The liquidation of Wall Street source of power Lehman Brothers and fire sale of securities competitor Merrill Lynch are distribution shock impression through financial system; multiply danger to nation’s financial system. The logic of emergency intensify today as regulator and personal lenders struggled to a craft a free package for massive insurance firm American collection, which is to be a close to weak spot next housing-related fatalities. Every one in this comes next to backdrop of a presidential vote in which economy stand as primary matter.

The termination of two fixtures of securities world, one during liquidation and any extra through an occupation by banking giant Bank of America, and near-death of a dominant insurance compact takes agonies of nation financial firms to a latest level. That is has been a through bearing on wealth, jobs and income of Americans far detached from nation’s currency centers.

“Our capital markets, our reply have a large crash on our economy,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in a reports discussion today. In the intervening time, fears about a deeper financial that were a downturn a key factor following a dizzying fall of stock prices today, as Dow Jones industrial standard plunged extra than that a 500 points and average & Poor’s 500 Index tumbled extra than that the four percent.

It may be a good sign for those of us concerned about the big brain drain and indeed a great example for the coming generations. Yes you heard it right, the IIMs were not really lured by offers abroad this year thereby marking a huge shift in their social consciousness, though I don’t mean there wasn’t any before it is just that it has never been so central to the agenda of the students. Many regard the salaries being offered as a deciding factor. For instance the slow world economy has not dampened the spirits of the domestic companies who have gone out there with a hike of 30 percent in the moolah while foreign companies have upped the last year’s salaries by a mere 3 percent. Another thing that has come to notice is the fact that IIM students have become extremely picky about the job profiles, to the extent that they are accepting less salaried offers if the job profile is good.

In other words, IIM graduates have become GLOCAL they think global but remain local which apparently is the mantra for a reputed Japanese university and we all know how the progress chart of the Japanese looks like. How else do you explain Neela Nageshwar Vittal’s refusal to a salary of Rs. 1.44 crore only to open a processing unit for medicinal plants. Yeah, the Indian future does seem bright…very bright!
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Children are susceptible to virals (not just the infections caused by viruses). I’m talking about the Virals/ Viral Promotions and ads on Internet, being made to exclusively target your small kids! We all know what a powerful medium advertising is in affecting our senses and molding our behavior especially when it comes to our decisions regarding purchasing a product. Despite being banned on TV, commercials promoting highly salted, sugary and fatty junk food are frequently mushrooming on the worldwide web to lure soft targets- children (under16) who are often unable to differentiate between healthy and non-healthy foods.

Companies manufacturing such greasy and highly saturated junk food have now devised a smart backdoor policy of actively advertising on internet because they know that today’s kids are smart enough to use internet but gullible enough to fall in their trap. In the United Kingdom, where the problem of child obesity is rapidly increasing it seems, a mere ban on such TV ads is not enough. While the traditional advertising-tactics like cartoon characters, film tie-ins and celebrity endorsements still continue to target a younger demographic, a report prepared by the consumer group “Which?” found that junk-food producers are now circumnavigating their tactics to reach a wider audience young in age and computer & mobile phone savvy. Junk-food companies now push their products on kids by using gaming websites or via sponsored mobile phone competitions.

The prizes won in such games are often rebate coupons or happy-hour tickets of junk-food outlets offering combo meals consisting giant burgers, colas, ice creams, fried chips etc. All this lacking any substantial nutritive value in terms of fiber content, vitamins, or minerals! The rise of advergaming promoting fast food ads is also a concern regarding this. Researchers at Which have singled out an ad campaign by Fanta (soft drink brand). The latter launched a “Want It, Win It” competition and sent a free branded mobile phone game to anyone who accessed the competition. As per the company the competition was aimed at young people above 16yrs. But Which? found out that younger children could easily access the website holding competition by lying about their age!

Ofcourse Fanta is not alone in the business. Cadbury’s Creme Eggs made social networking website Bebo its niche for promotion and publicity. Similarly, McDonald’s continues to host a “Kid Zone” on its website. Small children can actively play games here and can browse through a no.of Happy Meal products, thanks to the alongside adverts by the company. Which? is now signing out petitions against such reckless and irresponsible advertising. The companies’ ofcourse have a different word to offer on it. The issue also is not a new one but now it is acquiring dimensions that are harmful for young ones. Parents indeed act as a vital interface between these ads and the demands created by their children after being affected by such ads. But in this age of active and diverse media proliferation, tackling problems like child obesity demands action in many spheres so that, kids can opt for healthier food choices.

Government is playing its part by banning adverts promoting unhealthy foods on terrestrial television programming. The law was enforced from Jan 1st this year and children’s channels like cartoon network, pogo etc. have to phase out such adverts completely by December. While broadcasters express their concerns over quality of kids programming in wake of such a ban, which will definitely affect the ad-revenues, social groups like Which? are concerned about the rerouting of such ads through another, more widespread and relatively unguarded medium of internet. A balance definitely needs to be achieved by those who make such junk food, by realising their social obligations. While no body is asking them to pull out their marketing efforts but it would be in the best of the interests for the younger generation, if these companies act more responsibly in choosing a proper medium to advertise for their products.

