Nasty Santaa

World Cup 2010 Anthem: Wavin' Flag !

2010-05-11T21:46:00.002+05:30

When i get older, they’ll call me freedom
Just like a Waving Flag.

When I get older, I will be stronger,
They’ll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
And then it goes back, and then it goes back,
And then it goes back

Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
but Violent prone, poor people zone,
But it’s my home, all I have known,
Where I got grown, streets we would roam.
But out of the darkness, I came the farthest,
Among the hardest survival.
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Except no defeat, surrender retreat,

So we struggling, fighting to eat and
We wondering when we’ll be free,
So we patiently wait, for that fateful day,
It’s not far away, so for now we say

So many wars, settling scores,
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor,
I heard them say, love is the way,
Love is the answer, that’s what they say,
But look how they treat us, Make us believers,
We fight their battles, then they deceive us,
Try to control us, they couldn’t hold us,
Cause we just move forward like Buffalo Soldiers.

But we struggling, fighting to eat,
And we wondering, when we’ll be free
So we patiently wait, for that faithful day,
It’s not far away, but for now we say,

(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And everybody will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And you and I will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And we all will be singing it
(Ohhh Ohh Ohh Ohh)

When I get older, when I get older
I will be stronger, just like a Waving Flag,
Just like a Waving Flag, just like a Waving flag
Flag, flag, Just like a Waving Flag

11th Mumbai Film Festival...my interactions with World Cinema!

2009-11-01T22:41:00.009+05:30

(The Candidate, Danish)

(Disgrace, Australia)

(The Maid, Mexico)

(Rage, USA)

(Muhafiz, India)

(The White Meadows, Iran)

Vacation Relaxation !

2009-10-28T12:12:00.002+05:30

Nomura: The Global Powerhouse

2009-10-27T14:02:00.002+05:30

Every Saturday evening, Kenichi Watanabe leaves his Tokyo home and heads to a Buddhist temple in the hills outside the city, where he practices zazen, or Zen Buddhist meditation, from midnight to 5:00 a.m. The practice helps Watanabe, the chief executive of Nomura Holdings, to clarify his thoughts and stay sharply focused. ―It calms my mind, he says.

Watanabe needs all the calm and clearheadedness he can get. One year ago, during some of the darkest hours of the worldwide financial panic, he rolled the dice in the biggest gamble of his 34-year career by acquiring the European and Asian operations of the failed Lehman Brothers Holdings after Britain's Barclays snapped up its U.S. assets. The price was modest — $225 million for the Asian business and a token $2 for the European unit — but the deal carried enormous risks.

Nomura increased its head count by nearly 50 percent at a stroke and committed to paying ¥140 billion ($1.5 billion) in bonuses to the former Lehman employees to keep them on board. Such largesse risked a backlash from Nomura's existing staff, most of whom work for much lower pay than their new colleagues in return for the near guarantee of lifetime employment, but didn't guarantee that Lehman staff wouldn't bolt after final bonus payments are made this month. Moreover, there was no immediate prospect that Nomura could earn a decent return on its investment, given the depressed state of markets in the aftermath of Lehman's collapse.

Watanabe, however, is convinced that the Lehman assets represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a global platform. With his daring move he aims to transform Nomura — a powerhouse in Japan but a perennial weakling in foreign markets — into a titan to rival the likes of Goldman, Sachs & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank around the world.

"My vision is to create an Asia-based global investment bank that is within the ranks of the global top five," a broadly smiling Watanabe, 56, told Institutional Investor in an interview in the 12th-floor boardroom of Nomura's headquarters in Tokyo's Otemachi financial district. "I have no doubt I will succeed."

The CEO will need more than confidence to win over Nomura's many skeptics. Over the years the firm has tried several times, unsuccessfully, to parlay its dominance of Japan's securities markets into global leadership, without success. Nomura built a top-five position in the eurobond market in the 1980s by underwriting equity-linked bonds, only to retreat after Tokyo's stock market bubble burst after 1989. More recently, Nomura expanded aggressively into the U.S. mortgage market earlier this decade but pulled out with big losses after the subprime crisis erupted; the firm took ¥126 billion in subprime write-downs in the financial year ended March 31, 2008, prompting a shakeup that elevated Watanabe to the CEO post in April 2008 in place of Nobuyuki Koga, who was demoted to chairman of Nomura's securities subsidiary.

With the Lehman acquisition, Watanabe hoped to achieve global scale in one fell swoop. So far, however, the CEO has had to acknowledge far bigger losses than his predecessor did. After taking write-offs of ¥120 billion for expenses related to the Lehman acquisition and ¥415 billion for everything from exposure to Bernard Madoff's hedge fund, U.S. monoline insurers and failed Icelandic banks, Nomura in April reported a loss of ¥708 billion for the year ended March 31, then a record for a Japanese company. That performance, and doubts about the Lehman deal, have depressed the firm's share price; at ¥573 late last month, the stock was down 61.5 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 13.7 percent decline in the Nikkei 225 index over the same period. (The drop also reflects two share issues, one in March and one this month that will dilute existing shareholders by about 45 percent.)

Some analysts believe the bloodletting is far from over. "We think they might have more problematic assets and more losses in the coming year, and we're not sure they can downsize expenses to an appropriate level or when the domestic equities market might recover," says Yuri Yoshida, director of financial institutions ratings at Standard & Poor's in Japan, which downgraded Nomura by one notch, to BBB+, in January. Watanabe has ordered his managers to cut the group's annual operating expenses by 10 percent, or ¥100 billion yen, to restore profitability. Nomura reduced its head count by nearly 600, to 25,730 employees, in the first half of 2009.

Yet for all the doubts and the tremendous costs involved in the Lehman bet, Nomura is showing signs of attaining some of Watanabe's goals. The firm has made significant market share gains in equities and mergers and acquisition advisory in Asia outside of Japan so far this year. According to data provider Dealogic, Nomura ranked third in equities in the Asia-Pacific region this year as of September 9, acting as book runner on $13.2 billion of deals, up from No. 8 in 2007, the last full year prior to the merger. In M&A, Nomura rose to No. 8 in the region from No. 17 in 2007, advising on $33.3 billion of deals. Watanabe's team has made slower progress in Europe, but even there Nomura has succeeded in retaining Lehman's leading position on the London Stock Exchange, with a market share of about 6 percent, up from a lowly rank of 82nd before the acquisition.

Such gains helped Nomura return to the black in the quarter ended June 30. The firm posted net income of ¥11.4 billion in the period, compared with a loss of ¥76.6 billion a year earlier. Revenue was up 41 percent, at ¥363.6 billion; crucially, revenue from the firm's global markets division, bulked up by the Lehman acquisition, exceeded domestic revenue for the first time in Nomura's 84-year history. The results, which beat most analysts' expectations, put Nomura on track to meet or exceed Watanabe's targets for the financial year ending March 31, 2010, which analysts say aim for revenue of ¥1.0 trillion to ¥1.1 trillion and pretax profits of ¥100 billion to ¥200 billion.

"The Lehman integration seems pretty stable, and Nomura is leading in a number of areas,"says Neil Katkov, a Tokyo-based analyst with the financial research firm Celent. "I'm a lot less skeptical now than I was a few months ago about Nomura's chance of success."

Watanabe has also managed to bolster Nomura's capital, raising ¥278 billion with a share offering in March that boosted the firm's tier-1 capital ratio to 11.7 percent. The company plans to raise a further ¥511 billion with another share offering this month. Nomura's difficulties over the past year stand in sharp contrast to the smooth absorption of Lehman's U.S. operations by Barclays. The British bank paid $1.75 billion for the business and Lehman's New York headquarters, which gave it a serious presence in equities and M&A to go with its global debt franchise. Barclays Capital, the investment banking unit, slipped one place, to ninth, in global investment banking in the first three quarters of this year, with $1.39 billion in revenue, according to Dealogic. Nomura edged up two places, to 12th, with revenue of $741 million. The firm lacks a meaningful presence in the U.S., still the largest market for investment banking fees, but has been hiring there aggressively in recent months.

Nomura is not the only Japanese financial institution seeking to exploit the weakness of global giants to raise its profile. One year ago, Mitsubishi UFJ Group, the country's largest bank by assets, bought a 20 percent stake in Morgan Stanley for $9 billion, giving the U.S. firm a critical capital injection. In May, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group took advantage of Citigroup's distress and bought Citi's share of Nikko Citigroup, a retail brokerage joint venture with Nikko Securities, for $5.2 billion. The deals appear to put an end to nearly two decades of retreat by Japanese financial institutions since the collapse of Japan's equity and property bubbles in the late 1980s.

Turning Nomura into a global bulge bracket player is a daunting challenge. The history of cross-border acquisitions in investment banking is checkered at best. UBS and Deutsche Bank struggled to make headway in the U.S. market despite spending billions to buy PaineWebber and Bankers Trust Corp., respectively, while Credit Suisse splashed out $11.5 billion for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, only to watch many of DLJ's top bankers walk out the door.

Nomura's recent history also offers plenty of grounds for skepticism. The firm rode Tokyo's rampant bull market of the 1980s to become the world's largest securities company by capital, with more than $10 billion in 1986, exceeding the combined capital at the time of Merrill Lynch & Co., Salomon Brothers and Shearson Lehman. After the equity bubble burst, however, underwriting business dried up, and Nomura's profits and share price tumbled. ―The lost decade, the moniker given to Japan's stagnant, debt-plagued economy in the 1990s, applied qually well to the country's biggest brokerage.

Watanabe, however, believes Nomura has no choice but to go international and reduce its reliance on the slow-growth Japanese economy if it wants to thrive. He sums up his approach with the motto ―Create change, be world-class, and act with speed. In some respects, Watanabe is an unlikely change agent. He joined Nomura as a trainee in 1975 after getting a B.A. in economics from Kobe University. He distinguished himself in the 1980s as a senior executive in domestic retail sales, the core of the firm, and won promotion to general manager of international planning and administration. He never served overseas, though.

Far from being insular, Watanabe has repeatedly sought to shake up the status quo. After being promoted to the board of Nomura Securities Co., the group's main operating arm, in 1998, he successfully pushed to split off asset management into a separate unit and list Nomura's shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Later, as head of domestic retail and deputy president of Nomura Securities, Watanabe was the driver behind Nomura's $1.2 billion acquisition of Instinet, a New York–based agency brokerage whose Chi-X unit operates leading alternative exchanges in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Shortly after taking over as CEO, Watanabe gathered the firm's top executives at a picturesque Karuizawa resort in the mountains of Nagano prefecture in August 2008, a month before Lehman's collapse. He told his team that Nomura needed to move aggressively to bring in international talent and that the best way to do that was through an acquisition rather than an organic approach. "When we were presented with the Lehman opportunity, we immediately knew that it would give us an opportunity to create change as well as change ourselves," he tells II.

The contrast between Nomura's hierarchical Japanese culture, which emphasizes loyalty and seniority, and Lehman's brash American culture, which encourages risk-taking with big rewards, is especially stark. Consider the compensation gap. Although Nomura declines to comment on pay levels, a senior Tokyo recruiter says the head of a trading desk at Nomura could expect to earn as much as ¥65 million a year, including a base salary of ¥15 million and a bonus of as much as ¥50 million. A comparable person at Lehman would typically make as much as ¥350 million, including a salary of ¥50 million and a bonus of as much as ¥300 million.

To retain talent, Nomura guaranteed to pay ex-Lehman employees bonuses equivalent to what they received in 2007, the peak of the bull market. The bonuses for the more than 8,000 former Lehman staffers averaged $190,000 a piece, 70 percent of which was paid in March and the remaining 30 percent due to be paid this month. Ninety-five percent of the Lehman employees who were offered jobs at Nomura accepted. The key question is whether those bankers will depart once final bonus payments are made. Already Jasjit Bhattal, the former CEO of Lehman's Asian operations who was made chairman of Nomura Asia, announced in August that he would leave at the end of the year.

