Another Bomb Blast in Delhi

September 27th, Indian capital Delhi saw another blast in Mehrauli area of Delhi. This blast has taken place at 2:15 PM near flower mandi in Mehrauli. Blast was so powerful that people heard its voice 1 KM away from this place. So far, 2 people have died in this blast and more than dozen people injured in this incidence. Few children have also got injured in this blast. This blast was of same power as earlier bomb blasts in Delhi few days back.

Bomb Blast was also powerful enough to break glasses of nearby shops and houses. This bomb was planted by two young men on black pulsar motorbike who through a plastic pack on the spot and ran away. Bomb was placed inside a Tiffin box. People in the area are very angry over this incidence and lack of after support to them. This blast has again put question mark over Delhi police’s claim of catching all terrorists.

As per media reports, Terrorists have already given warning of conducting this blast yesterday. Delhi police has issued warning to people to remain alert and not touch any suspicious item.

Indian Mujahideen as serious threat

Many people in India didn’t think Indian Mujahideen as serious threat when they first took the responsibility of serial bomb blasts in Jaipur and UP. However, by taking responsibility of recent bomb blasts in Ahmedabad and New Delhi, Indian mujahideen has shown to India that it is a real new threat for its security.

Indian security agencies believe that Indian Mujahideen is not a new terrorist outfit but combination of old terrorist outfits with new names. It is also believed that terrorists of Bangladeshi origin have great role in this outfit. The major worrying sign about this outfit is that they look to be very strong in IT and planning skills.

So far Indian security agencies have remained total failure in getting any know about of these terrorists. Though, Gujarat police is claiming some breakthrough in Ahmedabad blast case but recent attacks in Delhi say something else. In recent times, terrorism has again emerged as big threat for India and India needs to face with threat with lot of preparation.

Seven days that shook the financial world

Seven Days That Shook Wall Street

A look back at the historic—and often scary—events that changed the U.S. financial system forever


It was the week that shook the financial world to the core. On Friday, Sept. 12, traders left the New York Stock Exchange for the weekend. But key banking officials, facing the impending failure of the venerable Lehman Brothers investment house and a shaky outlook for two other huge financial players—investment firm Merrill Lynch (MER) and insurance giant American International Group (AIG)—began a series of weekend meetings in an effort to prevent a possible collapse of the global financial system.

Over the next seven days, the nation's financial leaders, captained by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, produced a rapid succession of moves that reversed a decades-long trend toward financial deregulation and fundamentally changed the face of the American financial system. Lehman failed and Merrill was sold to Bank of America (BAC). The government took effective control of AIG in an $85 billion bailout. And, in the biggest intervention of all, officials proposed to purchase the troubled mortgage assets of financial firms, a move that could cost hundreds of billions of additional dollars.

Meanwhile, worried investors sent the stock markets into a dizzying ride of huge gains and losses.

Here's how the events unfolded:

Friday, Sept. 12: The trading week ends with the fate of 158-year-old Lehman Brothers in grave doubt. Its stock had fallen sharply due to fears over its financial condition. Paulson, Bernanke, and New York Fed President Tim Geithner begin a series of meetings in Lower Manhattan with top bankers in an effort to engineer a bailout of Lehman, which had bet heavily in the subprime mortgage market. Two possible buyers emerge: Britain's Barclays (BCS) and Bank of America.

Saturday, Sept. 13: Talks on a possible Lehman buyout continue. The would-be rescuers look to the government to take on some of the risk, as it did in the shotgun sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase (JPM) in March and the effective nationalization on Sept. 8 of mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). Government officials hold fast that there will be no federal bailout. Talks are inconclusive.

Sunday, Sept. 14: The negotiators continue meeting, facing a deadline to act before Asian markets open for Monday morning trading. But government officials insist there will be no federal backing of a Lehman rescue. With no help from Washington forthcoming, Barclays—the only possibility left after Bank of America leaves the table—withdraws. Lehman is done for. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, seeing the writing on the wall, arranges the sale of his company to Bank of America for about $50 billion. In one day, the fates of two storied companies are sealed.

Monday, Sept. 15: Lehman Brothers Holdings, the bank's holding company, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and says it will try to sell key business units. Investor concern now turns to the fate of AIG, fearing a liquidity crisis. Rating agencies cut AIG's credit rating. Despite reassurances about the economy from Paulson and President George W. Bush, the stock market plummets. The Dow Jones industrial average drops more than 504 points, or 4.4%, the biggest loss since right after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. The failure also roils overseas stocks, sending them plunging. Meanwhile, concerns about a slowing economy take oil below the psychological benchmark of $100 a barrel, its lowest level since February.

