22.05.2008

• Which of the following grouping is India not a member of at the WTO forums?
• Nama-11
• G-33
• G-20
• G-18
• I am dead sure that all of you will be able to answer the question. The answer for the uninitiated is G-18.
• How many countries does the G-33 grouping have in it?
• You think it is 33; isn't it? But actually 46 countries are reportedly members in it.
• What is special safeguard mechanism (SSM) that India is worked up against at the WTO talks?
• SSM is a mechanism to protect the livelihood of poor farmers in developing countries. SSMs give the developing countries the power to increase import duties on specific farm products if there is a sudden increase in volume of imports or a fall in domestic prices.
• India is concerned over the unfavourable contents of the recently-circulated draft texts in agriculture and non-agriculture market access (Nama) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It is objecting to the price trigger of 30% proposed in the text, which India believes is too steep a dip.
• What is y-o-y and w-o-w in the context of measuring inflation?
• Inflation, as measured traditionally in India is on year-on-year (yoy) basis. What this means is that the current WPI index is compared with the WPI of last year and the growth percentage recorded is taken as the inflation rate.
• But in many countries, it is measured on a wow (week on week) basis. The WPI figure of the current week is compared with the last week's figure and the inflation rate arrived at. This has the advantage of removing the base effect.
• Now, don't ask me what is base effect; will you? Search our blog for this phrase. I have covered it already earlier.
• What is meant by 'open interest' in futures and derivatives markets?
• Open interest is the number of "open" contracts of derivatives like futures and options that have a time limit after which they expire. Open interest in a derivative is the sum of all contracts that have not expired, been exercised or physically delivered.
• What is the implication of high levels of open interest or low levels of open interest?
• Low levels of Open Interest reflect a market lacking in liquidity and, therefore, one which will be relatively more susceptible to being moved by a trade than a more liquid counterpart. When there are high levels of Open Interest, deals are likely to be rapidly swallowed up by the market - due to the fact that there will be a vast array of participants eager to open new positions or take profits - and consequently have far less impact on the current price.
• Want to know more on this? A very good write up can be found here.
• Global Peace Index
• The Global Peace Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit (a unit of The Economist magazine), which measures 140 nations on how peaceful they are, has thumbed down the high and mighty. Here is a list that puts the US below Madagascar and Botswana! What else could one expect with the index calculating countries based on internal factors like crime rates, prison population, and external factors like relations with other countries, arms sales, foreign troop deployments, et al.
• India is ranked 107 in this list.
• Ever heard of the 'next billion'?
• Across emerging markets over a billion consumers are waiting to be ushered into formal markets, eager to forsake the substandard products and usurious rates they are forced to contend with in informal channels. These consumers, are referred to as the next billion. They are currently excluded not because they lack purchasing power. In aggregate they are already spending almost a trillion dollars each year, and over a third of it is on non-essentials. Yet commercial enterprises and governments have so far not devised ways to reach and serve them profitably.
• Interesting results from a research study into Kerala’s fishermen’s usage of cell phones.
• A recent study by a Harvard economist found that variation in fish prices in Kerala fell from 70% to 15%, and the spoilage of daily catch fell from around 5% to almost zero after widespread adoption of mobile phones. Fishermen’s profit rose by 8% even as the consumer price fell by 4%.
• Sometimes headlines are best remembered as they appear.
• I found today's headline in ET very compelling. Read on...
• StanChart eyes India listing via IDRs
• A year after the Sepoy Mutiny, the British bank Standard Chartered set up its first Indian branch in Calcutta in 1858, to cash in on the flourishing trades in rice, jute and indigo. Today, 150 years later, the bank is all set to ride the booming Indian stock market.
• Standard Chartered, the emerging market bank and the foreign bank with the biggest presence in the country, is looking at listing itself in Indian stock exchanges. It could well be the first MNC to issue Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs)—securities that will be traded in the local stock market. If the Indian listing goes through, this would be StanChart’s third global listing after UK and Hong Kong. India is the bank’s second biggest money spinner, contributing 17% of its profits. StanChart’s plans may draw some of the other global firms to float IDRs — a market that is yet to take off.
• Ever heard of a universal remote?
• It is very interesting. Read on... here.
• IPL match
• Yesterday’s match between Mumbai Indians and the Punjab Kings XI was a real thriller. Happened to watch it while shopping in a sports shop. T20 has the potential to have an unenthusiastic (or bored!) cricketing fan like me also glued to the TV set; at least in the last few minutes of the game.
• Kudos to the format.