Blog@GraceJunction

This is how the 63rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations began this year. The Secretary General, as usual, addressed the gathering.

“Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the opening of the general debate of the 63rd session of the General Assembly. It is customary for the Secretary-General, on this occasion, to assess the state of the world and to present our vision for the coming year. We all recognize the perils of our current passage. We face a global financial crisis. A global energy crisis. A global food crisis. Trade talks have collapsed, yet again. We have seen new outbreaks of war and violence, new rhetoric of confrontation. Climate change ever more clearly threatens our planet. We often say that global problems demand global solutions. And yet … Today, we also face a crisis of a different sort. Like these others, it knows no borders. It affects all nations. It complicates all other problems. I refer, here, to a challenge of global leadership.”

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This is how the 63rd session of the General Assembly began this year. The Secretary General, as usual, addresses the gathering.

“Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the opening of the general debate of the 63rd session of the General Assembly. It is customary for the Secretary-General, on this occasion, to assess the state of the world and to present our vision for the coming year. We all recognize the perils of our current passage. We face a global financial crisis. A global energy crisis. A global food crisis. Trade talks have collapsed, yet again. We have seen new outbreaks of war and violence, new rhetoric of confrontation. Climate change ever more clearly threatens our planet. We often say that global problems demand global solutions. And yet … Today, we also face a crisis of a different sort. Like these others, it knows no borders. It affects all nations. It complicates all other problems. I refer, here, to a challenge of global leadership.”

(more…)

Lehmann Brothers is not the only people to be facing the brunt of the economic slowdown but rather it’s also the layman on the streets who is equally suffering. One of the major reasons of this worldwide financial crisis is the piling delinquencies and defaults on loans which have left all major financial institutions reeling under the pressure of mounting losses and the increasing pressure from the investors and management to salvage all that is slipping out of their hands.

The effect of the monster sub prime crisis has lifted its ugly face in India as well. Most of the financial institutions are going through a tough face, cost cutting at its peak, hiring freezed and firing and laying off employees seem to be the way forward. The only people who seem to be keeping their jobs are the Collection and recovery agents, the nightmare for any defaulting customer. (more…)

Last week I happened to visit a nationalized bank after a long time. Frankly speaking I expected to see some changes in the office premises and the attitude of the employees. Not that all of them were the same always, but there were some branches whose employees were extremely helpful and courteous but I was talking about the approach adopted in these competitive times.

When I went to the counter to enquire, the officer just pointed me to another desk without even looking up at me. When I confirmed the direction, he just nodded and seemed to not care. The next experience was not too good either, a middle aged lady was handling some customers and wore a frustrated look, probably because of handling a continuous flow of customers from the morning. My problem seemed to evoke some interest on her face when she realized that she can get some easy deposits but that too disappeared when she came to know that I wanted to continue it at another branch of theirs. What followed were the same old pointers with fingers without much human touch. (more…)

“Money is everything in life”, said a really bullish young man, who had made some good money in his careful investments spread across diverse investment options. He was willing to diversify it further into more riskier options to increase the chances of multiplying the returns. He was confident because, at a 9%, the GDP growth looked robust and increasingly improved ratings coming over from various global rating agencies only proved as an icing on the cake. Also pouring in were the news of increasing interest of more and more global players in India. IT, BT, BPOs, pharma, retail, telecom, infrastructure all looked big! He was glad that he was living in such a significant time in history and at the right place. His cousins in the west were thinking hard about coming back, while he was glad that he had a lead over thousands of such young and talented people in other nations of the globe! He had money and loads were going to come his way in the coming days! (more…)

The credit cards and easily available loans made almost everything available to the common man. When the generation of the 50s-70s worked a good 25 plus years to buy a decent house with minimum facilties and bought a car after the age of 40, the new generation is buying a much costlier and better equipped (loaded) or rather luxurious house at a much earlier age (early 30s) and this generation is also buying a car much earlier too. Of course the myriad professional options have resulted in greater opportunities for earning, but the thrust has mainly come in from easier funding - credit. However, there are still things out there that even credit will not allow many of the big dreamers to acquire.

Satiated at a much earlier age, it takes much more to now challenge and satisfy these young turks. High ticket paraphrenalia, available at the malls and exclusive shops, or even in the high-end shops don’t catch their attention at all. They are aiming much higher, at things not even in the luxury list of the average citizen (muggles!). The boundaries have been pushed much higher (monetarily). Now, what’s enabling these proponents of “dare-to-dream” to fulfil their dreams and desires has nothing to do with wizarding, but its the age old business of ‘Hiring’ and ‘Renting’! (more…)

Hey hello Mr. Blog Reader. I am the brain of Mr.Hyde Junior! Thinking? Wondering? Trying to figure out? Leave all that hard work to me. Relax and just listen carefully to all that I have to say and things will be clear. And yes, don’t try to make an impression. It will not help. Just plainly simply listen now, period.

I am one of the most important parts of any human being’s body but when I get a wicked heart to scheme, I become the most powerful tool of the modern man! Yes I depend on the heart for oxygen, you see!

But let me tell you what I did to Mr. Hyde Junior. His mother was devout, God loving lady. Her parents brought her up in the fear of God and she slowly became a beautiful young woman in the eyes of the Creator. All the people around adored her, Miss.Wisdom as she was always called by her parents then one day went off to study at the IIM. (more…)