All and sundry at my workplace, seemed to be nonchalant about the current financial mess that we find ourselves in the midst of. I allocated this bravado to an intense need to appear alienated from trouble and almost be elevated above the problem, attitude. An immense need to portray that "we knew this was overdue".
Guess what proved my sentiment wrong... not their stoic stance about having acquired worldly wisdom, but the fact that they were nervous. Underneath that nonchalance I smelt fear. They are not nervous about the unknown... but wary about the known... ‘cause, they see dim times ahead, owing to their 'millennium' experience.
The tech bust that unraveled in 2000-2002, gobbled up and spit out a lot more 'respectable' enterprises than the current crisis has. For instance, at its peak the tech quotient on S&P was 32%... a lot more than the 22% the financial companies have on S&P currently. In addition, the comparable in terms of market erosion is 72% for the 'Finance' domain companies versus the 82% erosion faced by the tech companies in 2002.
That these guys have seen and managed to stay afloat, in spite of being present in one of the most tumultuous phases of revolution... the IT revolution, is considerable learning. Their story is still strong and the morals are also enviable... the perspective however has gotten altered. So to the Mr. Shahs/Mehtas/shahs again/Desais etc... we understand that you've seen worse... however, this time the repercussions are not only being felt far and wide but are also causing the fear to run deep.
Comparing two collapsing empires is not an exercise to purely reconstruct but a measure to preserve for posterity and hopefully learn. On that point... in spite of having some common spine, viz. greed, lack of foresight and unequal distribution of wealth... each crisis unraveled has brought along a flavor of its own.
We have felt the monetary impact of the excesses of the recent past... what follows in '09, is the economic impact. Demand shrinkage, introduction to deflation etc. A new world order is on the cards. Let’s welcome it with a rational mind.
Guess what proved my sentiment wrong... not their stoic stance about having acquired worldly wisdom, but the fact that they were nervous. Underneath that nonchalance I smelt fear. They are not nervous about the unknown... but wary about the known... ‘cause, they see dim times ahead, owing to their 'millennium' experience.
The tech bust that unraveled in 2000-2002, gobbled up and spit out a lot more 'respectable' enterprises than the current crisis has. For instance, at its peak the tech quotient on S&P was 32%... a lot more than the 22% the financial companies have on S&P currently. In addition, the comparable in terms of market erosion is 72% for the 'Finance' domain companies versus the 82% erosion faced by the tech companies in 2002.
That these guys have seen and managed to stay afloat, in spite of being present in one of the most tumultuous phases of revolution... the IT revolution, is considerable learning. Their story is still strong and the morals are also enviable... the perspective however has gotten altered. So to the Mr. Shahs/Mehtas/shahs again/Desais etc... we understand that you've seen worse... however, this time the repercussions are not only being felt far and wide but are also causing the fear to run deep.
Comparing two collapsing empires is not an exercise to purely reconstruct but a measure to preserve for posterity and hopefully learn. On that point... in spite of having some common spine, viz. greed, lack of foresight and unequal distribution of wealth... each crisis unraveled has brought along a flavor of its own.
We have felt the monetary impact of the excesses of the recent past... what follows in '09, is the economic impact. Demand shrinkage, introduction to deflation etc. A new world order is on the cards. Let’s welcome it with a rational mind.
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