups, fought for the bailout, the budget bill and much more, not just for the sake of the nation, but as Obama states, for a friend.

Both Obama and Emanuel’s political legacy can be found in Chicago. They have known each other since their early political career. But the truth behind their personal friendship perhaps became starkly clear to the world only after Obama’s official speech, which he gave after inviting Rahm to be the Chief of Staff this year, “I am pleased to announce that my good friend, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, has agreed to serve as my White House Chief of Staff... In just six years in Congress, he has risen to leadership, helping to craft myriad important pieces of legislation and guide them to passage... The son of an Israeli immigrant, Rahm shares a passionate love for this country, and has devoted much of his life to its cause... I appreciate his friendship. And I, and all Americans, should be grateful that Rahm is once again answering his country’s call.” It has been unprecedented for any past President of the United States to publicly accept his personal closeness at such levels to such a high member of the cabinet, and this at the danger of being accused of being nepotistic.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Olympian samba in ‘Lula’land

Brazil is on track to host the 2016 Olympics, but it must also focus on developing more world class athletes

Yes we créu!”, may sound like a cliché – especially to all those North Americans who have been pre-occupied with the razzmatazz of “Yes, we can”. But this was one occasion they couldn’t; make Chicago win the bid to host the 2016 Olympics, that is. And this happened despite Barack Obama himself staking his reputation behind Chicago’s bid.

Anyways, the more interesting development has been w.r.t. to the winner – Rio de Janeiro, a city famous for sun and sin, which got chosen ahead of Chicago and Tokyo. Even more shocking was Madrid’s lost of 32-66 in a direct contest between the two in the final round of voting. It’s for the first time that any Latin American country will be hosting Olympic games. The IOC’s choice of Rio de Janeiro makes the emergence of this “backyard of the United States” quite evident.

What came as an added advantage for Rio was the ongoing preparation for 2014 FIFA World Cup in the country. Brazil has always been over-enthusiastic about football. And this has acted as amajor shot in the arm for its bid for the Olympic games. Since most of Brazil’s infrastructure and games venues are under a major overhaul for the FIFA World Cup, the city seems pseudo-ready for Olympics.

But it seems that this “backyard of the United States” was also preparing itself quite well “behind the veil.” To win the 2016 games for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil spent almost $50 million. Rio will spend an estimated $11.1 billion to build the facilities and infrastructure for the Olympic venues. So much so that Brazilian president Lula da Silva spent two days in Copenhagen and also wrote personal letters to the 106 voting members. He had each letter hand-delivered by an ambassador. Obama’s effort was quite measured in comparison, as he made a special appearance at the last moment.

Along with Lula, soccer legend Pele and Olympic champion swimmer Cesar Cielo were also there to urge IOC members. Lula da Silva said in his appeal to IOC delegates, “It’s not possible that it be in England in 2012 and in another European country in 2016 ... It’s not fair that Brazil, one of the 10 biggest economies in the world for 30 years; that Brazil, one of the world’s industrialized countries, a nation that has demonstrated its love for sports; it’s not fair that Brazil not be chosen.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, October 29, 2012

Finally... a mental floss!

The fear of losing count of all that one counts on, might just temper down thanks to a new research…

He was in his early fifties – tall, lean and as handsome as an old Hollywood star. He looked in the pink of health when the doctor asked him, “How are you doing?” and he replied in a refined accent, “I am doing well.” The doctor asked him a few more questions like – what did you have for breakfast, did you go for a walk today, where do you stay and what do you do – to which he replied normally but when the doctor asked him the same set of questions within a minute again, I was surprised to hear different answers and was disturbed when he kept repeating the sonorous ‘en, en, en, en’ till the doc interrupted to help him tell his profession and say “engineer.”

