Globonomics!

Source: Bangalore passport office (http://rpobangalore.gov.in/)

I am not deviating from my rule of ‘uniqueness’ of content on this blog because this post is truly unique in terms of the sheer efficiency of our Indian Government and much criticized institutions so I owe this good piece to them! Read the rest of this entry »

The Tata Nano logo

Image credit/source: The Tata Nano website (http://tatanano.inservices.tatamotors.com/tatamotors/)

http://ecofin.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/the-tata-nano-launched-in-multiple-variants/

http://ecofin.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/specifications-of-the-tata-1-lac-car/

http://ecofin.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/the-tatas-1-lac-car-the-nano-officially-lauched/

Can they really achieve profitability or is it just an exercise for Tata Motors to say they did it first, build market share in the entry level segment (they have effectively created an A- segment in the entry level segment in automobiles in India!) and built the world’s cheapest car ever even if they don’t make any great profits as their margins would be wafer thin? Read the rest of this entry »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

If you look at the above link, some of the linkages are chilling. There was a liquidity crisis then too (forget what trigerred it), loans were hard to come by, banks collapsed like nine pins, unemployment soared and the US triggered it followed by a worldwide collapse (nearly 3/4 of a century ago when there was hardly any communication at today’s speed) that got rejuvenated only with the onset of the second world war. Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.amazon.com/Security-Analysis-Classic-Benjamin-Graham/dp/0070244960

I finally managed to get hold of this book before the book stores could so I beat them! I now need to read this book that is regarded as the Bhagvad Gita of value investing. I will treat it as my textbook on value investing.

It will be heavy on the head so will wrap up my read of the Intelligent investor that is a less complicated approach to the same principles listed in the Security analysis.

Meanwhile, Alan Greenspan has to wait as I wrap up reading up on my legend’s (Warren Buffett’s) legend – the great legendary Benjamin Graham!

I had not got on the pace the last time I tried to read up this book. Its the easier version of Ben Graham’s Security analysis. I tried checking at bookstores all over Bangalore for this book i.e. Security analysis, the classic 1934 edition - Gangarams, Strand and the Landmark, Forum Mall - but did not get it at any. I have ordered it from them even if it costs money and is a foreign print/publication but its to be seen if their reach is better than mine.

I will post review of my combined practice once I am done – as mentioned earlier, it would be based on learnings that translate into future earnings!

I did 900 pages of straight  reading in 5 full days to wrap it up – review will follow by virtue of  learnings. Scintillating book!

Today is the final cricket match between the Chennai superkings (led by M S Dhoni) and the Rajasthan Royals (led by Shane Warne)!

Redefining cricket has once again been attempted with great pomp and flourish deacades after the great Kerry Packer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry_Packer) introduced the world series cricket in Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_overs_cricket).

Please also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cricket

Lalit Modi (the scion of the $2billion, Modi enterprise) has done just that with the fusion of India’s icons – the cricketers themselves who are auctioned, the owners of the teams (each IPL cricketing state has been bought out by the bigwigs), the Bollywood actors, the large # of spectators and of course, the television viewers in millions of viewers across over 100 countries.

Its been a success – without doubt, but is this the key to the future of world cricket?

Read the rest of this entry »

We are still stuck there though things are looking better this year. Though real estate activity in and around Devanahalli area has heated up (the government has raised the guidance value per acre to almost Rs. 7 crores in main Devanahalli township) but any large projects are yet to see the light of the day. There is a huge water shortage in Devanahalli – its basically barren land and our guide from L&T had told us the same thing last year too. So, things have not improved on that. But, if Dubai can improve by building an Oasis in the middle of a desert, our politicians can tear a leaf out of the Dubai story and make Devanahalli better indeed. Read the rest of this entry »

It appears every season, Formula 1 just gets more safer. While it is still a very risky sport (given the speeds involved), McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen managed to suffer just a minor headache and a stiff neck after what appears to be a McLaren confirmed 140 kmph impact with the tyre wall. He lost consciousness as soon as he hit as you would expect (given he experienced a 29G – 29 times his own body weight impact). The HANS device also played its part. HANS is acronym for Head and neck support device that became mandatory in 2006 for all F1 cars.

But the carbon fiber monocoque of the F1 car stood true to its testimony as track medical team and marshals quickly and safely removed him from the car, shifted him to the track medical center and to the waiting helicopter as Heikki gave a thumbs up sign to indicate he was ok. It brings grim memories of what we saw on 1st May 1994 during the infamous Ayrton Senna death in a Williams car at Imola, Italy.

The F1 car of 2008 is probably the most safest vehicle to drive on the road with the stringent FIA safety standards laid down. Robert Kubica should know better. He escaped a near fatal crash in 2007 June at Montreal, Canada when hardly anything remained on his BMW.

I salute the safety of the modern F1 car!

I was chancing to look upon my blog’s readership and it has skyrocketed in last few months. To give you an idea of how much the readership for http://www.ecofin.wordpress.com has gone up by, Alexa rating has shown a consistent rise in my webpage ranking (it currently stands at 755139 worldwide and its India ranking is better at 58137. Furthermore, my year old blog stats shows my blog to have averaged 9999 hits way in May 2007. The current count stands at 77791.

Above means nothing if people don’t read posts. Simple page views/hits serve no value absolutely. The most important indicator that indicates the health status of a blog is its post:comment ratio. My blog’s average post:comment ratio is at about 1:2. This means, for every post I put up, I get double the # of comments. This ratio was about 2:1 last year at about the same time and it had not even reached breakeven. So, it is a satisfaction that my blog is a success in terms of these critical metrics.

Thank you, all for making this blog readable! Its only my readers who can turnaround this blog and I hope to keep you as repeat readers so the value of this blog is enhanced further!

Keep visiting back – you know where to look for me: http://www.ecofinglobe.com!