American Periscope
Recognising opportunity and other costs
EVERYWHERE, businessmen are considered to have few scruples. Though they are made fun of in the movies, sometimes portrayed as mean or evil, no business group voices protest. But as businessmen go, the brotherhood in Russia ranks right at the bottom. They have come under a cloud for making their millions by capturing government-owned enterprises in the highly questionable privatisation process. Apart from glasnost and perestroika, Russia has now contributed the word oliga rch to contemporary lingo. But Anatoly Karachinsky is neither an oligarch, nor was he made in the conventional mould of the Russian businessman. He is a self-made Russian millionaire in the information technology field, and has rather unusual v iews. His group, Information Business Systems, is diversified into systems integration, computer distribution, software programming, and more. And, he uses this concept to help the oligarchs restructure their businesses.

Economy
Global expansion is alive
growth prospects, Asian governments should work to create conditions for both a cyclical and a structural recovery in domestic demand. That would include not only accommodative monetary policy but also speedier structural reforms.

Mounting public debt -- AP heading into financial crisis
WITH the Andhra Pradesh public debt gradually creeping up to about Rs 27,000 crore and projected to cross Rs 34,000 crore this fiscal, the State Government needs to address this thorny issue to bring down debt exposure and extricate itself from drifting into a financial crisis. Debt-servicing is a major cause for concern accounting for about Rs 4,000 crore this fiscal.

Editorial
Crash course?
EVER SINCE THE MoU approach was adopted (on September 17, 1997) with regard to foreign investments in the Indian automobile sector, important car-manufacturing countries -- especially the US -- have been clamouring for a change in the policy citing `violations' of WTO guidelines on trade-related investment measures (TRIMs).

Forex
The waning euro and world economy
THE EURO, which lost sometime back nearly a quarter of its value since it was introduced in January 1999, further dropped to historic lows (within a fraction of a cent) against the dollar, following comments by the European Central Bank (ECB) presi dent, Mr Wim Duisenberg. The ECB boss said the bank would not intervene to support the euro if the crisis in East Asia caused the currency to weaken. Mr Duisenberg's comments -- reported in The Times -- immediately prompted traders to sell the currency. The euro quickly dropped to $0.8482 -- a third of a cent above its lifetime low of $0.8440.

Miscellaneous
Quartered!
T. S. ELIOT wrote of life being measured in coffee-spoons, or something to that effect. (Eliot is passe, and no body quotes him these days!) Well, our corporates have found a better way: They live by the quarters and for the quarters. Business ne ws is full of results of Q1s to Q4s, and ebbs and flows of bourses are determined by them. Companies injudicious enough to give out optimistic advance projections are hoist on their own petard if their claims do not measure up, and the fall of t heir stock is all the steeper.

States
Long innings, few runs
AFTER Saturday's acceptance by the West Bengal Left Front of Mr Jyoti Basu's decision to quit, it can now be said that, at long last, after 23 years, West Bengal will have a new Chief Minister, its 13th since Independence. What, indee d, is the significance of the change? Let us quote Mr Basu himself: ``It is not that I have created a record. But it is a record achievement for the Left Front Government to be in power for the last 23 years uninterruptedly. This is unique n ot only in India but all over the world''.

Telecommunications
BSNL, ITS, DoT, Telecom Commission -- Making telephony competitive
THE TELECOMMUNICATION operations of the Government are finally being corporatised, effective October 1. The process began with the separation of telecommunication operations from postal services at the state level in 1974. The next step was the total separation of the telecoms at the national level from the Posts, and the creation of two separate departments -- Posts (DoP) and Telecoms (DoT) with separate boards and members on January 1, 1985, by the forward-looking Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.

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