The revival of industry fortunes this year and an increase in poaching are likely to lead to more defections, but many former Lehman staffers say they are happy. "There's a lot of gratitude among ex-Lehman people to be given an opportunity to work at Nomura," says Paul Schulte, Nomura's Hong Kong–based Asian equity strategist, who held a similar post at Lehman. "Many feel, Let's work as hard as we always worked.' It's too early to know, but there is a sense the Japanese senior managers are giving us a great deal of freedom to run each operation."

Paul Norris, head of European equity research, is also upbeat. "Lehman built a large operation over 15 years in Europe, and we were proud of what we accomplished," he says. "When our American parent swept $8 billion out of Europe and put us into receivership the next morning, we were bitter and disappointed. Nomura has given us the opportunity to [rebuild]. It is very exciting."

If anything, Nomura employees grumble that the firm is favoring ex-Lehmanites for jobs, especially in Europe, where it took on 2,650 staff from the failed U.S. investment bank. (Nomura also absorbed 5,500 former Lehman employees in Asia, including 2,900 workers and information technology specialists in Mumbai, India.) Top executives dismiss any suggestion of favoritism but acknowledge that they aim to use the integration to instill a global, performance-based culture at Nomura.

"The new boss of a unit must be the [person] who can do it," says Hiromasa Yamazaki, the Tokyo-based deputy chief executive officer of global markets, who oversaw the acquisition of Lehman's Asia unit. "Japanese or non-Japanese doesn't matter, ex-Nomura or ex-Lehman doesn't matter." Watanabe has appointed four non-Japanese executives to the 15-member board of senior managing directors, the executive committee that runs the company. They are Sadeq Sayeed, head of Europe, a Pakistan-born banker who joined Nomura in 2000 after a decade at Credit Suisse First Boston; David Farrant, global head of human resources, who joined Nomura in 1991 from Ford Motor Co.; David Benson, Nomura's former European COO who rejoined the firm as global chief risk officer in October 2008 after a one-year stint at Man Group; and Paul Spanswick, the co-chief administrative officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a ten-year Nomura veteran who previously worked in a variety of finance and risk management roles at UBS and Citigroup. Benson, Farrant and Spanswick are British.

After the Lehman deal, Watanabe also dispatched some of his top executives overseas, a major departure for a firm in which divisional bosses have traditionally been rooted at corporate headquarters in Tokyo. The global head of investment banking, Hiromi Yamaji, moved to London, and the global head of equities, Naoki Matsuba, shifted to New York.

"Unless you have a very strong operation in Europe or the U.S., you can't be competitive enough," Yamaji says in an interview in his office on the 30th floor of the old Lehman building in London's Canary Wharf financial district. "Many large U.S. or European investment banks are globalized. Many are offering products and services to Japanese clients. Integrating the Lehman operations and building a truly global firm won't be easy, though," Yamaji acknowledges. "What is a challenge is to manage thousands of new bankers, traders and staff," he explains. "The challenge is creating a new Nomura."

Some industry observers say they are impressed with the steps Nomura has taken so far, even if it is too early to judge the success of the Lehman deal. They have been successful in securing a large body of Lehman professionals in Europe and Asia. That's quite a bold move, says David Hatt, president of Deutsche Bank Japan.

"This deal will mean very big, fundamental changes to Nomura, as it involves bringing on thousands of non-Japanese onto the staff," says Kenneth Courtis, a veteran Japan-watcher and former vice chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia. "The Nomura people are fully aware of this challenge and are prepared. They aren't going into this blindly."

Watanabe's global vision is clear. Whether he can make it a reality remains to be seen, but so far there have been some encouraging signs.

In Asia, the addition of bankers from Lehman have helped Nomura win advisory mandates on ten deals worth a total of more than $12 billion since December. The firm was sole adviser to Chinese oil giant Sinopec Corp. on its $1.9 billion takeover of Tanganyika Oil in December. It also acted as lead adviser to Japan's Kirin Holdings in its $1.2 billion acquisition of the Philippines' San Miguel Brewery in February and Kirin's concurrent sale of a 19.9 percent stake in the brewer's parent company, San Miguel Corp., to Q-Tech Alliance for $831 million. Unfortunately, the biggest deal was one that got away: Nomura was lead adviser on Aluminum Corp. of China's $19.5 billion bid for a strategic stake in Rio Tinto Group before the Australian mining giant's shareholders rejected that offer in June.

"In banking we absolutely hit the ground running here at Nomura," says Glenn Schiffman, the Hong Kong–based head of investment banking for Asia, ex-Japan. Schiffman was an 18-year Lehman veteran who was the lead negotiator for Lehman employees during the Nomura takeover talks. Nomura ranked eighth in Asia-Pacific M&A this year as of early September, advising on 97 deals worth a total of $33.3 billion; in 2007, the last full year before the Lehman deal, the firm was in 17th place. In Asia-Pacific equities, Nomura rose to No. 3, working on $13.2 billion of issues, up from eighth place in 2007.

The acquisition has even given Nomura a boost at home in Japan, where the firm's share of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange has risen from 7 percent in September 2008 to 8 percent in recent months, according to data from the Japan Securities Dealers Association. "Nomura was very strong with long-only investors, whereas Lehman was very strong with hedge fund–oriented, high-trading investors," Watanabe says. "The combination of the two has allowed us to capture more market share."

In Europe, Nomura has quickly rebuilt much of Lehman's equity market presence under the leadership of Rachid Bouzouba, who was also one of the key Lehman negotiators on the takeover. Bouzouba has kept the overwhelming bulk of his 750-strong team of traders, salespeople and analysts intact and says the group has managed to retain most of its clients through the transition. He is aiming to generate secondary equity trading revenues of $1 billion in the year ending next March 31. "We are back to probably 2004 in terms of the size of the market, and at that time we were making less than $1 billion," he says. Longer term, the firm aims to become the No. 1 player in global equities by 2011. "That is achievable under Nomura," he says.

Bouzouba, 39, a Moroccan national and naturalized Frenchman who began his career at Société Générale and Crédit Lyonnais in Paris before joining Lehman in 2003, says talk of a culture clash at Nomura is overblown. "I grew up in Morocco, I went to France to work and I am very open to cultures," he says. Bouzouba says he was constantly second-guessed by "guys in New York" at Lehman but has been given a free hand by his new bosses in Tokyo. "In fact, I have more autonomy at Nomura than I did at Lehman."

Bouzouba has been focusing on shoring up the firm's equity research to drive growth. Lehman ranked sixth in Institutional Investor's All-Europe Research Team in 2008, but the team, now as part of Nomura, slipped two places, to eighth, in this year's ranking. In May, the firm recruited 15 analysts from rival firms, including Alastair Syme from Bank of America–Merrill Lynch, who was part of the first-ranked team in oil and gas in this year's II survey; Marc Van't Sant from Citigroup, whose team ranked No. 2 in business and employment services; and Mark McVicar from Dresdner Kleinwort, whose team came in third place in transport. European research head Norris, a 19-year Lehman veteran, says the recruits have boosted his team to 126 analysts covering 540 companies. "Our pitch is the opportunity to build the business and be part of a transformation," he says.

The U.S. represents an even bigger challenge for Nomura. The firm has never succeeded in establishing a serious long-term presence there, despite having pioneered the commercial-mortgage-backed securities market in the 1990s. Watanabe and his team have begun to fill the gap, though. The firm has hired some 300 people so far this year to build up its equity and fixed-income teams, raising its overall U.S. head count to about 900. The recruits include Ciaran O'Kelly, former global head of equities at Bank of America Corp., who joined as head of U.S. equities in July. Also that month, Nomura buttressed its fixed-income ambitions by winning Federal Reserve Board approval to become a primary dealer in U.S. Treasuries.

Still, the U.S. remains a clear No. 3 behind Asia and Europe among Watanabe's priorities. "The emerging markets have been less affected than developed markets by the crisis," Watanabe says. "Asia, and especially China, is looking good, with low leverage thanks to smaller borrowings, not to mention the substantial scale of the fiscal stimulus measures announced by China. The environment for financial institutions will also shift from one concentrated on the U.S. to a truly multipolar one as Asia increasingly grows in importance."

The CEO believes his newly enlarged Nomura should be capable of generating consistent pretax profits of ¥500 billion a year, compared with about ¥300 billion previously, when it wasn't racking up big losses.

Analysts say he may not have much time to deliver. "He has to show results in a few years' time, or his head is on the block," says Terrie Lloyd, president of Japan Inc. Holdings, a Tokyo-based consulting firm that specializes in M&A advisory. "You can't take losses like what he took this year."

Natsumu Tsujino, a financial sector analyst at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co. in Tokyo, who has a "neutral" rating on Nomura's stock, says Watanabe's gamble will ultimately depend on the health of financial markets. "His assumption is that further valuation losses [on Nomura's investments] will be zero," she says. "If his assumption holds true, he can make this company profitable by the end of this year." That would be a welcome start. But Watanabe must deliver much more to quiet the skeptics and prove that the daring Lehman purchase was the right move. The Zen practitioner will need all of his powers of concentration to succeed.

(Source: Institutional Investor, Oct 2009)

New American Tourister Commercial !

2009-10-12T19:58:00.001+05:30

Antara Banerjee - Asst Director !

"The good, the Bad and the Beautiful"

2009-10-11T17:22:00.004+05:30

(Oil on Canvas, Sanat Satyan, 2009)

New Zen Estilo Commercial !!

2009-09-19T00:03:00.001+05:30

Antara Banerjee - Asst Director !!

"Aaj Kal Zindagi" from Wake up Sid !

2009-08-29T17:32:00.001+05:30

aaj kal zindagi
mujhse hai keh rahi
tu jo meri maane to chal deewane
sapnon ki rahoon mein tu
saari khusboon ko
saari roshni ko lele
in bahoon mein tu

ab hai tu jahaan
din raat saare naye hai
arzoo jawaan
jazbaat saare naye hai
naye rastein hai tere vaaste
to rahe kyun panahoon mein tu

tere liye
nayi hai zameen naya aasmaan
likh de hawaaon mein
koi nayi dastaan
tere liye
nayi hai zameen naya aasmaan

likh de hawaaon mein
koi nayi dastaan
zindagi ne
dastak di to dastak di to
dil ki sab khidkiyaan khul gayi
haan khul gayi

hotoon pe jo hotoon pe jo
jami thi wo
saari khamoshiyaan ghul gayi
haan ghul gayi
kitne lamhoon ne
mujhko ho jaise hairaan kiya
kitni batoon ne
dil ko aake hai choo liya

chahatein kayi
hai dil mein ab jagmagaye
rahatein kayi
hai mujhse kehne ko aayi
pehchaan saari muskaane
saari bhar le nigaahon mein tu
tere liye

nayi hai zameen naya aasmaan
likh de hawaaon mein
koi nayi dastaan
tere liye
nayi hai zameen naya aasmaan
likh de hawaaon mein
koi nayi dastaan

G8 moments...can't the media get better things to do?

2009-07-11T10:58:00.003+05:30

(Source: Some tabloids which are NOT interested in real issues discussed at G8, but 'oogling eyes' !)

This is like getting a Delhi Times picture in the Wall Street Journal !!

"Gravedigger" by Dave Matthews Band

2009-06-24T23:04:00.002+05:30

Cyrus Jones 1810 to 1913
Made his great granchildren believe
You could live to a hundred and three
A hundred and three is forever when you're just a little kid
So Cyrus Jones lived forever

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

Muriel Stonewall
1903 to 1954
She lost both of her babies in the second great war
Now you should never have to watch
Your only children lowered in the ground
I mean you should never have to bury your own babies

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

Ring around the rosey
Pocket full of posey
Ashes to ashes
We all fall down

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

Little Mikey Carson 67 to 75
He rode his
Bike like the devil until the day he died
When he grows up he wants to be Mr. Vertigo on the flying trapeze
Ohhh, 1940 to 1992

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Feel the rain
I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

Gravedigger

India's Survival Kit !?

