The Nira Radia Tapes

            They kept on coming. We kept on receiving them. It was 2G spectrum scam first, we said 'Ohh' ; then came Adarsh scam and LIC housing scam, we said 'Ohh dear' and now comes the best ‘the Nira Radia tapes controversy’. For those who are not aware of this latest issue as they might be busy in their lifes ignoring our beloved (sarcasm this time) country, Nira Radia is the owner of a PR firm and her phone conversations ,with the top corporate and top but disgusting mediapersons, were tapped and leaked which is creating quite a drama.

            I would strongly recommend you guys to listen to these phone conversations which are easily available on youtube. Not that we are not aware that we have a country with maximum corrupt people, but listening to substantial proofs for the lobbying that happens in the corporate and political world and the way the media guys as well as judicial system is biased and flawed just makes me hang my head in shame in front of people whom I lecture for the greatness of my country.

            In the whole saga, the best thing to happen was that Ratan Tata came out clean.In his entire conversation he was just being good to Nira who happens to be the PR person for the tata group. Even Prabhu Chawala for that matter, though personally was not involved but his comments on the Ambani brothers and speaking about how even the Supreme court justice can be bought for a favourable decision cannot be ignored. If he is certain and has proofs that it happens why did he not bring all this to the public. Is that is not what the people expect from the media guys? And why are the media guys and media channels not showing this news again and again as they do for all others. For everything else they have a Breaking News, but this news has a black out. None except Karan Thapar dared to host a debate on this issue.

           And now let’s talk about the bigger devils. Will Barkha dutt and Vir Sanghvi ever be able to host an interview or show  with their heads held high again? Are you guys not a disgrace to society? Barkha Dutt seems more like a Congress Lobbyist trying to talk to people to get her people on the ministries. Not to mention that Congress is corrupt and is known for her ways to fool the country to vote for them.The way it was discussed clearly shows that we do not allocate ministry to people on merit. Ya, I know its not a big revelation for Indian Politics but trying to fool the masses is definitely a crime. Both Vir and Barkha clearly talked about manipulating the message that they want to send across to the general public. What we feel as an unbiased interview by these journos is no better than any of the reality shows hosted by entertainment channels. They fool the people by saying it is real, but it is all scripted.

         When one of my friends went into her third year Mass media degree, she had to opt between advertisement and journalism. I was a strong supporter of her going into journalism so that she can ask questions that the common man needs an answer to. She opted to advertisement. I am glad today. In one of the conversations, these journalists talk about the Ambani brothers case and say this is not good got national interest. I would like to know who gave these bloody cheats (pardon my language) the right to decide what’s good for the nation. You decide and then you manipulate the masses to believe in your thoughts. What a shame!

        In the past I have spoken about our ability to be a super power with the change in the attitudes of the people. Now I realize it will not be an easy job. A country where the people we trusted to take care of the society, the media persons and the judges, go hand in hand with the corrupt politicians is going way ahead in darkness. Next time when someone tells me he opts not to stay in India as he needs his children to grow in a society that is not biased and where the masses are not fooled, I would have nothing to do except hang my head in shame. Thanks to guys like Barkha Dutt, Nira Radia and Vir Sanghvi. And even if you come out clean, we now know how you would have managed to do that.

How to make money in Stock markets...

Before we start assuming, let me make it clear that I have not made alot of money from the stock market, at least not as much as I would have liked. Fortunately ( just being modest ) I have not even lost money. However I have considered myself a player of the market from last 5 years and I have seen the entire sine wave of the market. As in I have seen the market rise from 15k to 21 k , then falling to 8k and then rising back to 21k. This exposure gives me enough knowledge to write on the matter. Here I share some common tips and trick to make money in stock markets. However please note that this tips are for Retail investors who have a proper salaried job and not for people who make a living out of stock markets.

