Thought Beans Blog

According to the recent reports, Indian economy is showing signs of overheating. High growth, high inflation coupled with litle reforms has resulted in an overheating of the economy. UPA’s inability to go ahead with reforms & more privatization has resulted in less FDI in to the country. India has missed many opportunities like Intel’s fab plant, Airbus new manufacturing plant in China (first outside Europe) & slow progress in retailing is affecting the FDI in India. Increase in prices, skyrocketing real esate prices is also affecting the inflation. Indian govt must come up with new reforms & bring in place a price control mechanism.

Fed has finally cut the lending rates & discount rates by half a percentage point. All the major US indices Dow jones, Nasdaq & Std & Poor’s all gained by the cut in rates. Though the wall street was expecting a quarter point cut, this 50 point cut has sent the market on a ride. Bernanke has more or less moved in the same path as of his predessor. The market has been in turmoils in recent months with rising oil price, sub prime market collapse & iraqi war straining the economy. Even the Asian markets have rallied in the wake of the cut & Indian Benchmark BSE 30 has crossed the 16000 mark for the first time.

After the acquistion of Hutch, vodafone is finally going in  for rebranding of Hutch. This is one of the biggest Corporate rebranding in India. India is one of the biggest growing mobile markets in the world & a presence in India would give a big pushup for Vodafone which has been experiencing slow growth recently.  Vodafone has tied up with STAR for the advertising. However, Vodafone has decided to continue the Hutch Pug which has become a sort of brand identity for Hutch. Ads have already been started airing on STAR network with the theme ‘ Hutch is now vodafone’. Vodafone wants to become the No.1 operator in India by 2010. With the entry of Vodafone, the telecom market in India would be even more competitive. Vodafone is planning to aggresively go after the rural market to tap the potential.

Cricket, a gentleman’s game, has undergone many changes since the days British played it. Since the globalization, there is no dearth of people complaining about the long duration of cricket. Circa 2007: The twenty 20 world cup, a twenty overs cricket match is being played for the first time in South africa. I really feel it is much better to watch twenty 20 than 50 overs match. The teams would have to have  hard hitters, aggresive bowlers & quick in fielding compared to 50 overs. Though it has taken many years for ICC to come out with the World cup for twenty 20. Lets hope atleast 20-20 is free of scandals & ensure a good team play for all.

The bushisms of George W Bush is one of the most parodied part of presidency. The bushisms have provided enough fodder for late night comedy shows. The most famous was of course during the recent Queen visit to US. The queen was introduced as 18th century. The most recent one being at the APEC summit in Australia where Bush said Opec summit & also Austrian troops instead of australian troops. There are many videos circulating on the net of the bushims including the visit of Bush to china where he tried to open a locked door & then said I am trying to find an exit. Though the bushims have been criticized by the media, it has helped bush make popular in the heartland America.