X-FACTOR

You studied 100 factors influencing the currency market and you entered the market only ending up lose it all. It is nearly impossible to figure out which will be the dominating factor, the X-Factor to drive the market. You might suffer relentlessly if you enter the market without proper skills, knowledge and enough capital. Trend reversals and irregularity are the only regular features.

ZERO SUM

Forex is often referred to as the “zero sum” game. It is like placing a bet with someone else banking on the currency you have invested upon. Your win makes somebody else in the market a loser. If you are smarter than the average person, you make money, if you are not, you lose. The average players in this market are highly trained professional investors with full time dedication and a newbie is unlikely to beat them at this business.

NOT SO MUCH A ZERO SUM GAME

It might seem to you that I was drunk while writing this one, but I am not. The broker chargers a small percentage for every transaction you make. That points to the fact that the average player (who is a highly trained professional) is set to lose money. Where do you stand then?

SCAMS

The online nature of trading doesn’t serve the market really well on this front. Most websites offer large profits with minimal risk which is simply not the case with day trading. A person is made to invest some amount promising huge profit but, neither the money nor the website appears thereafter. Google “forex frauds” to decide for yourself.

Never try getting into forex at all. Be safe and don’t become “Forex Poor”.

The last 16 fixtures are out. Here they are:

Lyon v APOEL
Napoli v Chelsea
Milan v Arsenal
Basel v Bayern
Leverkusen v Barcelona
CSKA v Real Madrid
Zenit v Benfica
Marseille v Inter

Nobody said it would be easy but that’s so harsh on the English Clubs. The Champions League has suddenly burst out as the Anglo-Italian Competition with Arsenal facing Italian Champions AC Milan while Chelsea faces Napoli.

I wonder how the competition will shape up for the quarterfinals.

Draw against Lyon in the last 16 has given the first team from Cyprus in the last 16 a little chance to progress into the quarters. But Lyon should make it through easily anyway.

Key Players: Ailton- APOEL

                     Gomis- Lyon

My pick: Lyon

Napoli v Chelsea is the trickiest encounter. Chelsea, already under pressure in the Premier League. Their exit from the competition at this stage will signal the addition of Andres Villas Boas’ name to the list of talented coaches sacked by Chelsea.Napoli on the other hand won’t be taking this lightly either.

Key Players: Daniel Sturridge- Chelsea
                      Marek Hamsik -Napoli

My pick: Napoli

Arsenal would have been happier to have avoided Barcelona this year at this stage of the competition. But they got Barcelona’s group runners-up AC Milan. Milan started the season slowly, but have stamped their authority in Serie A as well as in Champions League.

Key Players: Robbie Van Persie and Alexander Song- Arsenal

                      Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva- AC Milan  

My pick: Arsenal

Basel is not going to be a cake walk for Bayern. They defeated United in a make or break game and have the potential to do the same to the flying Germans.

Key Players: Xherdan Shaqiri:Basel

                     Mario Gomez: Bayern

My pick: Bayern Munich

Traveling to Germany shouldn’t hamper Barcelona’s chances to make it to the quarters. Barcelona must play poor football on the given two days for Leverkusen to have any chance of getting past the defending champions.

Key Players: Eren Derdiyok- Leverkusen

                      Xavi- Barcelona

My pick: Barcelona

Contenders Real Madrid have a long trip to Russia against CSKA Moscow. Cold conditions and an artificial surface are the only things Madrid will be bothered about.

Key Players: Seydou Doumbia: CSKA

                     Karim Benzema: Real Madrid

My Pick: Real Madrid

Benfica have been steady in their march forward in the competition. However, Zenit’s ride hasn’t been a fairy tale, but they can offer great resistance. All in all, it is a pretty balanced encounter.

Key Players: Roman Shiroko-: Zenit

                      Oscar Cardozo- Benfica

My Pick: Benfica

Two former champions will face off for a spot in the quarter finals. Marseille will go up against an aging Inter. The 2009 champions have failed to rise to the expected level since Mourinho left. The team is caught in transition phase and new players haven’t settled that well in the team. Marseille have kept their nerves calm which is exactly what they will require against Inter.

Key Players: Lucio- Inter

                     Andre Ayew- Marseille

My pick: Marseille

TOP 8:  

Lyon

Napoli

Arsenal

 Bayern

 Barcelona

 Real Madrid

 Benfica

 Marseille

Who do you think will progress?

Goalkeeper

Iker Casillas – Captain

Casillas has been the best shot stopper in the world for quite some time. This year was a little different because of the immense competition he faced from German Manuel Neuer and England first choice Joe Hart. The recent run of form in the Champions League group stage made me prefer Casillas over everybody else. He has conceded just 2 goals in the 6 games while Madrid has scored 19 in those games with a perfect “win all” record. He also showed stern resistance in winning the “Copa Del Rey” for Madrid in the El Classico in April and his now the most capped Spanish player. I am still convinced that he is still the best in the world. He had a tough game against Barca at Bernabeu, but is still the best in the business.

Right-back

Dani Alves

Without a doubt, the Brazilian international has been the unnoticed figure in Barcelona’s dominance of world football. He had 14 assists in last season’s La Liga and has completed 6 already this season. He has rattled the best defenses in the world with his make shift attacking skills which is why I prefer him over Benfica’s Maxi Pereira .

Central Defender

Rolando

F.C. Porto’s unbeaten run in the complete Portuguese Liga 2010-11 indicates the hard work put in by Andre Villas Boas and the strong defense around which the team had been built. Rolando has been the main stay of this team for quite some time. Staying fit is an important aspect in today’s hectic schedule and Rolando showed excellent commitment to the club when he started 29 of Porto’s 30 games in the league. I preferred Rolando over Vidic and Pique who have both looked a little rugged this season.