2009-03-24T07:45:00.002+05:30

(Source: IBN)

Ever thought we would see such car prices...no, its not a recession in India and these are not slashed prices !

"QE" to the rescue....

2009-03-20T15:18:00.003+05:30

Quantitative easing: the modern way to print money or a therapy of last resort?

Desperately ill patients are willing to try drugs that have not been shown to be either effective or safe. Even dodgy medicines look better than the alternative. As countries’ financial systems remain immobile in the face of standard monetary policy treatment, more are turning to “quantitative easing” as a therapy of last resort. The US Federal Reserve is already trying it out. The Bank of England is likely to follow. The European Central Bank probably won’t, because it isn't sure the politicians would back it.

Quantitative easing is the modern way to print money. The central bank doesn’t actually have to use a four-colour press to spew out crisp notes. There are more sophisticated ways to boost a nation’s money supply. But ultimately the impact is not very different from dropping dollar bills from a helicopter as Ben Bernanke once described this policy before he became the Federal Reserve’s chairman.

So what exactly is quantitative easing, what disease is it supposed to cure, how is it supposed to work and what are the possible side-effects?

The theory

Quantitative easing is a method of boosting the money supply. Its aim is to get money flowing around an economy when the normal process of cutting interest rates isn’t working – most obviously when interest rates are so low that it’s impossible to cut them further.

In such a situation, it may still be possible to increase the “quantity” of money. The way to do this is for the central bank to buy assets in exchange for money. In theory, any assets can be bought from anybody. In practice, the focus of quantitative easing is on buying securities (like government debt, mortgage-backed securities or even equities) from banks.

Where, one might ask, does the central bank get the money to buy all these securities? The answer is that it just waves a magic wand and creates it. It doesn’t even need to turn on the printing presses. It simply increases the size of banks’ accounts at the central bank. These accounts held by ordinary banks at the central bank go by the name of “reserves”. All banks have to hold some reserves at the central bank. But when there is quantitative easing, they build up “excess reserves”.

If banks swap their securities for reserves, the size of their own balance sheets shrinks just as the central bank’s balance sheet expands. Assuming they want to keep their own balance sheets static – admittedly a big assumption in the current climate – they will then start lending to end-borrowers and so start putting more liquidity into the economy.

To some extent, central banks have been engaging in quantitative easing for the past year. The Fed, for example, has had a range of programmes and ad hoc initiatives that have resulted in it acquiring securities from the banking system and more recently from the US government. The Fed may not have justified these under the rubric of quantitative easing. But its balance sheet has certainly mushroomed: it is up 18-fold in the past 4 months to $820bn.

Does it work?

Such quantitative easing certainly hasn’t yet done the trick so far in this recession. Credit conditions have continued to tighten in the US. Things, of course, could have been even worse if there hadn’t been any easing. Equally, although an 18-fold increase in the reserves on the Fed’s balance sheet sounds impressive, it is still below 6pc of GDP. It may therefore only be once quantitative easing properly gets going that the benefits will flow through.

Similarly, history isn’t much use in judging the therapy’s effectiveness. There has been only one significant trial - in Japan between 2001 and 2006. Excess reserves held by banks at the Bank of Japan rose from Y5 trillion to Y35 trillion, roughly 6pc of GDP.

Scholars cannot agree whether the technique worked. On the positive side, Japanese GDP didn’t shrink. On the negative side, GDP growth was moderate and not sustained after quantitative easing ended. Also, the experiment coincided with a big programme of government spending, so no one can tell whether it was the unusual monetary policy or the intense fiscal policy that kept the wolf from the door.

Almost no one would argue that Japanese quantitative easing was an unqualified success. But some economists think the Japanese were too slow and too half-hearted in applying the therapy. What’s more, the Japanese record isn’t necessarily all that meaningful for the US and the UK. Quantitative easing may work better – or worse – in a country like Japan with a cultural preference for savings and a huge trade surplus than in lands where borrow-and-spend have been the rule for years.

Unintended side-effects

Even if quantitative easing isn’t necessarily effective, it would certainly be worth a try if it carried no danger. But its safety is far from certain. It could theoretically lead to the debauchment of a nation’s currency and inflation.

Again history doesn’t provide much of a guide. Japan hasn’t suffered any bad side-effects – inflation is low and the yen is strong. However, in some more extreme examples of old-fashioned money printing, the results were disastrous. Witness the assignats of the French Revolution, Confederate dollars in the Civil War, Reichsmarks in Germany after World War I, Russian roubles after the fall of communism and the current hyper-inflation in Zimbabwe.

The US and UK are, of course, in a far healthier state than revolutionary France or the Weimar Republic. So there isn’t a danger of such alarming consequences. But central banks might lack the will to engage in “quantitative tightening” when the economy starts to pick up.

In theory, reversing the policy should be quite easy. The central bank could just sell the excess assets on its balance sheet, sucking money out of the system. In practice, the political pressure to keep the party going might be too hard to resist.

This is particularly so because, in order to engage in quantitative easing in the first place, some central banks may well need the permission of their governments. The more they work in cahoots with politicians, the more their independence will come under threat. Already, Alastair Darling, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, has made it clear that the government – not the Bank of England – will play an active role if quantitative easing proves necessary.

It is therefore essential that both central banks and finance ministers commit themselves to reverse quantitative easing when the good times return - before they go wild and open the spigots. Quantitative easing is risky. It needs to be practised safely.

(Source: Telegraph UK)

(Wiki explains Quantitative Easing in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing )

(...another explaination is available in http://debtonation.org/2009/03/quantitative-easing-qe-made-easy/ )

Obama at "The Tonight Show"

2009-03-20T14:04:00.000+05:30

MTR Train Route Map, Hong Kong

2009-03-14T14:22:00.001+05:30

(Source: www.mtr.com.hk)

Visitor's Gallery to Wedding Pictures

2009-03-08T13:45:00.001+05:30

Album 1 (Facebook Link) -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81271&id=521206253&l=54579

Album 2 (Facebook Link) -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81272&id=521206253&l=083d8

Visitor's Gallery

2009-03-05T12:56:00.002+05:30

Facebook Album Links to Samui & Bangkok Vacation, Feb 2009

Visitor's Gallery to Samui and Bangkok Vacation 1 -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80220&id=521206253&l=03d15

Visitor's Gallery to Samui and Bangkok Vacation 2 -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80224&id=521206253&l=63b46

Visitor's Gallery to Samui and Bangkok Vacation 3 -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80228&id=521206253&l=b36ee

All Employee Get Together at Renaissance, Powai !

2009-01-29T14:41:00.001+05:30

(Source: Ahana's cam)

Watch out for Vineet !!!

HC 09 - with Swati !

2009-01-28T08:15:00.001+05:30

I have no clue when this pic was taken...
...but thanks to the Nimki for the snap !!

(Source: Nimki Gupta)

The beginning of a new END ??

2009-01-27T13:53:00.001+05:30

Nomura May Sell Units to Raise Cash After Fourth Straight Loss

Nomura Holdings Inc. said it may sell businesses to raise capital and will cut executive pay after posting a fourth straight quarterly deficit on trading losses and costs to acquire parts of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Japan’s largest brokerage will divide itself into “core” and “non-core” operations and may sell some units, Chief Financial Officer Masafumi Nakada said at a press briefing in Tokyo. Nomura today reported a record 342.9 billion yen ($3.8 billion) deficit in the fiscal third quarter.

The company posted a trading loss of 134.5 billion yen, compared with a 65.1 billion yen profit a year earlier, as the MSCI World Index dropped 22 percent. Chief Executive Officer Kenichi Watanabe has flagged costs of $2 billion to take over Lehman’s Asian and European units and has said he isn’t sure when the purchase will start generating earnings.

“Major factors behind the group’s trading losses were the failures of hedging and arbitrage strategies,” Standard & Poor’s said in a statement cutting its rating on Nomura one grade to BBB+. “The rising costs associated with the acquisition of the business units of Lehman Brothers also pose additional risks.”

Nomura will eliminate executives’ annual bonuses and cut their monthly pay as much as 30 percent as it aims to reduce costs by 10 percent in the fiscal year starting April 1, Nakada said. He said details for a capital-raising plan have not yet been decided.

The company’s four straight quarterly losses compare with five at New York-based Citigroup Inc. and six for Merrill Lynch & Co., the Wall Street firm acquired by Bank of America Corp. in a deal that’s sparked anger from investors.

Revenue Evaporates

Revenue plunged 99 percent to 2.7 billion yen in the three months ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier. Brokerage commissions declined 29 percent to 73.4 billion yen as investors shunned the stock market, causing the average daily value of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to drop 33 percent from a year earlier.

“We posted a big net loss because of unprecedented turmoil in the third quarter,” CEO Watanabe said in a statement. “But our financial base is still strong and we can see synergies in cross-border mergers and acquisitions from merging with Lehman.”

Watanabe, who joined Nomura in 1975 and became CEO in April 2008, didn’t attend the press briefing.

Nomura fell 59 percent in Tokyo trading during the past 12 months and climbed 4.9 percent today to close at 639 yen before the latest financial results were reported.

Labor Costs Surge

“Nomura’s heavy losses leave no doubt that the global financial crisis has caught up with Japan,” said Neil Katkov, head of Asia research at Celent LLC in Tokyo. “Similar bad news can be expected from other Japanese securities firms, large and small.”

The firm, which agreed to take over about 8,000 employees from Lehman, said labor costs in the third quarter surged 73 percent. The company said last month it would fire as many as 1,000 employees in London, including former Lehman employees.

It also is eliminating more than 100 positions in Asia and cutting at least 100 jobs in Tokyo, mainly among former Lehman employees, two people familiar with the situation said Dec. 9.

Nomura will also cut its full-year dividend to 25.5 yen per share, from 34 yen a year earlier.

The company has previously announced it will raise about $6 billion of capital after about $4.4 billion of losses and writedowns tied to the global credit crisis.

Nomura booked a 32.3 billion yen loss linked to Bernard Madoff’s investment funds and lost 43.1 billion yen on Icelandic bank bonds. It booked a loss from its stake in New York-based Fortress Investment Group LLC of 62.3 billion yen.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Oh Kunal...Oh Kunal !

2009-01-16T15:37:00.003+05:30

Many a times, you walk down the aisle,
And come across a guy, who loves to go another mile;
Sitting there, thinking...what next to do,
"Keep lying down or wear my shoe?!"

He keeps a never-ending love for things we dont understand,
For Heroes, Gadgets, Dedication...and not a single Contraband;
Every evening, he knows what he is going to eat,
"Is it going to be meat or is it going to be meat?"

With a 'pulsating' prowl, he ventures to the nearest shop,
Wondering...Chicken Makhani, Chicken Tikka Masala or Chicken Chop;
Then he decides....to say that divine word,
"Oh, let me just have some roti and some curd!

It is seldom that you see him talk like this,
He asks,"Is it this or is it bliss?"
Then, there is the next moment when you know he is right,
"I GIVE IN...I GIVE UP THE FIGHT!"

It's only 10 bucks more,
It's protein after all,
There is only health,
Of course, there is no fall!

Looking calmly at his conscience going into the sand,
He puts down the menu...and raises his hand,
The words do not understand why theyn sound so funny,
"Do Butter Roti & Ek Chickan Makhani!"

Oh Kunal, Oh Kunal,
Our great pal,
Resist the tempation..
Just for yourself...Sirf ek saal !

Just the name...Now, going to be mine !!