Tuesday, Sept. 16: The Federal Reserve meets and keeps the federal funds rate unchanged at 2%. Asian markets, some of which had been closed for a holiday on Monday, plummet. The Russian stock market goes into a tailspin, with the largest exchange down more than 17% before the Russian government halts trading. Managers of the Primary Fund, a supposedly supersafe money market fund, say that shares have fallen below the sacrosanct $1 valuation. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS), the two remaining independent investment banks, report stronger-than-expected results. However, investors continue to beat down the companies' shares. Amid all the turbulence, U.S. officials decide that AIG is indeed "too big to fail." In a move that would have been unthinkable before the credit crisis began, the Fed arranges to lend $85 billion to AIG in exchange for a 79.9% equity stake. The deal is announced Tuesday evening. Even before the deal is finalized, the Dow reverses an earlier loss and gains 141 points.

Wednesday, Sept. 17: The government bailout of AIG fails to stem investor fears as they flee to safety. Credit markets tighten. The New York Times reports that Washington Mutual (WM), the nation's largest thrift, has put itself up for sale. The Dow plunges 449 points.

Thursday, Sept. 18: The New York Times reports that Morgan Stanley has "stepped up" merger talks with Wachovia (WB). The Fed moves to pump money into the financial system through lending programs operated by several overseas central banks and the Fed's own moves. At the same time, the government begins action on the hugest bailout of all, committing hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to buy troubled mortgage assets from beleaguered financial institutions. As word of the evolving plan spreads, stocks rally. The Dow closes up 410 points. In the evening, Paulson and Bernanke and Securities & Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox go to the U.S. Capitol to brief lawmakers on the plan, which requires congressional authorization.

Friday, Sept. 19: The buyout plan—with few firm details—is announced and stocks soar worldwide. President Bush says the move puts "a significant amount of taxpayer dollars on the line," but he says the risk of not acting "would be far higher." In additional actions, the Treasury and Fed act to guarantee the assets of money-market funds, which had been threatened by the meltdown of the financial markets, and the SEC places a temporary ban on the short-selling of nearly 799 financial stocks. The Dow closes up 368.75 points, 45 points below where it was a week earlier but still 911 points over its bottom on Thursday morning.

A momentous week indeed, but there is no sign the economic drama will limit itself to a mere seven days. Lawmakers and regulators are to work through this weekend in an effort to devise bailout plan legislation that can come to a vote next week. The bipartisan consensus surrounding the deal can come undone as the details are ironed out. But for drama, it will be hard to match events that have reshaped the U.S. financial landscape for years, if not decades to come.

Lehman Gallery

A giant falls



In what is considered as the worst financial crisis on Wall Street in recent times, the US investment giant Lehman Brothers, burdened by $60 billion in soured real-estate holdings, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in US Bankruptcy Court after attempts to rescue the 158-year-old firm failed. Bank of America Corp. said it is snapping up Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in a $50 billion all-stock transaction. Picture shows the day's financial news displayed on the ABC news ticker in New York's Times Square, on Monday, September 15, 2008.

Serious repercussions in India



An onlooker reacts as he watches stock prices on a screen on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai, India, on Monday, Sept. 15, 2008. Indian stocks plunged on Monday amid anxiety about the global financial system on news of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and the takeover of Merrill Lynch. The 158-year-old Lehman Brothers’ move to file for bankruptcy today wiped off more than Rs 2,000 crore from the market valuation of those Indian companies in which the US financial major has made equity investments. the latest crisis will crimp global capital flows further, leaving little hope for the Indian stock markets to recover in the near future.


5000 lose jobs in UK



A London newspaper is sold near the offices of Lehman Brothers in Canary Wharf in London, on Monday, September 15, 2008. Over 5,000 workers in the UK lost their jobs after the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers.The British operations of Lehman Brothers were placed in administration on Monday to protect them from creditors.

Worst credit crisis



Robin Radaetz holds a sign in front of the Lehman Brothers headquarters on Monday, September 15, 2008 in New York

Uncertain future




Employees of Lehman Brothers leave the company's headquarters in New York City carrying boxes and personal belongings as they clear their offices on Sunday, September 14, 2008 after hearing the news that Lehman Brothers may be forced to seek an orderly unwinding of its businesses.


