It was 8.30pm in the evening and i was reading news online. It has been a month now i have been watching TED,India videos regularly. It all started from Mr.Dev Dutt Patnaik’s lecture on the Myths of India and of the West. Suddenly yesterday i was surprised by this video on the Soft Power of India by Dr.Shashi Tharoor. It was a gripping lecture with less of gyan and a complete pragmatic approach on how India should attract the world through its Soft Power. India’s Soft Power which i believe lies in its diverse culture, the entrepreneurial brigade, the ignited minds of India and the generation next individuals who believe it in making big with a vision of their own.
Whenever a merger or acquisition takes place India, which has been the case in the past 5yrs, it makes news across continents. There has been an increase in the percentage of foreign investment, and it will grow in the mere future for sure, considering the fact that a major sector of the rural market hasn’t been tapped as yet.
Dreams were converted into a reality for the farmers and fishermen ever since Reliance launched its mobile services. Thanks to their services they had to offer to the rural areas where life is now at a different level altogether . Fishermen now make deals over the mobile instead of the traditional method of going from door to door in the market to get the best possible price for their goods.
In a country where cricket is a religion which has produced one greatest cricketers of the era, the BCCI is one the richest cricketing boards in the world. The IPL(Indian Premier League) has seen immense response and has been accepted as a game of nerves all over. It has a massive fan following with not only the Indian players as well as the international players flying down to India and giving their best at various levels of the game.
Despite the recession that the whole world has gone through, economists have said that India has witnessed a good and steady progress over the last year. The latest in the news is that Indian entities listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq added $5.33 billion to their market capitalisation, out of which $2.08 billion were added by Infosys and ICICI Bank.
Even the troubled Mahindra Satyam saw a value addition of $364 million to $3.26 billion,Wipro rose by $249 million to USD 29.96 billion while auto maker Tata Motors saw a growth of $846 million to its valuation at $7.02 billion and HDFC Bank rose up by $736 million to $19.76 billion.
It’s simply amazing to see on how the IVY League individuals like Narayan Murthy, Nandan Nelikani,Sunil Mittal, Azim Premji, Kishore Biyani and the Ambani Brothers have created successful business models and brought India to this stage. A stage where every individual in this world views India with immense respect and dignity. As the management professor Peter Drucker once said: “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision”.
With the emergence of the youth brigade going ahead and voting, this country is witnessing a major cultural shift and in the way this country needs to be governed. That’s what I call the “Soft Power of India”.

India-born steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, remains the richest business tycoon in South Africa despite his fortune having halved in the past year due to the global recession.

Mr. Mittal heads the Rich List, a ranking of the 150 wealthiest businessmen in South Africa released here by the weekly Sunday Times, for the fifth consecutive year, even though he is not living in South Africa.

He has been included in the list because of his shareholding in Arcelor Mittal SA, the steel company born out of Mr. Mittal’s takeover of former state-owned monopoly Iscor.

According to the Rich List, Mr. Mittal remains at the top of the list despite the value of his stake in Arcelor Mittal SA having come down to more than half in the past year, from 45.7 billion rand to 16.95 billion rand owing to weak global markets.

The Rich List is based on an analysis of holdings of all companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.

Mr. Mittal narrowly beat South African businessman Patrice Motsepe of African Rainbow Minerals, whose stake value stood at 14.246 billion rand.

Their nearest rival Nicky Oppenheimer was way below them with just 5.3 billion rand. Only four South African Indian businessmen – Ragi Moonsamy (61), Akhter Deshmukh (143), Mustaq Brey (145) and Yogesh Narsing (147) -made it to the list of 150.

I just read this recent article from the Times of India about the dropoff in philanthropy among India’s major industrialists for large-scale national infrastructure projects.  Among many interesting points, three stuck out for me:

1. Individual philanthropists in India generally channel their giving through their corporations because of the red tape associated with individual giving and a wish to be anonymous (surely motivated in part by corruption and extortion).
2. There has been a move from national or large-scale projects to more narrowly focused and localized programs like water harvesting and microfinance in particular regions of India.
3. The notion that charities should be run on a shoestring budget pervades in India, just like it has here in North America.  We’ve talked before about the importance of overhead/operating funds for nonprofits to build capacity.

We’re written here before about philanthropy in India because there are connections to North America in our globalized world – for example, take a look back at our posts about Jindal Global University and Ratan Tata’s gift to Cornell.

(Hat tip to Rahul!)