Central Defender

Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva has been the star performer for AC Milan in the real sense. It is with his performances that Milan scraped off conceding just 7 goals in the second half of the season. He has that ability to score crucial goals for the club and make important tackles. At 6ft tall, he is one of the most feared centre backs in the world.

Left-back

Marcelo

He has been a very attacking left-back for Real Madrid this season as well as the last season. Despite all the inconsistency that comes in due to his attacking play, his return to the Brazilian national squad and the versatility and flexibility he brings in to the team make him my first choice left-back in the world over Abidal and Coentrao.

Right midfield

Mario Gotze

What more do you expect of a player at 19. A few goals ? A pile of assists? Appearance for Germany? First goal against Brazil? Gotze has done it all and he’s just 19. He is a classic example of speed and technical ability at the very best. He had 8 goals and 12 assists in the 41 games he had played for Dortmund last season. He has scored 6 and assisted 7 in the 17 he has played so far, which is a sign of what to expect from him in the years to come.

Central midfield

Cesc Fabregas

The way Fabregas has started off for Barcelona this season makes me feel like he never went away from the club or he was really unhappy about something at Arsenal. 19 starts for the Spanish champions have been dealt with 10 goals and 6 assists. He might have been brought in as a replacement for Xavi, but I would prefer him over the aging midfielder simply because of the promise he has shown in his first season itself, recently starting as a striker against Madrid and scoring Barca’s third at Bernabeu.

Attacking midfield

David Silva

I had to scratch my head for this one. David Silva has been inspirational in Manchester City’s rise in the Premier League where they have scored at will against almost every team possible. Ozil on the other hand has been exceptional with assists for Madrid. The only reason to choose Silva over Ozil has been Silva’s stellar performance in the 2011-12 season. He has single handedly led City with his creative dribbling and passing abilities.

Left midfield

Eden Hazard

Ligue 1 player of the year; he is in fact the youngest one to win the award. He scored 10 goals and made 12 assists to inspire Lille to a fantastic French domestic double last season. Di Maria would have taken the spot had Hazard not been so hazardous for opponents last season.

Forward

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo has a growing trophy cabinet and he surely wants more FIFA World Player of the Year’s there. Winning the Pichichi and the golden boot haven’t reduced his hunger for goals and his goal to game ratio has been consistently increasing. He had a shameful game against Barcelona at Bernabeu, but he still has it in him to wipe out opponents.

Forward

Lionel Messi

There is no defense in the world Messi cannot unlock. He has followed Ronaldo closely in the scoring tally and has not choked down in important games like the UEFA Champions League semi finals and finals.

Club Distribution

La Liga-6

Portuguese Liga-1

English Premier League-1

German Bundesliga-1

Serie A-1

Ligue 1-1

WORLD XI

You got everyone in the team from free kick specialists to tall and strong players that make the team strong aerially. A keeper who saves a lot of one on one chances is accompanied by rock solid Centre-backs. The creative midfield is assisted by the make shift right and left-backs. A midfield capable of producing magical well knit passes to feed the best strikers in the world.

What is your “World XI”??

TIP 1: 100 words of the idea—>10 words

If the client has given you 10 minutes to present your idea, and he is wondering two minutes into the presentation what the idea is about, you have nearly lost the deal. This should ideally be the first element of your presentation. One must keep in mind that the idea should define the brand from outside not inside out.

e.g. Decreasing order of Preference

• “Web-based retailing service”
• “We will make a website where people can buy commodities online”
• “We will make a website where we will be selling commodities online”

TIP 2: Numbers speak larger than words, Use them

We must remember “large” is not a number. You must quantify the profits, break even time and market for your product with proper statistics in support. All businesses eventually boil down to numbers and profit sheets. You must prove your business is ready for the numbers game.

TIP 3: USP or a Unique Selling Proposition is a must

This is something everyone wants to know. Are there any competitors to your plan? If yes, how do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? If you properly guide the investors/clients about this aspect of your idea, you have won it for your team.

TIP 4: It’s not you and me and the idea. It’s about the team and the idea

The team must consist of the people with the right mindset having the right ideas and the flexibility. The investors focus more on the capability of the team as a whole rather than individual brilliance or the idea.

TIP 5: Future Plan

While pitching the plan, one must end with the vision the team shares and wants to achieve. Investors are at times lazy in imagination; make it a point to do it for them. Make them visualize what success looks like. Share with them the future image of the company, the employee mark, where you will be expanding etc.

Keep a note of the five basic points and you fetch yourself the best chance to convert. Try convincing someone in half a minute about an idea now, it’s easy….

 1)      “Hey Yo man, I am starting up my own business( P.S. Anyways, my employers will kick me out soon)”

Unlike popular belief, a downturn is the best time for all startups. Everything becomes cheaper and for people with limited credit looking to get into sectors involving a lot of investment, it’s party time “bargain hunters”! Getting a capable and dedicated workforce is much easier due to the scarcity of jobs. Everything is on the table for most companies and they are desperate to find new partnerships with companies that have a different, better or more innovative way of delivering products and services.

Art by: Kapil Ganesh

2)      “What??210 points gained?? Really?? I am starting to invest now!!”

Whatever dips down, goes back up again. Most recessions in the post-World War II era last an average of 10 months, followed by growth cycles that last an average of 50 months. All stocks are attractively priced offering high growth possibilities once the markets recover. Warren Buffet’s investment in Bank of America is an example. Always remember, there is nothing better than a rebounding economy, but one must be ready to ride the wave to reap the reward.

3)      “You saw that beautiful piece of land downhill?? Yeah!! But it’s costly!! NOT NOW DUDE”

Apart from stocks, this is one more area where a lot of bargains creep in during recession. Those looking to start-up businesses can find cheap offices and space. Real Estate investors with limited credit can creep in into creamy locations which would normally be considered a naive idea.

4)      “I bought this jet for 200 INR. Isn’t it cool??”

