WORLD
China is the world’s biggest economy, in PPP terms
If we measure GDP in current US dollars, China’s economy will be three-quarters of the US next year. The closing gap is the underlying reason for the US-China cold war
BUSINESS
An extraordinary divergence between consumer sentiment and business expectations
While the RBI’s consumer confidence survey is unrelievedly gloomy, its business surveys are far more upbeat
BUSINESS
Ultra-low interest rates pose risks to global financial stability, warns IMF report
The market exuberance is rational in the context of low interest rates, but that doesn’t prevent it leading to excessive risk taking, stretched valuations and rising financial vulnerabilities
BUSINESS
What the IMF’s forecasts say about India’s economic recovery
Investment demand forecast to remain tepid, growth to be supported by high government spending, according to IMF projections
ECONOMY
The World Happiness Report is no April Fool spoof, it’s a sinister plot
Why on earth are we ranked below Libya, Iraq, Niger, Venezuela, Burkina Faso or Chad?
BUSINESS
Who bears the cost of a lockdown?
Government data show it’s not just the unemployment rate that went up, the labour force participation ratio also fell during the lockdown
BUSINESS
Services could be the engine of India’s growth, finds Yale Research
Productivity growth in sectors such as retail, hospitality, or transportation account for one third of welfare growth between 1987 and 2011
BUSINESS
Manufacturing renaissance or premature deindustrialisation?
A new research paper from UN university, titled ‘A manufacturing renaissance? Industrialization trends in the developing world’ offers reasons for hope
BUSINESS
RBI research takes the shine off Economic Survey’s spirited defence of high fiscal deficits
Researchers at the RBI seem to have a less enthusiastic view of the wonders of a negative r-g than those who penned the Economic Survey
BUSINESS
RBI says demand gets a push from falling household savings rate and higher borrowing
The question is: If household savings normalise and go back to pre-pandemic levels, while the fiscal deficit remains elevated, will interest rates go up?
BUSINESS
RBI report warns Goldilocks may be mauled by bond vigilantes
RBI will defend her, if needed by unleashing its Brahmastra
POLITICS
What India thinks today, will Bengal think tomorrow?
What is needed in West Bengal is not just change, but a radical transformation
BUSINESS
PMI surveys for February confirm cyclical recovery under way in Indian economy
The revival in growth has resulted in a sharp rise in input costs, which may lead to higher core inflation
BUSINESS
Bank for International Settlements allays fears about froth in equity markets
US equity market valuations are at their long-term average when low interest rates are taken into the valuation yardstick
BUSINESS
Bank investment in government securities is coming down, pushing up yields
The rise in bank credit in the last three and a half months or so has been 45 percent higher than over the same period in the last fiscal year
BUSINESS
RBI report on economy says, ‘Well begun is half done'
The report compares the RBI to the Greek hero Ulysses
BUSINESS
What will be the drivers of growth in the current quarter?
The GDP numbers project a huge rise in government spending in the current quarter
BUSINESS
The timeless world of Warren Buffett
Buffett’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders this year makes no mention of the pandemic and the economic and market turmoil, but offers a key insight for investors
BUSINESS
The Indian bond market is having its very own taper tantrum
RBI’s massive balance sheet expansion in the last one year has ground to a halt in the last three months
BUSINESS
Why PM Modi's private sector defence is a watershed in India’s political economy
The government no longer thinks it’s necessary to camouflage reforms. That is a momentous change
POLITICS
Nature’s revenge
Since the power and pelf lie on the side of the developers, a blind eye is often turned to environmental concerns
BUSINESS
What the January RBI surveys tell us about the strength of the economic recovery
A majority of urban consumers say their incomes and jobs have suffered in the past year
BUSINESS
January PMI shows sustained improvement in Indian economy
Input costs are rising and the Monetary Policy Committee will have to take that into account, together with the high fiscal deficit
BUSINESS
How the post-pandemic Budget compares to the post-financial crisis one
A startling coincidence is that both the Budgets aimed for a fiscal deficit of 6.8 percent of GDP
