I Don’t Know, Son!-22

The Innovative Gold Loan Marketing!

Son: A report in Times of India says that a sales manager with Manappuram Gold Loan’s Basaveshwaranagar branch and his associate were caught while trying to snatch a gold chain from a woman, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: When asked by the police what made them resort to such anti-social activity, the pair told them that it was their innovative way of canvassing the gold loans, dad!

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: They told the police they were only trying to create a scare among the women in the locality so that they would deposit their jewels with the finance company in the guise of raising a loan, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

After Modi it is now Moody’s for the UPA Government!

Son: The Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been a pain in the neck of the UPA Government, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The verbal fight between the two has been going on since long, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: Now the government is on a verbal war with the Moody’s, the global rating agency, dad.

Father: Interesting. Go on, son.

Son: The government is unhappy with Moody’s, the global rating agency, which has downgraded the country’s premier bank State Bank of India, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: The department of financial services has hit back at the rating agency for lowering the SBI’s rating when many weaker lenders globally enjoyed a higher rating, dad.

Father: I don’t know, son!

Diamonds are Forever!

Son: The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa appeared at a special court in Bangalore in connection with the Rs66-crore illegal wealth case, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son: Jayalalithaa has been accused of having amassed a startling collection of silk sarees, jewellery, footwear and diamonds worth Rs66 crore, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: During the hearing, Jayalalithaa denied owning the sarees, jewellery and footwear, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: However, she admitted that the diamond collection belonged to her stating that the same had been overvalued.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The adage – “Diamonds are forever”, appears to hold good in Jayalalithaa’s case also, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

The RBI Governor and His Only Tool!

Son: The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is confident that the government and RBI together will be able to tackle the soaring inflation, dad.

Father: True. Go on, son.

Son:  The RBI Governor Subba Rao is expected to fully support the government by using his ‘only tool’ as he has been doing hitherto, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The Governor is expected to hike the interest rate again, the 13th hike since March 2010, dad.

Father: Go on, Son.

Son: While the inflation continues unabated regardless of the RBI action, the bank loan rates have shot up resulting in huge interest burden on the industry, dad. The bankers are worried that the NPAs may also shoot up, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: But Subba Rao appears to be unperturbed and continues to wield his only tool with disastrous effect, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

Kingfisher’s ‘Minor Issue’!

Son: Six Kingfisher airline flights were cancelled from Delhi on 13^th October 2011 as HPCL stopped fuel supply to the airline. The airline is said to owe Rs100 crore to HPCL, dad.

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The supply was restored after Kingfisher made the necessary payments. A Kingfisher spokesperson said there was a ‘minor issue” with the supplier, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: While it was a ‘minor issue’ to Kingfisher which carries a debt burden of over Rs6,000 crore, HPCL did not think it so, dad!

Father: Go on, son.

Son: The public sector company treated it as a major issue and yielded only after it extracted the full payment from the airline, dad!

Father: I don’t know, son!

A V Krishnamurthy

22^nd October 2011