Since 2020 stock markets were running up more on hopes than performance. It is worthwhile to remember that the market is essentially driven by two variables; earnings and multiples. But over the last four years it was driven mainly by multiples while earnings growth did not warrant such frenetic increase in share prices and Indian…

Budget this time, offers a prism to see both the problems facing India and its potential. Growth has slowed. This is partly due to cyclical factors such as the end of post pandemic bounce-back and last year’s elections delaying investments. Finance Minister (FM) Sitharaman’s latest budget is one for the times. It attempts to do…

Like the faithful waiting eagerly for some recurrent hallowed ritual to commence, the annual budget is a ritual that keeps 10 crore plus tax payers, house-wives along with corporates and capital markets on their toes. The ruling dispensation, in the meantime, brags about the “handsome” outlays for various purposes like capital expenditure and a plethora…

1. Origins Governments, particularly the US, were veering round to having more liberal environment in which the various economic entities, especially, the multinationals and financial organizations could operate unhindered.  This was inevitable as technology had compressed space and time resulting in increased integration of economies across the globe.  The resulting competitive pressures at the global…

1. The Great Crash of 1929 The US, an erstwhile colony was a rapidly growing economy in the early part of 20th century. The convergence of innovation, economic growth, leverage and wild speculation coupled with regulatory inaction resulted in Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) moving up from 79.80 in end 1921 to 381.17 on September…

The stock market is a place where people with experience meet people with money. And after a while, the people with experience have the money and the people with money have the experience! We seem to be stumbling from one frenzy to another; from cryptos to NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) to SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies)…

Indian economy, it appears, is firing on all cylinders. The bond and equity markets are rocking with both domestic and global funds chasing Indian assets. IPOs keep hitting the primary market at a scorching pace and the accelerating credit off-take pushing banks to flirt with a credit deposit ratio of 80%. The buoyancy in tax…

Those who wish to explore the concept of Fiction of Law will find interesting examples of the same in the labyrinthine maze called Income Tax Act 1961. A legal fiction in simple words is defining something to be true for the sake of convenience. Of course, “convenience” is something that the government of the day…

Given that we have a chastened, yet fairly entrenched ruling dispensation, it was not surprising to find sycophants galore trying to out-do each other in singing the virtues of the first budget of the Modi 3.0 regime. This is not to say that the budget is devoid of any positives. Despite pressures of a coalition…

There are countless people who saunter through life and muddle through many a crises and when overwhelmed by challenges, scream for help from all and sundry or seek solace from the good book which says: “Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; your heavenly Father…