19.04.2008

• On world trade growth
• The outlook for world trade in the on-going calendar year appears bleak with growth expected to dip to 4.5%, a one percent drop from 5.5% growth recorded in 2007. According to the World Trade Statistics 2008, compiled by the WTO, a sharp economic deceleration in key developed countries is being offset partly by continued growth in emerging economies like China and India.
• Government plans to monitor news channels and FM radio stations!!
• The government seems bent on monitoring about 100 channels by recording them simultaneously and storing the content for review later on.
• Read the full article here.
• Does this make sense?
• Issues relating to ‘coal to oil’ projects
• It is estimated that country has coal reserves of about 250 billion tonne and proven reserves of 93 bt. With country’s 80-90% of future power projects coming up on coal, the fuel could hardly be spared for a liquefaction projects that has yet to become popular even globally.
• The coal-to-oil projects are resurfacing again as high price of crude oil in the International market (over $100 a barrel) has made these capital and technological intensive operations feasible. The oil generated from the process could cost $50-55 a barrel, making it much cheaper than imported oil.
• RBI hikes the CRR rate
• To 8%. It sucks out Rs. 18,500 crores from the system.
• Let’s wait and watch whether this can make a difference to inflation.
• My guess is that more hikes may be on the way.
• Do you see any flaws that afflict the big globalizers as compared to the smaller countries that are also globalizing in a big way?
• One view that is being aired is that the big globalizers viz., the BRIC countries have some differences in approaches and situation than the smaller and successful globalizers of the past like the East Asian Tigers. Look at the differences.
• First, highly populous countries must integrate their poor and ill-educated underclass (in China and India mostly rural) as they engage with world markets.
• Second, China and Russia have financial systems that lack transparency, while Brazil and India are financially underdeveloped, putting further integration in the world economy at risk and increasing prospects for a financial crisis.
• Third, Russia is already facing massive demographic decline and an ageing and sickening population; China faces the near certainty of a Japanese-style demographic downturn from the 2040s onward, a belated legacy of its one-child policy.
• On IFRS a/c standards
• IFRS (International Financial Reporting System), which is principle-based rather than rule-based, could be implemented in India by April 2011, according to ICAI.
• This is based on the fact that heightened international consolidation and M&A activity across countries have brought about the need for a uniform, credible and transparent form of accounting standards. All entities with public interest in it will have to move to IFRS. This includes all listed companies, companies with turnovers above Rs 100 crore, companies with public borrowing of over Rs 25 crore, and all banks, MFs, and insurance companies.
• Nearly 108 countries, including the Euro zone, have already adopted IFRS. And countries like China, Canada and Australia will be adopting IFRS this year itself.