On Stock Markets !!!!

While people are worried that the Sensex is at lowest level in 2 years the situation is actually more worse. The PE ratios at which the stocks are trading are at 2002 levels, so the sensex is at 2002 level and not at 2006 level, more cause for concern right?

Days of Raj or GoondaRaj

In all the hulla over the deplorable tactics employed by Raj Thackeray and MNS to make its point the real point is lost. Why is that people in Bihar are aware of the exams to be held for Western Zone recruitment and people in Maharashtra have no clue about it. If the exams were meant to be centralized and open for all then they could have as well held them in one of the major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Patna. The very fact that the exams are held in such far flung places suggest that there needs to be a local flavour to the candidates applying for the exam. Why isn't railway ministry and Laloo Prasad not able to show a single instance when the notification for the exams was published in local news papers? And the instace is not isloated to Maharashtra similar complaints have been made in Orissa, Punjab why even in Delhi.

Will someone address this point and hold Laloo Prasad responsible for it?

As for MNS it needs to get its approach right. If they were aware of the exams being held why didn't they make sure that local people were made aware of the times when the forms for such exams will be distributed. Raj talks about having a blue print for maharashtra having a cell addressing issues of people. Can't he have a cell which keeps tracks of all such government openings, publish them in right media and train the youth so that they are ready for the exams. But but but, have the days of constructive political activity in India long gone by??

Another milestone

Having made the habit of crossing milestones with regularity Sachin Tendulkar crossed two today:'

1) Becoming the highest run scorer in test match cricket

2) First batsmen to score over 12000 run in test match cricket

Not so long ago the mood of India was determined by the kind of innings Sachin played. Not today though, how will the market like to see Tendulkar's test aggregate on the BSE index, even better his ODI aggregate. Or probably thats the reason it was to happen today, to take India's collective physche away from the financial turmoils and yet again celebrate the many achievements of little genius.

Bored with the daily headlines of financial gloom, I can take solace in the fact that atleast half of tomorrow's front page will celebrate Sachin's achievement.

As he did countless time in 90's the master has yet again provided an escape from the realities of the world.

Liquidity crisis explained

Came across this easily understandable explanation for the current liquidity crisis

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7670313.stm

and if one has enough patience this:

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/10/05/stories/2008100550010100.htm

But all this is hindsight which always happens to be 20/20

For now the Sensex is flirting with 4 digit levels and will be interesting to see where it bottoms out. My guess 8k

मन मनास उमगत नाही

Yesterday came across this beautiful marathi song by Sudheer Moghe:
मन मनास उमगत नाही, आधार कसा शोधावा
स्वप्नातील पदर धुक्याचा, हाथास कसा लागावा
मन थेम्बंचे आकाश, लाठानी सवार्लेले
मन नक्षत्राचे रान, अवकाशी अव्तार्लेले
मन गर्गाराते आवर्त, मन रानभूल, मन चकवा
आधार कसा शोधावा, मन मनास उमगत नाही
मन कालोखाची गुंफा, मन तेजाचे राउल
मन शैतानाचा हाथ, मन देवाचे पाहुल
दुबल्या, गल्क्य झोलित हा सूर्य कसा झेलावा
आधार कसा शोधावा, मन मनास उमगत नाही
चेहरा, मोहरा याचा कुणी कधी पहिला नाही
धनि अस्तित्वाचा तरीही, याच्याविना दूसरा nahi
या अनोल्खी नात्याच्या, कुणी कसा भारवास घ्यावा
आधार कसा शोधावा, मन मनास उमगत नाही

On reservation

Yesterday the SC asked government to fill up the vacant seats of 27% OBC quota from general category students. HRD ministry made an interesting argument in the court: Since the quota's were to be fulfilled in the phased manner given the lack of adequate infrastructure any vacant seats should be carried forward to the next academic year.

I am still trying to make sense of these recommendation by HRD ministry, wondering about the intellectual levels of the people who within and can this ministry ever achieve constructive human development in the country.

Anyways better sense prevailed and SC thrashed the government recommendation and passed an order to feel the seats from General category. 

From Bulls to Bear

Is the time series analysis the only tool at the disposal of analysts?

When crude was at 140 USD per barrel, analyst had predicted a price of 220 USD per barrel and now with markets in turmoil it predicts a price of 50 USD per barrel.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Crude_prices_may_fall_to_50_barrel/articleshow/3588871.cms

To my mind 50 USD scenario is as unlikely to play as the 220 USD per barrel scenario.

New tools of Agriculture

I am of the opinion that India doesn't seem to invest enough money in agriculture research. Well 2 people seem to have taken a note of it:

KOZHIKODE: Air Customs seized 59 handguns from the baggage of two passengers who landed at the International Airport at Karipur. The passengers, identified as Shakeel Ali Mohammed Salim and Rafeeq were coming from Germany via Dubai. They had reached the airport at Karipur by an Emirates flight on Thursday. While Rafeeq said he belonged to Bhat Nagar in Mumbai, Shakeel Ali Mohammed Salim claimed he was from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. An official said the guns, which included 29 pistols and 30 revolvers, had been seized.

The passengers were being produced in court. The two claimed the guns were meant for "agricultural purposes".

http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/10/stories/2008101052520400.htm

Surpisingly not many of my IIM batchmates are blogging about the current crisis. Is it an effort to not acknowledge an inconvinent truth or they are too much in shock to reflect and post on it?