Mr. Dinkar Vashishtha's article on the ghosts in Shimla......

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-ghosts-of-shimla/532888/

Mr Dinkar Vashishtha is a journalist with the Indian Express. He hasworked with the economic times as well. He was the one who mentored me for my interview for IIM K... I am forever indebted..

comment on A Damodaran's post

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8152901575140311047&postID=2547248766257490952&page=1

housing prices would always go up....everyone thought so...the banks, the ratings agencies and even the govt., because otherwise a well thought out and prudent legislation would have been in place. The irony is that how such people and organizations with such vast knowledge and experience in finance could think that housing prices would go up forever? That the very concept of a bubble was redundant.... Now Mr. Damodaran what these tycoons of ur country have done is irreparable esp. in terms of the damage that it has caused to the economies that were aping the USA. ..... These economies had lately converted to the open market system.. in the hope that it was the only answer to the questions of hunger and poverty that their economy faced...... After opening up they became outsourcing hubs for the US... most of them couldn't develop their own industries... and their ecopnomies became solely dependent on the performance of the US and the whims and fancies of its policy makers...........Dueto the slowdown it is these countries that have been greatly affected......True the US is worried about its own unemployment problems.... bot what about people who in distant lands work for the US, though not being its citizents,... and earn some amt. of money that is pathetically low to meet basic human necessities....... Instead of being too preoccupied with its own <= 8.5% unemployment rate.....Doesn't it become imperative for the us to do more.......

And now coming back to bond ratings.....it seems much like astrology .... where that astrologer commands respect whose prophecies are more consistent than others..... the very nature of the market should be to encourage more no. of agencies rather than just S & P and Moody's..........In this pool soon will emerge an agency that is consistent and demands the respect of the market.

Another worry area is why change in ratings lag the way markets see things... doesn't it also mean that the ratings are just a reflection of what the market already knows......... Rather it also implies that the kind of insider info that the ratings agencies are supposed to obtain fron the company management.. is not done... and what they get is just rosy news....


And about mortgage backed bonds...the lesser said the better....the very evident lack of info... makes the ratings extremely vulnerable......i would even think that in this particular segment.....ratings are lobbied for and much influenced.........comments Mr. Damodaran

October 18, 2009 1:46 AM




And this is what Mr. Damodaran replied


Aswath Damodaran said...


Sounds to me like selective rationalization. If the market system is to blame for whatever pain has been inflicted in these countries -I presume that you are talking about Asia - then it must have been also to blame for whatever gain was generated in the previous two decades. You know what! Most people would take the trade off. India and China operated for millenniums under your alternate government-controlled (elite run) systems and what did they have to show for it? In two decades, the market system has changed both countries in immense ways. Has all the change been for the better? Of course, not.. But consider the millions of people who have been raised from poverty to the middle class in both countries before you decide the old system worked better.

One more thing.. When you point your finger at the "tycoons" (I presume you are talking about investment bankers here) remember that four fingers are pointing back at you. Anyone who bought a house bought into this vision of everlasting glory as well..



October 18, 2009 7:18 AM



Well you see he does have a point.....

Conclaves at K

Management conclaves at IIM K. One of them is horizons, which is going on today. We have really distinguished speakers. But one question remains is that, ' can they be really classified as speakers?'
Many would agree because the first speaker was the CFO of TATA Capital. He had done his MS Finace from LBS; what else is requisite for a qualification?
 The answer is soft skills and the ability to bind your audience to the very flow of your thoughts. If somebody had beeen actually listening, whatever he talked was so full of wisdom, and coming from a man of his stature it must hold importance specially for management students like us. He talked of some things which are really worth talking about in the current scenario. But I wilnot be able dwell much on that as I was party to the crime. The crime of sleeping in an event like this. The crime of pretending tobelistening when actually my thoughts were far away. But yes things I can recollect include the idea of free markets, how indian banks cater to the risk averse segment and are not very much pro investment: they are rather pro savings. He talked about the history of markets and regulation that have governed them. The thought process and the rationale that that has gone beyond these regulations. How we again moved towards free markets during the times of Regan and Thather, both of whom were essentially for free markets and against regulations.
   And this is all he talked about; how the derivatives market was just coming of age , when the sub-prime crisis struck. I may be possible that what I state in this post is an interpreation and very far from what he might have meant. And so it went on. The speech or rather the ordeal was over and the esteemed gentleman was rather impatiently waiting for questions. And none came. The someone after much deliberation and thinking and realizing that the ver reputation of an IIM was at stake came up with a question and thank God a sensible one; this so because the guest seemed pleased to answer it. Most of us didn't have a clue of what the question was all about and so was the case with the answer......... to be cont.

knock...knock

all i have is a clouded vision...


of the unforeseen and unknown..

i hear knocks at my door...

don't know what awaits me...

shall i open the door...

or wait for it to pass..??

a fairy and the book

like monsoon she came...
like a breeze she was gone....
i couldn't even lift my eyelids......
i had my glasses on...


she sparkled like the spring....
she blossomed like a flower......
but a bit odd was that hour....
and I kind of felt her power....


she smelled like fresh air.......
so glowing was her hair.....
she whispered like a morning prayer......
but i kept rocking on a chair.........


time was good for a fling......
it felt like to let off the hook.......
she was lovely like a fairy.....
bt I was happy with my book

ashwath damodaran's blog

well certainly read this blog because this is much better than mine........

http://aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com

Fin God Damodaran

http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/temp.html

http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/biomission.html



One of the  many guys to have awe inspired me....i believe he is one of leading investment thinkers of the age.....and yet his simplicity and the missionary zeal with which he goes about his profession is amazing.

to fin enthuziasts.....please read every word listed by the guru on the links posted above.....knowledge unfortunately is not free....but here is atleast one person who has already initiated some great transformation..........hats off