I am writing campus short stories in a satirical vein. Fictional, imaginative, creative short stories but I have got complaints, threats, and personal attacks have been mounted on me.
I have also got praises.
My blog of campus stories, dripping with satire, can be seen at http://blog.bapoti.com/
I was asked by the Medical Translation Blog to guest write an article for them. It has been published. Here are the details:
http://blog.fxtrans.com/2009/06/medical-translation-yes-please.html [“Medical translation? Yes, please”, at the Medical Translation Blog, published on June 27, 2009]
Dear Folks,
It gives me immense pleasure to tell you that I was featured as one of the 100 Professors You Should Follow and Learn from on Twitter.
It was really sad that Sri Lankan cricketers were attacked and that they were injured and the attackers got away scot-free. It points to the fact that Pakistan has become a failed state and that there are a number of security problems with the country at large.
I wrote a very interesting post on my other blog, Issues in Academics. It is about 'writing across the city'. Please check it out at http://issuesinacademics.blogspot.com/
Have you seen my Technorati Profile? It also includes information about my other blog, Issues in Academics, http://issuesinacademics.blogspot.com, which I think is doing very well.
Harold Pinter, the great British playwright, has died. You can read further about him on my blog:
http://britishwriters.blogspot.com/
I have been reading in the newspapers that the Indian parliamentarians have debated whether they should enforce a code of ethics for the media (read, electronic media) in events of national importance and disaster. This debate is sure to open up a can of worms, however, keeping in mind, the rather problematic, if not abysmal, role played by the television channels in the recent coverage, this would be a welcome step.
My last post was 10 days ago and in the last 10 days, a lot seems to have happened. The first and the foremost that is in our minds--the sad Mumbai terror attacks, some people have called it India's 9/11. Amitav Ghosh, the well known writer, has written a very interesting article on it. But we can always discuss that link later.
What was very distressing to me was the fact that the Indian media people were very immature. We had live updates and the Tv channels had to be told by the security commandos that they should stop live updates because it might give away the positions of the forces to the militants. Isn't it shameful? Can't the TV channels have enough sense to understand such delicate situations?
When the 9/11 took place in the US, did the US TV channels react the same way? Did they too show bloodied bodies on their networks? We had a number of channels and newspapers stating that 'the country was brought down to its knees' or 'the city was brought down to its knees' by 'ten' or 'twenty' young men etc. When 9/11 took place did Bush say so? Did US media say that the US was brought down to its knees? Or that the country was cowed down?
These are very important and pertinent questions.
Finally, Obama has decided to appoint the Treasury Secretary, which helped the US markets go up by 400-450 odd points. This is good news. Now, he should get the fiscal stimulus plan going as soon as possible.
Finally, we have Barack Obama firmly ensconced in the White House but in the last two days, the Dow Jones has fallen a good 900 points. There are still fears about the economy and they refuse to go away. After electing Barack Obama and after ecstatic crowds in New York, which I saw on the channels, it is time for the economy. General Motors has fallen again. It keeps on making multi-year lows. The last low that it made for perhaps a 53 year low. So, is the company going to fold up? If that is the case, then the low prices of the company's stock could well nigh be justified. Else, it would simply be the case of oversold and over-afraid stock markets.
There was a wonderful article that I read by Warren Buffett. It was published in the New York Times as an op-ed article and it was titled, "Buy American. I am." I found the title very interesting. It was a very insightful piece which made out a case for buying into the stock markets. I remember a very interesting line from that article. He said that we have an opportunity today to buy a slice of America at a marked-down price. I thought it was put pretty well.
Yes, there is a lot of bad news on the financial front. We are in the midst of a global recession. This is pretty much clear to everyone. So what? We had the Great Depression in 1929 but by 1932, the stocks had gained by 30% and much later, they had gained phenomenally. So, didn't the Great Depression too go away within a life time? It did.
Let us look at the bad news. There is bleak US job data. There are profit warnings from GM and Cisco. UK is in a recession. Some nations are close to defaults and need IMF protection. But the prices at which some well-known companies are available today both in the US and in other markets is mind boggling. The low stock prices make you feel as if these companies were going to fold up and close shop. But I don't think anything like this is going to happen in either the short or the long term. This is mere emotion.
I would like to give you a very interesting fact. If you look at US markets, there is a company called Kraft Foods. They make cheese, biscuits and other products. Last year, Warren Buffett paid a price to buy Kraft Foods stock. However, today, the price at which the Kraft Foods stock is available is lower than the price that Buffett himself paid. So, it either means that the stock markets and various investors have stopped trusting Warren Buffett's investing instincts or else the price is abysmally low.
