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from Global Investing:
Corruption and business potential sometimes go together
By Alice Baghdjian
Uzbekistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam found themselves cheered and chided this week.
The Corruption Perceptions Index, compiled by Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International, measured the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 176 countries and all three found their way into the bottom half of the study.
Uzbekistan shared 170th place with Turkmenistan (a higher ranking denotes higher perceived corruption levels) . Vietnam was ranked 123th, tied with countries like Sierra Leone and Belarus, while Bangladesh was 144th.
Those findings are unlikely to surprise. But consider this. All three countries are said to boast some of the best prospects for business and growth over the next two decades. That's according to the findings of a separate study released in the same week.
from The Human Impact:
Dial-a-maid, get-a-slave in middle class India
When I arrived in India some years back as a single mother and full-time journalist, there was one thing I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about – finding domestic help.
Maids, nannies, drivers, cooks and cleaners are ten-a-penny amongst the urban middle classes here.
from Global Investing:
EM interest rates in 2013 – rise or fall
This year has been all about interest rate cuts. As Western central banks took their policy-easing efforts to ever new levels, emerging markets had little recourse but to cut rates as well. Interest rates in many countries from Brazil to the Czech Republic are at record lows.
Some countries such as Poland and Hungary are expected to continue lowering rates. Rate cuts may also come in India if a reluctant central bank finds its hand forced by the slumping economy. But in many markets, interest rate swaps are now pricing rate rises in 2013.
from India Insight:
Window closing on Prime Minister Singh’s planned visit to Pakistan
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomson Reuters)
It is eerily quiet on the fenced border between India and Pakistan in the southern plains of Jammu and Kashmir. Farmers are planting paddy, you can hear the sound of traffic in the distance from both sides of the border, and sometimes the squeals of children. Overhead in high watchtowers that can be seen from a mile, soldiers peer through binoculars at the enemy across while in the rear just behind the electrified fence with its array of Israeli-supplied sensors, soldiers are strung out in a line of bunkers. It's a cold peace on one of the world's most militarised frontiers.
from India Insight:
Kejriwal names his party, now it’s agenda time
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomson Reuters)
Now that we know the name of India’s newest political party, launched by social activist Arvind Kejriwal, let's look at what else it might deal with aside from the annihilation of corruption.
from India Insight:
Photo gallery: From Haridwar to Rishikesh, why you don’t stick to the itinerary
You may be ready with the camera equipment and travel gear, but what if the first sight of your destination doesn't appeal to you? That happened to me when I reached Haridwar. The dirt and grime appalled me, and I wasn't up for an "exotic India" photo op. Worse, the manager of an ashram refused to provide accommodation because I was a single male. The other lodging house guy I spoke to over the phone was equally reluctant and for the same reason.
Walking past the innumerable beggars and the drying Ganga river, I found a spot where a man was resting under a tree.
from India Insight:
Zee News editors arrested in Jindal extortion case
(Updated with response by Zee News)
Two senior journalists of Hindi-language channel Zee News were arrested on Tuesday night in an extortion case filed by Congress lawmaker and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd Chairman Naveen Jindal.
Jindal released video recordings last month that he said showed the journalists trying to extort money from the industrialist in return for not airing negative stories on coal block allocations involving his company.
from Photographers Blog:
Meeting a modern-day Gandhi
Delhi, India
By Mansi Thapliyal
"I am Gandhi!" he says firmly. "His soul resides inside me," he announces, smiling unwaveringly.
I stare blankly at the man who is wearing a dhoti wrapped around his waist, thick black oval glasses and carrying a cane just like Mahatma Gandhi.
from Expert Zone:
From Bhagalpur to Boisar
(The views expressed in this column are the author's own and do not represent those of Reuters)
What is common between the movie "Gangaajal" and the television soap opera "Afsar Bitiya"? It's Bhagalpur.
from Money on the markets:
Subbarao goes against his panel, again
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Thomson Reuters)
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is not the only one walking alone.
Duvvuri Subbarao, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief, also seems to be on a solitary, and one hopes, contemplative walk.
