American Periscope
New Economy can't forget Old rules
THE last few weeks have seen a drastic decline in the value of tech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite Index, which reflects the technology sectors, has fallen almost 40 per cent from its previous high in March. Even the shining stars, such as Microsoft, Lucen
t, Intel and Dell Computers, are down at least 50 per cent from their peak.
Editorial
Transparency please
IT IS RATHER funny. The Disinvestment Minister set much store by transparency and abhorred what he calls `circuitous routes'. And his critics, both in the Opposition and among the NDA partners, castigated him for the lack of transparency in the disinvest
ment process and demanded a white paper. The Opposition even staged a walkout in Parliament over the issue.
Health
Genome enquiry: The ethical dilemma
IT APPEARS for the first time in the history of human existence that scientists have found a way to beat astrologers and prophets in telling people exactly when their lives would fall apart. While new technologies in communication and information are evo
lving at hurtling speeds, it is genome research which will impact the very being of humans as a species and evolution in future.
Fighting the `undead' virus
`Catch them young' is a very good motto in the fight against the deadly AIDS virus, which, according to the UNAIDS Programme, is likely to infect 36.1 million people by this year end.
Management
Meetingology
A BRAND new field of consultancy -- facilitating effective and purposeful conduct of meetings -- is slowly making its mark. Still in its infancy, and as yet not very prominent or paying, it is a line not to be sneezed at by perspicacious and talented pro
fessionals aspiring to blaze a new trail. It has a number of factors helping to heave it to the top of the heap in the near future. Operations of organisations in the era of globalisation are getting to be far-flung, with data, information, ideas, transa
ctions and funds circling the globe at the speed of light.
Politics
Anachronism of the `finance' veto
IN THE Vision 2020 article (Business Line, December 18), Prof P. V. Indiresan emphatically declared that he favoured reducing finance's deadening control over the government's various activities.
Early UP polls likely
ONE OF the constructions put forward by analysts trying to fathom the reason behind Mr Vajpayee's December 6 statement on Ayodhya -- that the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid agitation was a ``manifestation of nationalist feelings'' -- is that the Prime Minis
ter is preparing the ground for a mid-term election to the Lok Sabha by raking up the temple issue in the hope that this would increase the electorate's support for the saffron party.
Stocks
Year that was and the year that will be
IT IS rather trite to say that the year that went by was eventful. No year is without its share of events. What with 365 days and more than 180 nations, it cannot but be eventful.
