September 2008 - Posts - An Awkward Corner

September 2008 - Posts

Future Books On Current Crisis

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
I had blogged here last week about the seven best books that I had read on financial crises. The crisis that is now ripping through the Western financial system will undoubtedly lead to many good books hitting the stores from next summer. An article in The New York Observer tells us that many heavy hitters in the field of financial journalism are shopping...

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Y.V. Reddy has the last laugh

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
There has been no shortage of Reserve Bank of India detractors. And a lot of the criticism of the central bank has been focussed on its 21st governor, Y.V. Reddy, who stepped down recently. Reddy had been attacked through his tenure for two main reasons. 1. He took a call in late 2004 that the Indian economy was mildly overheating, and hence needed...

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How The Gale May Blow Through India

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
The crisis in Western finance has hogged the headlines this month. A lot has also been written and said about how the problems in the US and Europe will affect stock prices here. That's the bird's eye view. It would also be useful to take a worm's eye view of the entire affair ---- by trying to guage what impact the financial crisis will...

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Financial Crises: My Seven Favourite Books

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
This has been an astonishing month in the global financial markets --- the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the sale of Merrill Lynch, the nationalization of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and AIG, and fears that several other financial institutions are tottering. It is hard to make sense of what is happening in New York, London and elsewhere. And while there...

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A Dash of Financial Sector Hypocrisy

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
T.N. Ninan has written a typically thoughtful piece in Business Standard this weekend. He points to the fact that the US government is merrily bailing out financial institutions while urging other countries to cut regulations of their financial sector. "... people in Asia and South America will remember the advice given by Washington when there...

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How To Give Money To An NGO

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
Okay, I have done by bi-annual duty and written out a cheque to an NGO. This particular NGO tries to help poor children and offers a menu of programmes that a donor can partially fund. My wife and I usually ask the NGO to use our money to give girls an annual dose of iron and folic acid tablets. Why? We have no idea. My guess is that it was because...

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Singur Is Not The First Such Battle For The Tatas

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
The agitation by the farmers of Singur is not the first that the Tatas have faced. As a young boy growing up in a middle-class neighbourhood in Mumbai, it was but natural for me to hear about Senapati Bapat and his battle against the construction of a dam by the Tatas at Mulshi, a village near Pune. Bapat was a hero: he was close to extremist groups...

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Kashmir And The Economics Of Secession

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
At least three respected commentators --- Vir Sanghvi, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Swaminathan Aiyer --- have argued of late that it is time to allow Kashmir to leave the Indian Union. I personally think it is a bad idea. 1. There is a great likelihood of an independent Kashmir being run over by radical Islamists. They will virtually be at the gates of Delhi...

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Actor Ben Affleck Understands Free Trade

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
I loved the way actor Ben Affleck explains how trade and technology can help the world's poor: “these people know how to fish; they need a pond to fish in.” The pond is obviously the US. Affleck was part of a discussion organized at Denver during the National Democratic Convention there. "Nancy (Birdsall) added that nearly all of U.S. economic...

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Tooth Decay And Other Important Things

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
An average 12-year old in India has 3.94 decayed, missing or filled teeth. That's according to this wonderful chart from Gapminder World. (Hat Tip: Chris Blattman ) Here is data for some other countries. China: 1.03 Pakistan: 1.38 Saudi Arabia: 5.9 Chris Blattman offers a tentative observation: "Dental problems seem to be lowest in the rich...

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New RBI Governor And Wikipedia

Posted by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha at 
Around noon on 2 September, Wikipedia has already got an updated list of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governors. D. Subbarao is mentioned as the 22nd governor. The official RBI site has not yet made the change in its "governor's page." Share this post: email it! | del.icio.us! | digg it! | newsVine!

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