By Amy May Shead, Nathan Rowden, Stefanie Linhardt

Queens Park Rangers Football club is believed to be on the verge of securing a new sponsorship deal according to a QPR-Spokesman.

The new deal is likely to go through within the next two days, which could secure some much needed finance for the West London Club with the uncertainty over Flavio Briatore’s future as major stakeholder.

Although the spokesman could not officially comment on the Briatore case, of which a verdict will be announced on Thursday, he did hint that if Briatore was to exit, then the other sponsorship deals could possibly be in jeopardy.

Sponsors including Lotto, Santander, Gulf Air and ChronoTech Watches could possibly withdraw funds.

New Sponsor ‘TOYO’

Our informant would not name the new sponsor, however a new company boarding is already present in Loftus Road Stadium and has been for the last two matches – remarkably unnoticed.  After a brief tour of the stadium and eliminating the established sponsors, a Japanese based company called TOYO appears to be the only obvious candidate indicated.

The spokesman claimed that any result of the Briatore case would not affect the potential sponsorship from the new sponsor and therefore the investment could prove vital to the continuance of QPR in the immediate and foreseeable future.

It has also been rumoured that current shareholder, and UK’s richest man, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal will purchase the remainder of Briatore’s shares.  When asked of this, the spokesman answered “Yes, that is one of the rumours”. Even with the potential Mittal-buyout the new sponsorship will secure some extra-income and put the fans minds at rest.

Friends,

How remarkably the Sensex has crossed the 17000 mark. It took just 15 session for it to acheive this feat. However, last time when it performed the coverage of 1000 pts between 16000 and 17000, the time taken was just 5 sessions of trade. Why does the pace advance between 16000 and 17000, the answer lies in the fact that 1000 devided by 17000 is a figure under 0.6 (or say under 6pc). This can be taken to be as nearly five percentage and this much percentage movement does not make one sit up and gasp. A movement at over 6pc is rounded to 10pc in popular perception and is taken to be some thing extraordinery. You will notice that movements hereafters on the upside will be rather fast in terms of time taken to cross the next 1000 points. An other pointis that upto the level of previous highs, the groove exists and it does not need to excavate to move ahead. Beyond the previous high level it would have to be trying hard or let us say it would take a spate of high potential news at that point in time to enable it to move further ahead.

Bharti-MTN deal has been aborted. They say it was the insistance of SA about duel listing, may be so but I haven’t heard any body say that the statute there does not bar it and what SA is insisting is extraneous. If the later is the case then why should an Indian company expose itself to risks in an irrational and unhealthy place. As I told you earlier, I do not find much of substance in the deal for the stake holders other than the comfort to Mittal himself as promoter to be able to withstand the local political pressures by posing to represent international interests. India’s potetial is still not exploited to the hilt then why spread thin the effort and resource. It was themistake committed by Tatas, the Birlas and few others and they had to face tough times. Also I say that the business rules in India should be firmer and less prone to changes every now and then. The businessmen here should be taken to task for breaking rules but should not be subjected to either please the establishment or face (harsh) music. Again, if the deal failed because India has still not graduated to having full/free convertibility of rupee, it is an occassion to do it and just not have fearful attitude. You can’t have a grim face and smile too.

The IPO by Oil India commands 9.3pc premium over issue price. Can’t just yet whether its good for investment. I have to have a track record of some quarters to be able to do so. That’s why you do find coverage of newor small companies in the ‘panch-tattva/post result’ catagory. I am pleased to say that my system has gained credence and a few of my readers have informed about having made money, relying on the advice.

The Nifty PE (at 20.59) is still not in danger zone because the profitability has kept pace with the market. If the second quarter does the same than rosier times are ensured in future too. The only hick up is that those who bought equities between Oct 08 and Mar 09 would like to encash chips without subjecting themselves to capital gains. Even other old holding would find way in to market for similar concern. The new tax code is a bad omen for the market.

There is some weakness in the Asian markets today and so was the case in USA and Europe yesterday. We may be impacted to some extent today but not much. The result season holds the key in our case.

The China is celebrating its foundation day. What an irony, the foundations of that time have no trace now and still the foundation day is being celebrated. China turn into a market economy from a economy under shackles has been dramatic. What is more surprising that it has still heard the noises about democracy even though the stomachs there have been more than full for quite some time now.