Recession wipes out the inefficient and unproductive companies from the market, setting up a tone for lesser competition in selected sectors. In addition to that, all the assets of the company (which will usually be available at rock-bottom prices) may be reused and recycled for other profitable purposes.

5)      “Battle hardened”

Entrepreneurs become more imaginative about ways to keep the show on the road, and everyone learns more than they do in the good times. There is no room for complacency. Managers need to keep costs under control. Organizations have to adapt to more challenging conditions. Investors, bankers and business owners are humbled before markets and cycles. The organizations go into major rebuilding phases and come out as a lean, but stronger unit.

All of us have a tendency to consume to our capacity when the economic engine rolls smoothly but it is these hiccups that entitle us to make sustainable use of our resources.

We might not be the best managers of this planet, but we are surely making progress and it is difficulties like these bring in the necessary correction factors.

La Liga

Barcelona have been the dominant force in the world of football over the last few years and have tormented even the likes of Real Madrid for quite some time now. Sitting pretty at the top of the table are Barcelona along with surprise package Levante (popularly known as the side which defeated ten man Madrid a few days back). Real Madrid are within one point of the leaders after Higuain showed no mercy on day 6.

EPL

The Manchester sides have taken a flying start to the season in the league. Despite both facing some hiccups in Champions League, they have been undoubtedly been the most devastating opponents in the premier league. Placed at the top of the table are self proclaimed “Champ19s” Manchester United, ahead on Goal Difference. Third placed Chelsea are 3 points off the pace. They were the only team who looked convincing in their victory, but i am not expecting them to continue the same way. I don’t see anyone competing with the Manchester sides apart from themselves, after Liverpool’s disappointing start despite such an active transfer campaign. It’s good bye to Arsenal. Happy 7th season without a trophy. Bolton have been at the receiving end for so many games that they have conceded the most number of goals in the history of premier league after seven games.

Serie A

I bet all of us want to watch some interesting soccer, some hefty changes in the league table after each game. If you love some gritty moves and competitive football, this should be your cup of tea.
Juventus and Udinese are at the top followed by the new stars Napoli. Well, the Milan brothers or sisters(whatever you want to call them) lie at 15th and 17th in the table after 5 games. For those who have forgotten, they were the winners and runner-up in the league last year. Napoli is a team that has impressed me a lot after convincingly beating both the Milan clubs.

Bundesliga

Bayern Munich are flying high here in as well. Second placed Werder Bremen have recovered some ground though. Defending Champions Dortmund lie sixth, 6 points behind Munich.

Evaluation

For the evaluation of the most exciting league in the world in current scenario, i have devised a very easy method I call “THE THREE POINT SYSTEM”. I chose three simply because of the influence one game can have on the table. It shows how many teams are within one good( and one bad) of each other. The number of teams within three points of the leaders represents the competitiveness of the league for me. Here is the current rating on the Three Point Index (TPI) of the various leagues I have analyzed.

EPL: 3
Bundesliga: 3 again
La Liga: 7
Serie A: 8

Well, La Liga and Serie A surely look really close right?? Let’s take this to another level, use 5 points for comparison of the two leagues and the grand result is

La Liga: 7
Serie A: 12

So, here is the verdict. No stability at the top of the league, competitiveness etc etc etc and the thrill of watching football has made my taste a little Italian. What’s yours?

There have been questions and many eyebrows have been raised around the globe to somehow determine the intensity of this retreating recession. A lot of dynamics surrounds this slowdown of economies around the globe, so nobody can accurately predict this phase of economic inactivity. But, how will it have an impact on India (in case it occurs)? People had a tough time in U.S. during the global recession in 2008; a lot of Indians were forced to return to India because their employers wanted to get rid of them. Cost cutting was at its prime, and job anxieties along with the working hours had been pushed to the limit.

India had a better time though as it banked on domestic demand for its products to register high growth when all the economies around the globe were getting trashed (save China).

Indian government has been doing its bit in avoiding the downfall already. Indian businessmen have already expressed their desire to have reduced interest rates in banks so that they can build up confidence in their businesses. On the other, tax increment propositions have been made. But, it is enlightening to see startups.

Ours is an economy which is run by domestic demand. Increased pressure of prices on the common man may have extinguished a few credit related spending, but the overall consumer demand continues to be in good spirits.

One dimension of profits that gets hammered during depressions is trade. Though trade in India is growing and glowing and its contribution to GDP has been increasing, it must not be forgotten that despite increasing profits, India remains to be a net importer and very often has India landed on the hard side of things in trade. Moreover, Indian products travel to a lot of different destinations across the globe.

There are no signs of any massive slowdown, but the increasing costs continue to eat up margins in competitive businesses.

Exposure of India to the global economy may have increased, but it still retains its status as a consumer driver economy, and we can expect it to be stable despite the rising doubts. (Yes, despite that)

All the teams (save Arsenal) have done their best in the transfer window to improve upon their previous performances but there is one team which has really been in the middle of all this improving business from quite some time. Its #MCFC, Manchester City. Started off against new boys Swansea, had a tough game against Bolton. But, their performance against Spurs was a delight to watch and am looking forward to more from the team, specially Dzeko and Aguero, with the likes of Nasri really pouring in with opportunities.

Dzeko has been the star of the PL so far for me. I get a feeling that i am playing FIFA when I look at his statistics. 14 shots, 10 on target and 6 goals. But the story has not been this way last year when he was signed, scoring two goals in the 15 PL games he played. He probably had been overburneded down by the hefty price that Manchester City had paid for his services.
But this is not the first time that Dzeko ha(had) failed to acclimatise to the environment at a new club. He had similar problems in Teplice where he displayed class in his second season. After his move to Wolfsburg, he netted nine times in 33 games in the first season. He had a sudden outburst in the next scoring 36 off the 42 games (Oh!!That is massive).

