Will mumbai bounce back this time?

The Indian stock market reopened for trading today, after having closed on Thursday following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital. After an initial fall, the markets were behaving normally once trading started, said a strategist working for a research firm. However concerns do exist that the attacks may have a longer-term economic impact.

This is not the first time that Mumbai has faced terror attacks. Each time the city has been attacked that city has only bounced back, that is the spirit of the people of Mumbai. The people of the city as well as the businesses in the city and the foreign investors rest assured that the city will not let them down. A standard Chartered Bank employee is quoted as saying “this time will be no exception.”

In my opinion it is clear that the attacks were just to destabilize the country as the attackers seem to have no other motive in particular other than just making their presence felt. Being from the city however, I feel like this time it is different. Mumbai is known to bounce back each time but this time the city seems shattered. It is or rather was the safest city in the country and now news clips show not a soul on the streets once its dark. I mean the city will definitely bounce back but I don’t think it will be like all other time when come Monday and people just carry on with their life and pretend nothing ever happened. This time I feel the impact is deeper hence I am not surprised when they say that the concern of a long-term economic impact exist.

Power back in the Game!!!

I didn't want to post much politics especially since the election is over, and really this is more about governance, but I have to post this. One of our times greatest thinkers, the author of two amazing books one of which brought her the Pulitzer Prize, Samantha Power is back with president-elect Barack Obama. She served as a senior foriegn policy advisor during his campaign until she called democraitc nominee Sen Hillary Clinton a "monster" for her campaigning behavior in Ohio. This time she will serve on his transition team to prep the incoming secretary of state (all fingers and toes pointing to Sen. Hillary Clinton). I am extremely happy about this as Professor Power is one of my heroes and I would go to Harvard just to take a class with her.

Have Bailouts Worked in the Past?

More and more as the months go on, numerous countries and economic zones are all coming out with their own version of a bailout package. Though this idea of government bailout might seem to be something specific to the past twenty or so years, this article shows both the United States and the United Kingdom and the different bailout packages each country has seen, dating back to the first US bank bailout in 1792.

Japanese Production Falls Sharply

Japan’s industrial output has fallen sharply as fears of recession grow. Both consumer spending and industrial production have fallen more than 3%. Companies are having to adjust their outputs to compensate for the decline in consumption, and just like the United States, the auto industry is hit the hardest. Analysts predict that production will decrease by 8% in the next quarter. The reason for such sharp declines is because Japan relies heavily on exporting goods to foreign markets, which have also been hit by the global recession.

China Fears Unrest Amid Slowdown

The increase in economic slowdowns in China will lead to considerable unemployment, which could stimulate social unrest. The unemployment can be attributed to bankruptcies and production cuts. The forecast of growth for the fourth quarter is expected to be 8%, down from 9% the quarter before. Even with that, China is still growing faster than any other leading economy. To help fix these economic problems, the Chinese central bank cut interest rates fairly aggressively.