The way most governments measure poverty by basing it on income may be a flawed perception of well-being, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen argues in his new book.
Sen, a former Trinity master, economist, philosopher and mathematician, all rolled into one, in his latest book 'The Idea of Justice' says the income approach to poverty, which considers people earning less than a certain amount annually as poor, is not an accurate measure of how well people live.
Instead the laureate gives precedence to one's capability or the capacity that people have of choosing and leading their lives.
Based on the capability approach, he says, "Poverty will be much more intense than what can be deduced from the income date" due to variations in the distribution of wealth within the family.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
US Debt clock
Hi,
Here's a link which shows the every ticking Debt clock of USA.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Let see how far can this debts go.
Cheerz!!
Pankaj
Here's a link which shows the every ticking Debt clock of USA.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Let see how far can this debts go.
Cheerz!!
Pankaj
Corporate Social Responsibilty
Hi All,
Nearly all leading corporates in India are involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in areas like education, health, livelihood creation, skill development, and empowerment of the weaker sections of the society.
But how many companies have gone ahead and adopted CSR initiative by banning its very own product from being used by defaulters. Here's a an example faced by a defaulter i.e. Me
This morning when I used a software called "Word Web" a questionnaire popped up before I could use it.
It stated the below:
You have been using this Free Version of WordWeb since a year now, kindly answer the below question.
How many flights did you take in last 1 year (including return flights):
a) Never
b) Once
c) Twice
d) More than twice
I went ahead and choose option "d".
Below is what popped out after I pressed OK:
"WordWeb free version may be used indefinitely only by people who take at most two commercial flights (not more than one return flight) in any 12 month period. People who fly more than this need to purchase the Pro version if they wish to continue to use it after a 30-day trial period.
Global greenhouse gas emissions are currently around 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person per year, and probably need to be reduced by at least 80% have a good chance of avoiding dangerous warming. Most computer users are responsible for far more emissions than is sustainable. For example two short-medium distance return flights can be equivalent to over 1 tonne of emissions1: more than an average person can safely emit over an entire year.
If you do not qualify you must uninstall the program after the 30-day trial period or purchase WordWeb Pro. The licensing model is designed to allow relatively non-wealthy people to use the program free of charge, and to provide a small incentive for other people who fly a lot to cut down.
Whenever a user no longer meets the above requirements, and they have installed the product for more than 30 days, they must uninstall the product or purchase WordWeb Pro."
Cheers!!!!
Pankaj
Nearly all leading corporates in India are involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in areas like education, health, livelihood creation, skill development, and empowerment of the weaker sections of the society.
But how many companies have gone ahead and adopted CSR initiative by banning its very own product from being used by defaulters. Here's a an example faced by a defaulter i.e. Me
This morning when I used a software called "Word Web" a questionnaire popped up before I could use it.
It stated the below:
You have been using this Free Version of WordWeb since a year now, kindly answer the below question.
How many flights did you take in last 1 year (including return flights):
a) Never
b) Once
c) Twice
d) More than twice
I went ahead and choose option "d".
Below is what popped out after I pressed OK:
"WordWeb free version may be used indefinitely only by people who take at most two commercial flights (not more than one return flight) in any 12 month period. People who fly more than this need to purchase the Pro version if they wish to continue to use it after a 30-day trial period.
Global greenhouse gas emissions are currently around 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person per year, and probably need to be reduced by at least 80% have a good chance of avoiding dangerous warming. Most computer users are responsible for far more emissions than is sustainable. For example two short-medium distance return flights can be equivalent to over 1 tonne of emissions1: more than an average person can safely emit over an entire year.
If you do not qualify you must uninstall the program after the 30-day trial period or purchase WordWeb Pro. The licensing model is designed to allow relatively non-wealthy people to use the program free of charge, and to provide a small incentive for other people who fly a lot to cut down.
Whenever a user no longer meets the above requirements, and they have installed the product for more than 30 days, they must uninstall the product or purchase WordWeb Pro."
Cheers!!!!
Pankaj
Total cost of world financial crisis at $11.9 tn: IMF
The world has spent a staggering 11.9 trillion dollars to wriggle out of the financial crisis, the sum which is enough to finance a 1,779 pound handout for every person living on the planet, a newspaper said quoting the International Monetary Fund.
"The cost of mopping up after the world financial crisis has come to USD 11.9 trillion (7.12 trillion pound) -- enough to finance a 1,779 pound handout for every man, woman and child on the planet," the newspaper said in a report.
Citing IMF calculations, the news report said, "Most of the cash has been handed over by developed countries, for whom the bill has been USD 10.2 trillion, while developing countries have spent only USD 1.7 trillion -- the majority of which is in central bank liquidity support for their stuttering financial sectors.
The whopping total cost of crisis is equivalent to around a fifth of the entire globe's annual economic output and includes capital injections pumped into banks in order to prevent them from collapse, the cost of soaking up so-called toxic assets, guarantees over debt and liquidity support from central banks.