2009-01-13T11:43:00.001+05:30

The Opel Antara is a mid-size crossover SUV produced in South Korea by GM Daewoo, but sold under the Opel brand. Launched in 2007, the Antara is based on the GM Theta platform which shares its underpinnings and powertrains with the Daewoo Winstorm. However, it has a different exterior and interior design, along with different exterior dimensions. In the United Kingdom, the car is sold as the Vauxhall Antara. In Australia and New Zealand the car is known as the Holden Captiva MaXX, and in North America as the Saturn Vue. In the Middle East, the vehicle is sold as the GMC Terrain, and as the Chevrolet Captiva in Mexico, India and Brazil.

Also called
Chevrolet Captiva
Daewoo Winstorm MaXX
GMC Terrain
Holden Captiva MaXX
Saturn Vue
Vauxhall Antara

The Antara was first previewed by the three-door Opel Antara GTC ("Gran Turismo Crossover") concept car, presented at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Antara GTC is based on the five-seater Chevrolet T2X concept. A similar two-door concept was later displayed at the New York International Auto Show as the Saturn PreVue. The production Antara, is however a longer four-door seven-seater vehicle very similar to the Chevrolet S3X and its derivative Winstorm.

(Source: Wiki)

Security !!

2008-12-31T11:19:00.001+05:30

(Source: Email Forward)

Amit Harchandani...Shaheed !!

2008-12-30T12:27:00.003+05:30

Source: Ahana's Picasa Gallery

Another Way to Die !!

2008-12-24T12:26:00.001+05:30

Another ringer with the slick trigger finger
For Her Majesty
Another one with the golden tongue
Poisoning your fantasy
Another bill from a killer
Turned a thriller to a tragedy

CHORUS
A door left open
A woman walking by
A drop in the water
A look in the eye
A phone on the table
A man on your side
Oh, someone that you think that you can trust
Is just
Another way to die

Another tricky little gun
Giving solace to the one
That will never see the sunshine
Another inch of your life sacrificed for your brother,
In the nick of time
Another dirty money “heaven sent honey”,
Turning on a dime

CHORUS
Well, a door left open
A woman walking by
A drop in the water
A look in the eye
A phone on the table
A man on your side
Someone that you think that you can trust
Is just
Another way to die

(it's just another)
Hey! Another way to die!
(Another way to die…)
Shoot ‘em, bang bang!
Oh oh oh oh oh oh!
Oh oh oh oh oh oh!
Oh oh oh oh oh oh!
Oh oh oh oh oh oh…

Another girl with her finger
On the world singing to
you what you wanna hear?
Another gun thrown down and surrendered
Took away your fear
Hey!
Another man that stands right behind you
Looking in the mirror

CHORUS
Oh, a door left open
A woman walking by
A drop in the water
A look in the eye
A phone on the table
A man on your side
Someone that you think that you can trust
Is just
Another way to die

It’s another way!
Shoot ’em up, bang bang!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
(Another way, another way…)
Yeah!
(Another way, another way…)
Bang bang bang bang!

(Source: Quantum of Solace OST)

Yes, we were there...

2008-12-22T13:50:00.001+05:30

Congratulations, Amit !

(Source: Patricia's Cam)

Birtday Gift to Shubhi !!

2008-12-15T14:29:00.001+05:30

Teddy for Shubhi !!

All the best, junies !

2008-12-12T12:24:00.000+05:30

As you all would be entering a completely new phase in your lives &
careers in the next few hours, let me take this opportunity to wish
you all the very best and hearty congratulations in advance, for doing
so great !

Yes, it would have been a tough time...a rather painful and torturous
one for some of you...figuring out which stream to take, which company
to focus on and most importantly, what to do in these market
conditions ! I am sure the decision would have been tough & yes, a
rather introspective one as well !

For now, the time has come when the results would unfold & you would
be a different person altogether - but yes, do remember...

The journey has just begun !

Listening to the stories about some of us (and remembering the times
when we celebrated this day together last year), you would have known
- life (or i should say, the economy) takes many turns...less up,
mostly down ! What we have seen has taught us, and is still teaching
us, everyday...what matters at the end of the day is...who you are &
what you believe in !

So, go ahead...take this "small" decision today (of joining yet
another organization...or shall i say, institution) & live the
experience !

Believe me, nothing is as good as it seems on Day 1...at least, the
economy doesn't allow you to think so ! But yes, experience is worth a
lifetime !

Live this experience !

Enjoy it !

Is baar nahin

2008-12-01T23:25:00.000+05:30

Is baar jab woh choti si bachchi mere paas apni kharonch le kar aayegi
Main usey phoo phoo kar nahin behlaoonga
Panapney doonga uski tees ko
Is baar nahin

Is baar jab main chehron par dard likha dekhoonga
Nahin gaoonga geet peeda bhula dene wale
Dard ko risney doonga,utarney doonga andar gehrey
Is baar nahin

Is baar main na marham lagaoonga
Na hi uthaoonga rui ke phahey
Aur na hi kahoonga ki tum aankein band karlo,gardan udhar kar lo main dawa lagata hoon
Dekhney doonga sabko hum sabko khuley nangey ghaav
Is baar nahin

Is baar jab uljhaney dekhoonga,chatpatahat dekhoonga
Nahin daudoonga uljhee door lapetney
Uljhaney doonga jab tak ulajh sake
Is baar nahin

Is baar karm ka hawala de kar nahin uthaoonga auzaar
Nahin karoonga phir se ek nayee shuruaat
Nahin banoonga misaal ek karmyogi ki
Nahin aaney doonga zindagi ko aasani se patri par
Utarney doonga usey keechad main,tedhey medhey raston pe
Nahin sookhney doonga deewaron par laga khoon
Halka nahin padney doonga uska rang
Is baar nahin banney doonga usey itna laachaar
Ki paan ki peek aur khoon ka fark hi khatm ho jaye
Is baar nahin

Is baar ghawon ko dekhna hai
Gaur se
Thoda lambe wakt tak
Kuch faisley
Aur uskey baad hausley
Kahin toh shuruat karni hi hogi
Is baar yahi tay kiya hai

... Prasoon Joshi

It's all over...everywhere !

2008-11-18T11:22:00.001+05:30

(Source: Not Mine)

I am scared...

2008-11-11T16:44:00.000+05:30

Source: Not mine!

Birthday Bash at Mayfair Sonata

2008-11-10T11:52:00.002+05:30

Party by Ahana, Puneet, Rahul & Vineet !
Nov 7, 2008

Mayfair Sonata Residents...Evil !

2008-11-08T18:12:00.001+05:30

Pankaj (Superman), Moi, Rahul (Daddy) & Kunal Gulati, CFA!

Indulge @ Delhi

2008-11-06T22:06:00.004+05:30

Pebble Street, New Friends Colony...Decor & Dining at its best !

Big Chill at Kailash Colony...Same old saga !

HCF from Nirulas...Enough Said !

I love Delhi for its SPACE !

2008-11-06T00:18:00.004+05:30

They say - one can only live old times in memories but i guess my recent trip to Delhi proved them wrong ! After May 2006 (around 3 weeks before i joined TAPMI), it was 25th Oct 2008, when i touched Delhi after a very very long time at 1 in the morning. Thanks to flight delays from Mumbai, the festive season surely made sure that i get a Baaaaaaaaaad Mood...before reaching Delhi! But there i was at 1 in the morning...standing outside the newly renovated Delhi Airport...calling out to the pre paid taxi guy..."ITO jaana hai bhaiya!" and he was more than eager to take me!

You have no idea what i did the next day...after a late breakfast, i set out to relive Apni Dilli !! Metro from Pragati Maidan to Barakhamba Road and then a long walk around CP, Janpath, my old ING office, Palika Bazaar ... Oh, who doesn't want to shop at CP!!!? Another train from Rajiv Chowk to DU got to close to my first love in Delhi...St Stephen's College...Walking around college after a long time was great pleasure. Reading Thampu's notices and Watching people sleeping under the treat reminded me on Chilly Winter Afternoons in 2002!!!

Manu was right (a great pal from Lehman)..."Dilli jayega or Momo's Point ka momos nahi khayega???" Of course, i shall have it...and add a Fruit Beer to it as well ! The corner Egg Roll wala guy recognised me i think...he was smiling when i passed him, giving my usual Burp!

"Do saal mein toh jyada nahi badla saahab !" ... the Bhel wala guy tells me, handing me over the Extra Large Bhel ka plate...yes, the quality of his plates has improved but the taste is the same...i remember saving 7 bucks every day to have one plate in the evening, during exams! Back home at 6 pm, i was a satisfied man!

Next day, Sunday was another story !

Thanks Pallavi for great company...Lunch at Big Chill...Damn, i didnt know it has shifted from East of Kailash to Kailash Colony...but the decor is the same...Grilled Breast of Chicken has of course become costlier --- Antara, any memories?? A walk down the Select City Walk Mall post lunch was a good treat...SHOPPED AGAIN...and followed it with a movie ... BODY of LIES....isn't Leonardo repeating himself?

Day 3 was a late start day again !!! A GREEN Diwali celebration is another story...

The next few days have been the most memorable days of my life...i can say they are more memorable than my secret Bangalore trip in Oct 2004. Selective choice of activities made it more special----

Shopping for home at Dilli Haat, Bought curtains and bedsheets from Lajpat, Another Lunch at Big Chill with Antara, An awesome Chinese Dinner at Moet's, A silent dinner at Nirula's followed by the Legen...Wait for it....Dary Hot Chocolate Fudge, An evening with Antara's office people at CCD, a movie at NOIDA (HEROES !!!!) with Anirudh and Gang, A walk down PVR Saket, Relived Malviya Nagar market...haggling with Auto walas daily...Pani Puri for Antara at Haldiram...Bought sweets from Bengali Market and Pani Puri from Nathu's, Continental at Pebble Street, New Friend's Colony......Am i forgetting anything??

I am speechless...

I guess there is only line to summarise my experience...Siddharth's words at CCD Aurobindo College....

"I love Delhi for the SPACE"

Mumbaikars, listening??

Best of Barney Stinson Quotes

2008-11-05T01:18:00.002+05:30

Money, Suits, Sex.. My Life Rocks !!!

"Tell people what ? "
"Tell people what ? "
"Tell people what ? "
"Tell people what ? "
"Tell people what ? "
"Tell people what ? "

think me as a yoda, instead of being liitle and green, i wear suits and i m awsome. i am broda

You see, whenever I start feeling sick, I just stop being sick and be awesome instead.

You have no reason to wait one month to have sex with a girl unless she's 17 and 11 months.

"Haaaaaaaaave you met Ted?"

True Story!!

go whore or go home! now ladies slut up

It's gonna be legendary!

Are you nuts? That would involve me speaking to a woman I've already had sex with… which frankly is a little bit like changing the oil in a rental car!

Are you nuts? That would involve me speaking to a woman I've already had sex with… which frankly is a little bit like changing the oil in a rental car!

Barney : I can't go I've got this thing.
Lily: What thing ?
Barney: A penis

Legenn.. wait for it!.. daryyyy.. yeahh

this is tottaly going on my blog!!!!!

what...up!

Legen wait for it and if your lactose intolerant then this is a shocker DARY

Freezed frame high five !

Tell me ! You didn't ? Oh you did ! No you didn't, you didn't. You did ? You did , didn't you ? Oh you did not ? Tell me !

Something like that...

SUIT UP !

Barney: The stripper at Stuart's bachelor party was a 15.
Ted: She was 15?
Barney: No a 15. Like in blackjack.
Ted: ... As in not sure whether you'd hit it?
Barney: Exactly!
Ted: Nice!

"I'm going out of this world the same way I came in. Buck Naked. Open bar for the men, open casket for the ladies. What up?!" *hand up for high-five*

You broke up with a pornstar?! Friendship over. FRIENDSHIP OVER!!!

"i learnt something very important about myself...i'm awesome"

Dad is home!!!

"Number 6: PURG...wait for it...keep waiting...wait for all of eternity cause all you'll find out is ATORY!(with scaring voice)"

Deeee... wait for it... nied!

Barney : hello I'm Ted Mosby, Architect ;-) !!