HariOm,
krsnaKhandelwal

A semana começou bem para a bolsa de valores. Nos Estados Unidos, os principais índices terminaram o dia com altas significativas. O índice Dow Jones registrou a maior alta em pontos desde agosto. A valorização de hoje quebrou a seqüência de 3 quedas consecutivas, o que levou o mercado a registrar a pior semana desde início de julho.

Na ausência de indicadores macroeconômicos na agenda de hoje, operações de fusões de empresas foram as responsáveis por animar os investidores no dia de hoje, proporcionando uma nova onda de esperança com relação à recuperação econômica. A companhia farmacêutica Abbott Laboratories anunciou que vai adquirir a farmacêutica Solvay. A Xerox anunciou que chegou a acordo de compra da AFC (Affiliated Computer Services). Cada uma destas operações envolve valores superiores a US$ 6 bilhões. O enfraquecimento do dólar também deu um impulso extra as commodities. Neste cenário, o S&P500 encerrou o dia com alta de 1,78%, aos 1.063 pontos.

A Bovespa também teve hoje um dia de recuperação, registrando, no fechamento, a marca de 61.316 pontos, com forte alta de 1,59%. A Petrobrás, seguindo a alta na cotação do petróleo, mereceu destaque, terminando o dia com alta de 2,29%, e altas dessa proporção também foram observadas em diversos setores. O dólar voltou a cair e terminou o dia a R$ 1,7910.

Destaques do dia:

Banco do Brasil: Parceria com Votorantin envolve fluxo de R$ 4,9 bilhões

Setorial: Siderurgia – Mittal “Crescimento lento e recuperação gradual”

Setorial: Construção – Agosto forte na cidade de SP

The recent statement by the Finance Minister, Mr.Pranab Mukherji, calling for austerity on the part of Ministers, MPs and others in the government, is a welcome step. He also set an example by traveling economy to his home state, Kolkotta. The real question is how often he flies from Delhi to Kolkotta?

Most of the ministers and MPs from South were found to be flying home twice a week. That means, they fly on Fridays for the weekends, come back to Delhi on Monday, if they are conscientious, and if they don’t extend their weekend to Monday,  again fly back home on Wednesday, and God knows when they return to Delhi in order to fly back home on Friday!

While the salary bills run to thousands, their traveling and entertainment expenses run in to crores! And what is their contribution?

The trigger for the move appears to be the alleged stay of Mr.SM Krishna, and Mr. Sashi Taroor, both from the External Affairs Ministry, in five star hotels for months for various reasons. They have come up with explanations such as the necessacity of entertaining foreign dignitaries and meeting the bills on their personal accounts, but no one seems impressed.

The other reason quoted is the drought situation and the impending economic slowdown.

It is evident that we in public service act more like juveniles hungry for consumption than mature individuals serving the society.

Those of us not in government service are no exception. While we are ready to point a finger at the public servant we are not ready to look at ourselves in the mirror. The reason is that the money comes from the tax-payers kitty.

If that is the argument, then what about the private sector? Why should Ambanis, Mittals, and Tatas fly private jets? Doesn’t their money come from share-holder’s kitty, who again is the public who also pay taxes?

Whatever may be the reason, if the austerity measures are not triggered by a genuine introspection, this will also be forgotten ASAP and we’ll be back to our old ways.

Today, I spent a couple of hours on gauging where I stand, as far as GMAT is concerned. Took OG11’s warm up tests and did kind of okie.

Quant – 17C, 5 W, 2 UA (RED) – NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL. OVERCONFIDENCE DID ME IN. Also, I need to brush up median/mode/std dev/coord geo basics. Nothing to be too much concerned about though. I can look at the basics over the next two weeks and then start with the quant/DS probs.

DS – 17C, 4W, 3 UA – Same as above

RC – 16C, 1W – Did well, but this is just the first step. I shouldnt go overboard with joy at this premature stage. I know that there is a long way to go.

CR – 13C, 4w – Well, I couldnt get any head/tail of three of the ques. And the guesses went wrong. One i messed up. So – Scope of improvement.

SC – 10C, 8 w (RED) – Well, I think it was more of carelessness from my side as I was working on this with not complete focus. I was also watching motogp, then tennis, and then a movie, while also working on SC. That explains the poor performance as well as looooooooong time spent on this.

I also watched an interview of Mr. Sunil AIRTEL Mittal and it was quite motivating to hear him speak about how he braved the challenges and made progress, to reach where he is now and he is still motivated to go beyond any boundaries. His message for enterpreneurs was ‘Perseverence Pays’. I will keep that in mind.