“This is a severe case of Alzheimer’s disease where he remembers things for not more than a minute. Alzheimer’s is a progressive and neurodegenerative disease that affects the memory and behaviour of the patients gradually,” says Dr. Siddhartha, Senior Resident, Neurology, IBHAAS. Unlike many other diseases, Alzheimer’s has no specific causes but the risk is heightened by a person’s lifestyle as well as by his/her genes. When the combined results of different risk factors pass over a certain limit and beat the self-repair mechanisms of the brain, then the brain’s ability to maintain healthy nerve cells reduces. While lifestyle-related risk factors can be controlled, genetic factors would sooner or later cause the disease. If one goes by the researches, the high prevalence of genetic risk factors is unquestionable. If one has at least one first-degree relative with Alzheimer’s, the person is 3.5 times more likely to get the disease. The risk increases for each additional case in the family.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Sunday, October 28, 2012

ISRAEL: CONSENT BUILDING INITIATIVES

Israel is hell bent in changing its image in the global community and is taking up a new PR excersise

And if it still fails to convince the audience then blame the “terrorist” Hamas for the bloodshed. Above all, portray Israel as a victim of Hamas terror. The idea is to convince audience that Israel invaded Gaza to bring peace and prosperity in the region and dismantling of Islamist Hamas was a must.

Coming to Iran, Israel – a nuclear-armed country – is using every possible PR tools to mould world opinion, and encourage the US to destroy its nukes. And if it can’t do that Israel should be allowed to attack Iran. But there are roadblocks as public perception in the US and elsewhere is not in favour of another war. To overcome this perception the reports suggest to “Establish the connection between Iran and “Iran-backed Hamas” and “Iran-backed Hezbollah.”

But President Obama is understood to be extremely doubtful that Israel will honour its commitment over settlements. The report suggests a way out of this quagmire. It cites three ineffective arguments that Israeli officials often make in defence of settlements: the Religious Argument, the Ownership Argument and the Scapegoat Argument. The report tries to change this perception. It says: Continually establish the connection between Iran and “Iran-backed Hamas” and “Iran-backed Hezbollah.”

The fact of the matter is that Israel has always managed to sway the global media on its side. More often than not, only Israel’s side of the story is presented in the western press. And the irony is that many in the free Indian media republishes them without cross checking.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Friday, October 26, 2012

Goods and Services Tax is the latest term being thrown at us in the long list of tax reforms that the government has planned.

for people like us

In the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, Saint Joseph says, “But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.” While the Pharaohs have given way to the Government (that’s easy), the ‘one-fifth’ has become a ‘one-third’ (almost)! But interestingly, what St. Joseph says is equally relevant in the context of indirect taxes as well – paying a part of the produced goods to the governing authority in one’s state.

Today, the stage is being set in India for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime to be launched from the next financial year; positioned as a tax reform to make life easier for consumers as well as producers. More importantly, it is supposed to enable the government to play its Big Brother role much more effectively, by ensuring that tax theft is minimised. But is it really going to benefit Indians like it promises to?

The introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) regime in the country in 2005 was cited as a watershed moment in modern India’s post liberalisation history by legions of experts and it has indeed paid dividends. The combined Central and State tax revenues registered a leap in the very next financial year post VAT introduction, and have followed the new trajectory ever since. The tax to GDP ratio, a critical indicator of the fiscal health, has also shown similar jumps over the last 3 years over earlier periods. Now, with the upper echelons of the government setting the ball rolling for the introduction of GST, the frenzy on its far reaching consequences in transforming India’s economy has reached fever pitch. But a reality check reveals a rather crooked picture.

As declared in the Budget speech this year by the Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, the GST will be imposed as a dual tax by the Centre as well as the states and it will do away with the Central Sales Tax (CST). At the same time, it brings services also into the ambit of the states’ taxation under State GST. This makes it imperative that the ‘timing’ and ‘place’ of supply of goods and services must be recorded and monitored constantly, especially in the case of services.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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It’s a business deal

It’s a business deal. They have your asset (son) and you have the consideration (Rs.60 lakh)…

But Sanjay is bravely trying to pick up the pieces and move on. Speaking to B&E, a tormented Chawla turns philosophical and offers a few words of advice to fellow entrepreneurs and CEOs, “Law is technically reactive in nature, and it comes into picture, only after the crime is committed. Even the Government is trying to put in place a CISF security system for the corporates, but keeping in mind the population of India, it is practically impossible to assign a policemen or a security guard for everyone. Citizens need to be more proactive in nature...”

