The Business Blog
Read biographyThe Business Blog is a daily business blog anchored by Firstpost senior editors. It will offer quick comments and insights into major business news developments from the pink press.
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2012: The govt has been at war with its own regulators
By R Jagannathan If there is one thing that stood out in 2012 about the UPA government, it is that is has been constantly at war with many of the independent regulators and constitutional bodies. Whether it is the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), #CAG #GoodRead #GoodReads #Irda #RBI #Regulators #SEBI
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Why FDI isn’t enough to help KFA or civil aviation revive
If one were to look at airline shares, it would seem as if happy times are just round the corner. The Kingfisher share started flying earlier this week even before the airline’s grounded fleet was given the go-ahead to bring it out of mothballs. Jet and SpiceJet shares are now quoting #Civil aviation #ConnectTheDots #FDI #IATA #Kingfisher
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Tax-free bonds are flopping: Rich say ‘no’ to cheap money
By R Jagannathan Every time Finance Minister P Chidambaram finds himself cursing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor for not cutting interest rates, he should ask himself whether the latter is more sinned against than sinning. Despite some signs of an easing in inflation rates in November, the market for money #FD Rates #HNIs #Smart Money #tax-free bonds
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Faulty accounting may help FM meet budget goals
By R Jagannathan If P Chidambaram finally does meet his targeted fiscal deficit target of 5.3 percent of GDP in 2012-13, he can thank a faulty system of government accounting for it. The reforms introduced by the government have nothing to do with it. If they were, his Chief Economic Advisor #Cash-based Accounting #Financial Accounting #fiscal deficit #Numbers
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Rush: Tax-free bonds rates may start falling from Jan 2013
By R Jagannathan The good news is that wholesale price inflation is showing signs of falling. In November, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) fell to 7.24 percent from 7.45 percent in October. Even though the consumer price index, which matters to you and me, is still high at 9.9 percent, the #Personal finance #Smart Money #tax-free bonds
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Cash transfers: govt’s rush may lead to its failure
By R Jagannathan Rahul Gandhi thinks it will win the Congress not only the 2014 election, but the 2019 one too. Members of his mother’s National Advisory Council are miffed about it. P Chidambaram believes it will help him reduce budgetary subsidies. We are, of course, talking about the direct #Cash transfers #P. Chidambaram #Sonia Gandhi #UPA
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Chidu offers ‘bitter medicine’ but he should try some himself
The economy needs “bitter medicine,” said Finance Minister P Chidambaram at a Delhi Economics Conclave on Friday. “There is no other way…”. Given plunging growth numbers, crashing exports and steady near-double-digits consumer inflation, who can argue with that? So when Chidambaram says “this bitter medicine is good medicine. It #Bitter Medicine #fiscal reforms #P. Chidambaram #Reforms #ToTheContrary
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Growth: How Indira, Sonia compounded Nehru’s mistake
By R Jagannathan An interesting debate has broken out over how far the Nehru-Gandhi family is responsible for India’s lost years of growth – both in the early decades of independence, and of late. Given that India was more or less a poor, socialist nation in the first three decades after independence, #GoodReads #Indira #Nehru #Sonia
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The EPFO has outlived its utility; it must be downsized
By R Jagannathan If your mutual fund manager has a poor performance record, and also offers you poor service, would you still entrust more of your money with him? Probably not. But the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) – the organisation to whom the government has entrusted your retirement savings – has #EPFO #NPS #PF #Salary #Your Money
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SC gives Sahara more leeway, more litigation likely
By R Jagannathan Has the Sahara Group gotten off the hook once again? Yesterday, the Supreme Court directed the group to make a full refund of Rs 24,000 crore payable to investors in its optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs). These OFCDs had been issued illegally by two of its companies, Sahara India #OFCDs #Sahara Capers #SEBI