Also, no slots available on 29th sept hard luck, but then looking at the amount of stuff I need to cover, I suspect that targetting a 700+ score with just approx 20 days prep is not very realistic (Ohh!! I downloaded shit loads of study material today from esnips. Wonder if I am really going to complete them all) 

Thats for the day.

by Forbes staff
Friday, March 13, 2009provided by

Where the world’s richest head at the end of the day.

© Glentree International

Lev Leviev London, England Net Worth: $1.5 billion Rank: 468

In today’s tough economic climate, Warren Buffett is setting a good example. The world’s second richest man lives in the same five-bedroom, gray stucco house he bought in 1958 for $31,500.

That’s right. Legendary investor Buffett, 78, still calls his humble digs in Omaha, Neb.’s Happy Hollow suburb home, despite a $37 billion fortune. That famous folksiness is, of course, in keeping with his investment philosophy. “If you don’t feel comfortable owning something for 10 years,” he once told a reporter, “then don’t own it for 10 minutes.”

Of course, few billionaires live as simply and frugally as Buffett, who also professes a love for pub fare like burgers and Cherry Coke. (Not coincidentally, Buffett is a longtime investor in the beverage giant.)

But low-key–even in these tough times–is a relative term among the super-rich. Computer mogul Michael Dell claims to live simply yet built a 33,000-square-foot manse in Austin, Texas, in 1997. Called “the castle” by locals for its high walls and tight security, the home sits on a 20-acre spread a mere stone’s throw from Dell headquarters.

It’s not so simple for other members of the billionaires club.

Mega-Mansions

Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison, a hard-core Japanophile, blew an estimated $100 million building a 23-acre, 10-building, Japanese-inspired imperial villa in Woodside, Calif.

But it doesn’t stop there. In recent years, he has spent an estimated $200 million snapping up a dozen commercial and residential properties in the ritzy beachside enclave of Malibu, Calif.

In January 2008, Russian-Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev bought the Palladio, an extravagant 17,000-square-foot manor outside London, for $65 million. (That works out to $3,823 per square foot, roughly twice the average in Greater London.) The home includes a bulletproof front door, gold-plated pool, indoor cinema and hair salon.

It’s nifty amenities like these that help drive up the costs of billionaire homes. The $124 million sticker price for steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal’s 12-bedroom spread in London’s posh Kensington neighborhood includes Turkish baths and garage space for 20 cars. (No circling the block for an empty spot on Sunday nights!)

Visitors to Bill Gates’ 66,000-square-foot compound in Medina, Wash., have the option of climbing 84 stairs to get to the ground floor–or riding the elevator. In addition to tennis courts and bowling alleys, Renco Group’s Ira Rennert’s 29-bedroom behemoth in the Hamptons on New York’s Long Island, reportedly worth $170 million, boasts its own power plant.

Of course, a handful of billionaires both live and work on their estates. Star Wars director George Lucas presides over Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, Calif. Skywalker Sound, a popular post-production outfit, is based on the 5,156-acre spread, which boasts its own fire brigade and draws the regular gaggle of tourists. (The ranch is not open to the public.)

Star sightings are the norm. In 2000, Tom Hanks taped sound effects for Cast Away there; last year Sean Penn paid a visit to tweak Into the Wild. Lucas lives in the estate’s main house, where he displays Hollywood memorabilia like Charlie Chaplin’s cane, a prop whip used by Rudolph Valentino and, of course, Indiana Jones‘ Holy Grail.

Across the country, Donald Trump occupies the penthouse triplex of his Manhattan-based Trump Tower. The $50 million apartment, a monument to marble and gold, underwent recent renovations following the 2006 birth of Trump’s fifth child, this one by his third wife, Melania. Little Barron secured an entire floor for himself, with décor inspired by–who else?–Louis XIV. The Donald need only hop on the elevator to get to his offices, housed in the same skyscraper, making his perhaps the shortest commute of any billionaire.

And in this economy, when there’s little time to waste on the way to the office, every minute counts.

In Pictures: Homes of the Billionaires

It’s no surprise that the world’s billionaires live in bigger spreads than the rest of us. But those deep pockets also buy the kind of eye-popping extras that stretch the imagination. It takes a nine-digit fortune to buy a home outfitted with a gold-plated pool, Turkish baths and a 2,500-square-foot gym. You’ll find these and other amenities in our annual tour of the homes of the billionaires.

