Oil Spill’s Lessons

BP failed to cap an exploration well it was drilling in the Gulf of Mexico; it continues to spill crude. The dirty oil has been fatal for much marine life. Now the black, tar-like blobs are spreading up the Texas coast and disfiguring the shore for miles. BP has not been able to find a solution; for now it looks as if the spill could continue for years and devastate the coastline for hundreds of miles.

The Folly Of Prudence Countries of southern Europe may be on way to collapse, but it would be worse if they tightened their belts

He said that the Euro was an incomplete currency to begin with; the European Union created a common currency, but not a common treasury. So every member country was free to run whatever deficits it liked, and to run up any level of national debt. The market ignored this because the European Central Bank was prepared to buy the bonds of any member government. It preferred the bonds of southern European countries because they ran bigger deficits and hence paid higher interest. European Banks stacked up on these bonds; of the Spanish sovereign debt of a trillion Euros, a half is held by French and German banks. Hence if a south European country reneges on its debt, the banks of the strongest countries would get into trouble: they cannot afford to let their banks fail, and would be bound to bale them out. That is why Germany baled out Greece, and would have to bale out Spain and Italy if the government of either failed to honour its debt repayments

High Expectations Investor concern is only on RIL's near-term cash flow, not on its cash base

The Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin gas output seems to be the biggest concern among investors, which is expected to stay at 60 million standard cubic meters a day (mscmd) for at least a year. The investors expected a rise to 80 mscmd this year, adding $1.1 billion (Rs 5,100 crore) to the revenue at the current natural gas price.

RBI imposes penalty on ICICI Bank, StanChart

"The RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on ICICI Bank... For violation of the guidelines on Know Your Customer (KYC)/Anti Money Laundering (AML) standards," the central bank said in a statement.

Autonomy of regulators

Are the government's efforts to limit RBI's autonomy aimed at taking power away from Mumbai to Delhi?

Four banks to join Bharti loan syndication

At least four more banks are slated to join the core group of lenders that syndicated a $7.5 billion (around Rs35,475 crore) loan for Bharti Airtel Ltd, India’s largest mobile telephony firm by subscribers, to acquire the African asset of Kuwaiti Mobile Telecommunications Co. KSC (Zain), according to an official of Standard Chartered Bank Plc (StanChart), the lead arranger of the loan.

Products made in China often cost more there than in the West

The laptop computer Luo Guangli carried out of the Apple flagship store in Beijing was no different from the models sold in the United States. It had the same high-resolution screen, an identical processor and the same printed label on the back: "Assembled in China."

Understanding Russia’s Approach on Afghanistan, Pakistan

US President Barack Obama’s June 24 meeting in Washington with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, focused mainly on trade and economics. They did not spend much time on security issues, such as Afghanistan. That means an opportunity to gain better mutual understanding about a crucial strategic matter may have been missed.

What you need to keep in mind when filing ITR

Make adequate disclosures

Don’t forget to claim

With the last date of filing income tax returns (ITR), 31 July, nearing, a common question these days is: “Am I required to file my ITR?” This question is most commonly raised by salaried employees, who believe that all taxes they need to pay have been deducted at source by the employer, and by senior citizens, who believe that they are now too old to be paying taxes. In most cases, the answer to this question is: “Yes, the law requires you to file your ITR.”

 

Nokia India workers agree to wage pact

Some 4,000 workers at mobile phone maker Nokia India Pvt. Ltd’s Chennai factory agreed to call off a two-day strike after meeting the state labour minister and management representatives on Wednesday, the company said in a statement.

Credit-deposit ratio of banks high at 73.4%

It’s not just loans to the telecom sector, of course, that is driving credit growth; with the economy growing at a scorching pace, bank lending, too, has picked up. Moreover, unlike during the early part of the recovery, when most of the growth had been in non-bank sources of funding, such as the equity markets, the primary markets have been more subdued during the last few months.

New FDI policy norm may not handicap ICICI, HDFC banks

Large private sector banks such as ICICI Bank Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd, which have been categorized as foreign-owned entities, may be given some leeway in their downstream investments, a senior official indicated on Wednesday even as he maintained that such lenders are not handicapped by the new foreign direct investment (FDI) policy regime.

What Would Be The Impact Of Fuel Price Hikes?

The government has moved to ease price controls on petrol and raise other fuel rates. Here are some questions and answers about the implications.

LIC's investment in markets may cross Rs 2-lakh crore this year

Our gross investments last year were Rs 1,93,000 crore; this year, they should cross Rs 2-lakh crore. The investments will be across government securities, state and corporate debt, project loan infrastructure, equity,” said N Mohanraj, ED-investments at LIC.

Inflation as a solution for Europe

Blanchard said that if 2% inflation was the norm, and interest rates were around the same level, central banks could not cut interest rates by more than 2% in a slump: they could not go below zero.

U.S. Debt and the Greece Analogy

Don't be fooled by today's low interest rates. The government could very quickly discover the limits of its borrowing capacity.

BP Relied on Cheaper Wells

In recent years, oil giant BP PLC used a well design that has been called "risky" by Congressional investigators in more than one out of three of its deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico, significantly more often than most peers, a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data shows.

Obama's New Approach to Missile Defense in Europe

he Obama administration's recently announced "Phased, Adaptive Approach" to missile defense in Europe will strengthen ties with European allies and will provide for better security, explains CDI Research Assistant Jenny Shin.

Budget Nightmare at the Pentagon

An extremely broad right-left coalition may be forming to bring real change to the Pentagon. Such change is not coming otherwise, explains Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler.

Very nice letter

The Honorable Alan Simpson
Mr. Erskine Bowles
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
1650 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20504

Nine Questions (and Provisional Answers) About the Spill

The sea is slow to reveal its secrets, and so is BP. The regulators and other companies caught up in the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster are almost as opaque. Whether motivated by the need for self-protection, the desire to get it right before releasing information, or the inevitable fog of a shape-shifting crisis, the sometimes conflicting statements released by BP, the Minerals Management Service, and others have left a raft of unanswered questions. How much oil is spewing into the Gulf each day? How much damage is it doing, and will the ecosystem ever recover? Who made the decisions that led to this nightmare?

Green Solutions

Siemens continues its traditional partnership with World Expos and offers its green solutions to Shanghai

Solutions for the Green Economy

Government officials, scholars and business leaders gathered in Beijing to discuss a roadmap to the globe's low-carbon future

Basel chief hits back at growth curb claims

The head of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on Friday hit back at industry claims that global growth will be cut and fewer jobs created if banks are forced to hold more capital and liquid assets.

What Level of Public Debt Could India Target?

Very nice working research paper at IMF..... Must read

An Estimated Model with Macrofinancial Linkages for India

Very nice working research paper at IMF..... Must read

Inflation Expectations and Monetary Policy in India: An Empirical Exploration

Very nice working research paper at IMF..... Must read

Growth Convergence and Spillovers among Indian States: What Matters? What Does Not?

Very nice working research paper at IMF..... Must read

World Economic Outlook database

Entire database of entire world by IMF

Global Financial Stability Report Meeting New Challenges to Stability and Building a Safer System

Very Nice report on

Global Financial Stability Report

Meeting New Challenges to Stability and Building a Safer System 

By IMF. Must Read