CHAN AKYA

March 15, 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.

Mr Market combats the Taliban

Reduced opium production in Afghanistan as a result of soaring wheat prices points the way both for the conduct of war in poor countries, and perhaps more importantly, handling emerging environmental issues. Change that is led by the markets will prove more sustainable than any that's thrust by war.

(May 31, '08)

Indiana Jones and the last capitalist

The latest avatar of the archetypal American capitalist takes viewers on a thrilling ride while raising existential questions on the side. Individual liberties and innovation that spawned decades of prosperity are now under assault globally as much from a sprawling corporate culture as from Luddite forces of modern communism.

(May 24, '08)

India's real terrorists

Though Asia in general had a bad week, India's problems stand out as the most intractable and subversive, harking as they do to the dominance of age-old communist thinking that has bred a cesspool of corruption. Other Asian countries also face this peril.

(May 17, '08)

Cyclone cowards fear ultimate market

Curbs by cyclone-hit Myanmar on overseas help for its devastated population is merely an extreme example of a government cowering in fear of information. At a more prosaic level, Asian authorities concerned with improving their citizens' well-being should let markets with their abundance of information act in their favor. They should start with currencies, and then laugh all the way to the bank.

(May 10, '08)

Abandoning USS Titanic

As the world comes to grips with declining United States power both in political and economic terms, it is surreal that global media appear so keen to paper over the cracks. But with even the corrupt and unctuous Gulf dictators rebelling against the US dollar, this is the beginning of the end.

(May 03, '08)

Western excess is the Earth killer

The problem with people trying to save the world, as intended by this week's Earth Day, is that everyone has different living standards and objectives. What will benefit the environment is a reduction in excessive consumption by Europe and the US, not a reversal of Asian progress.

(Apr 26, '08)

Bankrupt policies, empty stomachs

Inflation in food products has become the new front in the geopolitical battlefield. Asians can start by blaming themselves for the present mess in which their farmers remain poor, their poorest struggle to pay for basics such as rice, and their governments continue to pay economic allegiance to the has-been powers of America and Europe.

(Apr 19, '08)

Asia must rally behind China

Asian countries must rally behind China ahead of the Olympics as Group of Seven countries and their lackeys aim to increase their shrill rhetoric at their meeting this weekend. Using a combination of diplomatic and economic moves to trip the Americans, the region could gain the upper hand for the long term.

(Apr 10, '08)

A conspiracy against gold

The global conspiracy against gold has been gathering steam, with central banks rallying around the US Federal Reserve to prevent a full-scale economic collapse. This will succeed over the near term, but as the US runs out of things to sell, so will the latest bout of risk-taking in global markets.

(Apr 03, '08)

The new Brahmins

Socializing risk and privatizing profit points to a global economic gridlock that will likely make Asia's poor even poorer. The elite of global banking can rest assured that society will pay its toll in perpetuity, essentially creating a new super-caste of bankers. It's not Asia that is being globalized, it is the West that is absorbing the worst Asian habits.

(Mar 29, '08)

Why markets love dictators

This week's developments once again highlight the reasons for markets to prefer dictatorships over freewheeling democracies. Clarity in decision-making is more important than preserving the rights of individuals, for the benefit of society at large, as seen by the market reactions to recent political changes in India, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and China.

(Mar 21, '08)

Trust goes down the drain

The acquisition of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase at a knock-down price of $2 per share means investors cannot trust the reported book value of US financial firms any more. And if they cannot trust investment banks, can the trust of commercial banks be really all that higher? The Fed and other central banks should now understand that the bailers themselves may need to be bailed out in time.

(Mar 18, '08)

Forget Spitzer, fire Bernanke

While the New York governor resigned for what was essentially a private matter, the world's central bankers cause greater damage and have proven less accountable for their actions. Continued debasement of fiat currencies leaves the financial system unhinged and more prone to collapse.

(Mar 15, '08)

Euro-trash

Europe's leaders are too busy destroying their economies to notice the grand opportunity to assume global leadership. The European Central Bank is also far from being the paragon of virtue that many economists consider it. A failure to grasp this dynamic means that the rise of the euro against the US dollar will be in vain.

(Mar 11, '08)

Dead dollar sketch

The demise of the world's reserve currency reads like a financial version of the infamous Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch. The arguments of US dollar supporters appear increasingly hollow. The implications are much more geopolitical than merely economic.

(Mar 04, '08)

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THREAD: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard on China's "Advantage"
Broncazonk
(Mar 15, '10)
Is China's Politburo spoiling for a showdown with America? The long-simmering clash between the world's two great powers is coming to a head, with dangerous implicati...
Read full post/respond
THREAD: Re:Asia's permanent advantage
Chan Akya
(Mar 14, '10)
The idea of savings as a function of national character is debatable to say the least ... MW's points are contentious, and in my opinion not necessarily apt for most reaso...
Read full post/respond
THREAD: Re:Asia's permanent advantage
MonsoonWind
(Mar 14, '10)
DrCore wrote: Another factor that is at least true in China, (but I think also apply to other Asian, post-1997 flu countries) is that most of the infrastructure ...
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THREAD: Re:More Denial by CA...
MonsoonWind
(Mar 14, '10)
quark wrote: (Gad! These Chinese are becoming like us!) So why not upgrade your infrastructure like China is doing? When we can afford to I am sure we will!
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THREAD: Re:Asia's permanent advantage
Michael
(Mar 13, '10)
2. Crony capitalism is wrong, and always backfires in the end because of the misallocation of capital always???? the Rockefellers, haute finance, resource capitalism i...
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THREAD: Re: heres one for you Mike!
Chan Akya
(Mar 13, '10)
MW, I would expect pretty much ANY thing that Sarah Palin says would lead one to scratch his head .. I have heard the expression 'soccer mum' before i.e. mums who take...
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THREAD: Re:Asia's permanent advantage
Chan Akya
(Mar 13, '10)
MW, Your pursuit of clean air and elbow room is commendable - but not to worry, all Western countries with their demographic declines and net emigration (i.e. negat...
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THREAD: Re:Asia's permanent advantage
DrCore
(Mar 12, '10)
Another East/West difference is that in Asia, the boundary between public and private interest is far more blurry. This is not just Communist China, it applies just as we...
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THREAD: Re:Asia's permanent advantage
Michael
(Mar 12, '10)
everybody love infrastructure no one wants to pay the cost.
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THREAD: Re:Asia's permanent advantage
DrCore
(Mar 12, '10)
A few random points: USA's interstate highways served a significant military purpose. Its cost should be calculated under military spending, then its economic ROI is a...
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Mr Market combats the Taliban

Indiana Jones and the last capitalist

India's real terrorists

Cyclone cowards fear ultimate market

Abandoning USS Titanic

Western excess is the Earth killer

Bankrupt policies, empty stomachs

Asia must rally behind China

A conspiracy against gold

The new Brahmins

Why markets love dictators

Trust goes down the drain

Forget Spitzer, fire Bernanke

Euro-trash

Dead dollar sketch

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