A month ago, the US pharma giant Merck withdrew its best-selling drug rofecoxib (sold under the brand name Vioxx) after tests proved that it doubled the chances of heart attacks, and perhaps strokes. Many US buyers of the drug plan […]
How to become a millionaire Read More »
Revised balance of payments data in the RBI Bulletin for October suggest that India’s external strength is even greater than believed earlier. The data contain some puzzles: India is overflowing with dollars for reasons still poorly understood. See the
Three kinds of dollar avalanches Read More »
Experts have analysed threadbare the reasons for George Bush\’s victory in the US Presidential election. But let me highlight one overarching reason. USA has for decades been drifting from a Democratic to a Republican mindset, and Bush\’s victory is just
From Lincoln to Bush Read More »
All Indians will feel a surge of pride that, by taking over the International Steel group, Lakshmi Mittal has become the world\’s biggest producer of steel. On the other hand, Indians should be dismayed that Mittal now owns a score
Putting Nehru, Tata to shame Read More »
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regards caste-based job reservations in the private sector as an idea whose time has come. He says he will not impose this by law, but seeks a debate on the issue. Dalit leaders like Ram Vilas
Affirmative action yes, reservations no Read More »
After 13 years of half-baked economic liberalization, how difficult is it to run a business in India? Comparisons with other countries would be useful, but are technically difficult. The World Bank’s recent publication “Doing Business in 2004”, bravely tries to
Doing Business: how difficult is it? Read More »
Most Indians hate George Bush\’s militarism in Iraq, and rooted for John Kerry in the US Presidential debates. Yet, despite major differences on whether the Iraq war was justified, the two have much in common on future action in Iraq.
Capitalists//The good news is that GDP in the first quarter grew by 7.4 per cent, well above expectations. The bad news is that the price of crude oil has crossed $50 a barrel. Call me a pessimist, but I think
Costly oil, slower growth Read More »
Capitalists make millions of out filthy commerce, while their left-wing critics starve, right? Wrong. We are witnessing a new phenomenon, the rise of left-wing capitalism. The prize example of this is Michael Moore\’s latest film Fahrenheit 9/11. A famous American
Rise of left-wing capitalism Read More »
The feel-good factor suddenly seems back again. Stock markets are booming, and foreign institutional investors are pouring dollars into India again. Despite a deficient monsoon, many forecasters predict GDP growth of 6-6.5 per cent. This implies that, with a normal
Power: India\’s Achilles\’ heel Read More »
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