Half of Europe is finding hard to fight the bitter cold without heat as the energy supplies to major part of Europe got disrupted since jan 1 because of the feud between the erstwhile Soviet Union and its member state. Gazprom, Russia’s largest and state owned Energy Company stopped its fuel supplies to Ukraine citing the nonpayment of the bills as the reason for its cut. As Ukraine is the major transit route of fuel supply from Russia to other parts of Europe, Ukraine started siphoning off the fuel supplied across the pipes through the country. This made the Russian authorities to take the stringent action to cut the supply entirely through the Orange revolution state, though promising the increase of fuel supplies through its other networks, but neither could it deny the fact that 80% of the fuel supplied to Europe goes through Ukraine not could it mitigate the sufferings of the people who are living without the fuel supply.
With the Russia’s credibility of being a reliable supplier of fuel dipping into deep low, Czech Republic holding the current EU presidency is trying hard to reach out a solution between the two bitter rivals, who have fought on the same lines in 2006 over the price of the fuel. Russia, with the veteran Putin as the PM is standing very hard in its position to increase the price of the fuel supplied to Ukraine and their counter part is also equally standing on their firm resolution not to budge that easily as they have the support of USA and EU. With the attempts made by EU to bring forth an agreement getting failed, the two nations have not stopped accusing each other for the disruption of fuel services.
Well there is no doubt that Russia is trying to play a spoiled sport, but it was left with no other option but to go in this hard line and earning the wrath of the nations in Europe. Russia is not going to settle down for anything lesser than what it demands this time. Well let us watch out for further developments this week.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Where lies the truth!!
In an attempt to safeguard one’s firm from hostile bid takeover and to increase the brand value of one’s firm, it is not uncommon to claim higher growth rate of the company than the actual rate, inflate the profit earned, understate the liabilities and the debts owed. This makes the investors to believe that firm will be a safe bet and the demand for the company’s stock increases which increases the share prices of the company, thereby increasing the company’s net value (market capitalization) and the clients rely more on such a company that leads to increase in the number of projects the firm gets. And hence the company grows in real terms and with already inflated growth rate and profits, the company tends to further inflate the same in the next fiscal year too. Here gets formed the vicious circle with the company’s growth and the inflated profits forming a complete cycle.
Nothing seems to be wrong with Satyam until the company’s surprise move to take over Maytas properties and Maytas infra. With a major shareholder rebellion, the share prices slide down to a great extent that Ramalinga Raju, then chairman of Satyam computer services limited reversed the decision. With doubts raised about the evaluation of asset values of Maytas when all the leading auditing firms deny their role in evaluating the assets, the question of corporate governance came into picture. Then begin the resignation sagas of independent directors from the Board and the percentage of holdings by the promoters came down from 8.3 % to around 3 % as the shares pledged by the promoters were sold out. Left with no other choice but to reveal the truth, former Nasscom chairman and the chairman of the company which had received the Corporate Governance Award accepted the big hole in the account books creating shockwaves across the investors’ community.
This issue is hailed in the media as India’s Enron case. The energy company filed its bankruptcy in 2001 and accepted the understated liabilities and the exaggerated profits and the company also said to have roots in Republic party.
The plot involved here is no way superficial and is getting deeper as suspicions raised about the political connection of Raju with the AP government. The Hyderabad metro project, irrigational project and other government projects undertaken by Maytas are put under lens to check the credibility, with which the projects were allotted.
A tough road lies ahead for the firm and the employees and the top level managers have to take the hardest steps to march ahead. With the government having announced three persons as Board members, an in-depth inquiry into the deep rooted fraud is to be probed. Finally Power waterhouse cooper(Pwc), Satyam’s auditor has accepted that there could have been error in its auditing report. With the future appearing too bleak for the company, a takeover bid from a well established firm, efficient board members and an energetic CEO and a good cooperation to further investigate into the Rs 7000 crore fraud are the only hopes to steer the company ahead.
Nothing seems to be wrong with Satyam until the company’s surprise move to take over Maytas properties and Maytas infra. With a major shareholder rebellion, the share prices slide down to a great extent that Ramalinga Raju, then chairman of Satyam computer services limited reversed the decision. With doubts raised about the evaluation of asset values of Maytas when all the leading auditing firms deny their role in evaluating the assets, the question of corporate governance came into picture. Then begin the resignation sagas of independent directors from the Board and the percentage of holdings by the promoters came down from 8.3 % to around 3 % as the shares pledged by the promoters were sold out. Left with no other choice but to reveal the truth, former Nasscom chairman and the chairman of the company which had received the Corporate Governance Award accepted the big hole in the account books creating shockwaves across the investors’ community.
This issue is hailed in the media as India’s Enron case. The energy company filed its bankruptcy in 2001 and accepted the understated liabilities and the exaggerated profits and the company also said to have roots in Republic party.
The plot involved here is no way superficial and is getting deeper as suspicions raised about the political connection of Raju with the AP government. The Hyderabad metro project, irrigational project and other government projects undertaken by Maytas are put under lens to check the credibility, with which the projects were allotted.
A tough road lies ahead for the firm and the employees and the top level managers have to take the hardest steps to march ahead. With the government having announced three persons as Board members, an in-depth inquiry into the deep rooted fraud is to be probed. Finally Power waterhouse cooper(Pwc), Satyam’s auditor has accepted that there could have been error in its auditing report. With the future appearing too bleak for the company, a takeover bid from a well established firm, efficient board members and an energetic CEO and a good cooperation to further investigate into the Rs 7000 crore fraud are the only hopes to steer the company ahead.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Israel - Palestine!!!!!!!!!!!
