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)…