X Rays thats the ultimate strip show, more like triple x rays. What up

''One of the twenty-four similarities between girls and fish is that they're both attracted to shiny objects. You really never read my blog, do you?''

Bro Code Article 1 : Bro's before hoes.

Bro Code Article 29: A bro will, in a timely manner, alert his bro to the existence of a girl fight.

Bro Code Article 34: Bro's cannot make eye contact during a devils-three-way.

Bro Code Article 53: A bro will, whenever possible, provide his bro with protection.

Bro Code Article 87 : A bro shall at all times say "yes"

Bro Code Article 89: The mom of a bro is always off limits. But the step mom of a bro is a fair game, if she initiates it and / or is wearing at least 1 article of leopard print clothing.

Bro Code Article XX : No sex with your bro's ex.

cum on Ted lets get u a hooker..... it would be fun

Hypotyhetical high five....... Nice!

slapsgiving:
You are allowed to slap my face, but you are not allowed to slap my mind. Good day!

Ted, say I'm your best friend

''Meet me at the bar in fifteen minutes -— and suit up!''

"Do you like magic?"

"Yeah. Hey, Ted, if you kiss her, can I watch? I love it when chicks make out."

"That's why I make it crystal clear to every girl that walks through that door that this is not a place to leave a toothbrush, this is not a place to leave a contact lens case..this is a place to LEAVE! Come on, I'll give you a tour..and no flash photography please. The bedroom, king-size bed, full-size blanket, one pillow, everything about this bed says: Our work here is done! The bathroom, only one towel. What? No hairdryer? You know where I keep that stuff? Your place, BEAT IT!"

Barney: I've done some bad things, I mean REALLY bad things. I once sold a girl. Didn't even know the language, just exchanged her for a pair of car keys. So whatever I did to you, I'm truly sorry.

Random Girl: Sorry, I don't know you

Dear Resident,

The time we spent together, however long it was, meant the world to me. I would love to see you again, but unfortunately I cannot. You see, I... am a ghost. I can only materialize once every decade, on the anniversary of my death. I chose to spend my one day among the living with you, sweet Resident. Perhaps we will meet again in another decade, provided you keep your figure.

Until then, all my love from the beyond.

Barney

"I've dreamed about this day boys and it's going to be legen-DARY! Together, we will own this city. Anytime a girl wants to get back at her ex-boyfriends, we'll be there. Anytime a girl wants to solve her father issues, through promiscuity and binge-drinking, we will be there. Anytime a bachelorette party drives through the city in a limo, sticking their heads up through the sunroof shouting, "What's up New York?" we will BE what is UP NEW YORK!"

"Every Halloween, I bring a spare costume, in case I strike out with the hottest girl at the party. That way, I have a second chance to make a first impression."

"You can try to apply for a sex visa, but that only lasts for12 hours. 14 if you qualify for multiple entry."

Moist, moist, moist, moist...... !

Ted: There was this girl Penelope..She knows how to make it rain..Are you still in touch with her?
Barney:Oh yes..Although we stopped having sex;we see eachother once in a month,hang out and OF COURSE I'M NOT IN TOUCH WİTH HER!!!

heeey! this is my friend Ted.. he is an architect.. haaave you met him? :P

i like the way you think sherbatsky!!!

"This isn't Barney! But I've heard that guy's AWESOME!"

[Barney speakin to ted on the phone, using a deep voice]

Ted: Barney...
Barney: This isn't Barney. ...but I hear that guy's awesome. All right. Listen very carefully. You will get your stuff back if you are able to complete a series of challenges. Number one, put on the suit. Number two, meet me at McClaren's in an hour.
Ted: How will I know who to look for since we've never met?
Barney: ...I look like Barney.

Barney: In my body, where the shame gland should be, there is a second awesome gland. True story

Barney: You! u spooned me against my will!
Lilly: hey!! it takes 2 to cuddle...

"Only 2 reasos to date an ex-girlfriend - Breast, Implants!"

Don't hate the player, Hate the game!

No, thanks. I don't mess with fish bowls unless they have my two favorite fish: the sucker fish and the blow fish! What up?

That one's going to reward shareholders soon... I forsee aggressive growth in my future! What up?

"I love this burger so much, I want to sew my ass shut"

Dear Female, thank you for your interest in Barney Stinson. I regret to inform you that at this time, there are currently no positions available.

The Eight Clown Commandments

2008-10-24T12:35:00.001+05:30

1. I will keep my acts, performance and behavior in good taste while I am in costume and makeup. I will remember at all times that I have been accepted as a member of the clown club only to provide others, principally children, with clean clown comedy entertainment. I will remember that a good clown entertains others by making fun of himself or herself and not at the expense or embarrassment of others.

2. I will learn to apply my makeup in a professional manner. I will provide my own costume. I will carry out my appearance and assignment for the entertainment of others and not for personal gain or personal publicity when performing for either the International club or alley events. I will always try to remain anonymous while in makeup and costume as a clown, though there may be circumstances when it is not reasonably possible to do so.

3. I will neither drink alcoholic beverages nor smoke while in makeup or clown costume. Also, I will not drink alcoholic beverages prior to any clown appearances. I will conduct myself as a gentleman/lady, never interfering with other acts, events, spectators, or individuals. I will not become involved in or tolerate sexual harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or any protected status.

4. I will remove my makeup and change into my street clothes as soon as possible following my appearance, so that I cannot be associated with any incident that may be detrimental to the good name of clowning. I will conduct myself as a gentleman/lady at all times.

5. While on appearance in makeup and costume, I will carry out the directives of the producer or his designated deputies. I will abide by all performance rules without complaint in public.

6. I will do my very best to maintain the best clown standards of makeup, costuming, properties, and comedy.

7. I will appear in as many clown shows as I possibly can.

8. I will be committed to providing an atmosphere free of discrimination and harassment for clowns of all ages to share ideas and learn about the art of clowning.
(Did you know??? Visit www.coai.org for more details)

Diwali Fever...

2008-10-24T11:20:00.002+05:30

Rangoli by GIRLS !!

Rangoli by BOYS !!

Source: Pankaj's Email Forward

Make a wish...

2008-10-23T09:24:00.002+05:30

Thane, Mumbai

Home, Mumbai

A small group of ex-lehman enthusiasts...

2008-10-23T09:21:00.001+05:30

Thank you, Patricia !

Ed Morse Joins LCM Commodities and Louis Capital Markets as Managing Director and Head of Economic Research !

2008-10-21T15:39:00.000+05:30

Louis Capital Markets, a global independent broker-dealer, and its affiliated firm, LCM Commodities, today announce the appointment of Edward L. Morse as a Managing Director, Head of Economic Research.

Dr. Morse joins the firm from Lehman Brothers, where he was Managing Director and Head of Commodities Research from 2006 and where he built a world class research team as part of the #1 ranked Fixed Income research group and participated in the build out of Lehman’s global commodities trading platform. Morse received widespread publicity this year for forecasting the rapid demand destruction caused by high commodities prices as well as for analyzing the bubble-like characteristics of the rise in oil prices toward $150 per barrel.

“Ed is a proven leader in market analysis. This high profile addition confirms LCM Commodities’ commitment to providing our clients with best ideas about market developments,” said Pierre Lacaze, CEO of LCM Commodities.

“Dr. Morse’s appointment also reinforces Louis Capital’s continued expansion of its franchise, offering customers out-of-the-box research and innovative ideas as part of our focus on building strong customer relationships with value-added service,” said Laurent Imbert, Managing Partner in New York of the LCM Group.

A leading analyst of the international oil and gas sector, Morse’s career in energy spans three decades and includes senior positions in business, government, academic and publishing. Before joining Lehman, Morse spent seven years at Hess Energy Trading Co., LLC (HETCO), providing strategic advice to the firm and clients on oil and natural gas market trends. For a decade before then he served as publisher of Petroleum Intelligence Weekly and other industry newsletters published by the Energy Intelligence Group, where had been CEO.

He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University, where he taught for six years before joining the senior research staff at the Council on Foreign Relations. During the Carter and Reagan administrations, Morse held various positions in the Department of State, including Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Energy Policy, the most senior officer with full time responsibilities in energy. He represented the United States at the International Energy Agency, as well as in bilateral energy working groups with such countries as Norway, Japan, the UK, Nigeria, and Iran. Included in his industry experience is a management position at Phillips Petroleum and co-founder of PFC Energy in Washington DC.

In the winter and spring of 2001 Morse chaired a Task Force on Energy Security, jointly sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations of New York and the James A. Baker III Institute, and issued two reports recommending urgent changes in US domestic and international energy policy. He currently is a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Energy & Environment Cooperation with China under the direction of Treasury Secretary Paulson.

Morse is Chairman of the New York Energy Forum and serves on a number of academic advisory boards, including those of the energy programs at Columbia University and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and of the Oxford Energy Policy Club, as well as a member of the editorial committee of The Geopolitics of Energy and of the journal Oil. He also is a member of the Chairman’s Council of the American Ballet Theatre. Morse is the author of a number of books and dozens of articles on energy, economics and international affairs. He is the recipient of a prize from the International Association for Energy Economics.

The LCM Group is a vibrant and growing global independent broker-dealer providing execution, sales, trading and research services in cash equities, equity derivatives, commodities, foreign exchange and fixed income. Founded in 1999 in New York, LCM has three senior partners, Michael Benhamou, Laurent Imbert, and Patrice Cohen. The firm has offices in New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong and will soon open in Houston. LCM Commodities focuses exclusively on commodity and commodity-related markets, with a special emphasis on swaps, options and exotics in crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas.

Source: Business Wire, 21 Oct 2008

An extended look at the financial crisis...

2008-10-17T14:30:00.015+05:30

Source: An Email Forward

I think this is it...the answer to a few questions !

2008-10-03T12:37:00.000+05:30

Do i need to say more ?

2008-10-01T14:20:00.025+05:30

Source: An Hilarious Email Forward

An area of concern...

2008-09-30T13:16:00.001+05:30

Banks ask RBI to infuse cash into system

Faced with an extreme liquidity crunch, banks have made a strong representation to Reserve Bank of India to release more cash into their system.

A request was also made for refinancing of oil bonds to provide funds to stateowned refiners who are one of the large borrowers. Bankers made this pitch in their first formal meeting with the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), D Subbarao on Monday.

The demand for cash is visible in the huge borrowings by banks from RBI — banks collectively borrowed a record Rs 90,075 crore from the central bank on Monday, over both its liquidity adjustment facility windows. Borrowings from the RBI have been in the range of Rs 50,000 crore - Rs 80,000 crore over the past couple of weeks. Further, bankers present at the meeting indicated that they expect the demand to rise in the coming quarters.

“A number of corporates have lined up for credit and thus we will need to look at options to increase liquidity,” pointed out a senior banker to RBI. Demand for liquidity is in the context of increase in credit and rising cost of funds, which has risen by 26% year-on-year as against 20% projected by the RBI. Meanwhile, cost of funds have risen substantially with banks offering 10% on one-year retail deposits and about 11.75% on bulk deposits.

Bankers urged the RBI to allow them to offer higher interest rate on the NRI deposits . As of now, banks can not offer more than 50 basis points over Libor in NRE deposits and Libor minus 25 bps on FCNR (B).

Bankers also suggested that RBI could consider refinancing oil bonds held by banks. They also said that RBI could support banks in refinancing exporters in foreign currency loans. As of now, banks can not charge more than 100 bps over Libor for post shipment foreign currency loans. However, bankers are finding it tough to lend to exporters since their (banks) cost of fund is in the range of Libor plus 300-400 bps.

Interestingly, high demand is despite the RBI allowing banks to borrow twice in a day from them and an effective one per cent cut in the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR). Some banks once again urged RBI to consider giving some interest on cash reserve ratio- a slice of deposits that banks have to park with RBI. Banks have to park 9% of net liabilities with RBI as CRR, but it does not attract any interest.

