November 2008 - Posts - Simple Equation

November 2008 - Posts

Economic Crisis, Mumbai Tragedy and Market Volatility

Posted by Harish Rao at 
Volatility is probably the single biggest reason why most Indians are not resolute equity investors. Long used to assured returns from bank deposits, PPF and other small savings schemes, the sheer unpredictability of equity returns has made many potential investors view it with suspicion. In fact, for much of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the most popular equity...

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Thrift - A lesson learnt in Mumbai

Posted by Harish Rao at 
We have just witnessed yet another unfortunate and cowardly terror attack on India's most vibrant city. Will the city's administrators at last learn a lesson on counter terrorism? I suspect not, for they will remain as inert as ever, letting rogue elements tarnish the name of a great city. I for one will always remember a lesson that a Bombayite...

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Lessons from our masters

Posted by Harish Rao at 
John Train's Money Masters Of Our Time is a popular investment book for all portfolio manager wannabes. There are interesting nuggets about the styles of various legends like T. Rowe Price, Julian Robertson, George Soros etc. In short, there is a lot to learn from the Masters. ( read review here ). So, what can we learn from our Money Masters in...

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Now, this is really weird.

Posted by Harish Rao at 
The Realty sector continues to amaze. It must be said, the lack of logic in their arguments is consistent. The chairman of the real estate industry leader conceded there was a big problem in the sector, but put the blame on high interest rates for the customer and lack of liquidity for the developer. However in the same summit where these comments were...

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Life @ Rs. 18 per day

Posted by Harish Rao at 
You love your city. Mumbai. Delhi. Bangalore. Pune. Chennai. Wherever. You love the food joints, you have your favourite high street shopping hang outs. You know the best place for books, for ice-creams, for films, for a squeeze. Whatever. Chances are that your wallet would have at least Rs. 500. (There is always a credit/debit card for contingencies...

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That indescribable word

Posted by Harish Rao at 
For any serious lover of trivia, one essential tome has been the David Wallechinsky / Amy Wallace bestseller The Book of Lists. There is a section that contains the best 18 untranslatable words - words in various languages that have no English equivalent. For eg. Dohada in Sanskrit means ‘Unusual cravings and appetites of a pregnant woman'. Or Schadenfreude...

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Who wears the pants in the house?

Posted by Harish Rao at 
Sarah Vine advises the readers of The Times, UK on beauty. But on Sept 19, 2008, she wrote one of the most interesting articles on the current financial meltdown. And she did not see anything beautiful in it. Her assessment was simple. There was just too much testosterone in the market. Given the predominantly male texture of the financial market, this...

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Let the Party begin…

Posted by Harish Rao at 
Peter Lynch, the iconic fund manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund, once remarked that he could categorise the stock market on the basis of cocktail party attitudes. Typically, in the early stages of a bull market, guests would ask him for stock tips. At the peak, they would give him stock recommendations. At the first signs of bearishness, they would...

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