Don’t even dream of becoming an agricultural exporting powerhouse
Niti Aayog says the reforms could make India a “food-export powerhouse”. This is certainly within the realm of possibility, but should India consciously set before itself the goal of becoming a major agricultural producer?
With COVID-19 under control, China’s economy surges ahead
China’s lead could widen further in the months to come. It has almost no local transmission of the virus now while the United States and Europe face another accelerating wave of cases
For long-term investors, small things like presidential elections don’t matter
Presidents are powerful, but they don’t control the market. Was Barack Obama responsible for the fabulous 16 percent annualized market returns during his eight years in office?
The political subtext to the Koshyari-Thackeray letters
The duel between Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Uddhav Thackeray has been on for a while now, and the Governor might be particularly incensed with Thackeray for outsmarting him at every step
The importance of appreciating the essence of banking
In order to deconstruct banking, we begin with the term deposit. Do banks take ‘deposits’? No
Seasonal softness test awaits big IT after broad-based recovery
Financial services and retail business verticals drive recovery at big four IT companies. While companies also saw good deal wins, managements warned that the December quarter may see some seasonal softness
AC import ban — a cool strategy?
To give a fillip to domestic manufacturing, the government must also think of ways to better support component manufacturing
Could the Ant Group IPO, coinciding with the US elections, be the peak for the market rally?
The delay in clearances from the authorities is creating anxious moments
Joe Biden needs an economic team that will support workers
That is because the next president will need a highly heterodox team to handle a very complex problem: how to bridge the historic divide between the fortunes of US companies and workers
US election: what investors are anticipating
Ignore the short-term market noise and stick with equities and other assets that will benefit from the secular forces driving the economy and the business cycle into the next presidential term and beyond
Blockchain: not hip to be square
PwC predicts blockchain could add $1.76tn — or 1.4 per cent of global gross domestic product — to economic output over the next decade
‘Value drought’ claims latest victim as growth stocks power on
For value investors, a bout of underperformance is nothing new. Many ruefully recall how dismally they did during the dotcom bubble, only to roar back when it burst
Interview | Markets are expensive at valuations higher than 20-year average, says Sanjeev Prasad of Kotak
There have been some positive developments in a few companies, but that alone does not justify the sharp re-rating in multiples, says MD of Kotak Institutional Securities
What Xerxes Desai would have made of Tanishq’s ekatvam advertisement
The ekatvam advertisement for Tanishq jewellery, which is now in the eye of the storm, carries forward one of the features that formed the outline for Titan’s advertising in the 1990s — that of capturing the moment of gifting with the attendant emotion of being gifted something so special
Banking troubles in old private sector banks
Earlier, the experts wrote that Indian banking is mainly about regulatory activism and near absence of shareholder activism. It is good to see emergence of shareholder activism in most unlikely of organisations: old private sector banks
The Reading List: October 16, 2020
A selection of articles and social media gems from the world of economy, business and finance
How United Airlines is trying to plan around a pandemic
United relies far more than its rivals on international travel, which is deeply depressed and is expected to take far longer than domestic travel to bounce back
8 million have slipped into poverty since May as Federal aid has dried up
The recent rise in poverty has occurred despite an improving job market since May, an indication that the economy has been rebounding too slowly to offset the lost benefits
Hindustan Zinc: What’s at stake?
Now that the Vedanta delisting process has ended, investor attention may turn to the business
How market share gains and digital investments are fuelling Infosys’s record order wins
Infosys reported highest ever large deal wins last quarter. The company is gaining market share even as clients cap overall IT spends
The excitement over India’s per capita income being lower than Bangladesh’s is just political hype
If we take the IMF’s figures for gross domestic product per capita at constant prices, measured by purchasing power parity using 2017 international dollars, then Bangladesh’s per capita income in 2020 is 83 percent of India’s.
Welcome shift in Centre’s GST stance
North Block’s latest move on compensation should ensure that states’ normal borrowing is not compromised
What the IMF forecasts say about Sino-US rivalry in the next few years
The trend of a rising China and a declining US is expected to continue, despite the strenuous efforts of US politicians
Investors must let go of some promoters
Although investors have recently voted out the CEOs of two banks, they have yet to take a stand on promoter CEOs in the corporate sector. Even so, there are instances where the long-term interests of the company will be better served by a leadership change. Investors have been shy in rocking the boat — they should not be