This season, he has scored a goal every 43 minutes in the premier league, with 6 already in the bag. Being one of the 30 contenders for the Ballon d’Or in 2009, Dzeko is a player i like to compare to lightning.You see the flash first, followed by the sound. I think he really got himself heard. Thunderous, isn’t he? Likewise, Dzeko may have taken time to settle down, but he is one of the fiercest and most versatile strikers in the world.

Synchronized fall of economies

If the last version didn’t bother you, presenting to you the fears of another recession waiting to take over the global economy. The stock markets in India and all over the world have all suffered a synchronized crash in the past few weeks with people all over the world voicing concerns over the issue. As people at the Dalal Street watch out of their stocks, Sensex has plunged for the fourth consecutive week already.  It is reaching new records, on the red side of the index though, continuously depressing investors with new lows.

A large part of this can be attributed to the US credit rating downgrade by S&P. Though, there were doubts about the stability of US economy where debt ceiling had been the burning issue. Despite the rise in the debt ceiling value, there is no respite for the people and the markets all over the world are rolling down the hills.

No confirmations have been made, but the plunging of markets and price rise is a sign of the arriving storm. Pay cuts, Tax cuts, increment in hours of work may be used to revitalize the stagnated economies. The last recession didn’t hit India as bad as the other countries, but it did have a dampening impact on the economy. Whether you call this a recession, slow recovery from the Great Recession of 2008 or chronic hangover, there are always some things you can do to shield yourself from the storm.

Pay up all the debts: The last thing you want to face in a prolonged slowdown season is a whole lot of debt to deal with. You are always at a risk of losing your job or working for more hours at the same price to keep your job alive and debts really worsen the wounds.

Emergency Funds: Keep cash or cash equivalents to survive out the depression even if it lasts for longer than expected. Economic slowdown in one country usually triggers the same in other countries and hence you are dependent on all the economies to resist the economic turmoil.

Investment Strategy: If you are a regular investor in stock markets, recessions are sure to hit you bad in the head everytime these fears arise. Keeping a diversified investment strategy never falters. The gains might be lesser, but the gains are sustainable.

Will we really suffer another recession? Nobody knows the answer to that question as yet. But any slowdown will hurt the sentiments of millions and  the reverberations will be felt across the globe.

One promising player has left Arsenal already in the form of Gael Clichy and if the rumours are to be believed, Fabregas ( Barcelona) might follow suit soon and so might Nasri (Manchester City). Not only the squad looks weaker than the previous one, it is no match for the new squads that their premier league rivals can boast about now. Manchester United have shown promise in their friendly encounters with Ashley Young proving to be a more than handy player and Nani starting to show signs of a playmaker. The team that ditched them in the last game of the last season for the third place is making all the right moves. Sergio Aguero is one of my personal favorite strikers in world football and with him, Manchester City can never really be out of any game. Liverpool dominated the later half of the last season after the arrival of Kenny Dalglish. They have fortified their walls  having spent 75 million dollars; mostly on midfielders.

Fabregas in an Arsenal jersey, not going to be a very long sight though.

But there are quite a few advantages that this Arsenal side has. They have qualified for Champions League group stages for 14 consecutive seasons now( oh wow ). Rivals Chelsea and Liverpool are still learning life under their new coaches. Everybody knows that Arsenal have the quality in their squad(oh i still remember the beating they gave Barcelona at home), but they need all their best players to fire on a consistent basis. Most of the talent in the ranks, meets the physios table rather than being present on the scoreline.

Already a bad pre-season has seen Arsenal players lose the confidence of winning any trophies this season again. It is the “Make or Break” season for Arsene Wenger to induce some life into the club and it’s players. Time for Arsene Wenger to realize that they do need a world class goalkeeper and that Wojciech Szczesny is not up to the mark.

RVP had the highest goals per minute ratio in the Premier League last year and had scored so many crucial away goals for the club towards the later half of the season. Some burden needs to be taken off the Dutch and the new signing Gervinho must be used efficiently. In Wilshere and Ramsey, Arsenal do stand a chance, but it will be very unlikely if Fabregas leaves for the Catalan Giants.

Arsenal will have a seemingly tough start to this season with away games against Newcastle and Manchester United as well as a home tie against rejuvenated Liverpool.However, it’s always the end of the season that disappoints Arsenal fans. This is the last chance for Arsene Wenger to bring some silverware to the club or else more players will follow Denilson’s path and leave the club out of frustration. Frankly speaking, I really don’t see the Premier League trophy at the Emirates this season……What changes would you suggest to Wenger?

For long, Indian bike lovers had their tongues wagging about this segment. Both Indian and foreign brands are interested in investing in India in this segment.
Let’s take a look at the bikes that are already here. Honda CBR 250R and Kawasaki Ninja 250R are surely heavyweights of this category and really competitive.
Looking at the specifications, the Ninja produces 32.5bhp @ 11000rpm. It has a liquid cooled, fuel injected engine. Considering the Indian driving conditions, the bike clearance has been kept at 135 mm. The mileage hovers from around mid 20’s to late 30’s. Coming to the price, buying yourself a Ninja 250R might cost you a little over Rs.3, 00,000.
So, it is a compact, premium bike at an affordable price in accordance with the segment.

Kawasaki Ninja 250R, the baby beast

Talking about its competitor, CBR 250R from Honda can give anybody a run for the money. 26.5 bhp power in a single cylinder, liquid cooled heart with a ground clearance 10 mm more than the ninja is a right at the core of this segment. Its average lies in the same zone as Ninja and it is placed at less than half the price which makes it a wiser to buy bike.

Honda CBR 250R

Apart from the two mentioned above, there are a lot of bikes looking to beautify the Indian roads.
HYOSUNG GT250R: After launching GT650R and ST7 inIndia, the Korean manufacturer looks to storm the 250 segment by setting up plants to manufacture these bikes so that they can supply these bikes at substantially lower rates.

