02.02.2010

Politics & the Nation

• Remembering Normal Borlaug
  
• If you were asked to write a piece on Norman Borlaug, would your piece be looking like the one that is penned by Ajay Shriram? Very good one. Normally we would find ourselves at a loss after the first few sentences on his being the father of green revolution. This piece gives an in-depth look into Norman Borlaug and his work. A must read.

Finance & Economy

• Why is the RBI contemplating capital controls?
  
• To avoid stark economic imbalances due to the role played by fund flows in worsening inflation, boosting asset prices and destroying industry competitiveness.
• The thinking arises amid the recent developments wherein countries such as Taiwan and Brazil, in a limited way, have imposed what is popularly known as the Tobin Tax. This is a tax on a transaction to deter speculation.
• Look at this graphic which sums up the issue for us very well.
• Here is an excellent graphic on subsidies
  
• It gives a macro picture of the state of subsidies in India. Take a look.
• Are you still drunk on the positive news about our banks' brand values?
  
• Then it is time, says Moody's, for you to shake up and see the start realities. Look at this graphic which explains more about this statement.

International

• What are the takeaways from the recently concluded World Economic Forum at Davos?
  
• An excerpt from today's article in ET puts it very correctly and effectively. Take a look...
• Amid the multiplicity of voices, opinions and often conflicting viewpoints, the vague contours of a new world order emerged. Forget flat worlds, globalisation, decoupling, G20s or G7s. It’s all about interconnected, differentiated, and diverse. Forget double dips, the new shape on economic recovery is LUV — the L-shaped recovery of other developed nations, U-shaped recovery of the US, and the V-shaped recovery of the emerging nations. While banking and financial services hogged the headlines and topped the agenda — often to the disgust of other constituents — there’s more.
• After the global recession, if anything, the cards are falling into completely different patterns. The world has split up into those who base their economic model on consume and borrow, like the US and UK, and those who save and produce, like China, India and rest of Asia. Those who export and trade, like China and Eastern Europe, and those who have strong domestic markets, like India.
• Name the country that has announced its intention of issuing a high tech passport for each of the sheep residing within its borders.
  
• Kyrgyzstan.
• Surprised? Read more on that here.
• Adverse news about UBS sends jitters down Swiss spine
  
• UBS is so big that if it collapses, it would have negative consequences for the Swiss economy. UBS is stated to be having liabilities worth several times the GDP of Switzerland. From this you can get a picture of the size of UBS.
• At the heart of UBS's troubles appear to be two developements -- one is its settlement of tax dispute with the US government which is forcing it to give data about 4450 clients to the US government and the other is the possibility of Germany buying data of about 1500 possible tax evaders with Swiss bank accounts.
• The other development that is likely to disturb the applecart for UBS is the possibility of its losing the banking license in US.

Obituary

• Subir Raha
  
• This former CMD of ONGC (2001-2006) died of cancer in New Delhi.

Language Lessons

• draught: Noun
• A current of air (usually coming into a chimney or room or vehicle); A serving of drink (usually alcoholic) drawn from a keg; A large and hurried swallow; The depth of a vessel's keel below the surface (especially when loaded); A dose of liquid medicine; The act of moving a load by drawing or pulling
• eg: Salaries across India Inc are expected to rise at a healthy pace this year, as a draught of strong economic growth lifts consumer sentiment and spurs corporate boards into rewarding key people and hire exciting talent.
• drought: Noun
• A shortage of rainfall; A prolonged shortage
• eg: "when England defeated Pakistan it ended a ten-year drought"

• groggy: Adjective
• Stunned or confused and slow to react (as from blows or drunkenness or exhaustion)
• snigger: Noun
• A disrespectful laugh