With rockets pouring at the Israeli soil, the retaliatory attack against the Hamas is incomparable in its magnitude. The Islamic university is torn apart, a strongman in Hamas is assassinated and when the aerial raid is gaining momentum, the Israel government is mulling about ground attacks too. The international journalists and other international organizations have been denied entry into Gaza, well a place in our world which is facing total black out is going unnoticed with leading international players including US and UK justifying the Israel’s right to protect its area from the militants.
This is not an issue that has been created some years back but dates from 1947 when UN passed a resolution for the creation of Jewish state-Israel which led to the conflict between the Arab states and Israel, in which Israel gained a lot. Then again Israel started its aggression in the 1967, known as the SIX DAY WAR, snatching Gaza strip, West Bank, Golan heights from Egypt,Jordan and Syria respectively. Many decades have passed, yet the peace eludes the Middle East.
Let Hamas be branded as terrorist as they ruthlessly attack the innocent citizens of Israel. But one can never justify the killing of several innocent civilians in Palestine because of the aerial shelling from Israel. More than 100 deaths of civilians, including a majority of women and children, have been reported so far since Israel’s attack last week.
There won’t be any improvement in the situation unless both the sides budge. People in Palestine must realize that waging war against Israel will only worsen their situation further. Winning a war over a state which is developed than theirs by over several folds and which has the strong backing from the most developed countries of the world is an impossible event. Hamas militants can utmost kill some hundreds of Israeli people and neither their guerilla warfare nor their suicide attacks is going to daunt the country which earns its most income from its arms export. What Israel did to Palestine is an unjustifiable act, but hatred and revenge against Israeli is not going to bring peace to the Islamic nation. Though it can’t be forgiven or forgotten, war can’t provide solution to Palestinians but it just adds further woes to them. It is high time that Hamas realize this and that Israel stops their inhuman attacks on the region, which is experiencing severe humanitarian crisis for several decades.
It is really hard to forget the painful past that Palestine has experienced over the years. But if the people of Japan had the hatred and the attitude to revenge US for their dropping of atomic bomb, Japan wouldn’t have become the world second largest economy. And not to forget that half the Jammu and Kashmir has been occupied by Pakistan and China, though there is an option to attack back those foreign forces to withdraw from the region which is recognized to be a part of our country, we refuse to do so.
If we chose to take this bitter pill today to forget what had happened in the past over the decades, the next generation of people in the Middle East can lead a peaceful life forever and ever; else never in the future can peace be restored in this region which has remained as battle zone for years. I could still recollect the photo showing a Palestinian woman weeping when the Israeli troops forced their own Israeli people to evacuate from Gaza strip in 2005 when Aerial Sharon, then Israeli PM ordered forced evacuation from Gaza strip. It shows the courtesy in the heart of the People to feel sad even for those people from their bitter archrival nation. Let the International community realize that the value of life of a common man in Palestine is as much higher as that of a person from any other part of the world and help both the warring state to settle out their differences and to bring an everlasting peace to the region.
This is not an issue that has been created some years back but dates from 1947 when UN passed a resolution for the creation of Jewish state-Israel which led to the conflict between the Arab states and Israel, in which Israel gained a lot. Then again Israel started its aggression in the 1967, known as the SIX DAY WAR, snatching Gaza strip, West Bank, Golan heights from Egypt,Jordan and Syria respectively. Many decades have passed, yet the peace eludes the Middle East.
Let Hamas be branded as terrorist as they ruthlessly attack the innocent citizens of Israel. But one can never justify the killing of several innocent civilians in Palestine because of the aerial shelling from Israel. More than 100 deaths of civilians, including a majority of women and children, have been reported so far since Israel’s attack last week.
There won’t be any improvement in the situation unless both the sides budge. People in Palestine must realize that waging war against Israel will only worsen their situation further. Winning a war over a state which is developed than theirs by over several folds and which has the strong backing from the most developed countries of the world is an impossible event. Hamas militants can utmost kill some hundreds of Israeli people and neither their guerilla warfare nor their suicide attacks is going to daunt the country which earns its most income from its arms export. What Israel did to Palestine is an unjustifiable act, but hatred and revenge against Israeli is not going to bring peace to the Islamic nation. Though it can’t be forgiven or forgotten, war can’t provide solution to Palestinians but it just adds further woes to them. It is high time that Hamas realize this and that Israel stops their inhuman attacks on the region, which is experiencing severe humanitarian crisis for several decades.
It is really hard to forget the painful past that Palestine has experienced over the years. But if the people of Japan had the hatred and the attitude to revenge US for their dropping of atomic bomb, Japan wouldn’t have become the world second largest economy. And not to forget that half the Jammu and Kashmir has been occupied by Pakistan and China, though there is an option to attack back those foreign forces to withdraw from the region which is recognized to be a part of our country, we refuse to do so.
If we chose to take this bitter pill today to forget what had happened in the past over the decades, the next generation of people in the Middle East can lead a peaceful life forever and ever; else never in the future can peace be restored in this region which has remained as battle zone for years. I could still recollect the photo showing a Palestinian woman weeping when the Israeli troops forced their own Israeli people to evacuate from Gaza strip in 2005 when Aerial Sharon, then Israeli PM ordered forced evacuation from Gaza strip. It shows the courtesy in the heart of the People to feel sad even for those people from their bitter archrival nation. Let the International community realize that the value of life of a common man in Palestine is as much higher as that of a person from any other part of the world and help both the warring state to settle out their differences and to bring an everlasting peace to the region.
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