Raters turn on heat
US-based rating agencies have turned the heat on India. First, Standard and Poor dowgraded India's sovereign rating to the speculative grade; now Moody's Investor Service has announced it is slated to follow suit. Since these rating agencies have attracted flak for failing to foresee the East Asian crisis, it may be they are playing safe by downgrading India.
Why the retreat?
The reported backtracking on the Tata-Raytheon project can hardly be explained by the Election Commission's diktat on poll conduct. For, the clearance of the project did not involve any policy decision and the union civil aviation ministry could have submitted its note to the cabinet and the latter could have also given its assent without attracting any criticism.
World diamond industry rings in new century
Diamond socialism may sound unbelievable or at least incongruous, but there are instances where die hard capitalists can turn out to be the most ardent socialists. This inadvertent transformation has been more sparkling in case of the Diamond Trading Co (DTC), London than the diamonds they have sold for over half a century. From being the privilege of royalty, diamonds are now within the reach of commoners in most countries.
Importance of push, pull factors
India's economic fate was decided two hundred years ago by international capital flows. Our first instinct after independence was to insulate ourselves from these flows, because we associated global capital flows with colonialism. In a different world, we are once again considering an economic future pegged firmly to international capital flows.
What's in store for 1998? Choose your prophecy
As always, year 1998 of the Gregorian calendar toddled onto the world stage in Asia, where the eastern tip of Siberia almost touches the international date line. No doubt Asians were relieved to see the back side of 1997, a year of shattered illusions. But will 1998 be any better?
Fund flow key to developing nations' growth
The ability to attract a continuous flow of investments, development of natural resources and value addition to such resources were some of the most important challenges facing emerging economies like Uganda and sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda's minister for planning and development, Richard Kaijuka told the summit's sixth plenary session, on the key issues in restructuring of emerging economies.
