A free press is not necessarily an unbiased press. The media curates what it presents to the public, and that curation is driven by multiple considerations, argues Devangshu Datta.
The government will have to get projects moving.
The potted history of the browser wars indicates how much the online space has altered in the last 25 years. Chrome's dominance, says Devangshu Datta, is unlikely to last forever.
Investors must be prepared to believe that things will get better eventually, no matter how bad the current situation may look. If you don't possess this optimism, you will not possess the courage to invest and if you don't invest, you don't give yourself any chance to get wealthy, says Devangshu Datta.
History of electronics indicates that no company, nor any nation for that matter, has been able to cement pole position and maintain it through several cycles. he death of its iconic promoter, Lee Kun-hee, raises questions over how long the chaebol can maintain its gigantic footprint in the global electronics industry, says Devangshu Datta.
'Legalised election betting would drive black money and satta operators out of business while creating a more level and transparent playing field for politics,' argues Devangshu Datta.
Trading such scenarios takes discipline.
The Nifty is up 6.5% in the last 12 months. The NSE IT Index is down 10% in the same period. But will the sentiment improve going ahead?
There is little sense in trying to find stocks that will not be vulnerable in a situation where 87% of the market is trending down and India is getting set for a crucial election, says Devangshu Datta.
India's economy could also suffer some ill-effects without necessarily triggering retaliation via higher tariff barriers against Indian goods, says Devangshu Datta.
Cement shares have been outperformers on the stock market
It is only 'zero-cost' money from FPIs that is keeping the market afloat
'Historically, the lead-up to a general election tends to be excessively volatile and big losses are perfectly possible.'
'Apparently the entire biometric database's demographic data is available, which means that every Aadhaar signup is wide open to identity theft.' 'The commoditisation of the method -- selling the log-in for Rs 500 -- indicates that scammers have already harvested whatever they wanted,' points out Devangshu Datta.
The Act envisages that the states and Centre will formulate specific rules for real estate regulation.
The most consistent wealth creators since 2008 are all consumer-facing companies, says Devangshu Datta.
'It's looking odds-on there won't be a data protection law before this edition of the Lok Sabha is dissolved.' 'This limbo has enabled all sorts of businesses that would be illegal in countries that do have data protection laws,' notes Devangshu Datta.
These three industries might offer a roller-coaster ride and stocks would have to be held for a significant time.
'Tens of millions will be working from home for months at a time, which means the smartest brains in business will be focussed on creating more efficient WFH processes,' predicts Devangshu Datta.
Sticking to smaller and mid-cap companies can be more fruitful, suggests Devangshu Datta.
'A 2018 murder may lead to shifts in the geopolitical order and impact at least one monarchy,' says Devangshu Datta.
CRAs are getting more business than they were getting a year ago. This could indicate expectations that investment demand will rise in the mid-term, says Devangshu Datta.
Stocks below a certain size in terms of market capitalisation don't attract much institutional interest
What if the digital records of a food delivery service are leaked? What if a tech-savvy gaurakshak scans those records and discovers who the beef-eaters are? What happens next? Devangshu Datta highlights the risks posed by leaks of digital databases.
'Over 200 million Indians use WhatsApp, including many who use no other form of social media.' 'WhatsApp has been used to propagate all sorts of fake news and misinformation.' 'In the past six months or so, WhatsApp has been the core enabler of many instances of lynching,' points out Devangshu Datta.
'The arrests of Sanatan Sanstha members for committing murder and stockpiling explosives with the alleged intent of committing mass murder must be embarrassing to a majoritarian government,' notes Devangshu Datta.
'This World Cup is likely to be much more a clash of plans than of talent,' says Devangshu Datta.
'In practice, GST will increase the pain of compliance, if not the cost, a lot.' 'It also has clauses that offer scope to create a single market for corruption,' warns Devangshu Datta.
'There are sound commercial reasons to hope for the development of 'anti-fake news networks',' says Devangshu Datta.
Some genius assumed that a 2,000 note could seamlessly replace 500s and 1000s in ordinary transactions. If that genius had consulted an actual chai-wallah, he might have thought twice, argues Devangshu Datta.
'It's amazing that a country that claims to be the world's largest democracy is getting into the business of micro-regulating personal and professional lives in this fashion,' says Devangshu Datta.
Not only is gold a hedge against currency depreciation, rising crude prices and uncertainty, it is up 7 per cent (in dollar terms) in the past 12 months, says Devangshu Datta.
Liquor sales will obviously be hit. So, will real estate prices at what used to be prime locations, close to major thoroughfares. Food and snack sales close to highways will also, in all probability, be affected.
'Vodafone Idea has losses running over Rs 10,000 crore in the last four quarters.' 'It has long-term debt of about Rs 1.15 trillion.' 'Even post-issue, the debt service numbers won't be good,' points out Devangshu Datta.
Investors who play follow-the-leader and invest wherever the Foreign Portfolio Investors are going may face painful losses.
Despite the recovery to above $40 levels after hitting $28-29 in Jan, worries of over-supply in the face of weak demand remain.
'In 1984, George Orwell dreamt up the concept of a dictatorship that worked on surveillance.' 'The reality of 2017 goes a long way beyond everything that Orwell imagined.' says Devangshu Datta.
While the RBI can nudge things along, ultimately bank owners must recapitalise and review internal processes to ensure that a culture of irresponsible lending doesn't continue, says Devangshu Datta.
The rupee's strength has had an overall negative effect on merchandise trade
There isn't much Budget could do directly to help sectors.
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