03.03.2008

• Today I noted something about the farm package announcement made by the finance minister in his budget speech. There were quite a few mails to me on this. So, I thought I would write on this today in Discover It. Read it here.
• What is the buzz about financial market product labelling?
• It is about labelling financial products based on the level of complexity involved: simple, complex and highly complex.
• Against the backdrop of the pain inflicted on the financial investors due to the subprime crisis (wherein very complex financial products were sold to investors who least understood them) and the complaints pouring in on misselling of derivative products in India by a set of aggressive banks, the government has put its weight behind the proposal.
• To start with the classification will be voluntary. It will be kicked off by CRISIL.
• The aim is to guide investors, especially retail investors, and ensure that the right products are sold to the right people.
• Olympics and politics
• Both of them have been inseparable since long. Let’s take a look at what is given in today’s ET:
• 1936 Berlin: Adolf Hitler attempted to use the Games to demonstrate Aryan supremacy. However, black US athlete Jesse Owens ruined his plans by winning four gold medals.
• 1964 Tokyo: South Africa was banned from participating for its failure to condemn apartheid.
• 1968 Mexico: City Black US sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a silent protest against discrimination.
• 1972 Munich: Rhodesia was thrown out of the Olympics, while nine Israeli athletes were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists and later killed in a gun battle.
• 1976 Montreal: 25 African nations boycotted the Olympics in protest against New Zealand’s sporting links with South Africa.
• 1980 Moscow: US President Jimmy Carter called for a boycott following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
• 1984 Los Angeles: The USSR pulled out citing concerns over security measures and the commercialization of the Games; 13 Eastern Bloc countries and Cuba joined the boycott.
• 1996 Atlanta: Bomb killed two people and injured 200 others.
• As the seriousness of budget is bound to take its toll on all of us, can fun be far behind?
• It is almost customary for ET to write pieces like this. Very hilarious. Read it if you want to relax. It is here.
• But a thing worth our noting even from this pun:
• Chidambaram and Morarji Desai presented the maximum number of budgets.
• Some interesting statistic about truck drivers in the US
• It has 3.4 mn truck drivers in all. Of them about 9% are independent owner-operators.
• In contrast India has about 2.82 mn truck drivers in all.
• Sport:
• Cricket: I don’t think I need to note it for you. A majority of you are crazy fans of cricket; I know. But nevertheless it is for people like me.
• India’s under 19 team won the World Cup with a 12 run victory over South Africa.
• Finally Sachin has done himself proud by playing his game. We won the Sydney one day international match against Australia.
• Golf:
• New Zealand’s Mark Brown won the Johnnie Walker Classic title at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, near Delhi.