infotonic

There has been much discussion in the media about the crisis in the BJP post Jaswant Singh's ouster and how it will affect the very existence of the party. But from branding p.o.v this is an event that should worry congress, why, u might ask? Cause if so called non-congress moderate forces were to realign they will pose bigger threat to congress; the last 2 elections were won by congress coz of the fact that non-BJP votes consolidated and went to congress i.e. minorities and secular Hindus didn't vote for BJP. If the crisis in the BJP gets worse, the party is likely to split into two. There will be the ideologically right-wing Hindutva section whose fortunes will be guided by the RSS bosses in Nagpur and more importantly there will be a moderate secular segment that will have the likes of Jaswant Singh. It is this segment of the breakaway BJP that will challenge the market leader currently the Congress. Voter will have a choice between the Congress, BJP and a third formation. ...

The warnings are getting louder. And they're now coming from some of the most intellectual minds in the world of finance and economics. We are talking about the rising claims that the US dollar will soon cease to be the global currency of reserve, a status it got 65 years ago after the formulation of the Bretton Woods agreement. Now, after China and other BRIC economies raised their voice against the dollar, the chorus of calls for a significant drop in the greenback is coming from sources such as Pimco (the world's biggest bond fund), and Joseph Stiglitz (economics Nobel laureate). A note from Pimco reads - "We are clearly seeing a loss of status for the US dollar as a store of value even in the absence of a single viable alternative. In combination with other factors, that likely means a continuing devaluing of the US dollars versus other currencies, especially the EM (emerging market) currencies." The note further adds - "...investors should consider whether i...

Forget the global financial turmoil, the swine flu epidemic and the drought, India has a much bigger problem in store, namely a looming 'water crisis'. As reported on Bloomberg, satellite data has shown that groundwater is shrinking in some of India's driest areas. Curbing demand for water seems like the most obvious solution but how feasible is that given India's rising population? Huge wastage is not helping matters either. And what is more, three-quarters of the country's rivers, lakes and dams are contaminated by human and agricultural waste and industrial effluent. So, the big question, is - If monsoons play erratic and the groundwater is declining, where will India get its water from? It is not that India does not understand the importance of water as the fight between states over distribution of water in the past has proven. But really, this precious resource has to be given its due consideration as is given to oil and stress has to be laid on conservation, r...

The Indian finance ministry yesterday released its 'Direct Tax Code 2009' (DTC), a proposal paper on simplifying India's complicated tax structure as also to bringing down overall taxes - both with a view to improve compliance and thereby improve the government's tax revenues. Given that the media has covered most aspects of the tax proposals on companies and individuals, i will leave it at that. My question is - what's the priority for you, the tax payer. Do you want lower taxes as the ministry has now proposed? Or are you willing to accept higher taxes, provided the government utilises the income so generated in a proper manner? See, the Indian government anyways has no point in worrying about you, the individual taxpayer (who is in the minority). This is because elections here are decided by agriculturists, whose farm incomes are tax exempt. Then, high levels of poverty and tax evasion keeps the other majority outside the direct tax net. So, it is unlikely that a...

"I should buy stocks before the markets run up." "I should sell stocks before the markets crash." Are these thoughts worrying you while at work, or keeping you awake at midnight? If yes, congratulations! You are a normal human being who is driven by the two emotions of 'fear' and 'greed' when it comes to money-related decisions. Indeed, these are anxious times for all investors. Nobody knows quite what to expect from the markets over the next few days, or even months. Will the Sensex continue its dramatic climb, as it has since March? Or will it take another staggering drop as it did in the week after the Budget was announced earlier this month? I don't know either! So why invest in stocks at all, when things are so uncertain all around? And what does one really make of what's going to happen next given that the markets are an extension of the collective psychologies of all speculators and investors that make it? See, whatever the experts on ...

Heard on the street (dalal street of course) TCS management had a hard time fighting the green-eyed monster of envy when investors attending its 14th AGM went ga-ga over its arch-rival Infosys. The investors questioned many of the company's policies regarding employee productivity and EPS and compared them with those of Infosys, making Mr. Tata and the top management a little uncomfortable. Not all the questions were relevant and well-founded though. Nevertheless, kudos to the management for clarifying doubts to the best extent possible. After all that's what AGMs are held for, aren't they?

The world is changing, and changing fast. Countries from the west that dominated the global economic and financial system still do so though their dominance has reduced manifold. And when it comes to energy consumption - the driving force behind growth of economies - we have reached a very important inflection point. As per statistics released by BP, primary energy consumption in the non-OECD countries exceeded OECD consumption for the first time in 2008. OECD, or Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is an international organisation of 30 countries like the US, Canada, European nations, Australia and Japan. And given the fact that these countries have seen significant slowdown in their growth rates over the past few years, the energy consumption picture was bound to change, and it did in 2008. In fact, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 87% of the world's energy consumption growth during the year. While the Chinese consumption growth slowed for the fifth conse...