meek-investor

Yeah Yeah, I am that sort of a nerd. While much of India is agog with the spot fixing scandal that broke yesterday, this blogger ruminates on the economics of it. Yes, he is a weirdo ! Having got that out of the way, a few words on the scandal, for the 3 million non Indian readers this blog gets :)  There is a nonsensical game (anybody who suggests the word cricket in this connection will be personally bashed up by me) in which there is a cash machine called the Indian Premier League. Yesterday three players were caught, allegedly  hand in glove with bookies, manipulating results. That's all you really need to know. What is baffling me is the economics of it. There are all sorts of reports, but I think it is safe to say that at least Rs 20 lakhs (some $40,000) was allegedly paid to the players to give away a minimum number of runs in an over. Let us say, for this to be profitable to the crooks who are betting on it, they must wager at least an equivalent amount at odds of say ...

Here's a quiz. Who won the gold in the following events in Beijing 2008. 1. Men's decathlon -  for the title of the greatest all round athlete 2. Women's 1500m - the metric mile 3. Men's football -the most popular sport on earth 4. Women's individual all round in gymnastics - the most "wow" event 5. Men's 50m freestyle swimming - the fastest swimmer in the world If you scored zero out of five, congratulations. If I modify the questions to simply say which country did the winner come from in each of the above events, and if you still scored zero out of five, then even more congratulations. We are all in the group of 99% of the human race. If you are wondering where I am going with this post, let me just say that I was inspired to write this by a brilliant column in today's Hindu by Nirmal Shekar .  It is an outstanding piece of writing, even by Nirmal Shekar's high standards and is a perfect exposition of the spirit of sport. Yes, sport is about...

If you didn't stay up all night, that is if you are in India, you missed something. It was a lovely show. Olympic opening ceremonies have easily become the greatest show on earth. Beijing was awe inspiring in terms of sheer magnitude and scale. It was an almost impossible act to follow, but London did, in a very different way. You would have had to be a Brit or a complete Anglophile like me, to appreciate the nuances, but even otherwise, as a sheer spectacle it was magic. This post is not about the ceremony, or the sport to follow. Its a lazy, and completely unscientific,  interpretation of national stereotypes from their choice of who would carry the country's flag in the parade ! Some nations simply go for glory - they give it to their most famous sportsman. Serbia gave it to Djokovic. Jamaica gave it to Usain Bolt. Veronica Campbell Brown, their senior sprinter amongst the women would have been a more logical choice, but who is more well known than Usain Bolt. Spain was led ...

The telly in this blogger's household leads a cushy life. It is in a state of perpetual rest. It is only occasionally called to perform and then immediately sent back to the state of rest with an apology for disturbing the slumber. All that changed a week or so ago. You see, ESPN has bagged the rights to telecast the London Olympics which begin in a couple of months. As a lead up to this event, ESPN has been airing some memorable documentaries of past Olympics. If ESPN marketed those videos they are airing, I will stand in line for 72 hours in Chicago in freezing winter to buy them ! There are some absolutely riveting stories there. This post is about one such memorable sporting event. Atlanta 1996. The rather unglamorous sport of weightlifting. What happened that Monday will go down in sporting legend as one of the great days of sport. It was the 64 kg category - not the man mountain variety. Naim Süleymanoğlu from Turkey was already a legend. Nicknamed the Pocket Hercules for his...

Where on earth is Omaha ?? I must confess I had to look it up on a map. God - its in the middle of nowhere. Who on earth wants to go to Nebraska anyway. Well, this weekend, all roads lead to Omaha, if you are a certain type who likes to make money. For its the annual jamboree of Berkshire Hathway, and one old man named Warren Buffett. I really don't understand why anybody wants to go to that blessed event. I mean, can there be any excuse for wanting to go to Nebraska ?? For God's sake ! To listen to words of wisdom from the "Oracle of Omaha" ?? Please, spare me the thought. Warren Buffett is no sage. In any case, if the multitude that go there even care to listen to him, they wouldn't be going there in the first place. For after all, he has been saying for donkeys years , don't listen to self proclaimed sages. Don't go on tips and hunches. Do research. Invest for the long term , etc etc. Everybody goes there to get tips on investing. They haven't under...

