TIME on India
TIME Magazine has a series of stories on India. The Asian edition's cover is entitled "India's New Dawn." An excerpt:
IBM's commitment was a reminder that India—once shunned for its hapless protectionism, suffocating bureaucracy and all-round commercial torpor—can no longer be ignored. The country's growth rate is now approaching that of Asia's other economic juggernaut, China. And, as our special report in this issue shows, India is being remade, as it is increasingly integrated with the global economy. IBM is far from alone in its desire to tap the country's youthful, technologically literate workforce. Multinational companies including Nokia and Hyundai Motor have moved in, at the same time as India's domestic success stories—among them outsourcing giant Infosys and the Tata group industrial conglomerate—are shaking things up around the world. Cities such as Bombay are buzzing with rude health, while small-town India is changing so fast, former residents can scarcely recall the rice fields now buried beneath shopping malls. We've witnessed Asia's economic tigers and dragons. Enter the elephant.
Yet India's stock-market slide may be trying to tell us something: Elephant traps ahead. Prosperity and progress haven't touched the 550,000 villages where two-thirds of India's population live. In many ways, the country is growing in spite of itself. Millions of women are not getting the education they need. Transportation networks and electrical grids, which are crucial to industrial development and job creation, are so dilapidated it will take many years to modernize them. Businesses are less fettered than they were when liberalization began 15 years ago, but some parts of the economy remain subject to the old restrictions.
Brainstorming
WSJ writes that brainstorming may work better if done individually:
Teams aren't necessarily so great. "There are so many things people do in management because they think it's good, but there's no evidence for it," says Paul B. Paulus, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Arlington. "Teamwork is one example. Brainstorming is another." Prof. Paulus conducted research on the number and quality of ideas of four people brainstorming together versus four people brainstorming by themselves. Typically, group brainstormers perform at about half the level they would if they brainstormed alone.
That's why if you don't carefully follow procedures, you risk wasting a lot of energy. "If you leave groups to their own devices, they're going to do a very miserable job," says Prof. Paulus. But if people brainstorm alone after the group brainstorming session, it can be productive, he says, adding, "It's ironic: You tap the benefits of groups alone. Everyone still presumes the best brainstorming is group brainstorming."
I find it so interesting to read about the evolution of India's economy because it is, in so many ways similar to China's. It seems that both countries are coming under increasing interest for their buying power, not just for their low wages.
www.chinalawblog.com
Posted by China Law BlogWe have a billion people. We need a economy where everyone is particpating, contributing and with tangible benefits. The first forty years it was government policies that impeded growth. Now the choke point has shifted to infrastructure, both hard and soft. Hard is roads, power, public transport. Soft includes legal protection for personal and intellectual capital. We cannot take clues from TIME, Econnmoist. Because living in the city of Pune I have no clue how to get this going with some structure.
Posted by shrikantThe Slide is created by one man army called "BERNANKE". Rate hikes by Bernanke & other central banks have spooked investors around the world. Bernanke is scaring investors around the world.
The recent stock market sell-off accelerated as investors from US to Bombay headed for the exits.
This hiking in interest rate is own doing of US Govt. They have printed 54% more money in last 10 years without its being backed by Gold or anything. The m3 expansion is estimated at 7% per annum. The hike in interest is to lure investor to remain in USD stable. This is like propping up a paralysed person on crutches. USD is to FALL.
The worry? That the Fed & other central banks, might stall economic growth to quell inflation.
Rising interest rates and rising inflation have never been market friendly as this obviously will dampen global economic activity.The global rate hiking pandemic started battering stock markets large and small last month, after the Fed raised rates for the 16th straight time, & suggested more rate hikes might be coming.
Emerging markets like India have lost 26 %. There's a risk that the Fed could make a mistake by raising rates too high & worst effects are being felt in emerging markets.
Still, most economists don't think rates are high enough to cause a global bear market. Over the long term equities will be able to absorb the higher rates because (economic) growth is so strong. Some of the fall in the last month is due to investors getting ahead of themselves in betting that the Fed would be done raising rates at its May meeting.
Betting on a rebound
And some economists and market strategists believe that when the Fed does eventually pause later this year, growth will still be enough to help stocks rebound around the world.
Emerging equities went on quite a tear at the beginning of the year, as investors around the world got very comfortable in April with the idea that the Fed was going to be on hold. It was logical there would be a correction.
Even with rate hikes, strong growth in economies like China and India are likely to keep demand strong for the products of many emerging economies, such as copper, iron and other commodities global growth will remain relatively healthy. This is more of a correction at this point due to hot money taking an exit.
It could develop into something more serious if central banks, particularly the Fed, misstep and turn a soft landing into a hard landing. But others say that the rate tightening itself could pose problems for equities, particularly in emerging markets, even if there isn't a serious global economic slowdown.
Emerging markets have benefited most by excess liquidity due to very low interest rates.It wasn't really the strength of the global economy that drove investors into emerging markets. And it's unlikely they'll rebound significantly in the medium to near term.
Posted by Sudhir Agarwal