Meltdown on Wall Street



Traders work on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange in New York, on Monday, September 15, 2008. Oil prices plunged to a seven-month low on Monday as the Gulf Coast energy infrastructure appeared relatively unharmed after Hurricane Ike and traders bet that Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy could ignite a massive liquidation of commodities.

Shattered dreams




Elizabeth Rose, a specialist with Lehman Brothers MarketMakers, works her post on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, September 15, 2008. A stunning reshaping of the Wall Street landscape sent stocks down sharply on Monday, but the pullback appeared relatively orderly _ perhaps because investors were unsurprised by the demise of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and relieved by a takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.

Air of anxiety



A crowd of media and pedestrians gather in front of the Lehman Brothers headquarters on Monday, September 15, 2008, in New York.

Mind Your Language

Tell them what you want

One of the staff in a high school found it difficult to stop students running up and down the stairs. She continually told them not to run but it made little difference. She was at her wits’ end. I suggested that instead of telling them not to run she say something like: “Slow down please” or “Walk down the stairs.” She was excited and somewhat amazed to report that it had worked – such a little change in language brought such a marked improvement in the match between what she wanted the kids to do and what they actually did.

How does this happen?

If I don’t want you to think of pink elephants and I say “Don’t think of pink elephants” what happens? You immediately get a picture of pink elephants in your mind and then, if you are feeling complicit as you read this, you try not to think about them. Now, if I’d asked you not to think about red rhinos, for example, there is much less chance of you conjuring up those pink elephants.

The mind works a bit like a search engine on the internet. Put in a word, press SEARCH and all the references to that word come up on the screen. Put in a mental suggestion like pink elephants and you don’t even have to press a button; up come images of pink elephants on the screen of the mind.
And that’s what happens in kids’ minds when we tell them not to do something. Its not wilful disobedience so much as the mind making pictures and the body going towards them.

Bill Rogers – in his excellent behaviour management series “Corrective Discipline” – suggests using the pattern “When …. then ….” rather than “You can’t …. because….”
For example: “Johnny, when you have finished tidying your room, then you can go out to play.” rather than: “Johnny you can’t go out to play because your room is a mess”
With the first sentence Johnny gets a picture in his mind of tidying his room, then going out to play. Just what we want. In the second sentence we’re inviting his subconscious to picture himself not being able to go out to play and with an untidy room.
This works for our own internal dialogue as well. If we continually tell ourselves that we shouldn’t be eating those cream cakes (assuming we want to lose weight) we’re making things unnecessarily difficult for ourselves.

Suggestion
If you catch yourself about to ask a child, or tell yourself, not to do something, ask them/tell yourself to do an alternative instead. The unconscious mind will make pictures of whatever words you say – so choose the ones you want the listener to see.


Some alternatives to use.
I mustn’t eat that cream cake – I will leave the cream cake in the shop.
Don’t be late – Come home in good time.
Stop shouting – Talk quietly.
You can’t have any pudding because you haven’t eaten your meat. – When you’ve eaten your meat you can have some pudding

Delhi Blasts

Five bombs exploded in crowded markets and streets in New Delhi on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and injuring 90 people.

The Indian Mujahideen Islamic militant group, which has claimed several major attacks in recent months, sent an e-mail to television stations saying it was responsible for the blasts.

Police and witnesses said two bombs went off in dustbins in and around Connaught Place, a shopping and dining area popular with tourists and locals in the city centre. Others exploded within minutes of each other in busy markets around the city.

"Around 6:30 p.m. we heard a very loud noise, then we saw people running all over the place," said Chanchal Kumar, a witness whose shirt was soaked with the blood of several victims whom he had helped to carry into ambulances.

"There were about 100-200 people around this place," he said. The weekend was a particularly busy one ahead of Hindu and Muslim festivals.

The Indian Mujahideen e-mail mentioned nine bombs. Police said they had found and defused four.

"We have news of 20 people killed, and the toll could rise as many people are seriously injured," Delhi police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal told reporters.

In a hospital bed, Gulab Singh, his head bandaged, wailed at the death of his 2-year-old grandson.

"We were all sitting around the parking lot when suddenly there was a huge blast. We did not know what happened. My world has changed," Singh said, crying inconsolably.