Given the dysfunctional nature of the law and order and police system in India, virtually every citizen is vulnerable to some kind of crime – from chain-snatching to car-jacking to rape and murder. But particularly vulnerable as ‘soft targets’ are CEOs like Anant Gupta and entrepreneurs like Sanjay Chawla and their near and dear ones. And almost everyone concerned with this “industry” agree that the danger will become even more potent and menacing in the months and years to come. “It’s a big business these days... and is constantly on the rise! And we can do little about it at the moment,” states V. M. Pandit, a former official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) who runs his own private security outfit. A top cop of Haryana Police, who has been privy to information regarding scores of kidnapping cases and who doesn’t want to be named says, “The number of rich businessmen and senior corporate managers is growing manifold every year. It is but natural for criminals to target them. The problem is, many such potential victims are simply not just aware of the simple steps that they and their family members need to take to prevent such crimes. You have to be proactively careful too!” (See Infographics)

Virtually every security expert agrees that there are three things that a family must do when a kidnapping has happened and the ransom calls start coming in – do not lose your cool, do not succumb too easily or too fast to ransom demands and always seek the help of a ‘professional’ who understands the psyche of the criminals.


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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

“India is critical to world’s progress”

In an exclusive interview to B&E’s pathikrit payne, Sir Richard Stagg, British High Commissioner to India speaks about India’s incredible future potential and the positive impact of its outsourcing business...

B&E: How do you look at the transformation of India from the time of Independence to now when it is an emerging powerhouse?

RS: We view it as an amazing achievement of India. The transformation especially in economy, society and the way in which the country worked in the last 60 years. India has an enormously important role to play in the world. India is a model of how democracy and development can go hand in hand as it has just been shown in the elections, which went off so well. So we view India as a country which has emerged on the world’s scene. It’s now the fourth biggest economy in the world by PPP. It’s critical to almost all critical issues that the world faces, be it trade rounds, development sphere, agreement on climate change, international sponsor to financial crisis. India has put itself in the centre of major issues, which reflects the success of its governance.

B&E: Is there paranoia in the UK about the economic resurgence of India and it becoming an outsourcing hub, as it leads to job losses in UK?

RS: In the case of India, there’s genuine welcome from almost every political group in UK. UK is very comfortable with the companies using outsourcing as one of the ways to make their business more successful. From our perspective, it makes no sense to constrain the competitiveness of our companies by limiting their ability to outsource. We will not succeed as an economy just by competing for relatively low skilled jobs, which can be done at a lower cost elsewhere. We have to accept that the only way we are going to succeed as a country and as an economy, is by moving up the value chain by doing higher value added tasks. So the government’s challenge is to ensure that as the low skilled jobs leave UK, we provide training and up-skilling to the people affected, so that they can do higher value work in the economy.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Stung by tourism

Joining the list of species affected by man, stingrays bear the brunt of underwater tourism

During my vacation in Maldives some years ago, I would eagerly wait for the evening to feed, touch and watch the stingrays swimming in the shallow sandy waters. Although I had heard of the ‘Crocodile Hunter’, Steve Irwin’s death caused by a stingray sting, I still waded through the water without the slightest of fear! As it turns out, there aren’t just a handful of enthusiasts like me, but several yearning to get close to these usually docile fishes. The ‘Stingray City’ at Cayman Islands has been in much controversy lately, due to a research conducted by Simon Fraser University, Canada, which indicates that human interaction with the stingrays is turning out to be injurious to these aquatic animals.

The Grand Cayman Sandbank is known for its population of stingrays, which also happens to be the reason of it being swarmed with up to 2500 visitors at one time. Apart from enjoying a look at these aquatic animals, tourists also shell out a handsome amount to feed and swim with the stingrays, which in turn is affecting their immune system and making them vulnerable to diseases. There’s no doubt that these creatures evoke people’s curiosity and therefore, also enable places like Cayman Islands mint some money through tourism. But researches reveal that crowded conditions give birth to parasites, which cause health problems in stingrays and reduce their longevity and reproduction rate. Unhealthy stingrays are also rather unsightly and can affect tourism. “It comes as no surprise that stingrays are being affected due to contact with humans, and that’s because people don’t just watch them. The stingrays are captured in a confinement and fed with squids etc., which are not their usual meal,” says Upasna Khanna, an ecologist. She adds, “In the past, dolphins and penguins, which came in close contact with people for long durations have also been affected.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Seeing red? Now go green!

Obama’s new emission standards will only add to the woes of the already dying US auto industry

“Yes, we can!” That’s what the head honchos of US automakers seemed to be echoing with President Obama at the White House, when the new fuel efficiency and Green House Gases Emission Standards were declared. For the first time in US history, there are clear signs of a tectonic shift in the policies of the federal government on climate change. With green house gas emissions at an all time high and US being the largest emitter of transport pollution, a complete overhaul of current laws and regulations was long overdue so that a sustainable development path could be traversed.

