THE ONLOOKER

With spiraling oil price followed by inflation is taking toll not only on your monthly budget but on your investments and future investment options. In India the current inflation rate declared a week ago is around 11.05% . Mind you this is based on taking the price hike of few specific commodities, metal and oil prices (edible and fuel both). But the actual rate of inflation varies from city to city and depending upon quantum and type of individual consumption. The inflationary pressures are maximum on the labor forces of unorganized sector. Here in India they comprise 92% of total work force, they are deprived of the automatic adjustment of dearness allowance on the pay with the rate of inflation as available in organized sector. However, the mass in the lower rung of working class are not bothered about investment and portfolio management and safeguard their investments against inflation. It is only the people middle class whether professional, businessmen or service holders in orga...

There are lots of debates on over the use of cell phone for years. There is some evidence available that it may cause brain cancer. Not only that, it affects that part of the brain which remains in the side the user usually hold the phone. Recently in Britain extensive research is undertaken to find the facts. It is likely to take few years, since the use of cell phone is hardly a decade old. The industries concerned, in the mean time, fearing any adverse report in the pipe line, are making the hay while sun shines. Cancer the dreaded disease is yet to find a remedy. The research is on all over the world, some breakthrough is made time to time but no proper cure is found yet. Like many inventions that took place, while searching for something else, such as x-ray; a wonder drug for cancer seems to have been found out in India. It is in the north-eastern part of India, in the province of Manipur, the scientists have identified finally and gave name of a plant, traditionally called `Kam-s...

The oil price rise is presumably out of fear of irregular supply from Nigeria, Venezuela and Middle East crisis in Asia. Beside this off course, the hands of middlemen and OPEC countries are conspicuous. In terms of extracting exorbitant price the OPEC countries are keeping crude oil production at low ebb. These countries have nothing except oil. Their fortune will dry up along with their oil wells; this they know well. So, they are all out making hay till the oil wells are dried up. That way you cannot blame them, their lack of concern for those who are going starve due to oil price hike and resulting chain reaction causing all around inflation, is historically usual. The rich countries like US, West European counties, in far eastern Asia like Japan are dolling out subsidies to absorb the shock for time being. But they too are feeling the tremors, keep afar the poor sub-Saharan countries, after all stark naked has nothing to lose! This meteoric rise of oil price, has chosen a time, wh...

A #1 English daily in India reads “ Govt adds fuel to ire” ; this is the reaction of yesterday`s Indian Govt. announcement of fuel price hike! Can any Govt. ever subsidize a product which has a ever increasing domestic consumption and 70% of the gross consumption is imported? Obviously the reply is no. So, like any other Govt. the Indian Govt. is left with no choice but to hike the price of fuel. The price of fuel in India is still controlled by Govt. In fact in the days of globalization, how long that can be continued is anyone`s guess. Here any unpopulist action taken by Govt., is encashed by the political parties, those who are not in power and aspiring for it. “The public opinion is humbug” –as the old adage goes. In the state of West Bengal (during colonialisation this state became the first to come in touch of West ironically!) called for a “bandh”, paralyzing the life for two days. As in twoconsecutive days, two different political parties call given call for “total strike”; wha...