Hyosung GT250R

BAJAJ KTM Duke 200: This new breed in the 200cc segment is all set to rival its bigger counterparts like CBR 250R. It will be offering a power output of roughly 22.5-25bhp which is a little lesser than the CBR but it surely has a lesser kerb weight as well. It might prove to be a fierce competitor as Bajaj has always priced it bikes carefully. It is in the final stage of testing and might be running on Indian roads by Diwali or Christmas.

Bajaj KTM Duke 200

SUZUKI GW 250: Also know as the Baby B-King, this heavy, high performance naked bike has a futuristic design. It is expected to provide the bike with 26bhp of raw power. Although Suzuki has been unable to influence Indian buyers in the presence of manufacturers like Bajaj, but this might prove to be a different ball game as Suzuki has chosen to price this bike effectively to compete with CBR 250R.

Suzuki GW 250

BAJAJ Pulsar 250:India’s second largest two wheeler manufacturer is all set to roll out the new pulsar this year after its 200 cc bike selling like vada pav’s by the road side. A lot of snaps have rolled out and this surely is going to be a treat for all Indian drivers.

Along with these manufacturers, Yamaha and TVS are speculated to launch their bikes in this hot-shot segment by the end of this year.
The race is wide open for manufacturers to compete in this new category of bikes. I don’t care who wins the battle, I just need better bikes to ride. So which one would you pick for yourself?

Wet race track at silverstone

Sebastian Vettel won this race in 2009 while his teammate Weber won it last year. Probably, one of them is going to win it again.

However, FIA has tried to tighten up the screw on the Milton Keynes-based team by banning the blown diffuser for the rest of the season. This will punish the Red Bull cars on every turn by a few milliseconds.  Since rains are expected to mar Silverstone, there can be reliability issues with the cars; Moreover, Koboyashi’s crash in the first practice would surely have rung quite a few bells in the team camps.

There is only one DRS zone on the circuit starting 45 metres after Turn Four, with the detection zone 25 metres before Turn Three.

Possible Challengers to Red Bull’s monopoly

McLaren-Mercedes: They have been the most competitive team so far with their drivers winning one race apiece and this is the home GP for both their drivers. Button however has never happened to win here, but he has made some gritty comebacks here finishing 4^th after starting from 14^th place last year. Though, the wet conditions might not favor them.

Ferrari: The march uphill for Ferrari is going on long and steady with significant upgrades on the car. They have grown competitive in the last few races with Fernando Alonso finishing between the two Red Bull drivers in the last race.

Mercedes: Though their pace cannot match the top three teams in any ways but rain might propel the Silver Arrow team to shine again.

I am hoping things change at the all important chequered flag and we get to see some spectacular driving as the Formula 1 cars have their first taste of the new pit complex at Silverstone.

What is inflation and why is it important?

What does Friday bring to your mind? Last working day, a new movie release or what else?? Well, there’s something that has become an inextricable part of Friday’s, a part of the lunch-table discussions in offices, and that gossip is all about the soaring inflation rates. India releases inflation rate data on a weekly basis on Friday afternoons.
Most of us are aware about the stereotype definition that economists have assigned to the word inflation but there’s a lot more to it. Why do we calculate inflation? Does calculating the rise in prices bring the prices down? Obviously not…Inflation affects the purchasing power of the households and decision-makers. Economists often relate inflation with GDP. Uncontrolled inflation brings changes in exchange rate, interest rates offered by banks. So it has a whole lot of dynamics revolving around it.

Inflation in India

India is one of the fastest developing countries in the world and it faces severe competition from China in that respect. There is absolutely no room for error and the government needs to be spot on with its policies to compete at the global level. Moving on to inflation rates in our country. The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 9.06% (Provisional) for the month of May, 2011 (over May, 2010) as compared to 8.66% (Provisional) for the previous month and 10.48% during the corresponding month of the previous year.

visualising the future

Indians are good at calculations

Indian media should obviously be given due credit for keeping the government on its toes to curb inflation. But there are some aspects of inflation that have largely been left untouched. One of such areas is the calculation of inflation. How do we calculate inflation? How effectively does it calculate the reduced purchasing power?

Well, here’s the approach. It calculates the average change in prices of good and services over the period of time for which the inflation is calculated. Considering the variety of goods available in the market, a set of goods has been defined for calculation of inflation.

India uses the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in its calculation, according to which, a total of 676 commodities have been chosen and divided into three categories, all of which have a different weight in inflation. 102 of these 676 commodities belong to the category of “Primary articles” (weight 20.12%) while 19 belong to “Fuel and Power” (weight 14.91%) group. The remaining 555 items belong to the “Manufactured Product” (weight 64.97%) group.

WPI: Whacked Prediction Index

But there are quite a few flaws associated with the calculation according to WPI Index. Some of the most prominent of these are listed:

1. As the name suggests, it measures the change in price level at the wholesale level or at the producer level. So it doesn’t reflect the actual price hike.

2. All of us are aware about the importance of service sector in the economy and how it has risen up. This method doesn’t take into account the price hike in the service sectors like health and education which are the pillars of any economy.

3. More than one-fourth of the commodities listed have seized to be important from consumer point of view.

4. WPI essentially measures price changes from production side and not from the consumption side. Hence, it never projects the actual change (change obviously means hike here) in prices.

CPI for India?

The question though is; do we have an alternative, better approach to inflation? And the answer is yes. Most developed countries in the world use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for inflation calculation. United States, Japan, United Kingdom, France and many other major countries use CPI as a barometer for inflation. The governments review the commodity basket every 4-5 years so that they can adjust to the change in the consumption pattern.

India calculates inflation on weekly basis, whereas CPI figures are available on monthly basis. Moreover, doubts have often been raised whether CPI can be effective in a scenario like India mainly because of the four different types of CPI indices. Though the government has reshuffled the Wholesale Price Index by changing the base year to 2004-05 and increasing number of commodities from 435 to 676, I still feel that there is an urgent need to shift to CPI in the country. Measuring this weekly rise in prices according to WPI is one way of camouflaging the alarming inflation in the country and it is high time government reacted to this. What’s your take on this??