A senior banker also suggested that RBI could consider excluding those loans extended to infrastructure sector from the CRR and SLR. Another senior banker suggested that RBI should once again allow banks to have floating reserves so that such reserves could be used during bad times and disclosure on the same can be made in their balance sheet. RBI had discontinued the practice of allowing banks to have floating reserves some time bank.

Besides the RBI governor, all four deputy governors were present in the meeting. Among PSU banks chairman of State Bank of India, O P Bhatt; CMD of Bank of India TS Narayanasami; CMD of Bank of Baroda MD Mallya; CMD of Canara Bank, AC Mahajan; CMD of Union Bank of India MV Nair; cheif of Axis Bank, PJ Nayak and cheif of Citi Sanjay Nayar attended the meeting.

Source: Economic Times, 30 Sept 08

Mayfair Sonata to Winchester

2008-09-26T11:52:00.001+05:30

Ghar aur office ki doori...seems like eternity now !

Source: Google Maps

Lehman was here - Winchester, Powai !!

2008-09-26T11:27:00.006+05:30

Source: Not mine

Stephania (A Poem) by Benjamin Gillani

2008-09-25T15:57:00.001+05:30

stephania was seven years of my life,
that
and much more
was stephania.
it is now a dappled forest of memory
in which i wander, directions not always clear.
but stephania was....

the blacksmith and its song,
kooler talk and onset
and other college rags.
it was a twenty-five p. coke
and a sixty paise packet of wills.
later it was sixty charminars a day
and all night rehearsals.
it was the rain dance
and
"f... you, freshers, if it doesn't rain."
the miss fresher night in a sweaty j.c.r.
was stephania.
stephania was witness
to the first breathless sight
of a mirandian.

it was
the noisy nine o'clock assembly
with green-covered roll-call registers,
and the silent through-the-hedge entry
after the ten p.m. register.

it was residence not hostel
cafe not canteen.

it was founder's day
and burfis and curly-edged sandwiches and tea
at innumerable society meetings.

it was the british high commissioner and
delhi's elite
at the opening night of the shakespeare play,
and, once in a while, a favourable review
in tomorrow's daily papers.
it was cast parties
and walking the girls back
on wintry midnights.

stephania was prof. s.k. bose,
a legend even to legends,
both in class and on the cricket field.

it was durga prasad, the dhobi,
and a fight every monday morning
because the only undies he ever lost
were always yours.
why me?
was stephania.

sometimes stephania was
the passage of leftists
rightists,
ists,
and other labels-
always it was sukhia
and the minces and scrambled eggs
just an order away.

for a while stephania was a long walk on the ridge
with t.s. eliot for company
and wondering why nobody else walked there.
later it was with a girl for company,
now wondering why everybody walked there.

shocked
was stephania
when girls first walked into its cafe or sat
unconcerned

upon its lawns.
but times change.

stephania was never . right' or . wrong'
often it was . just not done'
and there lay a world.

it was tutors and gyps
and even a dean.
"no smoking in the corridors".
he said.
we replied: "avoid yaar".

failure and success-
but most of all
being there
was stephania.

stephania
stephania
i wonder...
did you ever really trust me after
all that we gave each other?
after all
you admitted the girls
the year i left.

Benjamin Gillani was a student of College in the late 60s and is now an eminent theatre and television personality.

Source: St Stephen's College Photo Gallery

How i met ... Cobie Smulders !!

2008-09-25T00:19:00.000+05:30

Source: CBS

Barcap -the transition !

2008-09-24T14:51:00.003+05:30

A new address: Barcap, 745, 7th Avenue, New York

2008-09-24T14:48:00.004+05:30

Source: Not mine

End of the Wall Street investment bank

2008-09-22T12:48:00.000+05:30

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley last night abandoned their status as investment banks in a move marking the end of an era on Wall Street.

The two investment houses yesterday received the regulatory approval to transform themselves into traditional bank holding companies.

While the change appears to be a technicality, it means that both banks now have equal and permanent rights to access emergency funds from the US central bank, the Federal Reserve. They will also be far more tightly regulated.

After the collapse of Bear Stearns, then Wall Street's smallest investment bank, in February, the Federal Reserve extended its emergency lending facilities - called the discount window - to investment banks as well as commercial ones. Investment banks were more limited with the types of collateral they could use as backing for the Fed loans so were at a disadvantage to their commercial rivals.

The conversion of both banks is a watershed moment for Wall Street, effectively marking the end of the New York investment bank.

The credit crisis, which erupted on Wall Street a year ago, has shown that the business model of the investment bank no longer works. Commercial banks are cushioned by deposits from retail customers who hold savings accounts and mortgages. However, the bulk of business conducted by an investment bank is done with other banks, and such business can be withdrawn with a phone call.

Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, both investment banks, have collapsed, Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America last weekend, and now Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have changed their status.

Source: Times UK

A tribute !

2008-09-19T15:17:00.006+05:30

The BlackBerry 8700v Wireless Handheld™ makes it easy to stay connected while on the go. You get uncompromising email, browsing and voice performance in one thin, stylish, lightweight handheld with a full QWERTY keyboard.

The BlackBerry 8700v™ operates on the latest high speed wireless networks and provides leading BlackBerry® functionality, including email, phone, web browsing, text messaging (SMS and MMS) and organizer applications.

The BlackBerry 8700v features complete functionality, including*:

Phone
Email
MMS
SMS
Wireless Data Access
Address Book
Internet Browser
Calendar
Memo Pad
Tasks
Dynamic, highly responsive experience when viewing attachments and graphics, browsing the web and running applications
Access up to 10 supported business and/or personal email accounts
Integrated attachment viewing for popular file formats
MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) allows you to combine text and images on a single message*
Bright, high-resolution screen provides large viewable workspace and includes intelligent light sensing technology to automatically optimize screen lighting levels for ideal indoor and outdoor viewing
Built-in speakerphone for hands-free dialog and convenient conference calls with excellent sound quality
Bluetooth® hands-free headset and car kit support
Polyphonic and MP3 ring tones can be assigned to your contacts
Ergonomic, full QWERTY keyboard for a familiar typing and data entry experience
Large, dedicated “Send”, “End” and “Mute” keys, plus user definable convenience keys
64 MB of memory
Quad-Band network support on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM™/GPRS and EDGE networks* allows for international roaming between North America, Europe and Asia Pacific
Enterprise Friendly
The BlackBerry 8700v is the perfect complement to the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution™. Its fast performance and outstanding ergonomic features allow users to take full advantage of enterprise applications that are wirelessly enabled by the BlackBerry platform, such as sales force automation, field service automation, network and systems management and more.

(Prabably, not staying with me anymore !)

"Capital"-ism doesn't help !

2008-09-19T15:17:00.003+05:30

i sit down to write,
a small story of "i dont know what to call it"

a few months and the story of two quarters,
of giants falling to their feet
pleading innocence
victimized by politicians
ignorance of one individual

and

home to thousands of hearts - full of insecurity !

i hear this will not last long
some bits of it has already ended,
yes, there may be some more
for once,
i am thanking "my country"
to save me from the aftermath -

and thank you, it has come to my rescue!

peaking out of my window
into the gloomy & rainy outside,
i say to myself
is there a future...

and she says,
wait for the rainbow !

someone just said - you come to know who ur friends are in these tough times...
true or false??
yes, true - they have called me and shared my 'sorrow' !
no, false - they have called me and shared my 'laughter' !

green is the colour of ...
and as we turned red...
making all attempts to put it in black, are still going on...
but,

green will always be the colour of ...

of success
of learning
of comfort
of friendship
of pride
of achievement
and

of course,
you know what !

Another point of view...

2008-09-16T18:37:00.001+05:30

Source: Not mine

Panic !!!

2008-09-16T18:35:00.001+05:30

Source: Not mine

Culture of Consistency???

2008-09-16T18:32:00.001+05:30

October 27, 2007
Source: New York Times

Shattered...

2008-09-16T18:25:00.002+05:30

In 1850, Mayer Lehman joined his brother Henry in Montgomery, Alabama, to become a partner in Lehman Brothers.

Emanuel Lehman joined his brothers Henry and Mayer as a clerk, and their little store was renamed Lehman Brothers. He arrived in America in 1847.

Source: Harvard Business School

History of Lehman Brothers - Harvard Business School, Historical Collections

2008-09-16T18:22:00.002+05:30

With a special focus on recognizing the potential of promising industries and helping finance the expansion of these enterprises, Lehman Brothers has played an important part in the financial and commercial history of the United States for more than 150 years. The history of the firm offers an inside look at the emergence and growth of American industry and technology as well as the establishment of the modern corporation.

In 1844, Henry Lehman immigrated from Rimpar, Germany, to Montgomery, Alabama where he established a small shop selling groceries, dry goods, and utensils to the local cotton farmers. By 1850, his two brothers, Emanuel and Mayer, had joined him in the business, and they named it Lehman Brothers. After Henry Lehman's death in 1855 at the age of 33, the two younger brothers headed the firm for the next four decades. During their tenure, only family members—sons, brothers, and cousins—were permitted as partners. This was a policy that continued until the 1920s.

Soon after its founding, Lehman Brothers evolved from a general merchandising business to a commodities broker that bought and sold cotton for the planters living in and around Montgomery, Alabama. "King Cotton" dominated the economy of the southern United States in the 1850s. As the business grew, a brief partnership was formed with cotton merchant John Wesley Durr to build a cotton storage warehouse, enabling Lehman Brothers to engage in larger sales and trades. A New York office was opened in 1858, giving the firm a stronger presence in the commodities trading business as well as a foothold in the financial community.

With much of its operations tied to the southern economy, Lehman Brothers did not escape the hardship of the Civil War. The firm was rebuilt after the war, concentrating its operations in the New York office. In 1870, Lehman Brothers spearheaded the formation of the New York Cotton Exchange, the first commodities futures trading venture. Mayer Lehman was appointed to its first board of directors. As Lehman Brothers' commodities sales and trading business grew to include other goods, the company also helped to establish the Coffee Exchange and the Petroleum Exchange.

Because of its Southern heritage and Northern connections, Lehman Brothers was designated to be the Alabama government's fiscal agent to help sell the state's bonds in 1867. This was no simple assignment, given the credit rating of the Southern states at that time. The firm was also assigned to service the state's debts, interest payments, and other obligations, beginning a long tradition in municipal finance.

The rapid development of the railroads helped transform the country from an agrarian to an industrial economy in the years following the Civil War. The boom in railroad construction resulted in tremendous activity on Wall Street, as companies turned to financial markets to raise funds for expansion. Kuhn, Loeb & Co., which merged with Lehman Brothers nearly a century later, was one of the leading financial advisors and underwriters to the railroad industry. The firm was engaged in the financing of the Chicago and North Western Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio, and the Great Northern, along with the reorganization of the Union Pacific.

Railroad bonds were a milestone in the developing capital markets. To raise the huge amount of money needed to fund the industry's expansion, underwriters began reaching beyond their traditional sources of financing. Bonds were structured at affordable prices and sold to individual investors, bringing masses of first-time investors into the market. Noting this trend, Lehman Brothers expanded its commodities business to include the sales and trading of securities. In 1887 the firm became a member of the New York Stock Exchange, marking the evolution of Lehman Brothers from a commodities business to a merchant-banking firm. The New York office provided the presence to build a securities trading business, and Lehman Brothers aggressively pursued this area. The firm was also becoming more involved in financial advisory, which provided the foundation for developing the underwriting business in the early 1900s.

For a 20-year period beginning in 1906, Emanuel's son, Philip Lehman, and Henry Goldman, the dominant partner in the firm of Goldman, Sachs, formed an alliance to fund the emerging retail industry. The two firms jointly underwrote securities issues for some of the most famous names in the retailing industry, including Sears, Roebuck & Co.; F.W. Woolworth Co.; May Department Stores; Gimbel Brothers, Inc.; and R.H. Macy & Co.