© Berkshire Hathaway

1. Warren Buffett

Omaha, Neb.
Net Worth: $37 billion
Rank: 2

The world’s second-richest man still resides in the 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom gray stucco home he bought in 1958 for $31,500. The 77-year-old keeps fit on his very own handball court. In 2007 an intruder armed with a fake gun tried to break into the modest, ungated property, but was thwarted by security.

© Graham Barclay/Celebrityhomephoto.com

2. Lakshmi Mittal

London, England
Net Worth: $19.3 billion
Rank: 8

In 2004, Mittal paid $128 million for this 12-bedroom townhouse in the luxe Kensington neighborhood called Billionaires’ Row. Mittal’s mansion, tucked between Kensington Palace and the Sultan of Brunei’s spread, has an indoor pool, Turkish baths and garage space for20 cars. The super-home is embellished with marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal.

© Woodside Historic Committee

3. Steve Jobs

Woodside, Calif.
Net Worth: $3.4 billion
Rank: 178

In 2007 preservationists in Woodside, Calif., successfully quashed the tech superstar’s plans to demolish the Jackling House, his 30-room historic, though dilapidated Spanish Colonial revival-style home set on six acres. Jobs had hoped to raze the 17,000-square-foot mansion and build smaller, newer digs. No matter. Word is he and his family haven’t lived in the house for years.

© CelebrityHomePhotos.com

4. George Lucas

Marin County, Calif.
Net Worth: $3 billion
Rank: 205

The acclaimed Star Wars filmmaker lives and works on his famed Skywalker Ranch. The 5,156-acre spread, which boasts its own fire brigade, houses Skywalker Sound, Lucas’ post-production company (Cast Away, Million Dollar Baby), as well as five acres of olive trees a herd of longhorn cattle and even bee colonies. Lucas displays his Hollywood memorabilia–the Holy Grail from the Indiana Jones series, Charlie Chaplin’s cane–inside the 50,000-square-foot main house.

© Mike Carrillo/Celebrityhomephotos.com

5. Oprah Winfrey

Montecito, Calif.
Net Worth: $2.7 billion
Rank: 234

The self-made media mogul paid $50 million in 2001 for the 23,000-square-foot Georgian-style home she calls the “Promised Land.” In 2007 the spread was appraised at just under $85 million. For such a public persona, Winfrey ferociously guards the privacy of her home, situated on 43 acres. At a Barack Obama fund raiser last year, guests were strictly prohibited from entering the house, and cameras were forbidden.

Quite often when you read newspapers, listen to radio and watch television in the West you learn how poor Africans are and how corrupt African leaders are. But you will never watch, read or hear anything in these media outlets about the role being played by Western banking institutions; property development and estate companies; the big corporations; and the western political and business elite in promoting corruption in Africa. When it comes to Africa and the developing world the Western media pretend to be doing a good job only when there is an embarrassing story or a scandal that undermines their credibility as the watchdog of the state.

It is not uncommon to see poverty stricken Africans in poor living conditions being shown in documentaries, movies, and television screens in the West but the same documentaries and movies are always silent on the role play by the institutions in the West. Bribery as we all know involves a giver and a taker but it is always the taker who is reported in media. In many instances as we shall soon see bribes are offered in order to secure contracts, secure official favour or to induce officials in order to influence the out come of a government decision. In other instances people become corrupt because of the existence of favouring conditions as can be seen in most western countries with their banking secrecy laws.

The media in the west tend to ignore the role of western institutions for many reasons. One main reason why they would like to show the poverty level in Africa but refuse to show the role played by the western banking, property, multinational corporations is the fear of loosing revenue through adverts. Many of the media outlets survive through advertisements from the property, banking and multinational corporations so while would they want to incur their wrath? Another reason is that the editors, programme directors and the other bigshots in the media are themselves shareholders of these banks and property companies so why would they want to jeopardise the source of their own wealth? The enthusiasm with which CNN, BBC, ABC, CBS, ITN, SKYNEWS and other television producers portray Africa as poor and least developed; the same cannot be said about the way they report on the role played by the Western banking and other institutions. They fail to tell the world that the looted funds that make Africans poor are indeed sitting in Europe, America, Australia, New Zealand and the offshore Islands controlled by the West. They fail to tell the world that Africa would be a different place if all the stolen monies are returned, but would they ever raise a voice in support of such a laudable idea? Why would the media change the way they report when for centuries they have been the source of all the misinformation and misrepresentation of anything unwestern?