And the wait has finally ended! We have reached the semi final stage of Wimbledon. I expected the top four players in the world to be here at this stage but Tsonga made those big serves count in his five set epic against Federer. Wimbledon has always been a prestigious tournament for all the players and this being the 125^th anniversary makes it all the more special. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam in the family of four to be using a natural surface for the games. It is more of a traditional tennis fair rather than being a championship. All players dress up in white while officials, linesmen, ball boys and girls put on Navy Blue and Cream colored uniforms. People tend to think of it as a snobbish tournament, but I find it pretty appealing. If you noted, Wimbledon refers to brackets as Gentleman’s Singles and Ladies Singles. Appearances from people like Prince Williams and Kate Middleton add to the flavor of this championship. And here’s the icing on the cake; the defending men’s champion is given the privilege to kick start the tournament on the central court. Leaving the 124 editions aside and focusing on the 125^th; Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Jo Wilfried Tsonga have made in the Gentlemen’s singles while Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Sabine Lisicki have made it in the Ladies’ bracket.

Well, as I stated earlier I expected the top four seeded men to reach here, but full credit to Tsonga for the way he played after being two sets down. Federer was looking untouchable initially, taking the first set with ease and dispatching the Frenchman in the tiebreak in the second. But the 12^th seed employed his big serves and won breaks at regular intervals to take the next three doing a Boris Becker on the way several times.
One man who would have been more than happy to see Tsonga winning would be Novak Djokovic, whom he faces next. Roger Federer has been the only man to defeat the Serb so far this year. Now that the Swiss has been overpowered by Tsonga, it will be a kind of psychological advantage for Nole. Novak defeated wildcard entry Bernard Tomic in the QF round in four sets. Novak had a poor, error prone second set against the young Australian tennis prodigy, but he more than compensated for it by road rolling Tomic seven games in a row. Novak is playing for his first Wimledon title and the numero uno status in tennis. Surprisingly, Tsonga leads the head-to-head record 5 matches to 2, but Djokovic has beaten Tsonga at the big stages like in Australian Open 2008 Final, where Tsonga entered as a wildcard.

Moving on to the second semi final in fray, it’s a repeat of last year’s semi final where Nadal defeated the local boy in straight sets. World no 1 has not had such an easy tournament. His match against Del Potro had left him injured, but the MRI scan indicated that there was nothing wrong with Nadal’s bone and so he came, all guns blazing against Mardy Fish who was lucky to get away with one set, I believe. Although Nadal is the defending champion, Murray has the home support and the way he played against Lopez was simply out of the ordinary. He was the only player of the four to have trounced his opponent in straight sets. Having played each other 15 times so far, Nadal holds a distinct 11-4 lead in head-to-head records. But in the last 10 games, the head-to-head record stands at 6-4 in favor of Nadal. It will be interesting to see whether Murray takes revenge on Nadal or does Nadal make short work of the Briton again.

In the Ladies’ segment however, the recent trend continues as the top seeds fell wayside, making way for others to progress through. Women’s Tennis is in a poor state as of now according to me. Here’s I think why; the two French Open finalists didn’t even make it past the first week. Three of the recent No. 1’s are now out of the Top 20. The World No. 1 makes it only till the fourth round. It remains to be seen whether WTA changes its point system, which has been in the heat of the debate all this while. Anyways, three of the seeded players have made it to the last four. Fifth seeded Sharapova plays German Wildcard entry Sabine Lisicki. Sharapova definitely holds the edge but Lisicki has been the giant killer, beating third seed Li Na and ninth seed Marion Bartoli en route her way to the semi finals. In the other draw, fourth seed Azarenka faces Petra Kvitova for a place in the final. It is a crucial match for Azarenka as she is inching closer to that World No.1 ranking. Will Sharapova reclaim the trophy again after seven year or will Azarenka hold the Venus Rosewater Dish? Will Nadal defend his title successfully or will Tsonga surprise everybody? Whom do you tip to cash in on the riches?

*calls 911*

“911 What’s your emergency?”

“Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but I’m going to kill 3 people.”

“For what reason sir?”

“They disliked Remote Kontrol”

“Oh **** that, do you want a shotgun?”

That’s how one follower admired Bryan Gaynor on youtube. Most of you might not have heard of him except those that follow So You Think You Can Dance. For those of you who have not heard about the show, SYTYCD is an American reality show basically a dance competition.

Season 3 of this competition witnessed quite a few explosive performances, but there was one man who stole the show in the auditions itself. That man was Bryan Gaynor. Bryan is captivating and instantly endearing with an obvious passion for life, music, and especially dance. Bryan A.K.A Chibi , a computer science major, suffers from Scoliosis, the bending of the spine, which affected his movement and height. In auditions, Chibi surprised the judges with his astonishing robotic routine. Although Gaynor could not make his way past the choreography round, the judges did see a special talent in him. He also performed in the Grand Finale of that season.

Bryan Gaynor returned to the show in Season 7 where he performed on Owl City’s Fireflies. The judges were all tears after the performance and producer Nigel Lythgoe was forced to offer him a place in the crew of the prestigious show. Bryan was happy to accept the offer and take his mates from Remote Kontrol to the crew.

He has shown the world that physical appearance and size don’t matter. Despite a long bout with Scoliosis, he doesn’t let it reflect in his dance form which he calls “Chibotics”. People like John Gaynor are hard to find in this world, so amazing and so inspirational.

A look at some of the magic created by him:

Season 3 Audition

Season 7 audition

And my personal favourite——Remote Kontrol

Another one bites the dust…..it was Manchester United’s turn to suffer at the hands of Barcelona at Wembley. After their 2-0 defeat in 2008 in the final at Rome, Barcelona proved that United need to learn some more lessons to bother the Catalan Giants, defeating them 3-1. However, the score line doesn’t really reflect the dominance of the Blaugrana in the match.