Robert Lehman, Philip's son, became a partner in the firm during the 1920s and quickly moved into the leadership role. Robert Lehman led the firm from 1925 until his death in 1969, a period of significant growth for the firm. His business philosophy centered on his belief that consumption, not production, would determine America's future prosperity. To that end, he steered the firm to back emerging industries geared toward mass consumption. His commitment to identifying growth industries led the firm to become active in the financing of airlines and motion picture companies as well as continuing Lehman Brothers' substantial support of the retailing industry.

Lehman Brothers was an early backer of the entertainment business, advising on the consolidation of the Keith-Albee and Orpheum theaters in the 1920s. This merger created the nation's largest vaudeville circuit, with more than 700 theaters and a seating capacity of 1.5 million. As the motion picture industry developed in the 1930s, Lehman Brothers helped fund Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO), Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox.

The firm was also interested in the growth of the communications industry in the 1930s, underwriting the first public offering of the leading televised company at that time, Allan B. Dumont Laboratories. In addition, the firm helped fund the Radio Corporation of America (RCA).

The Depression made it difficult even for strong companies to raise capital during the 1930s. To help mediate risk and encourage investment, Lehman Brothers was one of the first firms to devise a new method of financing known as the private placement. These loans between blue-chip borrowers and private lenders included strict safeguards and restrictions for lender safety, enabling borrowers to raise needed capital and lenders to receive an appropriate return with a tolerable level of risk. Innovative at the time, the private placement is a standard financing technique today.

The first half of the twentieth century was also an era of immense expansion in the oil industry. Lehman Brothers became involved, financing Murphy Oil and the TransCanada pipeline, as well as supporting the oil service business of Halliburton and the development of Kerr-McGee's oil and gas exploration and production business.

Economic expansion in the 1950s was driven by the arrival of electronic and computer technology. Lehman Brothers quickly sought investment opportunities in these areas, helping to launch Litton Industries as well as underwriting Digital Equipment Corporation’s first public offering.

In the 1960s the firm greatly expanded its capital markets trading capabilities, particularly in commercial paper. This led to the firm's designation as an official dealer for U.S. Treasuries. In the 1960s and 1970s, when many U.S. companies began to expand internationally, Lehman Brothers inrceased its global presence as well, opening offices in Europe and Asia. The firm’s international stature was further enhanced in 1977 through the merger with the distinguished investment bank, Kuhn, Loeb & Co.

As significant advances in electronic technology and computer science contributed to economic expansion during the 1970s, Lehman Brothers sought opportunities in applied science and technology. Among their new investments were future industry leaders such as QUALCOMM, a developer of digital wireless communication systems, and Loral Corporation, a manufacturer of defense electronics.

In the 1980s, financial advisory centered on mergers and acquisitions as major corporations moved to expand both domestically and internationally. Lehman Brothers acted as an advisor on several large U.S. and cross-border transactions, including Bendix/Allied, Chrysler/American Motors, General Foods/Philip Morris, and Genentech/Hoffman-LaRoche.

The development of personal computers and the elements that made them user-friendly gave rise to a field of related industries in the 1980s, ranging from microprocessors to video games. The fast pace of high-tech research and development enabled tiny start-up ventures with expertise in design, programming, and engineering to become major international corporations seemingly overnight. Lehman Brothers bought into these new markets by backing companies like Intel, the company that introduced the world’s first microprocessor, raising funds to expand its business to meet the demands of the nascent personal computer market.

Advanced research techniques developed during the mid-1980s helped create a new healthcare industry—biotechnology. Lehman Brothers was very active in assisting many new companies in this industry, such as Cetus, obtain the capital base necessary to fund research and development.

In 1984, Lehman Brothers was acquired by American Express and merged with its retail brokerage Shearson to form Shearson Lehman Brothers. American Express began to divest its financial services by business lines in 1992 and eventually, in 1993, the firm was spun off and once again became known solely as Lehman Brothers. In 2000, Lehman celebrated its 150th anniversary. The company's World Trade Center offices were destroyed by the 2001 terrorist attacks, and eventually it moved into its new global headquarters in midtown Manhattan in 2002. Today, the firm continues its tradition of identifying emerging industries and supporting their expansion and growth as well as maintaining long-term relationships with industry leaders.

Source: Harvard Business School, Historical Collections, Baker Library

and....

2008-09-16T18:13:00.002+05:30

Morgan Stanley ousted Zoe Cruz, left. Sallie Krawcheck was moved from chief financial officer at Citigroup. Heidi Miller is chief of treasury and security services at JPMorgan Chase. Erin Callan is chief financial officer of Lehman Brothers.

By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
Published: December 1, 2007

Source: Not mine

Point of views...

2008-09-16T18:02:00.007+05:30

It's not over yet...

2008-09-16T17:53:00.006+05:30

Source: Reuters

Some pictures of ...

2008-09-15T15:07:00.019+05:30

Source: Reuters, September 15, 2008

The Engaged Man (alias 'The Married Man')

2008-08-14T09:50:00.000+05:30

The bachelor 'e fights for one
As joyful as can be;
But the married man don't call it fun,
Because 'e fights for three --
For 'Im an' 'Er an' It
(An' Two an' One make Three)
'E wants to finish 'is little bit,
An' e' wants to go 'ome to is tea!

The bachelor pokes up 'is 'ead
To see if you are gone;
But the married man lies down instead,
An' waits till the sights come on,
For 'im an' 'Er an' a hit
(Direct or recochee)
'E wants to finish 'is little bit,
An' 'e wants to go 'ome to 'is tea.

The bachelor will miss you clear
To fight another day;
But the married man, 'e says "No fear!"
'E wants you out of the way
Of 'Im an' 'Er an' It
(An' 'is road to 'is farm or the sea),
'E wants to finish 'is little bit,
An' 'e wants to go 'ome to 'is tea.

The bachelor 'e fights 'is fight
An' streches out an' snores;
But the married man sits up all night --
For 'e don't like out-o'-doors.
'E'll strain an' listen an' peer
An' give the first alarm--
For the sake o' the breathin' 'e's used to 'ear,
An' the 'ead on the thick of 'is arm.

The bachelor may risk 'is 'ide
To 'elp you when you're downed;
But the married man will wait beside
Till the ambulance comes round.
'E'll take your 'ome address
An' all you've time to say,
Or if 'e sees there's 'ope, 'e'll press
Your art'ry 'alf the day --

For 'Im an' 'Er an' It
(An' One from Three leaves Two),
For 'e knows you wanted to finish your bit,
An' 'e knows 'oo's wantin' you.
Yes, 'Im an' 'Er an' It
(Our 'only One in Three),
We're all of us anxious to finish our bit,
An' we want to get 'ome to our tea!

Yes, It an' 'Er an' 'Im,
Which often makes me think
The married man must sink or swim
An' -- 'e can't afford to sink!
Oh, 'Im an' It an' 'Er
Since Adam an' Eve began!
So I'd rather fight with the bacheler
An' be nursed by the married man!

- By Rudyard Kipling

Insight: Oil prices have peaked

2008-08-14T09:46:00.001+05:30

Thanks in no small degree to a drop in global demand, oil prices, after breaching $147 per barrel, have tumbled more than 23 per cent to below $113. Barring a big hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico or a disruptive geopolitical event, oil prices appear to have peaked.

World oil consumption is now growing at a significantly lower pace than had been imagined a year ago. Last October, the International Energy Agency was forecasting global demand growth for 2008 of 2.1m barrels a day, with 750kb/d from the OECD and 1.33mb/d from emerging markets. In their latest monthly report, the IEA has slashed this by more than 60 per cent to 800kb/d, with OECD demand actually forecast to decline by over 600kb/d and emerging markets demand to grow by 1.4mb/d.

In our judgment, the IEA’s forecasts for emerging markets will turn out to have been far too optimistic by year’s end and OPEC countries will again complain about the inability of oil importers to guarantee sufficient demand growth to warrant investments in expanded production capacity.

Pointing fingers about who is responsible for the uncertainty of global demand may be futile. Clearly, higher prices and lower economic growth are taking a toll on US and other OECD country petroleum product demand. But now two other articles of faith are being challenged. First, the consensus thinking that emerging market oil demand has decoupled from industrial countries will be severely tested over the next half year. Second, the growing consensus that lower prices and higher economic growth will result in a rebound in global demand growth is wishful thinking.

Let’s look at both of these arguments in more detail. There is growing evidence that the economic malaise affecting many of the OECD economies is spreading into emerging markets, especially those whose growth is reliant upon the strength of their export markets.

For China, which has been responsible for more than half of global base metal demand growth and as much as one-third of global petroleum demand growth, challenging times are ahead for exporters and the metal and energy-intensive producers of steel, aluminium, cement, and other primary products.

Contrary to popular myth, these energy- intensive industries rather than the transport fleet are consuming the middle distillates that drive two-thirds of China’s petroleum demand growth. And now due to higher energy costs, an appreciating yuan, weak export markets, and a protectionist backlash, exports are falling, with ramifications for their demand for resources. With China at a crossroads and GDP growth slowing to 8 per cent, product demand growth could drop from its three-year average of 490kb/d to 350kb/d (up 4.4 per cent) in 2009.

Furthermore, debate remains over the relationship between subsidies and demand growth in emerging markets. Efforts to de- control prices in many Asian countries, have raised end-user prices significantly, some by more than 50 per cent. The few historical lessons about the effect of price hikes of such magnitude on demand growth point to structural tipping points. Japan’s product demand rose three-fold from 1965 (1.7mb/d) to 1973 (5.3m b/d). Since the oil shocks, Japan’s demand has never exceeded its 1973 figure. Similarly, South Korea’s demand grew by more than 300 per cent from 1987 (620k b/d) to 1997 (2.4mb/d), when the financial crisis forced a liberalisation of prices; again, demand has not exceeded its pre-crisis peak.

Complacent assumptions that lower prices will bring renewed demand growth ignore the reality of the demand response to extreme price shocks. The shocks stimulate the world to go beyond temporary reductions in discretionary consumption, and make large irreversible investments in energy saving technologies, permanently changing the structure and efficiency of transportation, industrial, commercial, and residential sector demand.

The old adage that “nothing cures high prices like high prices,” is as true today as in the 1970s. Those cures don’t only involve the supply side; the response from demand is as critical. We expect prices to stabilize at $90-100 per barrel but to still stimulate structural demand adjustments – we don’t foresee world demand growth exceeding 1mb/d per year for some time.

The writer is Chief Energy Economist at Lehman Brothers
(Head, Commodities Research - My Team)

Source: Financial Times, August 13, 2008

John Templeton, Philanthropist of Science and Religion, Dead at 95

2008-07-10T18:16:00.000+05:30

Sir John M. Templeton, a billionaire investor and philanthropist who poured hundreds of millions of dollars into efforts to reconcile science and religion, died of pneumonia yesterday in the Bahamas. He was 95.

Born in Tennessee, Templeton was a Rhodes scholar who worked his way through Yale University during the Great Depression. He made his first big investment in 1939, buying low-priced stock in 104 companies—34 of them in bankruptcy. He reaped large profits when he sold the stock a few years later, according to The New York Times.

He went on to become a pioneer in global investing and eventually founded the Templeton family of mutual funds, which he sold in 1992 for $440 million. Templeton gave up his American citizenship in the 1960s, became a British subject and moved to the Bahamas, a well-known tax haven.

Raised a Presbyterian but professing an open mind on religion, he founded the Templeton Prize in 1972 as a kind of Nobel award for "progress in religion." The first recipient was Mother Teresa, who in 1973 received $85,000 in prize money for her charity work with patients suffering from leprosy in India.

The most recent prize of $1.6 million was awarded in March to Michael (Michal) Heller, a Polish cosmologist and Catholic priest, for "strikingly original concepts on the origin and cause of the universe."

