Hypocrisy of the US media

Donald Trump swept the polls and the United States turned primarily red to the shock of the "liberals" .The margin of the Trump victory went onto prove on the level of disconnect that the mainstream media has with reality.CNN-IBN , NY Times,the Washington Post and all the other bigwigs got the polls wrong by a huge margin which begs the question on the accountability of the media.Should there be a penalty or a public admonition of the media if they repeatedly get their predictions incorrect.Even though this might sound like a far cry, media seemed to have taken a high moral ground against Trump.It's no big secret that Trump had made denigrating comments on Mexicans,passed inappropriate comments on women besides a host of other things which are not expected of a Presidential candidate.There should be no love lost for Trump.However the media by taking a high moral pedestal failed to have its ears to the ground and failed to understand the brewing anger in the country.They seemed to have forgotten that Flint,Michigan and Cleveland,Ohio are as much part of the nation as a New York or a San Francisco.

The frown and hypocrisy of the media got even worse on November 8th as it became clear that Trump emerged the clear winner and that too by a huge margin.Question's started emerging as to "What will I tell my 5 year old daughter " to "What has happened to our great nation " ?

The media focussed on Trump rather than understanding " What led to Trump " .Donald Trump was just a manifestation of the brewing discontent with the way politics has been carried on in Washington for many decades.Inspite of all his shortcomings,people voted in droves for Trump as they saw him as an outsider who could take on the status quo.Trump understood the pulse of the nation better than all the seasoned pros in the game.He called a spade a spade by talking about "radical Islam" which is clearly a threat to humanity.On the other hand,we had Hillary Clinton even refusing to talk about it.How would she , when 20% of her funding came from Saudi Arabia and her closest aide is Huma Abedin.Trump campaigned vigorously in the rust belt which Hillary ignored. Ofcourse ,Trump is treading on a dangerous path when he chooses to ignore climate change.There are a lot of other flaws in the Donald.But one thing he doesn't have is the hypocrisy of the Clinton camp.No matter how much she smiled,Hillary couldn't get over her emails.The Bernie supporters in hindsight feel cheated as Bernie would have emerged a sure shot winner against Trump.

Proferssor Alan Lichtman had correctly predicted using a 13 point system that Trump would emerge the winner.No one believed him then.

Professor Lichtman has gone onto predict that Trump would be impeached.Exciting days ahead.

What makes Donald Trump tick ?

The last 6 months has seen the rise and rise of Donald Trump from a political pariah to being the Republican party's nominee for the US presidential elections.You can hate him but time has proved that you surely cannot ignore him.So what makes him tick ?

1)Tap into the fears of people

Over the last 1 year,Trump has repeatedly trumpeted "fear" into the American consciousness.He stoked controversy by proposing a plan to ban "Muslim Immigrants" to US until they "figure out what's going on".Sounds easy to the ear but this is a complex problem which cannot be solved by one man or nation over a decade.

The liberals caught onto this and Trump had to face the heat on social media and from leaders world wide,especially the Arab world.However,Trump has stuck to his views and the primaries in the Southern states paid him rich dividents. Apart from Texas,Ted Cruz who was supposed to be the blue eyed boy of the evangelicals switched their allegiance to the Trump camp.

Was this his genuine view or a well thought out statement to get votes ?  Trump alone knows!

2)White supremacy & Utopia

The conservatives view Trump as having a lot of qualities that they would like to live with.Rich,white man with a beautiful wife running a successful business running around with a slogan of "Make America Great Again".

Trump constantly talks of China and Asia stealing the jobs away.Globalization is a reality and the sensible Americans have realized that globalization and offshoring is an irreversible phenomenon.The slogan of "Make American Great Again" has caught on with the conservatives whou would love to see their country retain the growth of the 70's and 80's.Again an impossible proposition.

Apart from criticizing of outsourcing and slogan monkering, Trump is yet to come out with solid bullet point steps that the US needs to take up to make his statement come true.