According to the current declaration, a single unified emission and efficiency standard is in place for the US of A, overpowering all other standards. This, in effect, implies taking 177 million cars off the American roads over the next four years. This also implies an average car price rise of $1300 to $1600 per model as compared to current prices. Till now, standards were governed by the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) regulations enacted in 1975 and the Energy Independence & Security Act (EISA) of 2007. Till now, technically contrasting norms were followed by automakers. Laws were tweaked to bolster revenues without paying heed to climate change war cries.

But, in a peculiar sense, the road turned full circle as the same automakers continued to neglect their Japanese counterparts, who sold fuel efficient and cheaper cars to Americans and made huge profits, while not incurring any costs on pension, insurance and healthcare benefits to workers. Eventually, the debacle in Detroit has made the Big Three bend before the government and accept Obama’s ‘change’ agenda.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Czechoslovakia cries

The USSR reveals it is actually an Imperial Power

There was something that made Communism a rage in the early 20th century. It has some sort of magnetism that pulled many European countries under its ambit. The support to colonies to fight imperialism was one of them. It flourished and reached its zenith till the 60s with the dominion of Soviet Union in the eastern hemisphere. The attack on Czechoslovakia was the beginning of the end of USSR. The moral uprightness of the movement lost as it became clear that it was as imperialistic as other imperialistic nations. The romanticism was lost. On August 20, 1968, the USSR guided Warsaw Pact Nations invaded Czechoslovakia on the pretext of a crack down on anti-regime trends in Prague. Earlier, Alexander Dubcek government finished bowdlerisation in early 1968, and the attainment of this liberty resulted in a free expression of support for reorganisation. As Czechoslovakia issued a prescribed map for additional reforms ,disagreements started between those rooting for added reforms and conservatives who were jittery. As Dubcek fought back keep control, USSR intervened promptly. As US got engaged in the conflict in Vietnam and pronounced its plan for non-involvement in the East Bloc, the Soviets speculated appropriately that the US would denounce the incursion but will abstain from intervening. Even though the Soviet Union’s act effectively nipped the counter-insurgency attempts, it had inadvertent consequences for the unison of the communist bloc. India, a staunch ally of USSR supported the move.


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Thursday, October 18, 2012

MNCS IN INDIA: SELF INFLICTED WOUNDS

Post liberalisation, MNCs gatecrashed without the due diligence

Titan-Timex, TVS-Whirlpool, British Telecom-Bharti, Escorts-Yamaha and Lufthansa-Modi Group are just few examples of clashes. In fact, Lufthansa is a classic example of tying up with a partner, who was not only a misfit in their work culture, but was also totally new in the field of aviation. And within three years of this deal, Lufthansa broke off with the Modis and filed a suit against them.

There are also cases where MNCs suffered when they did not Indianise their strategies. Electrolux was a perfect example, whose decline aided the rise of Samsung & LG. Apart from McDonald’s, all QSR giants perfectly fit in this bill, of companies who pay the price for not following the time-honoured management strategy of ‘Go global, act local.’ Stalwarts like Yum! Brands, in fact, have had to shut shop after launching their flagship brand, KFC in India. “We made certain mistakes and we had our lessons to learn. We stuck it out with Pizza Hut and we made sure we were relevant to Indian consumers,” explains Niren Chaudhary, MD, Yum! Restaurants India Pvt. Ltd. Domino’s and Kelloggs also made the same blunder of not Indianising their product and prices. As a result, their initial ventures were browbeaten by the Indian market. Electrolux went down miserably due to the aggressive product, pricing and marketing strategies of Korean chaebols. Many of these players learned their lessons and came back with a strategy suitable for the Indian market. But they chose to learn it the hard way, when they could have easily taken the freeway.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Mission Istanbul

