May 25, 2021 - Short Post

Business

Covid-19 has been affecting the global economy for about 15 months now, yet global markets seem to be doing well. Dow Jones is at a lifetime high and the Indian markets too have been doing reasonably well. The BSE SENSEX is a mere 600 points shy of its lifetime high of 51,259 points made on February 16, while NIFTY is 234 points away from the level of 15,431 points. In India, companies have learnt how costs can be controlled. Travel and travel related expenses have come down significantly. FMCG and consumer companies have also adopted WFH with unbelievable savings and performance. The bulls have complete control of the markets and there are many factors which support them: 1) The FIIs or FPIs continue to invest in India; 2) the second wave appears to have been arrested in a major way and the infrastructure has improved significantly in the intervening period; 3) the monsoon forecast is positive; 4) inflation is under control and interest rates are quite soft; 5) there is enough liquidity in the system in India to spur growth. There is a talk of a third Covid wave happening and hopefully we would be well prepared for the same. The fact that there is a huge trust deficit about China post the pandemic, more and more companies globally are putting in place a policy of China plus one supplier. India is an automatic choice for the one spot and we are seeing traction on this front. Considering all these factors, it becomes almost a certainty that the stock markets would see a new lifetime high in the month of June 2021. That would give us another six months before the calendar year ends and the possibility that markets moving another 5-7% looks distinctly possible.

Post By Arun Kejriwal

Sports

BCCI On An Overdrive To Deal With Unfinished IPL-14 Business

Several reasons have been bandied about the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) being loath to rework the five-Test series and enable the BCCI to fit in the interrupted IPL-14, and make good the balance revenue of Rs 2,500 crore. A view that’s going around is that the five Test matches have been sold out and the home broadcaster is in all preparedness as per the itinerary charted in the Future Tour Programme (FTP) agreed by the two cricket boards. According to a BCCI official who in the past has been part of informal conversations on scheduling matters, England’s Professional Cricketers Association (PCA), which is a member of Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA), would not have liked any force to disrupt the original schedule. The series against India starts at Trent Bridge on August 4, the second Test at Lord’s on August 12, with a gap of three days, and the third Test at Leeds on August 25, with an extended gap of eight days. The fourth and fifth Test matches at The Oval starts on September 2 and 10, with a gap of three days each in between. “The long break during a four or five Test series is done to keep the players fit and fresh. There has been instances in India, of visiting teams being given a holiday in Goa in between a Test series,” the official said. England is set to play two Tests against New Zealand, starting on June 2 and 10. Then India and New Zealand will feature in the World Test Championship final at Southampton from June 18. Then the ECB will flaunt the pioneering ‘The Hundred ball’ bash from July 21 to August 21, leaving the BCCI to look for a window after the Test series in England to complete the IPL-14.

Post By G Viswanath

Politics

Is TN Finance Minister Deliberately Stirring Hornet's Nest?

Tamil Nadu’s finance minister Palanivel Thiagarajan is in demand internationally as his old contacts, especially diplomats, ask for him whenever they are thinking of routing aid to the State in the time of the pandemic. When Rev Jesse Jackson Sr wished to contact Tamil Nadu to say he was pressing US President Joe Biden to release US vaccines for India, the civil rights leader could think of no one better than ‘PT’ to be his go-to man. As a finance professional, the graduate from MIT and former investment banker with a British bank, ‘PT’ is accustomed to calling a spade a spade. But, as a politician, he is struggling to control his propensity to let loose barbs aimed at various personalities. He was in the news straightaway as he took on Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha movement, putting him down as a land-grabbing godman who will have to face the law soon. Isha Foundation said they were “appalled that a man of his (Jaggi Vasudev) stature has been subject to the Minister’s unparliamentary and uncalled for personal attack.” The media dream of having a politico come out with all guns firing to offer the public lively bytes is being fulfilled almost on a daily basis. The other day, ‘PT’ came up with “barking dogs” to classify a rabble rousing right wing politician of Tamil Nadu. The world of finance may be a grey area surrounded by figures in black and white but the TN finance minister is proving to be colourful when in front of the media as he is never shy of sharp and witty retorts.

Post By Tamil Raja

Politics

Making Sense Of Tamil Nadu's Stricter Lockdown

Looks like the second corona wave has deluged Tamil Nadu in unprecedented ways. Agreed, TN Chief Minister MK Stalin has proactively taken the views of all the stakeholders concerned in several meetings. After nearly 15 days of a regulated lockdown, when shops remained open from 6 am to 10 am, a sudden decision on Saturday, May 22 to impose very strict lockdown, and yet allow shops to remain open till 9 pm on both Saturday and Sunday sent the people into a feeding frenzy. Within minutes, commercial neighbourhoods were inundated with pushing, shoving and elbowing crowds, wanting to stock up, sending black marketing up ….the lowly Lauki or Bottle Gourd cost Rs 70 a kilo, Snake Gourd Rs 80, as for other exotic veggies, the middle class would rather do without these. It is hard to judge such decisions by the ensuing fallout. The parable of the blind men trying to decipher an existentialist truth is so very apt. The bigger the round table, the more varied the solutions. Probably, the government’s view that at one stroke traders would liquidate most of the inventory, and allow the people to stock up for a week’s strict lockdown was the logic behind this. Unfortunately, this decision could make matters worse in an already frightening situation. Instead, the TN authorities would have done lasting service by opening up neighbourhood vaccination centers/ camps, demanded that the state’s vaccine needs were met by the Centre, and dangled the carrot of incentives for those who rushed to get the jab. Stricter lockdowns only spread a sense of panic and defiance. The blind men are still figuring out this elephant.

Post By Our Roving Editor

Entertainment

Aishwarya Lekshmi The Fast Rising Star On OTT

Covid 19 has overturned our ethos and lifestyles in ways that we haven’t fully fathomed. OTT is one of the most significant changes in our entertainment spectrum. Whichever the platform, the content and creative genius still remains supreme. Without sounding partisan, Tamil content has made that OTT transition, a much more creative, smooth as silk experience …whether in its earliest Anthology…Putham Pudhiya Kaalai, of five stories brilliantly directed by five outstanding directors among them Gautam Menon, Sudha Kangana, Suhasini Maniratnam. This showcased how the characters handle a corona ridden milieu. Urvashi, Jayaram, Kalidas, Prakshraj are memorable for their performances. Another anthology, Paava Kathaigal did fairly well. Two cute Hindi movies, Pagglait and Choked were super entertainers on a small budget. Bombay Begums is a pretentious me too. Big budget producers and mega vista directors like Shanker have to wait patiently for cinemas to come to life. In the meanwhile, new stars, new trends and more appealing entertainment in the privacy of your home are gaining big currency. One such OTT star is predicted to be Aishwarya Lekshmi, the stunning Malayalam actor from a hit movie, Maayanadhi. Her Jagame Thandiram with Dhanush, directed by Karthik Subburaj, is expected to raise the OTT bar even higher when released in June. Lekshmi is also in the ensemble cast of Mani Rathnam’s Ponniyin Selvan. No wonder OTT’s are in a keenly run race to garner gripping content. Reportedly, Zee5 claims their subscriptions have jumped 50% during Covid lockdown. Bloomberg analysts also estimates that multiple OTTs, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix are cashing in on an 82% increase in viewership.

Post By Our Roving Editor

TRENDS & VIEWS

Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack

It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.

TRENDS & VIEWS

Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack

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