3)Being unpredictable and grab the media's attention

The media just loves Donald Trump because the man is unpredictable & can say anything anytime unlike the pre-determined responses of a Hillary Clinton or Obama.Watching CNN and Fox over the last year has been an incredibly boring affair with spotlights constantly on Trump's shenanigans.Trump has so far not outlined any specific steps on fixing the US debt or healthcare.Much of the earlier campaign was mud sliging at Rubio and Cruz.Trump has patted himself on the back repeatedly for his business acumen of knowing when to enter and exit a business.However it remains to be seen if business acumen can ever translate to good foreign policy.

It would be a fascinating election in November to see Trump take on the Democrats.It would be even more fascinating to see President Donald Trump in action.Meanwhile latest polls suggest that Bernie might do better against Trump rather than a Hillary.Hillary for all her experience certainly misses the charisma of an Obama.The email server and Bengazhi has been a thorn for her team throughout the campaign trail.

Interesting days ahead !!

Would taking acting lessons help make you a better executive ?

Taking acting lessons might be a good way for executives to be better at their job.The skill set requirements for an actor and executives find a lot of meeting points,some of which are discussed below.

1)Being in the moment 

One of the main qualities that a good actor needs to imbibe is to be constantly be in the present moment.Acting is a form of meditation where the actor has to leave his personal problems aside and get into the heart and mind of the character being portrayed.Executives often have trouble being present with distractions and stresses in the personal life to issues with multi-tasking.Research has proved time and again that the mind by nature functions best when it is focused on one particular activity.

Great actors like Robert Deniro,Al Pacino,Marlon Brando & Mohanlal have an uncanny ability to be completely immersed in their present and react to the ongoing situation in a calm and relaxed way.Being present in the moment also leads one into a zone where the mind can function from a higher intelligence.

2)Understanding different perspectives

A good actor is always aware of the emotion that is conveyed in every situation.A good actor also understands the script and story in whole and is not just bothered about his or her part in the plot.Likewise,an executive cannot function as an island without understanding the broader vision of the organization and needs to work in a selfless manner to get the respect of his team mates.

3)Being authentic

Actors have to portray broad range of emotions in a short span of time and have to be authentic throughout.Audience would be able to tell in a whisker between a genuine actor and a struggling actor who tries to be too hard.

4)Being a good listener

Good actors have to not only act but also react efficiently to other co-actors.Likewise,executives should not focus only on their side of the story or try to push their agenda on their reportees. The corporate world has a big share of managers and leaders who might achieve their targets but keep the employees disgruntled leading to higher attrition rates.To be a good listener,one would need to keep out their personal biases out and listen in a completely non judgmental way.

5)Timing 

Timing is a key factor which distinguishes a good actor from a mediocre one.Actors have to appear on the scene and move out at the right time.They also have to constantly react to the changes.Executives would need to imbibe the same qualities to stay afloat and shine in the constantly changing market place.They would need remain abreast of the latest innovations and technology.

7)Body language & Voice modulation

Good actors have to modulate their tone as per the scene.Similarly managers would need to wear different hats on any given day.There will be situations where one would need to be come affirmative in his/her actions ,words and others where an empathetic tone would do the work.

A person who has no self awareness would not be able to manage his thoughts and emotions.An executive just like a good actor would need to display heightened sense of sensitivity to situations and events around him/her.

All in all,taking acting classes and being part of dramas and films might provide a sense of direction and drive to executives who are looking to advance in their professional life's.

Minneapolis - A shining example for other metros to emulate

Having lived in Los Angeles,Dallas and Minneapolis,I can vouch for the fact that the Greater Metro Area of Minneapolis beats LA and Dallas hands down.

Minneapolis stands apart as a shining example for other metros in the US and even the world to emulate.

Key selling points of the Twin Cities(Minneapolis-StPaul) are :

1.Fiscal equalization:

Unlike other metros Minneapolis has religiously stuck to the fiscal equalization policy whereby the rich are taxed and the funds sprinkled to the lesser developed parts of the city.This has resulted in almost zero ghettos in the Greater Minneapolis-St Paul metro area & almost equal quality of life throughout the metro area.This phenomenon is in strange contrast to the picture in cities like Los Angeles,New York or Dallas where the economic divide is clearly visible geographically.Sticking to this policy has ensured that the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St Paul has plenty of well maintained parks,schools,biking trails,roads and other amenities.