The Red Devils were left gasping after this defeat as the aging squad has left Sir Alex Ferguson with a large shopping list in this transfer window.

Van Der Sar and Gary Neville were sure to retire after this season and they were joined by the greatest midfielder of this generation – Paul Scholes, to worsen matters for Sir Alex. With Giggs’ retirement on the cards in the coming season or two, the side needs to find a replacement as soon as possible. Ferdinand’s fitness is also an area of concern because he is the central pillar in their defense along with skipper Vidic. This sure is going to be the busiest transfer window for the gum chewing Scot. United have prospered under Ferguson and he will need big pockets to rebuild this one now. Let’s take a look at the players under the scanner:

David Dea Gea: A calm and composed replacement for VDS, could come into United attire in about £17.5m. He has won the Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup with his current club Athletico Madrid.

Ashley Young: The 25 year Villa midfielder has expressed his interest in playing Champions League football and Manchester United are likely to secure his services in a £20m deal. He might be the answer to United’s search for a stable midfielder. Young starred in England’s Euro12 qualifier against Switzerland, coming in for Lampard after half time and helping England draw the match when they were two goals down. His signing might bring an end to United’s interest in Udinese striker Alexis Sanchez.

Luka Modric: The Croatian playmaker is a target for both United and their arch rivals Chelsea. The midfielder might cost United or Chelsea in excess of £20m. Both the teams have tried to ensnare Modric by offering triple the salary he receives at White Hart Lane.

Samir Nasri: In final year of his contract with Arsenal, he has put them in deeper crisis by expressing his interest in a move to United. He could fit perfectly in United’s scenario and play the role of an attacking midfielder but it will be interesting to see if Wenger allows rivals United to take him away.

Wesley Snejder: The Dutchman has been influential in Inter’s campaign in the past few seasons. He is being linked with both United and City with United being a preferred destination. There are no doubts about his credibility and skills, but it will be interesting to see whether United can fund Snejder’s release.

Apart from these, Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam and Everton star Jack Rodwell will also be under the lens.

Berbatov leads the list of players set to leave Old Trafford this season. He might have turned 30 but despite his age, he has turned the heads of a lot clubs around the world with Bayern Munich and his former club Tottenham Hotspur being possible destinations.

Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson, Tomasz Kuszczak and Wes Brown are all likely to say good bye to Old Trafford along with Portuguese midfielder Nani, who has been very inconsistent in his performances.

With City having tanks of money to spend and Arsenal and Liverpool looking busy again, Sir Alex is all set for a heavy spending spree and a major rebuilding of the squad. Can he take Barca’s perch off the Champions League trophy in three years? Post your comments…

Here they come again, facing each other after the epic league game on Monday which Mumbai won in a last ball thriller. KKR dominated the game for 39 overs but L.Balaji gave it all away in the last over. That was at Eden Gardens. The rivalry resumes at Wankhede Stadium where these two teams will have a lot more at stake than their last game. Let’s take a look at how the teams fare before the virtual quarterfinal clash.

MUMBAI INDIANS

MI were lucky to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against KKR in what could have been their 4^th consecutive defeat of the season. No team would wish to take such a form into the knockout stage of a tournament like IPL where momentum has so much to do with the result of the game.

Talking about the performance of their batsmen, Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu have all been amongst the runs and have done bulk of the scoring for the blues. Big hitters Pollard and Symonds are yet to join the party along with T Suman, who had been very good last season with Deccan Chargers. Davy Jacobs, who looked well settled in the openers role is out due to an injured thumb. Franklin was the star of the match in their last game and Mumbai Indians can rely on him for more fireworks.

Bowling has never been an issue for the Mumbaikars, with Lasith Malinga leaving others way behind in the race for the purple cap. Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh and Keiron Pollard have done a decent job as well.

Mumbai Indians have always been a strong team on paper, but this is their chance to make it big. Have they pulled themselves up at the right time?? Nobody knows the answer to that question as yet. We will have to wait and watch how the story unfolds.

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Shahrukh Khan’s team, after three seasons full of misery, has finally made it big this year, making it to the knock-out stage of the tournament. They have looked a very consistent lot under Gautam Gambhir, who faces a Herculean task against Mumbai in Mumbai. Momentum has not been on Kolkata’s side as well at the end of the league phase having lost three of their last five league games.

With dada missing from the Knight Riders squad, Jacques Kallis and captain fantastic Gambhir have anchored the batting while Manoj Tiwari and Yusuf Pathan have attacked at will. The batting is much more consistent is comparison to the previous Knight Riders squads though they may feel the absence of English Eoin Morgan at this big stage.

The bowling department has been consistent with Brett Lee bowling in fine rhythm and Iqbal Abdulla picking up the wickets. Jacques Kallis, Ryan Ten Doeschate and Shakib Al Hasan are all quality bowlers who can make the opposition batsmen dance to their tune.

All in all, this squad has it in them to progress further if they can put together a team effort yet again.

CONCLUSION

The Wankhede pitch should be a good, flat batting pitch as it turned out in Qualifier 1. The winner faces the mighty Royal Challengers Bangalore in a virtual semi final clash in Chennai while the loser goes home empty handed. Can Knight Riders face the knock-out stage pressure to outlast battle-hardened Mumbai Indians.

Do you have any views about the match that you want to share? Post your comments…

It couldn’t have been a better end to the league phase of IPL IV with all the four teams that qualified for the playoffs coming  in action  on the last day of league games. After one and a half months of quality cricket, six teams have been shown the door and a few more will meet their fate as we move into the last four phase with arguably the best teams in the tournament. Be it the absence of Lalit Modi or addition of two new teams or the Dada-Shahrukh controversy, nothing could dent IPL’s success story this year as well.