"Although much of the total may never be called on, the potential outlay still dwarfs any previous repair bill for the global economy," The Telegraph said.
"The cost of mopping up after the world financial crisis has come to USD 11.9 trillion (7.12 trillion pound) -- enough to finance a 1,779 pound handout for every man, woman and child on the planet," the newspaper said in a report.
Citing IMF calculations, the news report said, "Most of the cash has been handed over by developed countries, for whom the bill has been USD 10.2 trillion, while developing countries have spent only USD 1.7 trillion -- the majority of which is in central bank liquidity support for their stuttering financial sectors.
The whopping total cost of crisis is equivalent to around a fifth of the entire globe's annual economic output and includes capital injections pumped into banks in order to prevent them from collapse, the cost of soaking up so-called toxic assets, guarantees over debt and liquidity support from central banks.
"Although much of the total may never be called on, the potential outlay still dwarfs any previous repair bill for the global economy," The Telegraph said.
Inflation Check !!!
US inflation reality check ahead?
Commodity prices are up 30% since March and crude oil prices have doubled since February, suggesting the deflation threat may have passed
US central bank officials are focusing their rhetoric on preventing a coming storm of inflation, but reports due this week could show that deflationary forces still pose a risk.
At the same time, an historic meeting of leaders from the four so-called Bric countries to discuss the global financial crisis, could stir up new jitters about the United States’ ability to fund massive budget deficits.
The longest US downturn since the Great Depression is likely to end soon, and expressing worries about inflation has become de rigueur - even while consumer prices are falling for the first time in decades.
Commodity prices are up 30% since March and crude oil prices have doubled since February, suggesting the deflation threat may have passed.
But some economists fear a deceleration of wage inflation in the United States, given forecasts for the ranks of the US unemployed to continue rising into 2010, with a potential jobless peak near 11% versus the current 9.4%.
Wage inflation is sometimes cited by the Federal Reserve as a relatively “sticky” indicator of price trends, compared with more transitory factors such as gasoline prices.
“Wage pressures are easing rapidly while firms’ pricing power remains limited,” said Anna Piretti, economist at BNP Paribas in New York. “It is still premature to put deflationary worries aside.”
Wage inflation tends to trough about 3 years after the onset of a recession, she said.
US producer prices for May, due on Tuesday, are forecast to be down by 4.4% on the year after tumbling by 3.7% in the year through April.
Then, in Wednesday’s May consumer price index report, the US Labour Department is expected to show that year-on-year prices fell 0.9% versus the 0.7% decline logged in April.
With inflation already so low, “the surge in unemployment could easily be big enough to push nominal earnings growth into negative territory,” Paul Ashworth and Paul Dales, economists at Capital Economics Ltd in London, said in a research report.
Brics flex their muscles
Before the inflation data hits, investors will focus on the first formal summit of the BRICs - Brazil, Russia, India and China - which each own vast amounts of US Treasury debt.
Leaders of the four nations meet in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on Tuesday. Talks are expected to include the consideration of a potential supranational currency to undercut the importance of the US dollar.
The countries were lumped together by Goldman Sachs in 2001, when the investment bank speculated that the nations would be wealthier than most of the current major economic powers by 2050. For now, the BRICs account for about 15% of the global economy, and China alone accounts for half of that.
“These countries have very little in common except for the fact that they believe, to seemingly varying degrees of intensity, that they deserve greater influence in the conduct of world affairs,” said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.
The grouping might be artificial, but the BRIC nations hope to flex their collective muscle on the world stage.
The BRICs tend to be on different sides of the fence on trade; Brazil and Russia typically gain from higher commodity prices, while India and China prefer lower prices.
Together, though, the bloc accounts for about one-third of the world’s currency reserves.
Many analysts think it is overly ambitious to expect them to reach a consensus, especially at their first summit, on paring their reliance on the US dollar.
Russia drove the value of the US dollar lower on 10 June by suggesting it plans to gradually cut the share of US Treasury debt in its $400 billion in reserves.
China also caused a storm in March with the suggestion that the US dollar could be replaced as the world’s major reserve currency. Chinese officials have since backed away from the concept.
So far, the much-feared reduction in demand for US government debt from China or others has not materialized.
That sentiment was reinforced by strong demand at last week’s US government debt auctions, which ranged from 3-year to 30-year on the maturity curve and totaled $65 billion.
Commodity prices are up 30% since March and crude oil prices have doubled since February, suggesting the deflation threat may have passed
US central bank officials are focusing their rhetoric on preventing a coming storm of inflation, but reports due this week could show that deflationary forces still pose a risk.
At the same time, an historic meeting of leaders from the four so-called Bric countries to discuss the global financial crisis, could stir up new jitters about the United States’ ability to fund massive budget deficits.
The longest US downturn since the Great Depression is likely to end soon, and expressing worries about inflation has become de rigueur - even while consumer prices are falling for the first time in decades.
