May-June-July 2008

SAP 2Q Beats Views; Fiscal Year Guidance At Top-End: The constant currencies part is interesting...
.
.
.
MSM Stealing Blog Content: Times Joins Growing Trend?: I see it as a both-way process where many bloggers also do the opposite. However reputed news-agencies must not do it, and the reason offered for not acknowledging content from blogs is ridiculous.
.
.
.
China to Turn Economic Growth Into Olympic Gold, End U.S. Reign:
'Hawksworth's calculations show that the top 30 countries will win 82 percent of the medals, mirroring their 84 percent share of the world economy.'

.
.
.
Temasek Invests in Merrill After Getting Compensation : So new instruments keep evolving, and they always favor the large bargaining power of large buyers.
.
.
.
So Long, Capitalism
.
.
.
Randy Pausch: The lecture of a lifetime: 'Sincerity translates, in other words, on a far more primal level than language...'

Makes one wonder on the sincerity level of Crocodile Hunter or Randy Pausch or people like them, and then people like me (or us) and then the so-called decision makers who are supposed to be the most sincere about the plight of mankind at large.
.
.
.
Obama addresses 200,000 in Berlin with message of unity for world's people & Obama Speaks to Germany on European Ties
.
.
.
Another Meeting? Say It Isn’t So
.
.
.
Berliners welcome Obama as they did JFK: '76 percent of Berliners would vote for him, and he's been dubbed by influential news magazine Der Spiegel as "the president of the world." He could "stand on his head" and it wouldn't matter, said one media critic.' Lately I am seeing Der Spiegel online (in Google News), and do like it also.

.
.
.
GM Teams With Dozens Of Utilities on Plug-In Cars: Oil dependence indeed looks to be slowing down...with such innovations now a possibility. Good article.
.
.
.
The Inflation Haymaker Comes A Cropper: Interesting to know the history...also I found a new thing in Foxnews 1st time...stock-proces changing in real time basis...makes better sense than the quotes that Reuters or Bloomberg gives!
.
.
.
Fannie and Freddie's Enablers
.
.
.
Darkness on the edge of town: Newspapers 2008.
.
.
.
Trouble at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Stirs Concern Abroad
.
.
.
A Big Party Without the Guest of Honor : True...what a nostalgic moment...and what changes we saw in last 100-years
.
.
.
For Short Sellers, It Doesn’t Get Much Better : And imagine, a market regulator like SEBI in India is introducing these monsters in India. FIIs would come and short-sale India; and RBI and SEBI would watch (rather facilitate).
.
.
.
Chinese president meets Indian PM on bilateral ties, global issues : I believe it's time for India and China to take these words to action. China should take the initiative and India should be more open, rather than uttering the same-old dimplomatic words. Trust must be built first on the disputes regarding borders, and a status quo should be maintained. I liked the words of Hu Jintao, and hope he really meant it, with due understanding of complexity of Indian systems.
.
.
.
UAE GDP revision highlights region's data problems: Because they are not yet professional liars, that's why they goofed up. I take all GDP and inflation figures with same degree of credibility, Money Supply is something that can be clearly quantified; but for some reason isn't, in a single global scale.
.
.
.
Internet propels Obama but also creates risks: I rather disagree...Internet allows better control than the distortions often made by the mainstream/alternate media. Here one keeps the control and clarifications. True, close coordination amongst the different groups who are manahing the campaign with the candidate is needed.
.
.
.
Old Harvard Ties Failing in New Egalitarian Age: Very much true globally...
.
.
.
Came across Reportr.net as a blog and Prof. Alfred Armida as its founder.
.
.
.
A Classic Final That Began So Harmlessly, and So Much Earlier : Indeed. I saw the match till the 2nd rain disturbed play in Star Sports. And like Rhoden, I also supported Nadal (true, from the 2nd set onwards). Federer was invincible...till 2008. All eras end. And I was wondering at the characters...be it Nadal (22-years) or Federer (26). What was I in 22 - or most of us? Mostly immatured but arrogant, about whatever strengths we had, without knowing much of the world. Great staff. Thanks to both the players. When he lost the 4th set in tie-breal from the 5-2 lead position, I felt inexperience is costing him. And Federer, with his serve-strength, always had an advantages in tii-breakers (probably the records also showed that). 'All that remained was to crown a champion, not determine the better (sports) man (for the day)...From Wimbledon to the streets of London, this was a great moment, a moment of transition in men’s tennis and transformation in one player’s life.
' Yes, too early to say about the era...shaken or broken? I remember Federer also lost the chance almost a year back to have the largest match winning-record. He was such a person that opponent always felt he was invincible. Probably not any more...
.
.
.
Biofuels May Be Even Worse than First Thought: Lately I am seeing more of Spiegel Online in Google News. I must say 'I'm liking it (Google News)' as they say for McDonald or so. On more serious note, I wonder on these two figures: 75% (as the WB says) to 3% (as the US feels). No doubt top minds are involved...that's what I say about qualitative research.
.
.
.
Glaxo Scientist's `Aha' Moment May Result in Malaria Vaccine
.
.
.
The Weak-Dollar Threat to World Order
.
.
.
India: A billion aspirations: Ha Ha... some laughter does help. Yes, I too saw the headlines (don't remember whenther on print or online), however didn't read it (the age impropriety, and not my line). True, I read a lot of stuff online (even trash), however this is something! Would be interesting to see whether these four media-firms change their articles or not (TOIN hasn't so far, the comments clearly saw the joke), and how they run the correction.
.
.
.
Benedict Benjamin Bernanke
.
.
.
Entire US financial system is to come under the scrutiny of the IMF
: 'macroeconomics textbooks are no longer worth much in the age of globalization'.
.
.
.
GM Falls to Lowest Since 1974 on Goldman Rating Cut : Interesting point would be to note how Hindustan Motors (HM) performed over this period...I believe not so badly. So with so many management gurus and stories on GM and so much bad publicity (normally) against HM, I wonder who sustains, finally.
.
.
.
Warren Buffett Says Sell to Me, Not `Porn Shop,' as Growth Dips : A must read for people in M&A space. Though I am, like millions others, is a Buffet fan; I wonder whether the Halo created around his personality is vulnerable. History says yes. Question is - for him, or for his firm?
.
.
.
Hong Kong to Start Commodities Exchange to Trade Oil : Interesting part is, it will be all in dollar. I suspect, too early for any such conjecture so early, that going down, few years (2013 or even early based on geopolitics and global economy), they may shift to Euro or even their own currency (or as OPEC favors).
.
.
.
I liked http://theinvestingspeculator.com/ (June 2008 posts), the BP chart of A dance to the music of time, energy sources by category and comparison of oil prices with other useful liquids.
.
.
.
'Markets funny, fed prints money
Says it sunny, lies like honey, too sweet for me'... from IMF: Fed Should Leave Rates Steady
.
.
.
Two Sides to Story Define Wall Street in Cioffi's Tale at Bear
.
.
.
Weary Americans can't fight global inflation: 'Stephen Jen of Morgan Stanley estimates that at $120 a barrel, oil exporters are getting $6.8 billion a day. At $135 per barrel the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries have proven reserves worth about $65 trillion, as compared with global stock market capitalization of about $50 trillion.'.
.
.
Why Paul Miller in Virginia Is Wall Street's Best Stock Picker .
.
.
Fed's Bear Stearns Books Look Prime for Cooking
.
.
.