Royal Challengers Bangalore topped the points tally with 19 from their 14 matches and were followed by Chennai Super Kings on 18 who edged Mumbai Indians for the second spot on account of a better net run rate. Kolkata Knight Riders, the only team in the original eight to have never made it past the league phase have finally scraped through to occupy the fourth spot.

NEW FORMAT

The playoffs have a new format in IPL this season as the top two teams hold an advantage over Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.

The top two teams i.e. CSK and RCB play each other in Qualifier 1 at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, the winner of which directly moves into the final. On the other hand, KKR and MI face each other in the Eliminator on 25^th. The winner of this match faces the loser of Qualifier 1 in a match referred to as the Qualifier 2, whose winner goes to the Grand Final. Please click  here for details.

CONCLUSION

We are all set for a remarkable end to an IPL season where many legends showcased their magic on the field for the very last time. CSK, the most consistent team in the tournament in the four seasons so far, is up against a marauding Gayle who is at his destructive best. MI, who looked to be losing their way, just came out on top to clinch victory in a last ball thriller against KKR.

Who do you think will have the last laugh? Share your views via comments….

One more year passes by and Arsenal, despite showing tons of promise, have ended on the dry side of things. The drought seems to have hurt the players really bad and the effects have begun to show as players are leaving Emirates, out of frustration. But there is one man who is adamant of ending this six year drought, and that man is Arsene Wenger. Wenger faces a Herculean task this time around as his key players are under the radar of some of the biggest clubs in Europe and he is under ever growing pressure to win trophies for the North London side. A look at the members who may depart from Emirates:

Cesc Fabregas: After being at the centre of all the transfer news last season, Fabregas saga is back to haunt all the Arsenal fans this time as well. After getting their £30m pound deal rejected last summer, Barcelona have reportedly offered Thiago Alcantara in a deal worth £50 m to secure Fabregas’ services for the coming seasons. Thiago Alcantara is a bright, young prospect and has shone in Spain’s youth teams several times. The question however remains whether Fabregas really finds the grass to be greener at Camp Nou or he decides to stay as the Gunners captain for some time. With Iniesta and Xavi instrumental in the midfield, it will be hard for Fabregas to find a place in the well settled Barcelona squad.

Samir Nasri: There is drama surrounding Arsenal’s attacking midfielder. Reports have constantly surfaced about his transfer to Manchester United after his contract extension deal had been hindered due to financial issues. Arsenal are sure to lose a lot if the French international parts way with Arsenal to serve the Red Devils.

Nicklas Bendtner: Bendtner is one player who is completely sure that Arsenal does not fit into his future plans. He had a fabulous 2009-10 season after the departure of Adebayor from the club, scoring 12 goals (in all competitions) but has rarely threatened thereafter. He expressed interest in playing for FC Copenhagen, who he supported as a boy.

Gael Clichy: With just one year left on his contract, the Frenchman has attracted Bayern Munich and Serie A club Roma along with rivals Liverpool. Roma may offer the services of winger Jeremy Minez to the gunners in return, who might be of prime importance considering the depleted Arsenal midfield.

Apart from the above heavyweights, veteran keeper Jens Lehman will consider a move to Schalke to fill up the space vacated by Manuel Neuer. Denilson had already expressed his disinterest in playing any more for Arsenal after five years of trophy draught.

Arsenal are in need of a top class striker and their manager Arsene Wenger had expressed his interest in Frenchman Karim Benzema, who rather chose to stay at Real Madrid. A look at some of the players who could join the Gunners squad:

Radamel Falcao: Tottenham and Arsenal have their eyes set on Porto striker, who guided them to the Europa League crown. It will still be hard for Arsenal to convince Falcao to play for them as the player has two years left on his contract.

Chris Samba: After losing out to Manchester United in battle for Phil Jones, Arsenal are desperate to sign Samba now. Blackburn Rovers centre back is again close to a move to Arsenal after coming close to a transfer on a quite a few previous occasions.

Gervinho: The Ivory Coast skipper has interested the big spending Manchester City and the Gunners. He is the hottest Arsenal target as he scored 15 goals in ligue 1 for Lille to help them secure their third title.

Adel Taraabt: Rangers will really find it hard to keep Taraabt out of clutches of big clubs like Arsenal. Arsenal are likely to deal with QPR in a deal which will also involve the playmaker Emmanuel Eboue.

Despite Fabregas and Nasri saga ruling the roost, Arsenal are all set for an exciting and busy summer transfer window. What changes do you expect to see in the Gunner’s squad?Comment….

Money

Raj Rajaratnam joins an infamous list of heavy-weight, white collar criminals who will spend long stretches of the lives peering out at the world through heavily fortified windows. Rajratnam is the founder of the new york based hedge fund management firm. He is the self proclaimed “king of kings” as he often told people that his first name meant king in hindi, and that together with his last name made him the king of kings.

The Rise

Born in Colombo, he moved to England to study engineering at University of Sussex. He completed his MBA from Wharton School of the University of Pennyslvania in 1983.

Rajratnam later started his career as a lending officer at the Chase Manhattan Bank. He joined the investment banking company Needham & Co. in 1985 and became the president of the company in 1991 at the age of just 34. With aid from this company, he started a hedge fund which he later bought and renamed as Galleon. Forbe’s magazine included him in the list of  400 richest American for 2008 and 2009.He was also the richest born Srilankan in 2009.

The Fall

The man supposed to have wired the Silicon Valley was arrested on 16th October 2009 by FBI which also brought the shutter down on the Galleon group.
The Galleon chief was accused of making over over $63.8 million in illegal profits from trades based on insider tips on public companies including Clearwire, Hilton, Google and Intel. On 11th May 2011, after almost two weeks of jury deliberations, he was charged and found guilty of 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy: 9 of those counts pertained to insider trading, and the remaining 5 counts were on conspiracy to commit fraud. The Galleon Group founder could face up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in July, although prosecutors said that he could get 15 to 19 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.