“Andy Murray’s victory in the Wimbledon final last Sunday reminded me a lot of the Indian victory in the Mumbai World Cup final.” Jigneshbhai said when we had our coffee last week. Swami agreed. “Both Andy and the Indian team carried the heavy burden of expectations on their shoulders, albeit Andy had it more in … Read more
Dynastic rule is not new in India. In almost every field of life, it is the default way of functioning. To follow in your father’s footsteps is seen as a matter of pride and families in India boast about it. In politics, it is not just the default, but even if it does not happen … Read more
“It is pathetic – this spot fixing. They get so much money, and still fix”, cried my friend Swami, as we were having our weekend coffee. My broker friend Jigneshbhai was, as always, watching Swami and listening. After a while, Jigneshbhai asked nonchalantly, “Who are you talking about?” As always, this irked Swami even more. … Read more
Over the past 6, 12 or perhaps 18 months, the Indian capital market performance has had a polarized structure. It is broadly divided into, on the one hand, a small set of wonderful companies that are grossly overvalued, whichever way you look at it, and which keep getting expensive; and on the other hand, a … Read more
And for a Saturday, a few stray thoughts and a few general observations and a few points of view (all my own work): Like the Congress seems to be happy about winning the Karnataka elections, but I am unable to decide whether they won, or the opposition lost. Like removing two more or less politically … Read more
“Where is Cyprus?” asked my friend Swami as we were having our weekend coffee meeting. We had met after a long time, as my broker friend Jigneshbhai had been out of town. Jigneshbhai knew what was coming next from the ever-questioning Swami, but like all his terse, double-edged, and somewhat unclear answers, he said “Somewhere … Read more
I have compiled some of my writings over the past couple of years into a book titled ‘Common and Not So Common Sense: Practical Lessons for the Individual Investor’. The book is now available for purchase at the publisher’s site. It is available in both print and e-book (pdf) formats. You may order a copy … Read more
Most personal finance books are boring. Most of them have nothing new as such. Of course, there are the legendary books on investing that make great reading. They are generally written by gurus who have a past investing record, or by academics or a combination. Or they are written by journalists or writers following the lives of these ‘gurus’ … Read more
Peter Drucker, the management guru, said, “This is by far the best book on investment policy and management.” The more I read books on investing, the more I get convinced that investing is much simpler than most people think or are told. Simple, but not easy as Buffett had once said. Most of what one … Read more