123 Management

India is one of the fastest growing markets for personal computers. Over the last decade or so, laptops have started to be the preference over desktop PCs for the middle and upper middle class due to the crashing prices of laptops per day. It was always the preferred choice for affluent class when they even bought it for more than a lakh.

Right out of Mises’ script, overleveraged banks collapsed, businesses and employment collapsedOnly with the creative action of a critical mass of people, can we think of vibrant urban centres in India

Ludwig von Mises was snubbed by economists worldwide as he warned of a credit crisis in the 1920s. We ignore the great Austrian at our peril today.

Past experience shows that when things start to go wrong in financial markets, they can go terribly wrong, right from the great depression of the 1930s to the numerous recessions through the Asian economic crisis in 1997 and the Dot-com bubble in 2000 to the latest world economic crisis of 2008. Any day, any hour can turn into what is called a “Minsky moment”.

One of the most ironic things lately witnessed in the public domain is the launch of Mont Blanc, a luxury brand of pens costing a whopping Rs. 11 lakh a piece. The two Montblanc pens - the 'Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition 241' fountain pen and the 'Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Edition 3000' - have been created to pay tribute to the Mahatma.

Central bankers in each country serve a different objective. Broadly speaking, there are three types of central bank objectives.
1. The primary objective of this type of bank is Inflation fighting. The other objectives then follow. E.g. Bundesbank, the then central bank for Europe which after the economic union became European Central Bank (ECB)

The economic and financial crisis that engulfed the world economy plunging it into a deep recession can be partly blamed for ignorance of central bankers. They allowed cheap money creating asset and commodity bubbles which saw oil touch almost $ 150 to the barrel.

The delay in release of KAMINEY in the most profitable circuit of the country, Mumbai meant that the internet and the social networking sights were loaded with the personal views of the movie-buffs who saw it in other parts of the country and immediately uploaded their comments on the social networking sites such as facebook, orkut, Twitter.

Tata Indicom failed to create an impact in the telecom space inspite of having the Tata brand name and goodwill among people of India. It has failed to deliver among the Tata products/ services. It is languishing at 6th place after Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, RCom, Idea Cellular and BSNL. Only Aircel, which as yet is a regional player, is behind it.

Tata Tea’s Jaago re campaign to get the masses aware of their right to exercise their franchise during elections caught the attention of the public. It’s a first timer for an India brand to take up a social cause for brand endorsement. The campaign gained momentum after the November 26th attack on Mumbai when there was public outrage against politicians.