Two completely unconnected , and perhaps insignificant, events in Bangalore provide the fodder for this Sunday's post. Both were unadvertised, and both were free in the sense there were no tickets. But the contrast could not be bigger Today I went to a short Carnatic recital by Ranjani and Gayatri who are renowned singers in this genre. Carnatic music is enjoying a revival after it had gone comatose some 15 years ago. The recital was in Chowdiah Hall , Bangalore's only decent theatre hall. To my amazement, the hall was full; some 1000 people came to hear the duo sing. Granted the audience  mostly had white hair (or no hair) , but still ......  . Ranjani and Gayatri sing very well , they tandem together beautifully. Even if you don't have a taste for this genre, try listening to this piece from them. Lovely music. But even then, the packed hall stunned me. A week ago, the National Badminton Championships were held at Bangalore. India is near world class in badminton. China,...

Rahul Dravid, India's elder statesman of cricket, delivered the Bradman Oration at Canberra last week. If you want to hear a classy, graceful, charming, stylish speech, look no further. Class, grace, charm and style define the man and perhaps it is but natural, that his speech was all of that.  It is about cricket, of course, but even if you are not a cricket fan, listen to it if you have the time - this is how a speech should be made. Its 40 mts long, but I really wished it wouldn't end. Rahul's speech follows in the lines of another classic speech - from Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, when  he delivered the Cowdrey lecture in July. Another gem, you can listen to here . English oration is alive and well in the colonies, atleast in the sporting world !

A dog might prove to be the unlikeliest saviour of Formula 1, a sport that is direly in need of saving . Bravo India, for unwittingly pointing the way ahead for the sport. Today is the first ever Indian Grand Prix - held at Noida, at the Buddh circuit, just off Delhi. Why it has come up in Delhi is a mystery - the racing capital (of whatever racing there is) of India is Chennai or Coimbatore. But Delhi it is. This is the fag end of the Formula 1 season; the championship is already decided and there is very little to drive for. But then Bernie Eccleston, the boss of F1, has grasped that the future of the sport  depends on the growing audience in Asia - that's why in the last three or four years, new Grand Prixs have come up in Beijing, Singapore, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul (almost Asia !), Yeongam (Korea) ; to add to the more traditional Asian venues Suzuka (Japan) and Sepang (Malaysia). Now India. Formula 1 has become a bore. The results are completely predictable; superb safety ...

It's an Australian winning the Tour de France for the first time ever. Just got off the telly watching the final stage of one of the most gripping of races for many a year. On a bright sunny day in Paris, against the wonderful backdrop of the Champs-Élysées, the sight of Cadel Evans winning the Tour de France was a moment to savour. Apologies to the readers who are not sports fans, for the second consecutive sporting post. But this was a special race and a special result that I simply can't resist posting about. The Tour de France is the world's premier cycling race. Has been so for 100 years. It is run over 3400 kms and in 22 days. One of the greatest endurance events in the world. On flat stages, cyclists clock average speeds of 50 kmph. Steep climbs have to be negotiated and on the descent, crazy speeds of 90 kmph are reached. The majesty of the towering mountains of the Alps and the Pyrenees provide the backdrop. As does the beautiful French countryside. And some grip...

If you are a sport's fan , you are somewhat spoilt for choice today. If you fancy sublime South American football, the Copa America is on in Argentina. The final day of the British Open golf, with all the hype surrounding the next Tiger Woods - Rory McIlroy may be your choice. Or the majestic Tour de France, the world's premier cycling event, thankfully free of any doping scandal so far. But my pick of the day is none of this. You may be forgiven for not realising that the World Cup football final is on today. Yes, right. World Cup Football. Rub your eyes again. Yes. Its the Women's World Cup football final. Before you groan and switch off, just consider the fact that the Women's World Cup has produced more drama, excitement, heartbreak, and joy than the boring Copa America going on at the same time featuring the likes of Lionel Messi.  Women's football is something of an anachronism. If you have watched a women's game, it is played at roughly half the pace of ...