The rich in places like San Francisco get into a shell and ensure that the middle income and lower sections of the society are pushed out of the metro limits thereby leading to a feeling of isolation and crime.If you earn 100 000$ in Minneapolis,you would need double that to maintain the same quality of lifestyle in a place like San Francisco.It remains to be seen on how long the real estate bubble in a city like San Fran can sustain where it has virtually impossible for a family earning 60 000$ per year to survive.

2.Blend of the urban and the rural

Minneapolis–St. Paul is the headquarters for 19 Fortune 500 companies—more than any other metro its size—spanning retail (Target), health care (UnitedHealth), and food (General Mills). In the past 60 years, 40 Minneapolis-based businesses have made it onto Fortune’s list.

If you drive an hour from the twin cities,soy and corn farmlands greet you with open arms.The twin cities offer a perfect blend of nature with its lakes,beautifully preserved parks,corporates and farms.

Minneapolis stands out as a shining example for the metros in the developing world on how to strike a balance between growing prosperity and respecting nature.To the credit of the legislators,the parks and lakes are preserved in all its natural elegance.It is no surprise that Minnesota has the 2nd highest lifespan in the US after Hawaii.Minnesotans' take advantage of the biking trails and parks to the hilt and keep themselves in shape.

3.Highest employment rate for the millennials in US

Most impressive of all, the Twin Cities have the highest employment rate for 18-to-34-year-olds in the country.If you are a student,a single bed room apartment is available starting from 800 $ to 1300 $.Student's find it easier to start with part time jobs as they work their way up the career.3 bed ,4 bath homes are available in the range of 250 000$ to 340 000 $ in plenty in great schooling districts all over the metro area.If you are ready to work hard,opportunities are plenty in the Twin cities.

4.Workforce 

The saying in the metro area is that it is very difficult to get someone to move to Minneapolis and it is even more difficult to get someone to leave Minneapolis.People fear the winter and refrain from moving but once they move in,they swear to never move out.Most of the corporate sector has managers in the 30's and 40's who were born in Minnesota and passed out of its colleges.They never care to move out of state.This ensures that the Twin cities has a rich talented workforce.

All in all, a great place to live and raise a family !!

Does the big US banks needs to be broken up?

With the US Presidential elections looming,the question on whether "The Big US banks needs to be broken down " becomes relevant again.

Here are the top six and their total assets:

1. Bank of America Corp., $2.264 trillion
2. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., $2.246 trillion
3. Citigroup Inc., $1.957 trillion
4. Wells Fargo & Co., $1.260 trillion
5. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., $937 billion
6. Morgan Stanley, $831 billion

After the 2008 financial recession,the Obama administration introduced the Dodd Frank legislation,which is a massive piece of financial reform legislation as a response  The act's numerous provisions, spelled out over thousands of pages, are scheduled to be implemented over a period of several years and are intended to decrease various risks in the U.S. financial system.

However statistics reveal that the despite the legislation,these banks have continued to get bigger.

Failure of these banks could take down 50% of the US economy along with it.

These banks have often indulged in blatant misuse of power they have gained by monopoly in the market. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined 10 firms a total of $43.5 million for allowing their equity research analysts to solicit investment banking business and for offering favorable research coverage in connection with the 2010 planned initial public offering of Toys"R"Us.

FINRA fined the following firms.

Barclays Capital Inc. – $5 million
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. – $5 million
Credit Suisse Securities (USA), LLC – $5 million
Goldman, Sachs & Co. – $5 million
JP Morgan Securities LLC – $5 million
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. – $4 million
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. – $4 million
Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC – $4 million
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC – $4 million
Needham & Company LLC – $2.5 million

We haven't seen any of the executives of these banks being forced to face the law.Due to their size, these banks often get away by paying the million dollar fines and still reap rich profits.

The US election campaigning mechanism doesn't help the process either with Super PAC's financing the candidates they prefer.It's an indirect way of ensuring their sustenance.

