A load of crap from an idle brain

When the Euro happened, there was widespread belief in the market that it was the way to go.  There were talks about a South Asian currency or even a South East Asian currency.  What was never thought about was how different countries developing at different pace, different societies and political situations could band about on a common currency.

A good article here mentions about the top 10 reasons why the Euro will fail.  You can supplement these theories to other economies too and see why the fundamental argument for a common currency is a non-starter.

1. One interest rate cannot be suitable for everyone

Quite simply if there is a single currency there must also be a single interest rate set by the European Central Bank.  For the single currency to work, this single rate must be suitable for all member states.  It is difficult to see how a single rate could possibly be suitable for all of the economies in all foreseeable situations.  Take for example Germany and Ireland in 2001.  The German economy is on the brink of recession while the Irish economy is booming.  The Germans would ideally like a low rate while the Irish needed a higher rate.  The compromise rate is not suitable for either Ireland or Germany.  This shows that in the long term the result is painful for both countries as both countries have an unsuitable interest rate. One size cannot fit all!

Read the full article here

Above picture courtesy: Bized

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Quite a lot of stuff happening around. Am not finding enough time to pen them down. Ever since the exam, have been watching quite a lot of movies. Some good and mostly ok types. Though i do find quite a lot of stuff in the movies that i dont agree with, i do understand that’s the way the director percieves the characters and the story. Am not so interested in writing a long review of all the movies, but a few pointers to go along.

Juno

Its the story of a 16 year old girl who has a night of passion with her classmate and gets pregnant. The premise is fine, but what i couldnt understand was how her father and stepmom react to that situation. They are like ho-hum and just get on with life. I agree the movie was a comedy, but then it looked too artificial. And the cliches were all there. That guys are not sensitive and run away from taking responsibility and stuff. Both, the guy who impregnates the girl and the hubby of Jennifer Garner just back off at the right moments. It seems like only the women in the movie are compassionate and stuff. Pure bullshit. And the girl talks a bit too mature words for her age. Its like those telugu movies where the kiddos talk pure crap with the grown ups.

My rating *** (3/5)

Street Kings

My rating ** (2/5)

Woodstock Villa

Cyrus Broacha said on Ibnlive that Sanjay Gupta is being given an award, because he managed to make 3 movies this year inspite of the writer’s strike in Hollywood. I thought that was the best explanation for the excuse of a movie that Gupta makes. Hansal Mehta is the director of the movie. Once he had made a pretty good movie called Chhal. God knows what happened later on, he got associated with Sanjay Gupta and gang. Sikandar Kher looks like an ape. Someone give him a bath and cut his hair. Arbaaz Khan is well…what should i say. As for the actress (am not even interested in knowing her name), she is good looking and seems like has no qualms showing off some flesh. Well, am not complaining

My rating (0/5)

Sarkar Raj

I’ve always believed that Ram Gopal Varma makes the worst movies when he works with top actors. Some of his best work has been with obscure and unknown actors. Sarkar Raj points to the fact that he is too much in awe of Amitabh Bachchan and that he is too afraid to get into his bad books. The characters are too good with no flaws. Another reason to believe that neither the Bachchans nor RGV wanted to rile the Thackerays. Its as if the main characters are too good and incorruptible. Technically the movie is slick. But the Govinda Govinda chant in the background is enough to give you a headache. Wish RGV stuck to some background music. Aishwarya sucks big time. Abhishek as i always believed is ‘butt ugly’ and survives in the industry only because of his father. Amitabh is top notch. He simply chews up the scenes. Its a surprise to see how none of the father’s and mother’s talents rubbed on to the Small B.

My rating *** (3/5)

In Bruges

Pretty good movie about 2 hired killers who are sent to an ancient city in Belgium (Bruges) and asked to wait there for some time before they are given the details of the next person to bump off. As the two killers wander through the streets of Bruges, the guilt pangs start to build up and both start regretting the lives they had. When the information for the person to be killed arrives, its noticed that the target is none other than one of the killers. As the story races to the end, it goes in for an explosive climax. Colin Farrel, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes make it a compelling watch.

My ratings **** (4/5)

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One thing that struck me on my recent trip to India was, Where is the next generation of kids? I remember there were at least 10 of us playing cricket in the narrow lane in front of our house during my school and college days.

On this trip home, we could hardly manage to get 4 guys to play the game or even to hang out. Agreed that most of the people are working and find no time to come together. But a random count of the kids in our lane gave out an interesting finding. More than 50% of my cricket buddies are out of India. Some in Ireland, London, Australia, US and myself in Singapore.

In the 80s and 90s there was a favourite word used by the media and that was about “Brain drain”. After enjoying subsidised education, people moved on to the US, Europe etc for higher education. After finishing the education, they took up jobs, got their green cards, bought property and settled down in the foreign lands. They visited India only for short holidays.

Today, 25 odd billion USD is being pumped back into India every year, by these same people who once went out of India to study. What was once considered by the government as the worst crisis to hit India has slowly changed into an asset. This unlimited flow of foreign currency has lead to a consumption boom in India.

All the billions that flow into India are being consumed in the form of constructing houses, buying automobiles and other luxuries that were once beyond the reach of the common man. People are ending up with bigger houses, more money to spend and this in turn has fueled a retail boom. Real estate is booming, insurance, mobile telephony, ports, airports, infrastructure, aviation etc has moved the Indian economy from the so called hindu rate of growth (4%) to a blistering 8% growth annually.

Even though the missing generation of kids are not in India, they still seem to be reluctant to cut the umbilical cord that connects them to their birthplace. Isn’t it funny that the same media/government that railed against “brain drain” today felicitates them by organising events like the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

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