Napoleon Bonaparte rightly said, “If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital” because in which other city would you find such diversity with numerous Ottoman Mosques on one hand and galleries, restaurants, bars and a bustling nightlife on the other, both being almost equal in number! Thanks to its long and eventful history, Istanbul, also called the ‘World’s Hippest City,’ has a mix of many historic buildings like its churches, mosques, synagogues, palaces, castles and towers all packed into one. Some of the major attractions include ‘Column of Constantine’ built by Constantine the Great. Hagia Sophia, which originally was a church but later became a mosque and now stands as a museum, is the largest structure on Sultanahmet Square in the Eminönü district. The Ottoman Turks built castles around the Asian and the European sides. Apart from these must-see monuments, the city also boasts of a colourful culture and gives its tourists abundant activities to choose from like opera, ballet, and theatre that go on all year round. The International Istanbul Film Festival, one of the most important film festivals in Europe, and Istanbul Biennial are the major festivals here. Moreover, when visiting Istanbul, one must soak themselves in a Hammam for a completely rejuvenating experience especially after a long day of travelling. No high quality massage over here to look forward to, but one can expect all the dead skin to be scrubbed off.

There are a lot of bazaars that one would find in here like the Grand Bazaar, the Egyptian Bazaar and Mahmutpasa Bazaar. Akmerkez is the only mall to win “Europe’s Best” and “World’s Best” awards. There are many clubs and restaurants; however, apart from the regular Turkish food one must try seafood in Istanbul which is, by far, the best cuisine served here. The best way to travel on water bodies is by ferry, whereas taxis would be a good option on road. Better still, take the reliable tram as the taxi drivers might overcharge! Also, it is best to avoid carpet touts and tour guides. An appropriate time to visit Istanbul is in the summer months of April and May and also during September-October.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

C‘z’eck and mate!

Klaus must follow a wait and watch strategy before taking any step

The Czech Republican political scene has been quite erratic since the 1989 revolution. So it came as no surprise when on March 24, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek's government lost the no-confidence vote in the Parliament. Losing the fifth no-confidence vote for the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Christian Democratic Party (KDU-CSL) and Green Party (SZ) coalition (since it took power in January 2007), has also jeopardised the country's international reputation and worsened the pressing domestic issues. The government had to go through the whole exercise after one of its member shifted loyalties from ODS to the leftist Social Democratic party. The government lost the vote of confidence by just one vote.

To keep the tension in the country at bay, both the left wing and the right wing parties have now agreed to hold early elections. “There was an agreement on holding early election, but not on a date yet,” says Jana Bartosova, Spokeswoman, ODS. Czech Republic is currently sitting on the post of EU presidency and the political trouble brewing within the country would have an implication on how it handles its responsibilities in EU. And that too when the Czech presidency of EU has always been questioned from day one. Its stand to not ratify the Lisbon Treaty has been looked down by many EU members.

In such a scenario, it leaves President Vaclav Klaus with only one solution – to find the new government as soon as possible. But while Klaus looks for a quick fix solution, the problem is that none of the big parties are strong enough to form government.


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Monday, October 15, 2012

The truth behind their tall claims

A B&E analysis of the various failings of the UPA and the truth behind their tall claims

As recently as March 2009, Manmohan Singh’s government has bludgeoned a government out of power in Meghalaya. Such brazen trampling of constitutional niceties is reason enough to believe that the Congress should never get a majority in the Lok Sabha.

The really sad thing is the manner in which investigative agencies have been used often in a crass and petty manner to settle scores. Jog your memory folks and recall how Amitabh Bachchan was hounded by the tax guys even when he was hospitalised. And do you remember how Jaya Bachchan was thrown out of the Rajya Sabha by petty Congress plotters who actually ended up embarrassing their own leader Sonia Gandhi? And look at how the CBI has been made to contradict itself case after case to suit the political ends of the UPA government. The CBI says that there is no case against Mayawati when the UPA is wooing it. It says there is no case against Mulayam Singh Yadav when it supports the government. First, the CBI is OK with Sanjay Dutt getting bail. Then it is vehemently opposed to the man being allowed to contest elections.

