2008 is possibly the worst year of violence in India. There have been terrorist attacks and blasts in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and now in Mumbai. The Indian government is merrily going around boasting of economic growth as ordinary citizens reel under attacks by terrorists.
So clear are the signs of a US downturn that the National Bureau of Economic Research, the most prestigious US independent economic authority, said the country has been in recession since December 2007.
The siege of Mumbai is over. Now the hand-wringing and the finger-pointing begins -- a dangerous period that needs desperately to be turned to advantage, regionally and internationally.
There are no easy answers to this crisis. But governments should consider whether they ought to become the insurer of last resort.
If India cannot industrialise, it will never be prosperous
Citigroup may sell its Australian retail broking unit as it consolidates its wealth management business in Hong Kong and Singapore to compete for customers against bigger private bank rivals. The US financial group is understood to be in talks over the possible sale of Citi Smith Barney Australia to National Australia Bank. It also plans to close its CSB branch in Taiwan and merge others in Singapore and Hong Kong with Citi Private Bank.
Manjit Rajain, Mortice's founder, will hold 75 per cent of the equity after flotation. He will use the funds raised to take the company into broader property and facilities management services across India. He said the company had looked at several stock markets, including in India and Singapore, before deciding to come to Aim because it would be cheaper, quicker and at a higher valuation.
India is keen to expand its banking system to help support its economic growth, which is the second fastest after China among Asia's large countries. Unlike China, its financial system is still small relative to the economy and its banks are dwarfed by many of their international peers, in spite of their vast potential market in India and overseas.
CapitaLand, the Singapore state-owned developer, is set to make one of the biggest bets by a foreign company on India's retail property boom, investing in 15 shopping centres worth S$2.1bn ($1.46bn) in association with two Indian construction and property groups.
The breakthrough for Scrabulous came when it appeared on the social networking site. Now it claims more than 600,000 daily users, making it one of Facebook's most popular applications.
The truth is that this is an impressive realisation of a corporate vision, a car long-promised, designed explicitly to hit a price point, and one that will meet the needs of poorer consumers. It is safer than a bicycle and cleaner than an old moped.
What is the best course of action for executives trying to allocate a smaller bonus pot? And how should they manage expectations to prevent mass defections or legal action?
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