In 1987 Templeton established a foundation in his name to administer the prize and to support research on religious themes such as free will, spirituality and "ultimate reality."

The Templeton Foundation, endowed at $1.5 billion, was the primary sponsor of a three-year, $2.4-million study to assess the effects of prayer on healing in 1,800 patients undergoing heart bypass surgery. Researchers found that patients had a slight disadvantage if they knew they were in others' prayers.

The Foundation recently circulated a pamphlet entitled, Does science make belief in God obsolete? in which prominent scientists and others responded to the question, part of the Foundation's "Big Questions" series.

Critics charged that by attempting to reconcile what the late evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould referred to as the "nonoverlapping magisteria" of science and religion, Templeton was twisting scientific concepts in religion's name.

"This is a sad event, since from all I've heard from those who met him, he was a very nice fellow," biologist P. Z. Myers, a fierce opponent of creationism, wrote on his blog, Pharyngula. "It's just too bad that he threw so much money away into a fruitless and pointless endeavor that does nothing but prop up belief in unreality."

Others supported Templeton's work. He was knighted in 1987 by Queen Elizabeth II for his philanthropy.

(Source: Scientific American)

Communication on a roll !

2008-06-23T13:25:00.001+05:30

Nokia 6233 Champagne Brown

(Source: Google Images)

Guess who?

2008-04-13T15:29:00.000+05:30

Finally, an MBA with parents at Convocation!

2008-04-13T15:26:00.000+05:30

Waking up to a new dawn...

2008-03-08T11:24:00.000+05:30

Putting things in the right con'text'...

2008-03-08T11:20:00.001+05:30

Editorial 'Bored' - Arnab Ghoshal, Shambhavi Pai, Sanat Satyan

(Where the hell am i looking?)

My point of view ....

2008-03-08T11:06:00.002+05:30

A little bit about my next home ... !

2008-03-08T11:03:00.002+05:30

Hiranandani Gardens is a township located in Powai, a northern suburb of Mumbai. The township is approachable by Adi Shankaracharya Marg (ADS Marg), a part of Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR). The nearest Mumbai Suburban Railway station is Kanjurmarg and Vikhroli.

There are a total of 42 residential buildings in Hiranandani Gardens.

Solitaire
Eternia
Florentine
Sovereign
Valencia
Odyssey I
Odyssey II
Tivoli
Evita
Eldora
Birchwood
Brentwood
Norita
Ambrossia
Eden Bungalows
Eden I
Eden II
Eden III
Eden IV
Lake Castle
Daffodil
Canna
Cypress
Blue Bell
Tulip
Lotus
Sunflower
Glen Gate
Glen Height
Glen Classic
Glen Croft
Glen Dale
Glen Ridge
Golden Oak
Silver Oak
Somerset
Octavius
Heritage
Torino
Avalon
Verona
Richmond

There are a total of 23 commercial buildings in Hiranandani Gardens.

Gateway Plaza
Sentinel
Powai Plaza
Galleria Shopping Centre
Haiko Mall
Colgate Palmolive
Olympia
Chemtex
Bayer House
Alpha
Omega
Sigma
Delta
Delphi
J.M. House
B.G. House
Transocean House
Fairmont
Winchester (THIS IS WHERE LEHMAN IS !!)
Kensington
Spectra
Prudential
Ventura

Facilities at Hiranandani Gardens

Hiranandani Foundation School Powai
Dr. L.H. Hiranandani Hospital
3 Clubhouses with a gymnasium, swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, massage facilities, tennis, badminton and squash courts
Galleria Shopping Mall.
Hakone Entertainment Centre with LAN Gamming, Arcade Games, Pool Tables, Billiards, Bowling, Mini Golf, Bumper Cars, Go Karting and Rock Climbing
Culture Shop, a Lifestyle store.
Crossword Book Store
Planet M Music Store
Nirvana Park
Joggers Park

Banking services at Hiranandani Gardens

ICICI Bank
HSBC Bank
Oriental Bank of Commerce
Karnataka Bank
SBI Bank
HDFC Bank
Bank of Baroda
UTI Bank
Andhra Bank
Citibank(atm only)

Hospitality & Food Services at Hiranandani Gardens

Rodas, an Ecotel Hotel with multi-cuisine restaurants.
Saffron Spice Indian Cuisine
Yokos Sizzlers
Mocha, coffee house
Cafe Coffee Day, coffee house
Dominos Pizza
The Pizzeria
Smoking Joes
Pizza Hut
Birdys
Daffodils - India food.. Chicken, Beef, Pork etc
Garys Menu - Chinese and mughlai restaurant
Great Punjab - mughlai restaurant
Kabab Hut - Kababs and mughali restaurant
Mohini - Indian Fast Food Restaurant
Navjivan - indian,moghlai,chinese restaurant
Masala Magic - Indian Fast Food Restaurant
Shaolin Chinese Restaurant
Baskin Robbins Ice Cream
Naturals Ice Cream
Monginis cake shop
Janta Bakery
Kareems - Kababs and mughlai restaurant
KFC - Kentucky Fried Chicken
Jas - Chinese & Thai Restaurant

Team Update

2008-03-08T01:39:00.000+05:30

'Farewell' by Kartik Iyer

2008-03-05T09:56:00.002+05:30

The moment is here at the door at last,
The eager souls, mounting fast,
And kissing time, in chorus sing,
Good bye, good bye, to everything .

To the garden, canteen to the fields and lawns,
The sweet benches we slept upon,
To the academic block and the administrative wing,
I bid my farewell to everything.

The crystal tear flows and the hearts prick,
The shoulders turn to a supporting stick,
The isle floods as the emotions flow,
As I just wish, I didn't have to go...

Crack goes the whip and off we go,
The feeling of dejection stronger grow,
The last time now that i get to sing,
I sing "Good bye good bye to everything"

-Kartik

(Source: Kartik's Blog)
(Photo: PJ and Nanditha - Farewell Song)

Placed ....!

2008-03-04T19:12:00.000+05:30

The banner says it all...and the picture doesn't !

2008-03-04T19:06:00.001+05:30

Choreo Com 2008

2008-02-29T23:53:00.000+05:30

Christopher Lovelock, July 12, 1940 - February 24, 2008

2008-02-29T12:20:00.001+05:30

Thinking of Silver...

2008-02-23T14:15:00.001+05:30

(Source: DeviantArt)

Another successful presentation ...

2008-02-23T13:58:00.002+05:30

Another presentation on Tirupati Waiting Line Management completed on 16 Feb 08

Team - Arpita, Promit, Neil, Hemanth, Piyal, Sanat

"The team has been invited by Dr Jayanta Chatterjee of IIT Kanpur to write a case from our research, which he proposes to include in his next book with the Service Guru, Prof Christopher Lovelock."

Who am I?

2008-02-22T23:55:00.002+05:30

(Written for an HR assignment for someone else!)

A pertinent question at a point in time, when I am about to take one of the most important steps in my life again – a giant leap from my academic life to professional career!

I would like to analyse myself only in the past two years of my life at T A Pai Management Institute. I would ask myself whether this experience has made me a better manager or a better person!

Strengths

• I believe my biggest strength today (which I have developed in the past two years) is that I have learnt and managed to be calm in any and every situation. I find it very easy to look every situation very rationally and logically in that frame of mind. This is different from what I was during my previous working career and I consider this strength to take me to different places now.

• I have learnt to direct my ‘creativity’ in various forms today – be it presentations, speeches, words etc. I believe it takes efforts for an artist to do this as giving a direction to one’s creativity is an art in itself!

• I have been a perfectionist and I still am – and I think I would like to stay this way forever because this brings out the best in me.

Weakness

• I always believed that I could do more one two to three things at the same time and a lot of times, I have failed. I have learnt a lot in this regard at TAPMI and I believe there is still some way to go.
• My perfectionist nature makes my put my foot down in a lot of matters when it comes to teamwork – sometimes acting as a deterrent to the assignment itself. I believe I should be more accommodating.

Opportunities

• I see that my interest in my career have reached its peak today. There is a lot of opportunity in finding new avenues in my areas of interests and develop myself more as an all-rounder than a specialist.

• I have been seen a lot as a soft human being – people not knowing what has gone behind to bring this softness. I was never like this – I believe that is something that misleads people when they analyse me and I would like to improve on that!

Threats

• My existence is threatened by my laziness. My perseverance finds a stiff competitor every morning in my lazy attitude about certain things.

• Am I threat to anyone? Probably not! This is because I always believe to grow through collaborative learning.

• Who can threaten me? I can tackle people – probably, it is my greed for achievement!

The ever confusing question...

2008-02-17T15:12:00.000+05:30

(Source: Anjana's Orkut Album!)

Group 13 Associate Group Final Pic

2008-02-11T13:06:00.000+05:30

Linked In Profile - The Professional Side!

2008-02-11T13:03:00.000+05:30

Nice try Group 13

2008-02-06T22:46:00.000+05:30

CORE Group

2008-02-06T22:42:00.000+05:30

Ankush, Jyotsna and DD

Hello Hello...

2008-02-06T22:40:00.000+05:30

...with Abhinava!

A final rendezvous...

2008-02-06T22:36:00.000+05:30

India Infoline - Site Manager for B-School section - TAPMI

2008-02-02T16:17:00.000+05:30

TAPMI is managing the site for www.indiainfoline.com for the month of February 2008. 5 articles will be uploaded for 29 days of the month - showing the intellectual capital at the institute!

This initiative is being promoted and handled by Finance Forum and Editorial Board at the institute.

Keeping in mind this unique opportunity, articles have been invited from students and after a screening process, they have been edited and formatted for the website. 'Diversity' of topics and 'interesting contents' have been kept as a priority for the articles!

The first articles in the series are

'Invest in the artist, not art!' - by Sanat Satyan
'India & Credit Default Swaps' - by Ashwin Narang
'trategies Of Private Equity Players In India' - by Avadhoot H Sarwate
'The American Empire' by Anand Deshpande

Another writeup has been included as a short introduction to the institute

"About the Institute"

The link to the website is

http://www.indiainfoline.com/Bschool/bschoolhp.asp?lmn=13

Happy Reading and Do drop in your comments at finfor@mail.tapmi.org and editor@mail.tapmi.org

Fav pics from Dionysia 08

2008-01-30T15:02:00.000+05:30

Abhinava - I finally got the girl!

Alina & Abhinava

Attitude Narang

Neil - The Director in shadows

Puneet in AWE!

Shraddha - The Killer Sister

Susmita Begum

Sarang (Hudiwala)

Nitin Sharma

Nitin Sharma

Nitin Sharma

Dionysia 2008

2008-01-30T14:49:00.001+05:30

Select pics from Masque, Unplugged, Antardwandh and Face Off at

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26422&l=42492&id=521206253

(Photographer: Sanat Satyan)

Management in Practice - BCG Matrix for SPEED 08

2008-01-28T17:45:00.001+05:30

Online Promotion by Rahul Jain for Mavericz

The CA and the Citi

2008-01-23T13:14:00.000+05:30

Avadhoot & Subashri

Market Meltdown - a filmy view!

2008-01-23T13:13:00.001+05:30

Latest Blockbuster "SAARE ZAMEEN PAR" ..
Premiered Yesterday and today at BSE and NSE..
Directed and Produced by Ambani Bros,
POWER ON.. MARKET GONE

No one likes my tie :(

2008-01-23T13:08:00.000+05:30

Arnab Ghoshal

The return of Dionysia

2008-01-23T13:06:00.000+05:30

Face off in Dionysia 2007

SPEED 08 - Maverics Online Promos

2008-01-23T12:58:00.000+05:30

Birthday Moments for Neil

2008-01-23T12:46:00.000+05:30

Wedding Delights...

2008-01-23T12:40:00.000+05:30

Tanuj, Shashank, Swapnil and Barkha

Parents at Malpe Beach

2008-01-23T12:37:00.000+05:30

Sarita and N N Vasudeva