The tragedy is not that Manmohan Singh has allowed all this to happen. The tragedy is how he and UPA strategists expect you and me to believe that he is the ultimate Mr. Clean. Surely, even media pundits with short memories can’t be so naïve. The other and even more dangerous failure is the manner in which the UPA government has hopelessly entangled the problem of terror with the problems faced by Muslims in India. There has not been a single honest attempt to create opportunities for the Muslim community to leverage on education, healthcare and the rapidly growing economy to make a better life for their children. Rather, it has been a repeat of the monumental Shah Bano fiasco when the UPA government has tacitly encouraged Muslims to feel that they get a raw deal in India. It was grotesque and bizarre watching senior Congress leaders tacitly encouraging the theory that the Batla House encounter in which Inspector M.C Sharma was martyred was actually a staged and ‘fake’ encounter to kill innocent Muslims. Equally shameful was the manner in which the Malegaon bomb blasts were leveraged to ‘prove’ that Hindu terrorism is as much a problem as ‘Muslim’ terrorism. Ask yourself an honest question: why else would Manmohan Singh agree to nominate a tainted cricketer like Mohhamad Azharuddin to contest Lok Sabha elections from Moradabad in UP when the man has lived all his life in Hyderabad? 



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Sunday, October 14, 2012

Oracles be damned!

Do their M&A predictions really work? And is there some ‘secret learning’ even they know nothing about? STEVEN PHILIP WARNER takes a closer look...

Despite fears of making it sound more like a sadistically-inclined moronic panic attack, let us get straight to the point here: which one of the following is most fatal – SARS, tuberculosis, typhoid, severe malaria, dengue, and… marriage (oink?!)? Let us go by the numbers. As per prior medical and social studies, dengue has a fatality rate of just 3%, severe malaria – 9%, typhoid – 10%, tuberculosis – 11%, SARS – 15%; and divorces – 38%! [Oh! Couples in love never knew this, did they?] Now allow us to marginally change course here: from social marriage to business marriages [and in the process reveal facts that CEOs in love with the idea of business matrimonies have perhaps missed out on]. Business marriage if put in that list above would walk away with honours glorified, in the name of the Queen. Period! And what makes us so non-sanguinely presumptuous? Well, the failure rate of M&As is anywhere between 75-78% (as per researches by HBS, KPMG, Booz Allen, et al), and it has earned shameful recognition for stripping-down shareholders to their bones, such that even the ruthless piranhas of the Amazonian rivers would pack a mournful retreat over the crime.

So here we are, in the midst of another downturn… six long years of prosperity at the bourses, and suddenly the shareholders are crying out for mercy. And what do the pundits say? Well, first they claimed that there was no downturn in sight, and that it was simply a ‘slight’ correction at the stock market. Then the real estate diamond turned cheap carbon. This was followed up with some major financial entities finding survival a next life dream. Then the virus spread to the manufacturing and other services businesses and the bourses crashed. And yet, we never learnt!!! We undertook panic discounts. Wrong! We cut back on our advertisements. Wrong! [But hey, aren’t corporations supposed to cut down on expenses during a downturn?] And finally, the dirt: we still believe those ‘gas-ball of Oracles’, that perhaps don’t even remember their respective birthdays; forget about predicting the ‘right’ future! Research proves it, and there’s no white-chalk teaching needed to reassure you that deal-making is too dangerous and fruitless during downturns. We undertook some primary research & digged deeper into some exemplary past researches and events... all of which we present in the following paragraphs. When you get to the last line of this article, you would have figured out why the whole argument began in the first place… and why there’s so much to learn for those demented ‘self-proclaimed’ Oracles!


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Friday, October 12, 2012

KAZAKHSTAN: MR. NUR AND HIS...

A romantic story of Mr.Nur and oil

This move was preceded by the government acquiring the two leading banks and taking over 25% stake in two other NBFCs. There are fears among analysts that within the next year, tenge will further devaluate to $186.315.

Critically, their credit default swap is rising with higher risk of debt default. In the London Stock Exchange, the stocks of Kazakhstan’s mining firms plummeted with devaluation of its currency. As a consequence of plunging oil prices, the government is readjusting its fiscal assumptions on revenue earned from oil at $40 per barrel for 2009, and $50 per barrel for 2010 and 2011. To his credit, Kazakhstan’s fiscal and monetary reserve lies at a huge 42% of GDP, and is quite handsome compared to neighbouring countries. But with public debt at 9% of GDP, and the banking sector on the brink of a gargantuan collapse (despite the government’s $4 billion injection into the system), it must be with a lot of pain Mr.Nur must be realising that the oil mistress has almost but run away. If reports go right, then Nur may soon have to approach the IMF for a bailout package. Ah, with the IMF would come the loaded baggage of the US, and with the US, capitalism and democracy (yes, we’re laughing).


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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