Mostly irregular these days...
.
Sometime back I stated that the world loves American people and values, but its policies (foreign policies). Here is the best example of that, not in the article, but in the 1st comment as posted by WillH. The article is one in which I took interest sometime back, Supreme Court maintains post-9/11 course on Gitmo. And here is the jewel of a comment, on America really is (on which I was confused like many): 'It's truly saddening to see posters using the American flag as an avatar making comments to the effect that constitutional rights ought to be suspended for security interests. I say you are no Americans at all, you do not share American values, you disrespect that flag and all that it stands for. Shame on you. This is the land of the free, we do not sacrifice our God given rights for fear, hate, or foreign policy. The moment we sacrifice our core values for security we've sacrificed the one thing that's truly worth protecting. The terrorists hate us and everything we stand for, when we give up these precious freedoms we're doing their work for them.

Many of these detainees are scumbags, I have no doubt. But they have rights and *because they have rights I know that I have rights.* If they are guilty then bring them before a jury and let them receive the punishment they deserve. If anything, this business of detainees only hurts our cause. It shows that we are hypocrites - claiming that we support freedom, equality, and justice (e.g. the after-the-fact justification for the Iraq war) but we deny those same values when it is expedient for us to do so. Gitmo is destructive to our values and our foreign policy interests.

I find these comments truly disappointing and would encourage those of you who disagree with the Court's ruling to go to Cuba or China, do us all a favor and take your fear mongering elsewhere. Your rhetoric smacks of totalitarianism, its un-American, and un-welcome in this country that I love.'
Thanks WillH, That should not be American value, but the global human value (borrowed from America! or there historically were other instances of such values elsewhere?)
.
.
.
Google Diplomats Bend Free Expression to Preserve Global Power
.
.
.
Mobile Phone Is Best Way to Provide Bank Access: The role of Central Banking itself should change...
.
.
.
World Bank `Destroyed Basic Grains' in Honduras, Fueling Hunger : I don't remember exactly, however following another research report, in one of my article, I did talk about either same Honduras or another similar nation's plight under the WB advice.
.
.
.
Argentine Farmers Block Grain Trucks, Withhold Crops to End Tax : The food shock of which I was comprehensive was for a long time is finally here, and I believe it's likely to last longer and be short of permamnent phenomena with temporary blips. Yesterday, one TV channel showed that local (Indian) prices of rice and wheat to be around 35-40% cheaper than global prices - and here is the big dilemma. In one way, govt writes off farmers' loans and subsidizes them (how much of it actually reaches them remains a question mark), it again exploits them by 'forcing' them to sell it at 35-40% cheaper! And imagine the import-price based formula that Indian industry adopts for almost everything from cement to steel to Aluminium to plastics (barring mobile call rates!). So we encourage the rich to exploit us, and the exploit the poor to help the rich (there is also significant number of poors and non-farmers, true). And in Argentina, the farmers are protesting. I suspect similar developments in India unless our policies become fare to the farmers.