• The best thing ever told to you guys would be to invest in Mutual Funds. This allows professionals to take care of your money. However you are not directly involved which means less fun, less risk , less gains and less losses.It is good for people who just want to invest and not care about stock markets
• One of the best tip is given by the man who made millions with stock markets, Warren Buffet. He says ' Be greedy when others are scared to buy and be scared when others are greedy'. Though it looks simple its the most difficult thing to follow. I can say that with personal experience.
• Another golden rule says ' Buy on rumours and sell on news'. This rule can be called as a corollory and above rule as a theorem. Again a simple rule but difficult to follow.
• One of the most important thing to remember when you trade in shares is that never do it on credit. In stock market terms, it is also called margin. Always buy shares with cash so that you can hold them as long as you want. Buying on margin increases your exposure to losses.
• When you buy and sell shares for short term, technical analysis is more important than fundamental analysis. Most of the analyst coming on TV shows and recommending buy or sell of shares are technical analysts.
• Before you start following tips for buy/sell from any technical analyst, make a thorough research on the person's calls. For at least 3 months, note down the person's recommendations and targets and find out how many times is he right. Some sites like rediff portfolios or moneycontrol can help you in this process. I, myself, go through this process and after a year of research, I follow a particular analyst blindly now. He is 80% times right.
• Remember to respect the Stop Loss phenomenon. The analyst would always say to buy a particular share but to keep a stop loss on it. For example, he may say buy 'A' for 100 Rs with target of 110 and Stop Loss of 95. This means his call is valid for buy only till the share reaches 95 rs, Below that it is recommended to sell even if we are in a loss.
• Averaging is a good scheme but is not always right. To keep buying more shares of a particular scrip (company) when it is going down will not always work. That money could have been used to buy shares going up and make money.
• Always be ready for the fact that not all days are going to be profit days. Be ready for the loss days.
• Never consider stock market as a fast and easy money making money phenomenon. It is a very analytical gambling. Set your expectations right.
• Remember the real money is made by big players. We as retail small time investors are people who eat the left-overs. Accept this fact. Though the left overs are a considerable amount, it still will never be as big as what the major players earn.

These were a few thoughts I felt like sharing with you guys. Please do inform if you found these useful. Also feel free to ask questions on the topic if you have any or if there is any other area within the topic that you want me to write about.

Planning to write a few points on Tax saving/planning near the December-January period.

Cheers!

Search for India's Obama

  No, its not a new TV reality hunt show as the trend has been in India. It's just a thought that came across my mind after i watched the video of Obama speaking in front on the Indian Parliament. I would strongly suggest before you go further in the post, Spend 30 minutes of your time to listen to one of the great orators of these times and arguably the strongest person on planet earth, the president of the USA.



  Now if you would have carefully observed, only then will you realize that though the speech looks like is spoken impromptu or mugged up, its not. He does actually have a book below, but he did not care to look below for more than 2 times in the entire 30 minute speech. Spoke with a passion, spoke like a true leader and spoke whatever he wanted to. He has a charm and great oratory skills apart from the power the position gives him. Anyway the post is not about how good Obama is but the search for an Indian Obama.

  Compare this speech to the speech our respected PM Mr Manmohan Singh gives. A guy who is reading from a bunch of papers and speaks with no vigor or enthusiasm. The voice is low with no tonal gradations. He is a great economist but the weakest PM we ever had. He speaks and looks all like the rubber stamp PM that he is. I would not blame the world if they do not take India seriously. The man representing us does not speak with the dynamism that the country beholds. But is it only him?? Let us talk about our future PM Mr Rahul Gandhi. ( I am convinced the country is again going to vote in favour of a Gandhi, And one of the reason they will do so is cause we are out of options). We all remember how Rahul goes to places and mingles with the young crowd. He would have done alot of things in the small political career he has. But all these are planned by the real brains of Congress. The brains who know how this country has to be ruled. Do we remember one great speech from this guy? He was almost dumb before Madam decided to groom his personality so that he can be the next PM. I am sure our next leader is also going to be as lame as the current one.

  The opposition BJP had one of the greatest orators of all time, Mr Vajpayee. A man whom the world respected for his oratory skills and persona. But there has been no replacement to this guy. The second string BJP leaders do have a few good orators like Modi and Sushma Swaraj, but until one of them evolves to be the leader at the country level, we are shooting in the dark if we hope they can end our search. The problem has been that the BJP second string leaders always behaved like crabs. As soon as one wished to go up, the others pulled him down. And this is one of the greatest reasons why we do not have a strong opposition. Speakers like Lalu can be said as good, but only in their style. You cannot expect them to represent the country at an international level specially if we are portraying our self as the next probable super power.

   Regionally we might have few good orators but the politics or agenda they have may not help them evolve to a national level. I know of a certain Raj Thackeray who can impress a few with his oratory skills but the agenda of his party is more in dividing the country. He will not come in power even in the state of Maharashtra, forget dreaming about national level. Same applies for other good orators at regional levels.

   So when a leader like Obama comes to my country and speaks, it makes me wonder, if we ever will be able to find the Indian Obama. Somebody who would have the charm and the skills to lead the country. Someone who can represent us globally and speak with the same passion and authority in which Mr Obama did. I have mentioned this before and i will repeat it. We do have the capability of being the next super power provided we change the attitude. Let us have at least one leader in the forties who can speak with the same skills like Obama does. As I sincerely do not expect people in the seventies and eighties capable to show the energy and agility that the global level demands. Its time for you to rest, and not lead the country to darkness.

 I had heard of a saying which said, your team is only as weak as your weakest link. I will modify and say, your country is only as powerful as your leader is. I hope this search ends soon. I hope we have someone whom the world listens, applauds and respects. Cause I still dream of making my country the best in the world.

Cheers!