Any one having a decent credit score can purchase a house in the US by putting down a down payment of 3-5% of the total value of the house.This system works as long as the economy does well.However in case of a recession,when people lose jobs ,they end up being homeless in a short span of time.Lack of a strong family system in many cases leads to depression and suicides.

Those in favor of the big banks argue that the banks reflect the state of the economy.Bigger the companies in the economy,its only natural that the banks would be huge in size.They also argue that breaking down the banks will not increase the quality of service or security of data.

 It would be interesting to see if the next President of the US follows up on the Dodd Frank Act and ensure that it gets implemented as scheduled.At present,the intent is only being shown by Bernie Sanders.

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Ramifications of falling oil prices

The world is on a turning point with the plummeting oil prices. This has multiple ramifications across the economic & political scenario around the world.

1.China&India

With the Chinese economy slowing down, the consumption of oil has slowed down over the last 2 years. With the Chinese stock market going on a tailspin over the last few months, the FDI to the Chinese market is bound to decline.

With the other big weight India opting for nuclear energy and solar energy to replace its dependency on fossil fuels, the import of oil in these two guzzlers is further going to reduce in the coming decades.

2.Fracking technology

The US has successfully employed fracking technology to tap into its reserves in Texas and North Dakota to reduce its dependency on oil from OPEC. This has pushed in excess of oil into the market. Saudi Arabia has increased the production of oil into the market as a counter strategy to US to make it unprofitable for US companies like BP to remain profitable.However,US has so far shown no inclination to reduce production using fracking.

3.Iran back in business

The recent lifting of sanctions on Iran has allowed it further pump in crude oil to the market. The straining of relations between Iran and Saudi after the recent execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia has made Iran go on a fight mode with the Saudi’s. Reports suggest that Iran is willing to sell oil at even a loss so as to make Saudi go  off the radar completely.

4.Falling hegemony of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is expected to run out of money if oil were to stay at around the 25 $ per barrel mark for another  5 years. At present Saudi has a healthy forex reserve of more than 700 billion dollars. The Saudi government has started cutting down on austerities and subsidies offered to its public with the fall in oil prices. They would like the oil price to remain around the $100 per barrel. However this looks highly unlikely and oil prices are expected to remain in the range of 45 – 55 $ per barrel over the next decade. It has become increasingly clear that the Saudi hegemony is going to continually decrease in the coming years.

 War in the Middle East

Latest reports prove that with Russia and Iran’s support, Assad has been able to gain ground in Syria. The Americans did not expect Putin to jump into this game. However Putin has played a masterstroke here from being a political pariah to stealing the carpet under Obama.

Saudi Arabia has been reluctant to send in its army with it already being involved in a war with Yemen. However it’s a well-known secret that the biggest financiers of ISIS has been Saudi.The US foreign policy of supplying arms to Saudi has been the biggest hypocrisy of the 21st century. Next time ,the US goes on a foreign invasion,you can bet that it would face stiff opposition from Iran,Russia,China and South America.

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Being on H4 visa in US

The USCIS recently passed a law to allow spouses of H1B visa holders who are in US on H4 visa to apply for Employment authorization through an EAD,in cases where the I140 form has been approved for the H1B holder.

This change in rule has brought about a huge sigh of relief among the families of the Indian community in US.Over 90 000 applications for H4 -EAD came through by December 2015,a few months after the legislation was approved.

It was high time that the US gets rid of this no brainer restriction.In fact the USCIS should go a step further and stamp the EAD for H4 workers the moment they enter US.Countries like Canada and Australia are much more friendly in this regard as they allow both the husband and wife to work without restrictions once the visa gets through.

H1B is a work visa for high skilled workers and its not rocket science to realize that most of the folks on H1B are married to people who are graduates or even post graduates in many cases.


1.The US economy would instantly benefit by allowing the spouses of these H1B workers to work in the States.They would pay for taxes and social security.Some of them might even turn out to be entrepreneurs and employ Americans,thereby expanding the economy.