These are oversold markets. The only problem with falling markets is that it demands a great deal of courage to go out and buy when everyone else is selling and the markets are falling every day. And then when any blue chip stock you see falls just about every day, you aren't sure about the stock you would like to go out and buy. However, times are these are great for famous investors. If you really want to make a pot of money, the proverbial pot of gold, this is the best time to go out and buy into blue chips slowly. There is no need to put all your money into stocks at one go because no one can really time the markets but it indeed a great time to invest gradually.
Have you heard this song by the great revolutionary poet, Habib Jalib
Check out the YouTube Video and enjoy.
Habib Jalib - Mainay Uss Say Yeh Kaha - Laal - Click here for more blooper videos
Which stock are you going to buy in these bad times, if you happened to stay in the United States? Probably, nothing. But isn't that being foolish, being scared of the dips in the markets. Dips are good because they cleanse the system. The only problem, this time around, is that we don't know which sectors are well insulated. Automobiles are in the lurch and financial services, along with insurance and real estate, are to be avoided. That doesn't leave us much room. Pharma stocks are uncertain right now but they wouldn't be a bad bet in the long run.
Today, I would like to speak about a company that has never failed to amaze me. I am sure all of you have heard about it. We are talking about the great Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway and about its Class A stock, which is awfully expensive to buy.
You can track the stock here at the AOL Finance website. The current market price is $120,400, so, if you had the money, you could make a purchase. The stock has taken a beating because of the broader market trends and I find it a pretty defensive stock in these market conditions.
(This post does not purport to give advice in the stock markets and constitutes the personal views of the author.)
The only good news in the present stock market gloom is the fall in oil prices. Oil is selling a bit under $100 per barrel. It has really taken a hit from its highs of $140 odd per barrel. If we had a spike in oil price, even if it were a speculative one, or if we had any other oil related crisis the world over, it would send the financial markets in a real tailspin.
There is real fear on Wall Street. And most companies believe that they might be the next after the fall of Lehmann Brothers. So, the United States government, along with its friends in the OPEC, should ensure stability, or even better a fall, in oil prices for the next week or two till the present crisis subsides. One also hopes that Wall Street does not come up with further gloomy news.
There is a major fall in the stock markets. Wall Stress has been badly bruised. Another one of the venerable financial firms has collapsed. Lehman Brothers is no more and it had been there for the last 158 years. And add to this, another bit, Merrill Lynch has decided to sell itself to Bank of America. And AIG, American International Group, which offered Tata-AIG insurance in India, is trying to keep afloat.
This wave of collapses some after an earlier wave, where we had Bear Stearns being sold off for a pittance. And Citi taking in a big write-down. We also had Fannie and Freddie in deep waters.
The Indian markets are ruling about 4.5% down at the moment. Interestingly, there is nothing which is so serious with India that it should be fall. So, this is actually sentimental. Yes, when the US sneezes, the world catches a cough.
It is undoubtedly shocking and very terrifying for anyone who is into the financial markets right now. But there isn't much room for real panic for the people in the Indian stock markets. In fact, I would suggest my NRI friends and other foreign nationals to seek avenues for investment in the Indian markets.
There is good and real qualitative money to be made from the Indian markets at this juncture. The only important thing to keep in mind is to adopt an intelligent approach.
For those of you, who haven't heard of the great Dhirubhai Ambani, you have heard nothing all your lives. He was one man who rose from middle class beginnings and became one of India's biggest industrialists. He singlehandedly created Reliance Industries, the great brand and the conglomorate that it is today.
Here is one management gem from him:
Dhirubhaism: Change your orbit, constantly!
He would often explain that we are all born into an orbit. It is up to us to progress to the next. We could choose to live and die in the orbit that we are born in. But that would be a criminal waste of potential. When we push ourselves into the next orbit, we benefit not only ourselves but everyone connected with us. Take India's push for development. There was once a time our country's growth rate was just 4 per cent. Look at us today, galloping along at a healthy 7-8 per cent. This is no miracle. It is the product of a handful of determined orbit changers like Dhirubhai, all of whose efforts have benefited a larger sphere in their respective fields.
However, when you change orbits, you will create friction. The good news is that your enemies from your previous orbit will never be able to reach you in your new one. By the time resentment builds up in your new orbit, you should move to the next level. And so on.
Changing orbits is the key to our progress as a nation.
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