Corruption is rife in Africa because there are banking institutions in Europe especially Switzerland, France, Jersey Island, Britain, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Austria, US and many others who accept money from African leaders without questioning the source of the money. According to the UN around $148 billion are stolen from the continent by the political leaders, the business elite and civil servants every year with collusion and connivance of banking industries in Europe and North America.

Even though it is a common knowledge western banks are acting as safe havens for looted funds from Africa, very little attention is received from the western media to expose them. The media tend to focus their energies on the corrupt leaders with little or no mention at all as to where the monies they have stolen are being kept. There has not been any concrete effort to expose the banks that collude and connive with these corrupt leaders who are impoverishing the people. No effort has been made by the political elite in Europe and America to force the banks to return these stolen monies to the poorest of the poor because they are often the shareholders and beneficiaries of profits made by these banks. They talk about corruption because it is embarrassing to them but they have no agenda to fight it as that would mean no fat dividends for them and no cheap credits for their citizens.

Even the Pope knows that the monies stolen are in Europe and America as is seen below. Within five years of his reign (1993-98) Sani Abacha of Nigeria according to official figures was able to stash four billion dollars and between 12 and 16 billion dollars in unofficial terms. After his death in 1998, investigators in Nigeria, Europe and America stumbled on over 130 bank accounts in abroad where some of the money stolen was kept.

The banks that received Abacha’s stolen funds are: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, ANZ, London Branch; Bank Len, Zurich; Bankers Trust Company, London; Bankers Trust Company, Frankfurt; Bankers Trust Company, New York; Banque Barring Brothers, Geneva; Bank in Liechtenstein A. G. Vaduz; Barclays Bank, New York; Barclays Bank, London; Banque Edouard Constant, General; Banque Nationale De Paris, Geneva; Banque Nationale De Paris, London; Banque Nationale De Paris, Basle; Citibank N. A. London; Citibank N. A. New York; Citibank N. A. Luxembourg; Citibank Zurich; Credit Lyonnais , New York; Credit Suisse , New York; Credit Suisse, General; Credit Suisse, Zurich; Deutche Morgan Grenfell, Jersey; FIBI Bank (Schweiz) A. G. Zurich; First Bank of Boston , London; Goldman Sachs and Company, Zurich; Gothard Bank, Geneva; LGT Liechtenstein Bank, Vaduz; Liechtenstein Landesbank, Vaduz; M. M. Warburg and Company, Luxembourg; M. M. Warburg and Company,Zurich; M. M. Warburg and Company, Hamburg; Merrill Lynch Bank, New York; Merrill Lynch Bank, Geneva; Midland Bank, London; National Westminister Bank, London; Paribus, London; Paribus, Geneva; Royal Bank of Scotland , Leeds; Standard Bank London Limited, London; UBS AG, Zurich; UBS AG, Geneva; Union Bancaire Privee, Geneva; Union Bancaire Privee, London; London Branch; Verwaltungs Und Private Bank A. G., Vaduz; and ANZ, New York; ANZ, Frankfurt. Source: Tell Magazine, October 7, 2002.

On February 2009, a French court had Omar Bongo’s 9 bank accounts containing several millions of Euros frozen. In confirming the court’s decision lawyer Jean-Philippe Le Bail said, “This concerns Crédit Lyonnais, in which the president of Gabon has two current accounts, two savings accounts and a share account, and BNP, in which he has two checking accounts, a savings account and a share account”.

These are the banks whose shady dealings with the political and business elite in Africa continue to impoverish African countries but which for profits sake the media refuse to tell the world about. The banks know these corrupt leaders have stolen the money yet they pretend not to know until there is a scandal before they begin to act as if they are responsible institutions. Most of the above named banks have also been implicated for receiving billions of dollars of looted funds from the lates Mobutu of Zaire; Lansana Conte of Guinea; Eyadema of Togo; and a number of dictators and tyrants such as Omar Bongo of Gabon; Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea; Dos Santos of Angola; Denis Sassou- Nguesso of Congo; Paul Biya of Cameroon; Arap Moi of Kenya; Jerry Rawlings of Ghana; Ibrahim Babadjinda of Nigeria and a number of sitting and ex-presidents in Africa yet western media are silent about where the funds are being kept.

According to a 110 page report prepared by international risk consultancy firm Kroll, Arap Moi and his family have banked £1 billion in 28 countries including Britain but the media in the west will not expose the banks involved.

