CHAN AKYA

March 11, 2010

"Do not be very upright in your dealings for you would see by going to the forest that straight trees are cut down while crooked ones are left standing." - Chanakya (350-275 BC)

For more on the original Chanakya, the inventor of skullduggery, click here.

Time to go Dutch

The ruling by the European Union Commissioner for Competition that Dutch bank ING Groep should sell its insurance unit and US banking arm demonstrates that the Europeans, unlike their US counterparts, are taking the right route regarding stewardship of the global financial system.

(Oct 30, '09)

Dogs, banks, bones of contention

Over-aggressive, yappy and totally incapable of fending for themselves - today's banks are similar to breeds of small dog created by human manipulation. Banks, like Chihuahuas and Pekinese, know that any misstep would lead to a rescue by their masters, without whom they would turn into furry balls of trembling fear. Thus, these freaks of nature indulge in increasingly unsustainable behavior.

(Oct 23, '09)

Us and them

Controlling the renewed menace of the Taliban will involve actions in the United States and Europe to destroy the demand for heroin and oil, the twin fuels of Islamic fundamentalism. Getting this achieved may not be the most popular course of action, but it is more likely to succeed than mere adjustments to the current war strategy. Historical evidence involving the decline of the British Empire favors the notion, too.

(Oct 19, '09)

Double or quits

As the employment picture in the United States grows ever more bleak, Keynesian economists are producing their standard calls to government - spend more, and the good times will come. This after seeing vast amounts already poured into rescuing the economy come to little effect. It is the cry of despair of a failing gambler.

(Oct 05, '09)

One man's terrorist ...

Behind the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka and the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud are stories of countries creating bands of terrorists to do things that were impossible for those in power to be seen to be doing directly. In this dangerous game, blowback is inevitable.

(Oct 02, '09)

Running out of road

China, of all countries the best placed to mitigate an asset bubble, appears the most concerned about the impact of government stimulus packages. Elsewhere, the assumptions underlying hopes of better times ahead look all too flawed.

(Sep 28, '09)

Moral hazard is back

There is clearly a class of people who do not face the full force of the law because of who they happen to be. The same stunning level of corruption is also true for banks, bailouts and financial systems. This will be the unsavory legacy of the Lehman Brothers aftermath.

(Sep 18, '09)

The Surreal Symphony

World governments have succeeded in postponing the reckoning for leverage and asset prices, not to mention global real incomes, without any prospects of avoiding a repeat of the very circumstances that led to the current financial crisis. If this were a fairy tale, it would be both surreal and have a nasty ending. It is not, so we are just left to ponder the latter ...

(Sep 11, '09)

We are all Japanese now

The end of capitalism as the system du jour will happen not with a bang but with a whimper. Lower growth, higher debt and more bank failures will feature in the distant future; but for now, many people will celebrate the death of laissez faire and the advent of Japanese capitalism in its place.

(Sep 04, '09)

Prada to Pravda

European luxury brands championed the consumerism of the US and European countries that led to the global financial crisis; that situation is now being replaced by a pseudo-reality straight from the pages of old Soviet newspapers. Now, governments dictate market movements even as they slant news coverage to suit specific requirements. Chan Akya would tell people to buy gold, but perhaps even that will be subject to price manipulation over the near term.

(Aug 28, '09)

BOOKS: Crisis in hindsight

As the storm recedes, at least for a while, from the worst financial crisis since World War II, bookshelves are littered with accounts claiming insight into how and why it happened, if not why so few saw it coming. Whether you opt for the views of PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian, famed investor George Soros or the insightful but relatively obscure Thomas E Woods - choose with care. Not all are what they seem, as with ex-bond salesman Michael Lewis.

(Aug 14, '09)

Clunkers for cash

The parallels between the bailouts of General Motors and the general US consumer are striking. Leaving the main problem unaddressed and granting special competitive privileges to a select few, the bailouts will end up distorting the automotive industry as well as the general economy.

(Aug 07, '09)

Faith-based investing

Continued gains in the world's stock markets have attracted numerous explanations in harness with poor analytical skills, self-contradicting indicators and a lack of basic math. There is only one reason for rising market values for risk assets - and therein lies the path, once more, to economic ruin.

(Aug 04, '09)

Goldman's Atlas shrug

No sooner than a Wall Street firm had announced bumper earnings than all the communists squirm out of the woodwork to criticize them for "profiteering", whatever that means. It is very much the job of capitalists to make money off the idiocy of communists and socialists, and given the rich pickings across the world, more are likely to follow Goldman Sachs principles than those of communists in government.

(Jul 20, '09)

Krugman best taken in reverse

It stands to reason that the cheerleader-in-chief of the Keynesian brigade should also prove to be the most self-contradicting reverse indicator of true economic direction or workable economic policies. All that said, Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman of the New York Times is the commentator for everyone to peruse and understand; for it is in doing the opposite of whatever he recommends that salvation could arise.

(Jul 13, '09)

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THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
MonsoonWind
(Mar 11, '10)
Chan Akya wrote: Permanent Advantage explained - did I extrapolate much? Actually no. You need to travel around Asia to see what I have seen, and enjoy what I ...
Read full post/respond
THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
Chan Akya
(Mar 11, '10)
Not at all .. but the point is that an empty 7 lane superhighway in China has a tendency to fill up over 3 years and within 5 years they are soon talking about the need fo...
Read full post/respond
THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
Michael
(Mar 11, '10)
Read full post/respond
THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
Michael
(Mar 11, '10)
so your telling me that its actually full then?
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THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
Chan Akya
(Mar 11, '10)
Michael - actually that is not true at all. The 7-lane superhighway is not a luxury when you have a city of 30 million threatening to explode to 50 million on the one end ...
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THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
Michael
(Mar 11, '10)
enjoy a 7 lane superhighway to your factor? and ROI of that highway? How does China/India avoid the infrastructure debt trap? No one needs 7 lanes to drive in. Wi...
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THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
Chan Akya
(Mar 11, '10)
Permanent Advantage explained - the main factors that augur a permanent advantage are the possibility that one side will *ALWAYS* remain better than the other .. in ot...
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THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
Michael
(Mar 11, '10)
2. Could this Asian advantage become permanent? It's possible, if not probable............... My question at this point is given the problems in Europe and the US, what...
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THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
DrCore
(Mar 10, '10)
Michael wrote: how do you tell if a newbie has their own axe to grind and will try and hijack a discussion and tailor it to their paticular agenda? I have my own axe...
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THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
Michael
(Mar 10, '10)
such are the difficulties of being the host of something like this, how do you tell if a newbie has their own axe to grind and will try and hijack a discussion and tailor ...
Read full post/respond

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Time to go Dutch

Dogs, banks, bones of contention

Us and them

Double or quits

One man's terrorist ...

Running out of road

Moral hazard is back

The Surreal Symphony

We are all Japanese now

Prada to Pravda

BOOKS: Crisis in hindsight

Clunkers for cash

Faith-based investing

Goldman's Atlas shrug

Krugman best taken in reverse

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