2.Getting an opportunity to work would provide the spouses to feel a part of the American life as most of them get stuck into feeling homesick,depressed or end up in cases of domestic abuse in worse instances.They feel that their prime of life gets wasted.

3.Immigrants form the backbone of the US economy.With the baby boomers retiring by 10 000 per day in the coming day,it becomes critical for US to replace these workers with a younger talented workforce.The spouses of many of these H1B workers feel inclined to go back to India or their native countries after a couple of years due to the helpless feeling of being non productive.

The US would need to loosen up these nonsensical restrictions on its immigration policies if it has to continue remaining an attractive destination for the best brains around the world.Is Donald Trump listening?

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Is the Internet making us smarter or dumber?

Is the internet making us smarter or dumber?Are the millenials becoming smarter with the smart phone or are they going south ?

The answer won't be a binary.Yes ,in may aspects.The brain is not wired to handle multiple thoughts at the same time which is exactly what a smart phone makes you do.When you log into facebook or twitter and start reading an article,a whatsapp message pops out and your brain forces you to halt the article and switch to the whatsapp.Suddenly,yet another advertisement pops up which further steals your attention and diverts you from the article.This constant bombardment of information is not necessarily good.The question is how much of this information really gets filtered down as knowledge or gets applied in your life.

Of course the internet brings with it tons of positives which the previous generation did not have access to.You could check the weather,book flight tickets,look at the reviews of the latest gadget or restaurant down the block,do a background check on someone,transfer money to family,start your video channel all from the comfort of wherever you are.

However the biggest curse of the internet seems to be the drastic drop in memory and concentration levels with the previous generation.If you talk to folks from the previous generation,we would realize that they might not be a jack of all trades but you could bet on them to deliver quality in their area of specialization.On the contrary the current generation seems to take the path of being jack of all trades and master of none.

Constantly being on the internet tends to make people easily irritable and impatient.It does take patience to lock oneself in a library without any external distraction and finish a book.

It would be interesting on how the brains of this and the future generations would evolve in the coming years with the advent of social media.

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Social media and living life in a binary mode

With the advent of the like button in facebook,users have started to look life in a binary mode.Either you like something or does not.Recent reports hint that facebook is contemplating bringing on a dislike button.It would have made more sense if facebook had an option of an equivalent of "seeing things in grey".

Everything in life has a an upside and a downside to it & completely depends on the perspective.Liking and disliking encourages kids to take a binary view of life which would negatively impact their thought process.

With all the pluses that social media brings,the binary mode seems to be one of the biggest cons.Studies prove that the time you spent on social media,higher the chances of you getting irritated and depressed easily for the simple reason that people tend to put their best selves on instagram or facebook.If things are not going well & you look at a friends profile filled with exotic pics and yummy food,chances are that you will end up depressed rather than feel good for your friend.

You might like the pic for the sake of it but your heart might not necessarily agree with your head.As a result,there are chances for people to lead hypocritical lifes where they mistake crass materialism for true happiness.This is not to deny all the great benefits that social media brings with it.

However,the millenials would do well to use this great blessing of our generation with the right dosage.

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The credit score saga !

If you have lived in the United States, a lot of your thoughts would surround around the 2 words : "CREDIT SCORE".

Maintaining a good credit has become equivalent between poverty and survival in this country.

Your credit score is supposed to show on how you fare in paying off your credit card bills and managing your finance

The question is whether the credit score system is a good system.






From personal experience, some of the cons that I see on the system are :

• Students who pass out of college with a heavy student load of around 30 000 $ and don't end up finding a decent job which pays at least 50 000 $ per annum in 6 months,life is going to be hard for them.They are forced to work multiple part time jobs to make ends meet.They are sucked into the credit system at a young age.This kind of a vicious system doesn't allow you to pursue fields like arts and creativity which involve a longer period for a person to establish.
• The credit system makes it difficult for you to go on a sabbatical or make a career switch as your score would take a deep plunge the moment you stop paying the required credit card payments and the bank balances go down.
• If you go through a divorce and end up paying child care support and a heavy alimony,your finances could be ruined which in turn could nose dive your credit score in a short amount of time.The financial pressure could break a person and make him or her depressed and feel left out.
• Parents discourage children from staying with them after they turn 18 as they don't want their credit scores and finances to be affected by standing as guarantor for loans for their kids.This breaks the bond between kids and their parents.Kids don't care a hoot for their parents especially if the parents don't share their college or dorm fees.