Via Independent

Who must have not heard of the much respected and the much trusted name of Britannica Encyclopaedia? Well, the brand is planning to dust off itself to attune the processes of their working to meet the demands and requirements of the savvy reader. With that in mind, Britannica has launched itself into the blogosphere. Most would feel slightly awkward with a decision like that considering the long history of factual authority and cool-headed objectivity that follows Britannica. For me, it would indeed be very interesting to see this brandname with the reputation it has to throw off-the-cuff commentary and discussion-generating observations at the readers.
But the buzz is that Britannica has already begun to prove that its union with the world of blogs is awkward only in theory. Yes, the encyclopaedia is pulling prominent voices from various fields to promise an intelligent range of entries ranging from music to international affairs to ‘Diana and the Cult of Celebrity’.
Britannica’s education section will have regular posts from sharp-sighted brains like Joanne Jacobs and Karin Chenoweth. Yes, I do know it is great news for educators who wish to weigh in on current issues dominating their field.
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The most conventional myth that overruns the west with regard to working in India goes as, ‘one has to unlearn a lot of the wisdom that you have acquired while in working in the west’. Endless articles have been written preaching and analyzing the same. There was one written on the cultural differences between east (read India) and the west. Quite a strange khichdi (that’s an Indian term for ‘a mix’), nai?

The article I am talking about here went at length about the hierarchical nature of business in India and why one should not try and change it. Interestingly, it quoted that any attempt to do so will be seriously frustrating. But then what about the new India with a 9% growth in GDP and all the IT professionals wracking their brains all day and all night? Agreed, an empowered, flat structure with no hierarchy would be the ideal western dream for India. But don’t you think, we are getting there? I would be lying if I say that Indian business is not about hierarchy but then I would also be lying when I say that situation isn’t changing drastically.

Via BlogBharti

Featuring a remake of the epic saga Ramayana is a safer bet for channel owners than having yet another one from the infamous K series. Though, in all honesty, the actors playing the mythological characters look like they have stepped from those sets. But that is not our focus this time. We are pondering over the big question: Are we really going to call our cable operator and beg to have this channel added to our monthly subscription?
The same applies to all other channels which require an extra payment before they can be seen on our TV sets. NDTV Good Times is one of them. It was all right to watch when free to air but definitely one will not be picking up the phone and command to the cable guy, “I want this!”

And it’s not the money involved. After all we don’t mind spending 40 bucks for a cup of coffee. It is INERTIA, the default option. Like they say the US always has a shortage of organ donors where as the French face no such problem. Does this the French are more generous? No. The answer is simple. In France, Austria and Hungary everyone is a potential donor unless they opt out. In the US you have to opt to be a donor. In the same breath, expecting Indian viewers to opt in for a channel is not going to work unless it’s for cricket!

Via NDTV

Harish Damodaran’s book ‘India’s New Capitalists: Caste, Business and Industry in a Modern Nation-State’ has once again made everyone sit up and notice. This isn’t the first time Damodaran has won accolades. Being a journalist for the past 16 year, he is also well-known as a specialist in agri-business and commodities coverage. His insights and contributions have benefited in macroeconomic issues. Damodaran is also a recipient of the World Food Day Award-2000 from the UN Food & Agricultural Organization and the Indian Association for the Advancement of Science, which was given to acknowledge his work as a farm reporter.

Coming back to Damodaran’s latest offering, the book is written in a simple style, blending analytical rigor with a journalistic flair. It talks about how business in India was considered to be the job of only the Bania community which fell under the Vaishya order of the traditional Hindu ‘chaturvarna’. However, since early 20th century, significant changes started taking place. The social base of our country gradually widened and soon entrepreneurship was no longer exclusive to a few castes alone. It now includes a wide spectrum of communities. But such a pattern of inclusive capitalism is restricted to only the southern and western states of our country, for we are yet to see a Dalit industrialist of note.

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This might interest those `searching for “Mortgage Quotes” and “Mortgage Leads” as well as the buyers too. I know not many can comprehend the technicalities of the bulls and the bears but I have tried to simplify as much as I could. The demand or volume of people searching for “mortgage quotes” has been steady for the last 12 months. Look carefully at the chart, the blue line will indicate just that while the red line there will signify the significant decrease in the popularity of “mortgage leads”.

This sounds like good news for lead buyers as the chart clearly shows that there are less people looking for new mortgage companies. This would mean that the average fulfillment rate of leads is lower than ever before. Less leads, on average are being sold to their maximum number of distributions. This is the best time for banks and brokers to act buyers and call internet leads. Competition isn’t there. Make the x-factor work for you. Plan your move sensibly and grab the best share of the market.

Via LeadCritic