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As some of my batch mates went from IITs to MITs and other US Universities around the world, the number of publications in their resumes started to increase at an exponential speed. To me this phenomenon really did not make a lot of sense as how can a student or his research change within a couple of months to take their number of publications from non-existent (in IIT years) to innumerable (in US Universities). The simple answer I got from my friends was funding and resources available. Ofcourse IITs being one of the best institutes in the world in terms of students still lack the resources for producing world class research. continue

When iPhone 3GS was released in the UK and US a few months ago, the sales went soaring. The number of phone connections spurred! I was also one of those people who were able to get their hands on one and I am really quite happy about it. But lets consider in India, will anyone be able to buy such a device? A device worth Rs 35,000! continue

(This post is contributed by another guest strater who wrote to us on contribute@strat.in . The author is an IIMC alumnus currently working in the US. The post is a strat.in SPECIAL about the measures taken by the US government to tackle the recession.) continue

This post is the first post by Saurabh Sunil, currently studying at IIM Calcutta. He has been helping us with our web-design and strat.in gladly welcomes him in its fold.

A hundred years ago, in the first age of globalisation, many investors thought there was a symbiotic relationship between the world’s financial centre, Britain, and continental Europe’s most dynamic industrial economy. That economy was Germany’s. Then as today, there was a fine line between symbiosis and rivalry. – Niall Ferguson, The Ascent of Money continue

“You can’t fool all the people all the time.” Or so the saying goes. The question is can the American government swindle money from a billion people?

It probably can – China holds about $ 1.95 trillion in Forex reserves. An estimated $ 700 billion is in US government bonds. So what? continue

Would you believe that the East has become the victim of imperialism twice?
“Imperialism : The policy of extending a nation’s authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations.”

The First Time:
This was the time when a Technologically superior British army swept though and colonized large regions and siphoned of large amount of gold and other precious resources from its colonies. What do you think they did with the gold? They funded production of goods. To put it simply, the rest of the world was funding the production in Britain. At times they were paying to produce and then buying it as well. This was the economic hegemony propagated during the 19th century. continue

(The author is an IIMC alumnus currently working in the US. )

I am not an ardent follower of Indian newspapers but a recent run of comments from the CEOs of top IT firms in India about restrictions on H-1B visa harming the US more than India have been nothing short of amusing.There is no shortage of talent in USA which has more than 2000 Universities with the average quality of education far above the average quality in India. continue

I had earlier promised to explain how the US has a savings rate of -7% (yes negative) and how it is funded.

The most important factors are :

1. USD as a Global Reserve Currency:

The US has a spectacular credit rating which has enabled the dollar to become the globel reserve currency, meaning that the probability of the US Govt defaulting on its loans is very low which in turn means US Dollar will be a very strong and stable currency. Every country has to hold reserves of some foreign currency/gold in order to save itself from potential political/financial crises. Hence most of rest of the world holds US dollars. Holding US dollar in terms of currency notes don’t give any returns, so they are used to buy US Treasury bonds. The bondholder has actually lent money to the US Govt. continue

In my last post, I discussed about the China US relationship and how it will/may undergo a change in the coming decade. In this relationship, India I believe is a prime stakeholder as well. I say this statement because the role India takes on the global stage will determine how and where will this relationship shape up. In this context, a few perspectives need to be considered – I underline 3 of those below – continue