Laxmi Mata, where art thou?

Laxmi, the godess of wealth is in a funk. Serious funk. The stock market is down by 30%, more when measured in dollar terms. Industrial production has shrunk to less than 6% from over 12% last year. Inflation is over 11% this month, and thats wholesale not even consumer inflation.

I asked my sis-in-law and my parents' driver how inflation has affected them. According to my sis-in-law, her food/grocery/essentials budget has increased by over 20% over last year. About 15% for the driver (his family doesnt eat meat/eggs).

Not good news for the PM. I bought a 300 ml pop and it costed me 20 Rupees . . .what? I used to pay 5 just 6 years ago. That's a 4 fold increase in 6 years. High growth-loose money supply is at work here.

At the local brokerage office I only saw a bank of red signs on Friday . . . everything was down. Worse, at the real estate office of a realty firm that I went to drop off my cousin's cheque, the experience was mixed. As soon as I opened the door, I knew the AC had conked out. Sweet aromatic smell of Indian sweat (I guess its all that turmeric at work), stale pakoras, overworked xerox machine assaulted my senses.

While I waited for my turn, I chatted with an elderly Sikh gentlem and he said his sons had egged him into investing in 2 plots of land. Yes, he thought it was a great investment - and it is - per sq. yard sale price has increased from 9,000 yo 16,000 in less than a year. But me thinks this is another bubble. The appreciation is too quick.

Hope Dr. M (the PM) the best. He has to call elections at the federal level within 12-16 months and should the real-estate and stock market decline and stagnate he might be voted out of office. Mix in political re-alignment to get the US-Indian Nuclear Accord approved by Parliament and the political couldron is bobbling over right now. Plenty of rumours in the capital right now and political parties seem to be girding for an early election. Bahut Bahut interesting . . .