Commodity prices are up 30% since March and crude oil prices have doubled since February, suggesting the deflation threat may have passed.
But some economists fear a deceleration of wage inflation in the United States, given forecasts for the ranks of the US unemployed to continue rising into 2010, with a potential jobless peak near 11% versus the current 9.4%.
Wage inflation is sometimes cited by the Federal Reserve as a relatively “sticky” indicator of price trends, compared with more transitory factors such as gasoline prices.
“Wage pressures are easing rapidly while firms’ pricing power remains limited,” said Anna Piretti, economist at BNP Paribas in New York. “It is still premature to put deflationary worries aside.”
Wage inflation tends to trough about 3 years after the onset of a recession, she said.
US producer prices for May, due on Tuesday, are forecast to be down by 4.4% on the year after tumbling by 3.7% in the year through April.
Then, in Wednesday’s May consumer price index report, the US Labour Department is expected to show that year-on-year prices fell 0.9% versus the 0.7% decline logged in April.
With inflation already so low, “the surge in unemployment could easily be big enough to push nominal earnings growth into negative territory,” Paul Ashworth and Paul Dales, economists at Capital Economics Ltd in London, said in a research report.
Brics flex their muscles
Before the inflation data hits, investors will focus on the first formal summit of the BRICs - Brazil, Russia, India and China - which each own vast amounts of US Treasury debt.
Leaders of the four nations meet in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on Tuesday. Talks are expected to include the consideration of a potential supranational currency to undercut the importance of the US dollar.
The countries were lumped together by Goldman Sachs in 2001, when the investment bank speculated that the nations would be wealthier than most of the current major economic powers by 2050. For now, the BRICs account for about 15% of the global economy, and China alone accounts for half of that.
“These countries have very little in common except for the fact that they believe, to seemingly varying degrees of intensity, that they deserve greater influence in the conduct of world affairs,” said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.
The grouping might be artificial, but the BRIC nations hope to flex their collective muscle on the world stage.
The BRICs tend to be on different sides of the fence on trade; Brazil and Russia typically gain from higher commodity prices, while India and China prefer lower prices.
Together, though, the bloc accounts for about one-third of the world’s currency reserves.
Many analysts think it is overly ambitious to expect them to reach a consensus, especially at their first summit, on paring their reliance on the US dollar.
Russia drove the value of the US dollar lower on 10 June by suggesting it plans to gradually cut the share of US Treasury debt in its $400 billion in reserves.
China also caused a storm in March with the suggestion that the US dollar could be replaced as the world’s major reserve currency. Chinese officials have since backed away from the concept.
So far, the much-feared reduction in demand for US government debt from China or others has not materialized.
That sentiment was reinforced by strong demand at last week’s US government debt auctions, which ranged from 3-year to 30-year on the maturity curve and totaled $65 billion.
Great Depression 2.0
Great Depression 2.0’ avoided but recovery slow: Krugman
Krugman said that in the past, swift economic recoveries saw affected countries export their way out of trouble, trading with countries with large surpluses.
The world has avoided a “Great Depression 2.0” but it will take at least two years for the global economy to make a full recovery, Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said on Monday.
Krugman said in a speech to an international business forum here that although the worst of the financial crisis was over, the world now faces a prolonged slowdown like Japan’s “lost decade” of the 1990s.
“How do we get out? I think the technical answer is -- God knows. We have a great shortage of role models,” said Krugman, a professor of economics at Princeton University in the United States.
Krugman said that in the past, swift economic recoveries saw affected countries export their way out of trouble, trading with countries with large surpluses.
“Unless we can find another planet to export to, we cannot have an export-led recovery from this global financial crisis, which means we have a serious difficulty,” he said.
Other possible solutions -- consumer spending, business investment and housing booms are all unlikely to kick-start the US or world economy this time.
“We seem to have avoided the Great Depression 2.0,” Krugman said, but added: “I do believe that full recovery is at least two years and probably more than that off.”
Krugman said that in the past, swift economic recoveries saw affected countries export their way out of trouble, trading with countries with large surpluses.
The world has avoided a “Great Depression 2.0” but it will take at least two years for the global economy to make a full recovery, Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said on Monday.
Krugman said in a speech to an international business forum here that although the worst of the financial crisis was over, the world now faces a prolonged slowdown like Japan’s “lost decade” of the 1990s.
“How do we get out? I think the technical answer is -- God knows. We have a great shortage of role models,” said Krugman, a professor of economics at Princeton University in the United States.
Krugman said that in the past, swift economic recoveries saw affected countries export their way out of trouble, trading with countries with large surpluses.
“Unless we can find another planet to export to, we cannot have an export-led recovery from this global financial crisis, which means we have a serious difficulty,” he said.
Other possible solutions -- consumer spending, business investment and housing booms are all unlikely to kick-start the US or world economy this time.
“We seem to have avoided the Great Depression 2.0,” Krugman said, but added: “I do believe that full recovery is at least two years and probably more than that off.”
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