Supporters of the system argue that :

• The system works well for a person or family who is financially stable.The system ensures that you pay your bills on time and manage your credit cards well.

The question we should be asking is ,shouldn't we move emphasize more a DEBIT Score rather than a Credit score?The debit score could look into how much you try to save per month or paycheck once you settle in your career.The idea should be to encourage individuals and families to save rather than pay their credit card bills systematically.The 2 six letter words that the US would need to fix in the 21st century if they have to remain a superpower is : 1)Family 2)Savings.

The FED has so far had the luxury of printing and pumping cash indiscriminately.This cannot go on forever and would eventually require families to save.Earlier the better.The fundamental model of the US economy would change if another recession was to strike & people might switch over to the savings model rather than the consumption model.

America in the 21st century

Economists,foreign policy watchers and politicians are hotly debating the question - "Is the US on the decline" ?

This question will not be a straight forward yes or now.Detailed analysis on various aspects of national life would be required.

1)Healthcare:

The US healthcare system is exorbitant and costs continue to spiral.The Affordable Care Act brought on by the Obama administration was a step in the right direction hoping to make Healthcare affordable and mandatory.The results however doesn't look bright.Obamacare has succeeded in enrolling more Americans for healthcare through the exchange program.Heavy fines are imposed under this program if a family remains uninsured during the calendar year.

However,on the downside,it has resulted in big players like Anthem&Cigna joining hands and capturing larger market shares to keep their profits in check.

US lags way behind countries like Germany,Denmark and Sweden where healthcare is much cheaper and services more efficient.

It has become impossible for any senator to challenge the drug companies from the costs constantly as their fundings would take an immediate hit.However in the above countries,drug companies are under the ambit of the government and are forced to keep the prices of drugs within a range.


2)Education:

US primary education standards are on the downhill as per many studies.However,US continues to excel in its post graduate and research programs.US is still able to attract the best brains from around the world and they continue to make it their home.

However,the future immigration policies of subsequent governments would have a strong say on if this trend would continue onto the 21st century.


3)Foreign policy:

The US has come under heavy criticism from around the world after the twin blunders of Iraq and Afghanisthan.Its a fact that US hegemony will be on the decline as we move into the 21st century.Putin moving Russian forces into Syria in support of Assad is a clear sign that the cracks of US foreign policy are starting to backfire.


BRICS ( Brazil ,Russia,India,China , South-Africa) & Israel would take stronger roles in fighting terror in the coming decades and would continually challenge US foreign policies.We are already seeing evidences of this with China investing massively in Africa and building islands in South China sea against US interests.

However US continues to have the largest military budget & military bases by far comparing to any other country.


4)US Debt :

The US debt would spiral into trillions with the baby boomers set to retire in the next 5-10 years.Social security and medicare bills are a ticking time bomb on the treasury.

Given the fact that majority of the US debt is held by China,the next President would have a tightrope diplomacy to maintain.He or she will not be in a position to act indiscriminately against China.

Any massive selling of US debt would lead to a crash in the dollar which could trigger a further recession.


5)Family & Savings :

The American mindset would have to learn to respect these two crucial 6 letter words if they are to prosper in the 21st century.

a) Family : 

Countries like India where the families are closely knit are closed from external shocks in economies primarily because families step in when members are in an economic crisis and hence there is a lesser dependency on the government.Medical insurance and health care is extraordinarily cheap and hence children take charge of the parent's medical bills once they enter into old age.Hence the government is freed up of social security and medicare bills.This behavior has been culturally embedded into their DNA whereas in the US , "independence" is an overly rated virtue.


b)Saving :

Families in India run on the debit transactions unlike US where everything runs on credit.Hence,children are continually encouraged to save from childhood.Banks do not lend home loans unless you shell in 20% of the down payment.Hence India did quite well even as the housing market in the US crashed.


