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
ArcelorMittal is spending $5bn to double the output of its plant in Kazakhstan in a further expression of confidence by the world's biggest steelmaker in the likelihood of robust economic growth outside the main developed regions. Some $1.2bn of the investment is geared to improving health and safety at the steel plant in Temirtau and associated coal and iron ore mines.
One of the youngest - and most enigmatic - executives in any large company is Aditya Mittal, the 32-year-old chief financial officer of ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker.
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.
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?
