The US has always had two very different faces, one internal and one external. Internally, it has been a global beacon of democracy, empowerment, and equal rights for the powerful and powerless. Externally, it has used its military and economic […]
The celebration and the hangover Read More »
Should the government assist Indian banks and companies that have borrowed billions abroad, and suddenly find it difficult to repay maturing loans because the global financial crisis has frozen money markets? Russia and Mexico have thrown lifelines to their debt-laden
Risks of crony capitalism Read More »
Barack Obama looks certain to beat John McCain and become the next US President. Most Indians will be delighted. An Obama victory will symbolize the vanquishing of racism and the dismal Bush legacy. Besides, McCain is a military hawk, especially
Where McCain scores over Obama Read More »
Leftists claim that the global financial crisis was caused by reckless deregulation and greed. Rightists blame half-baked financial regulations and perverse incentives. Actually, the financial sector is deeply regulated, with major roles for both the state and markets. It was
Who murdered the financial system? Read More »
When oil cost $ 145/barrel in June and I predicted a price crash below $ 100/barrel, some jeered at my optimism. But oil crashed to just $ 65/barrel last week. Domestic prices of petrol and diesel are pegged to a
Case against cutting petrol price Read More »
Big financial institutions of all sorts are in dire straits across the globe. But one category remains unaffected—micro-finance. Even as the global financial system freezes and giants like Lehman Brothers collapse, micro-finance institutions (MFIs) are expanding unfazed. Famous financiers face
What microfinance can teach Wall Street Read More »
I am not usually a pessimist. But I predict that India will suffer a lot of pain in the next 18 months, as the economy slows down along with the current global slowdown. The US, Europe and Japan are sinking
Pains of a slowing miracle economy Read More »
Inclusive finance—giving loans to everybody, including the poor—is desired by politicians in India, and in all democracies. Yet the current US financial crisis shows the perils of taking this goal too far. The crisis arose from the bursting of a
The Perils of Inclusive Loans Read More »
The US government and Congress are creating a $ 700 b. rescue package to resolve the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Will it stabilize the US and world economies? For an answer, remember Winston Churchill’s words in 1942.
The End of the Beginning Read More »
Socialists, like Hugo Chavez in Venezuela or Indira Gandhi in India, are famous for nationalising the biggest corporations. But the US governmenthas taken over three of its biggest corporations within two weeks. Has the US turned socialist? American right-wingers moan
Is America becoming socialist? Read More »
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