6)Immigration:

The US immigration story has been a great success over the decades.However the Republican calls to cut down on H1B visa's to 20 000 doesn't look promising.H1B visa's are issued to highly skilled workers like IT professionals,doctors and engineers.

The Republican fear mongering is against the stand of stalwarts like Bill Gates who have called on the US government to issue infinite H1B visas as these workers are highly skilled and are more often than not would end up starting ventures in the US in the long run and create more jobs.

The US would continue to flourish as long as it continues to bring in the best brains & minds.
Accepting Syrian refugees is a different debate altogether and the 2 issues are often mixed up by the right wingers while debating.

The world needs America to keep doing well into the 21st century and let's hope the legislators make all the right choices in the days ahead.


For feedback ,write to anandurz@gmail.com

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A take on the global economy and political scenario - 2016

The housing market has been on upswing over the last year.US real estate prices are back to the 2008 days.Seller's who bought their property at the peak of the bubble around 2004-2006 period had to wait a decade to back their equity.

The question is whether the rise of the US economy this time is for real.Critics like Jim Rickards have criticized the Fed heavily and strongly believes that another stronger,longer recession is around the corner. Rickards points out that the FED has been indiscriminately pumping in cash to keep the inevitable from happening.Another possibility that he points out is that the next global recession could be triggered with the collapse of the Chinese economy and not from home grown market forces.The Chinese -US economic tango is well documented.China holds majority of the US stock to keep the yuan low and hence keep its position of a manufacturing hub intact.If a scenario occurs where the Chinese does a massive sell of the US foreign debt, the markets could tailspin into panic mode and would prove to be a domino effect too strong to withhold.

In between,buying in the US market has gone on an upswing with the employment rate looking good.Critics like Rickards again point out that the jobs that are created are part time jobs not full time stable jobs.

People prefer to buy rather than rent.Most people in US would be happy to see their house prices appreciate close to 1 to 3 %.Gone are the crazy expectations of massive increase in real estate value after the hard lessons of the recession.Statistics of properties sold show that the high sales are in the range of 350 000 $ to 450 000 $ in a place like Minneapolis which could be considered a upper middle class range.This again does points out that the real definition of middle class in US needs to be clearly defined.Families earning 200 000 $ per annum consider themselves middle class in US.Considering that the average family income of a US family is 56 000 $ , this does not make sense.

The rise of Bernie Sanders in the upcoming elections is a clear indicator that the middle class is increasingly feeling isolated from mainstream.Democratic socialism is making waves in US.With most of the democracies going right wing across the world,it would be interesting to see how Right wing conservatism from the likes of Donald Trump would come out in the election.

Accepting Syrian refugees &  Islamic terrorism is again a hot area of debate on the election trail.The Democrats have been continually refusing to use the work "Islamic terror" and argue that forming a coalition and air strikes are the way forward.The Republicans on the other hand have been blowing the fear trumpet.Tedd Cruz and Trump have come heavily on Obama for the Iran deal and for not sending in ground troops.However Cruz and Trump have not explained on how they plan to finance another US ground troop invasion.

Europe is struggling with the biggest exodus of immigrants after the World War.Recent incidents of sexual assaults on women by refugees in Cologne on New Years' eve has led to the popularity ratings of Angela Merkel falling.David Cameron has called for more purposeful expression of liberal values.With the Euro in a crisis,it would be interesting to see if Britain chooses to remain with the EU or drop out of it in the days to come.France has joined the US led airstrikes after the attack in Paris.

Putin has snatched the initiative from the West with Syria.He has made it clear that keeping Assad in power is the best option at the point.Putin has realized that the US hegemony after the double blunders of Iraq and Afghanisthan is on the decline.

Meanwhile in India,Modi government is trying to push through key reforms like GST with a disruptive opposition like Congress playing spoiltsport.It would be critical for a Modi let BJP government to assume power again in 2019 if the key initiatives like Make In India,Digital India and financial inclusion of the poor are to take place.

2016 would be a key year to watch.


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