Just imagine this. You earn a salary of $ 25m a year. And then you go on strike demanding improved wages. Believable ?? You better believe it. Kobe Bryant (arguably the best basketball player in the world, for those readers not familiar with sport), earns that salary, but is on strike from tonight. Actually not just Kobe. Every basketball player who plays in the NBA ( unsporting types - that's the National Basketball Association, which runs the League in the US of A.) The NBA is a private league. Players have formed a union and there is a collective bargaining agreement every few years. The last agreement expires today. Negotiations with owners of the teams has broken down. No deal; so there is a lock out. The team owners are losing money. The players claim they aren't getting enough money. Despite the wild popularity of the game. Unlike other American sports such as Football (the American variety) and Baseball, which have limited appeal outside the country, basketball  is wild...

Chicken Tikka Masala is reputed to have taken over as the national dish of Britain. Perhaps the best example of reverse colonisation, although it must be said that overthrowing "British food" is not as great an achievement; such being the epicurean significance of the cuisine in Her Majesty's land. Actually its a Bangladeshi takeover, given that 99% of the curry houses in Britain are run by Bangladeshis. But we shall lightly pass over Bangladesh propagating "Balti"cusine" and such other monstrosities. Stay with the chicken. British affinity to consuming this hapless avian is the only logic I can find (after much scratching of the head in vain) to explain the take over of Blackburn Rovers , a Premier League football team, by Venky's - an obscure chicken farming company from India. Firstly the facts. Blackburn Rovers is a struggling middling football side in England. Its been bought out by Sri Venkateswara Hatcheries for £ 53 m , an Indian famil...

All rise and applaud the magnificent Kim Yu-Na. Kim who ? You could be forgiven for asking that if you aren’t into winter sports. But if you have been following the Vancouver Winter Olympics, you cannot , but be mesmerized by the story of the wonderful Kim. Kim Yu-Na is arguably the most famous athlete in South Korea. All of 19 years old, she’s dubbed “Queen Yu-Na” and is a superstar in her country. She was the overwhelming favourite to win the women's figure skating event in the Olympics. A nation’s hopes was riding on her shoulders – South Korea had never won anything in the Winter Olympics apart from speedskating. They are having a great Olympics, winning well beyond their expectations, and their Queen was their brightest hope. But her long time rival Mao Asada of Japan was a formidable threat. And the emotions and the crowd were with Joannie Rochette, the Canadian, who lost her mother only a couple of days before. This is an event where America has traditionally dominated – n...

If you are a golfer, or a fan, or even a casual sports enthusiast, you could not, but have been riveted at the happenings in the British Open last weekend. Tom Watson, one of the all time greats in the game, and now 59, rolled back the years to force a playoff with Stuart Cink, and heartbreakingly lost. For a moving writeup on the most dramatic of British Opens, click here . This has great relevance in business too, as its getting to be a young man’s world even there. Tom Peters has made one of his best ever posts on the relevance of Watson’s doings to the baby boomers – being a good American, Tom has related it to the greying generation in the US, but it has relevance to every 40+ in business. Its a lovely post from the great man, and I offer it here , with no comment.

How would you like a job offer somewhat like this - guaranteed 5 year contract – you cannot be sacked - first year wages $ 15.5 m, or $ 43000 every day - automatic wage increases every year so that the fifth year wages is tripled at $ 48m. That’s a pay hike of 25% per year - all these wages are irrespective of performance. Doesn’t matter at all how you perform - you really have to work only 100 days in a year. The real work is only for 90 minutes in those days – but add and subtract getting ready for work, maybe 4 hours - you are allowed to make money on the side. And the money you make on the side is going to be a multiple of your wages. So much so, that your wages is actually small change. That’s why its called wages; not salary ! - your cost to your company is $ 60m a year - the government is very kindly helping you out by having a special tax rate of 25% to give you an incentive to come - your employer is supposed to be a “non profit social trust” And there is a not a pipsqueak in...