“When the history of the Indian economy is written two decades from now,” says noted economist Bibek Debroy, “we will look back at the 2004 to 2014 decade as one that was just as damaging as mid-1960s to mid-1970s, if not worse.”
Interesting reads for the weekend:
The news that ought to be the headlines (Tehelka)
Can you take it Chandan Mitra? (NewsLaundry)
Devils in the Diva-Whitney Houston (VanityFair)
Can science explain why we tell stories ? (NewYorker)
The epic battle to defend Facebook’s IPO price (TRB)
Catching “the world’s most prolific criminal fixer of soccer matches (ESPN)
Dr. Sreedharan-the Bharat Ratna nobody talks about (Kaipullai)
A great read from the Borowitz Report
Dear Potential Investor:
For years, you’ve wasted your time on Facebook. Now here’s your chance to waste your money on it, too.
Tomorrow is Facebook’s IPO, and I know what some of you are thinking. How will Facebook be any different from the dot-com bubble of the early 2000’s?
For one thing, those bad dot-com stocks were all speculation and hype, and weren’t based on real businesses. Facebook, on the other hand, is based on a solid foundation of angry birds and imaginary sheep.
Second, Facebook is the most successful social network in the world, enabling millions to share information of no interest with people they barely know.
Third, every time someone clicks on a Facebook ad, Facebook makes money. And while no one has ever done this on purpose, millions have done it by mistake while drunk. We totally stole this idea from iTunes.
Finally, if you invest in Facebook, you’ll be far from alone. As a result of using Facebook for the past few years, over 900 million people in the world have suffered mild to moderate brain damage, impairing their ability to make reasoned judgments. These will be your fellow Facebook investors.
With your help, if all goes as planned tomorrow, Facebook’s IPO will net $100 billion. To put that number in context, it would take JP Morgan four or five trades to lose that much money.
One last thing: what will, I, Mark Zuckerberg, do with the $18 billion I’m expected to earn from Facebook’s IPO? Well, I’m considering buying Greece, but that would still leave me with $18 billion. LOL.
Friend me,
Mark
Things are looking challenging both globally and locally, but it is risky to be bearish on the market at these levels. While the index is down about 25% from its peak (in 2008) there are many frontline stocks which are quoting at five-year lows. There is so much pessimism about the (domestic) policy and macro environment that the slightest of positive development could spark a big rally-
says Lakshmikanth Reddy, Executive VP and Head-Equity, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance