1500000 and Going

 That's the number of views of this blog, from the start till now. Worth celebrating the milestone with my first-ever post. It was about the stock market, written in 2008. 

Stock markets give us an illusion of wealth. The world (at least most of it) is composed of stock markets. And therefore, the world is an illusion. What does the paper money really represent? Why don't all investors cash out while the going is good? And settle down in the Bahamas? Don't know if there is a stock market there. A wise friend of mine who is into real estate broking once told me- the only guys who consistently make money (win-win, if you please) are the agents/brokers/traders etc. in any trading activity. The ongoing hulchul reminds me of that wise guy.

Marketing During the Pandemic

 A few marketers had it easy during the pandemic. Essentials, like groceries, particularly sold through small shops in the neighbourhood, Or online. Both these channels remained open, while larger stores were allowed limited leeway during lockdowns.

Clothes marketers who were already online, may have survived. But consumption reduced due to going out (both work and leisure) being cut down. Consumer durables that were small in size, like mobile phones, and laptops too, maybe. Not so much the large ones like cars, and brown/white goods, maybe. Many of them need a look-see or a test drive, and people also would have put off buying.

Services suffered the most, particularly mobility related- travel, hospitality, cabs, restaurants were shut for long periods, or had only limited sales through take-home and delivery in case of restaurants. Real estate sales and rentals also suffered due to Work From Home and people migrating to their home towns to save on rentals.

The stock market though, did very well. A paradox, maybe, but future prospects is what most investors bet on, so could be justified if the economy recovers well.

My first Blog Post from Jan 2008

This was titled 'Paper Tigers'.

Stock markets give us an illusion of wealth. The world (at least most of it) is composed of stock markets. And therefore, the world is an illusion. What does the paper money really represent? Why don't all investors cash out while the going is good? And settle down in the Bahamas? Don't know if there is a stock market there. A wise friend of mine who is into real estate broking once told me- the only guys who consistently make money (win-win, if you please) are the agents/brokers/traders etc. in any trading activity. The ongoing hulchul reminds me of that wise guy.

It's been a long run.

Metamorphosing Professions

A tailor had lots of work in the good old days. He was much in demand, because machines had not 'learnt' how to make clothes by themselves. So he used to make you wait, first for measurement-taking, and then for fitting, and then for delivery of the promised liverie (if that's the right word).

The ironing and buttoning of clothes would invariably be in progress on the promised day, and you would have to cool your heels waiting for the stuff to make an appearance.

I am not sure what these guys are doing nowadays. Probably working like machines in one of those factories which mass-produce the stuff. Only emperors must be able to afford them to get their 'new clothes' stitched, I suppose.

Similar is the story of other professions. The only guys who have prospered are the guys who deal with the yellow metal, I presume. With skyrocketing demand (at least in India), their stock must be rising (pun was unintended).

Stock analysts, on the other hand, despite attempts to wreck the world economy fairly successfully, are in constant demand and expound on the virtues of this stock or that based on 'expert analysis'- taking us towards the next (inevitable) crash. Because what's made of paper, can have only so much value for so long. The mighty Pounds, Dollars and Yens will one day find themselves in the dumps. Like their older counterparts.

Media Scams

In the good old days, there were some scoops- Dharam-Hema, Amitabh-Rekha, and other varieties, splashed across Stardust. Now there are scams- Harshad Mehta (stock-market scam), Lalit Modi-Shashi Tharoor-investors, blah, blah blah (IPL scam), Nirav Modi scam, Fodder scam, Abdul Karim Telgi (stamp paper scam),  Nityananda (the holy smoke scam), Ram-Rahim, Asaram, and a few other Babas in a jam...

What our scam-thirsty public can endure, or even cherish, we don't yet know. The boundaries of common decency and privacy have already been breached, and the paparazzi rule our lives- sometimes, a la episode Diana, causing deaths too.

Scams can get boring too, but then you have the IPL (not the scam, the game), FIFA (not being anywhere on the world map doesn't stop us from watching those who are), the child bride shows, the dance beta dance (or some similar titled one). The nice comedy serials are somehow missing after Kapil went into a depression, and any serials with an intelligent story are even more missing. The GOT is the only GoTo serial, it seems..