Apart from the banking sector, the property sector in Europe, America and Australia have also colluded and connived with the political and business elite in Africa to impoverish the people. It has been revealed that several African leaders have bought properties in Europe and America using the monies stolen from their poor countries. It is on record that Mobutu of DRC (Zaire)bought several villas in France, Switzerland, Belgium and many European Countries. Yet again the companies selling the villas have been kept secrete. They will not be exposed by the media. Why would they? According to AFP a French police investigation has established that Bongo and his family own at least 33 luxury properties in France, including a villa located at Rue de la Baume, near the Elysée Palace, in Paris bought in 2007 for 18.8 million Euros. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been spotted greeting Bongo in this villa bought with funds looted from Gabon. However, other investigations have uncovered that he and his family have at least 59 properties, several bonds and stocks in France alone. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was embarrassed when it was revealed that Bongo’s government paid his consultancy firm a staggering 2.64 million Euros for advice on health policy drawn up by Kouchner before he took office. It has recently come to light that Arap Moi of Kenya and his family bought several multimillion pound properties in London, New York, South Africa including 10,000-hectare ranch in Australia and bank accounts containing hundreds of millions of pounds. While majority of Kenyans live in slums and in rural areas, with little roofing on their heads and lacking water and other basic necessities of life, Moi’s family live in a £4m home in Surrey and £2m flat in Knightsbridge yet the media will not expose the estate companies involved.

Another area often ignored by the western media is the role play by western companies and corporations in encouraging corruption, bribery and thievery in Africa. It is very common for western companies looking for lucrative contracts to pay bribes and kickbacks to induce officials into awarding them contracts. For example on 17th September 2002, a Canadian firm called Acres International was convicted by a High Court in Lesotho for paying $260,000 bribe to secure an $8 billion dam contract. In 2002 Halliburton a company once controlled by Dick Cheney former US Vice President, Harliburton, was accused of establishing $180m flush fund with the intent of using it to bribe Nigeria officials in order to secure a $10 billion Liquefied Gas Plant contract in Nigeria. Achair Partners a Swiss company and Progresso an Italian company have been accused of bribing Somalia Transition Government officials in order to secure contracts to deposit highly toxic industrial waste in the waters of Somalia. Such corrupt practices by western companies seeking contracts in Africa are one of the reasons why poverty and diseases are rife in the continent.

The catastrophic environmental damage being caused by Oil, mining and timber companies such as Shell, BP, Total, Elf, Texaco, Mittal, Anglo-America Corporation in Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Congo, DR. Congo, South Africa, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal do not make the news in the West. How often do we hear about the huge environmental price Africans are paying to satisfy the west insatiable appetite for energy and technology? Apart from the huge profits being made by these conglomerates which we often hear in the news, do we hear also their complete disregard for environmental rules; the pollution of rivers, lakes, streams, wells, and the environment?

In October 2002, after a three year investigation a UN Panel of Experts implicated Cabot Corporation (Boston), Eagle Wings Resources International, and George Forrest’s OM Group (Ohio) for arming rebel groups and collaborating with them to traffic from DR. Congo gold, diamond, timber and most importantly coltan (columbo-tantalite)-a precious ore essential to Sony playstations, laptop computers, and cell phones. Coltan is often spirited out of DRC to U.S., Swiss, Belgian, and German clients by Uganda and Rwanda army officers, rebel groups and through a network of criminal syndicates. In all 85 companies were implicated by the report. Except the wars and the stranded faces of hungry refugees, do these illegal activities by the corporations make the news in the Western media? Definitely not. Even when local journalists and writers document these for broadcast in the western media they refuse because it does not serve their interest in the wider scheme of things. These are the hypocrisy and the double standard of the western media. They want the world to know how poor Africans are but fail to tell the world that Africans are poor because Western banking institutions, property development companies, defence companies and defence contractors, oil, mining and technology corporations are major stakeholders in promoting Africa’s poverty and underdevelopment.

Corruption and bribery in Africa and indeed the developing world could be reduce tremendously if the media for once put aside the pick and choose journalism and attach the same importance to show the degree of involvement by western capitalist institutions in Europe, America and Japan and their role in keeping Africans poor.

June 17, 2009

By Lord Aikins Adusei (Modern Ghana)

Friends,

Nifty would go free float from today as was announced previously by NSE.

US markets have gained by about 2pc yesterday and Asia is positive today. It may therefore be assumed that in India the opening will at least be at healthy level, also, the results from ‘tatasteel’ and ‘unitech’ which were announced yesterday, have been OK and put behind the nagative expectations about future. Both have negotiated out of woods by raising fresh money and have met most of the liability of repayments that fell due.

There is one thing remarkable about India’s large cap companies and it is that the commodity companies will be maintaining profit due to fresh capacities coming into production and most of the rest have very little debt on books and ever growing demand/orderbook. A few in any kind of disadvantage, have very little market caps. So, in my openion the down side gets limited and upside without limit. The long term averages are also showing the same thing as any chartist would tell you.

The inflation for the w.e. 13 June 09 has been (-)1.14pc. This is largely due to fall in petro goods prices, for the rest of the items its not negative. In this light as soon as the petro goods prices are opened or revised upwards, the inflation will again be, should I say, at healthy 4-5pc.

Indian car market is showing signs of a fully grown car market. The rush for buying of high hatchback cars like Honda Jazz (Rs 7 lacs) Fiat Grade Punto and more.

Tatasteels consolidated results were announced. Tatas have been able to remain in green by resorting to cost cutting and they would be slashing more of Corus jobs (roughly 2045). The demand for different products of Corus is at different level and the cut in production on overall basis has been about 59pc. I hope that a leaner and more profitable Corus will emerge out of this crisis. The crisis is for every player and some would withstand like Corus because it has might of Tatas behind it who have not been facing the kind of problem the world steel industry is facing. Mittal of Arcelor-Mittal says that his expectation is that demand for steel would revive shortly in global arena.

The investors are advised to not stick with their sugar scrips and to off load. The centre has raised sugarcane SMP to Rs 107.76 from Rs 81.18 per qtl. This will make ‘mayawatis’ go overboard and damage the cause of sugar industry because this kind of raises in sugarcane prices will convert more acreages to sugarcane and excess supply may again push sugar price down and raise costs. The good fortune of industry which had just come about will again be a thing of past. World sugar supple may improve too because Brazil is already finding biofuel option for sugarcane as non-remunerative. Also that some of the sugar scrips have had more than the fair share of appreciation leaving little or no room for further improvement, they have also ensured to inflate the paid up capital without company getting the equivalent of market cap increase in its hands ( like ‘bajajhind’ where promoter got for themselves big chunk at almost one fourth of ruling price by way of preferenctial allotment, the notional loss to rest of the shareholders is over Rs 200 crs which amount can only be generated by company over many years, so, the fruits of many years have been lost to sleeping partners.You should, who can, bring this and such matters to SEBI’s knowledge).

India will be flooded with capital, Japan has dediced to back bonds issue by India (of upto 250 billion Yen) with soverign guaratee. The two oceans of lowest and highest rates of interest are ready to flow over to each other under huge pressure of differential. If only the govt can assure the investors abroad that scams like ’satyam’ will be prevented at any cost, there would be no derth of money here. There should be insurance protection available to investors agaist suffering from loss of such happenings.
There is now the need for preparing the Indian population to behave in a way that is required of a society going on faster growth trajectory.

HariOm,
krsnaKhandelwal

Le Journal des Finances – Sociétés : ArcelorMittal sollicitede nouveau le marché.

ArcelorMittal veut lever 2,5 milliards d’euros à 4 et 7 ans.

By Amy May Shead, Nathan Rowden, Stefanie Linhardt

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is believed to be on the verge of securing a new sponsorship deal according to a QPR-Spokesman.

The new deal is likely to go through within the next two days, which could secure some much needed finance for the West London Club with the uncertainty over Flavio Briatore’s future as major stakeholder.

Although the spokesman could not officially comment on the Briatore case, of which a verdict will be announced on Thursday, he did hint that if Briatore was to exit, then the other sponsorship deals could possibly be in jeopardy.

Sponsors including Lotto, Santander, Gulf Air and ChronoTech Watches could possibly withdraw funds.

New sponsor ‘TOYO’

Our informant would not name the new sponsor, however a new company boarding is already present in Loftus Road Stadium and has been for the last two matches – remarkably unnoticed.

After a brief tour of the stadium and eliminating the established sponsors, a Japanese based pharmaceutical company called TOYO appears to be the only obvious candidate indicated.

The spokesman claimed that any result of the Briatore case would not affect the potential sponsorship from the new sponsor and therefore the investment could prove vital to the continuance of QPR in the immediate and foreseeable future.

It has also been rumoured that current shareholder, and UK’s richest man, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal might purchase the remainder of Briatore’s shares.  When asked of this, the spokesman answered “Yes, that is one of the rumours”.

Even with the potential Mittal-buyout the new sponsorship will secure some extra-income and put the fans minds at rest.