Video of Bomb Blast


Major Attacks in India

At least five bombs exploded in crowded markets and streets in the heart of New Delhi on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and injuring scores more.

The Indian Mujahideen militant group, which has claimed several major attacks in recent months, said it was responsible.

Following is a chronology of some of the major attacks in India in the past five years:

March 13, 2003 - A bomb attack on a commuter train in Mumbai kills 11 people.

Aug. 25, 2003 - Two car bombs kill about 60 in Mumbai.

Aug. 15, 2004 - A bomb explodes in the northeastern state of Assam, killing 16 people, mostly schoolchildren, and wounding dozens.

Oct. 29, 2005 - Sixty-six people are killed when three blasts rip through markets in New Delhi.

March 7, 2006 - At least 15 people are killed and 60 wounded in three blasts in the northerly Hindu pilgrimage city of Varanasi.

July 11, 2006 - More than 180 people are killed in seven bomb explosions at railway stations and on trains in Mumbai that are blamed on Islamist militants.

Sept. 8, 2006 - At least 32 people are killed in a series of explosions, including one near a mosque, in Malegaon town, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Mumbai.

Feb. 19, 2007 - Two bombs explode aboard a train heading from India to Pakistan; at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis, burn to death.

May 18, 2007 - A bomb explodes during Friday prayers at a historic mosque in the southern city of Hyderabad, killing 11 worshippers. Police later shoot dead five people in clashes with hundreds of enraged Muslims who protest against the attack.

Aug. 25, 2007 - Three coordinated explosions at an amusement park and a street stall in Hyderabad kill at least 40 people.

May 13, 2008 - Seven bombs rip through the crowded streets of the western city of Jaipur, killing at least 63 people in markets and outside Hindu temples.

July 25 - Eight small bombs hit the IT city of Bangalore, killing at least one woman and wounding at least 15.

July 26 - At least 16 small bombs explode in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, killing 45 people and wounding 161. A little-known group called the "Indian Mujahideen" claims responsibility for the attack and the May 13 attack in Jaipur.

Sept 13 - At least five bombs explode in crowded markets and streets in the heart of New Delhi, killing at least 18 people and injuring scores more. The Indian Mujahideen again claim responsibility.

No-frills accounts? Be Careful

Banks will soon start offering 'no-frills' savings accounts, and it's good news for customers who are either averse to or not comfortable with maintaining high minimum balances.

You may like to opt for such an account, but it actually depends on individual needs. The two key factors that you should examine before deciding whether to go in for a no-frills account are:

• How frequently do you need to issue cheques?
  
• How frequently do you need to withdraw money?
  

If your needs are for a limited number of withdrawals in a month and are required to issue a limited number of cheques, say, for payment of utility bills, then this could the best account for someone not willing to keep high minimum balance.

The Reserve Bank of India [Get Quote] has directed banks to offer zero balance or low minimum balance accounts to bring in a greater number of people into the banking fold. The policy of 'financial inclusion' of the poorer section allows banks to restrict the number of withdrawals and the number of cheques that could be issued in a month.

Banks are now in the process of developing their respective no-frills savings account products. The variations being considered include savings accounts where the customer agrees to transact only through ATMs, Internet and phone banking. Such customers will be allowed to visit the branches only for resolution of some disputes.

The zero-balance account could also entail higher charges for services like frequent account statements.

The other variant being considered is to allow a no-frills account with a very low balance of say about Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 and allowing customers to have greater services than those offered to zero-balance account-holders.

Such account-holders could be allowed a certain number of transactions at the branches.

The RBI move is to counter a trend whereby all banks want to target the 'affluent' class. The competition from private and foreign banks has put public sector banks at a disadvantage in their quest for enlisting new clients.

Public sector banks serve clients from the poorest class to the millionaires, while private and foreign banks are seen catering to the well-off classes only.

Saurav Retired HURT

May be BCCI expects when should sourav be in out of runs.  And they all happy when saurav made lack of runs in India - Srilanka Test Series. Now BCCI announced the squad for Irani Trophy without former Indian Skipper, Saurav Ganguly.

How many times saurav punished.  This is the third time he fired from indian team and this time the selectors told the reason for dropping him is, fitness.

The selector said it was no reflection on Ganguly's tremendous services to Indian cricket, but the time has come for some of the seniors to make way for juniors.

Most of the indian well played players are not retired well.  Kapildev who had a bad finish in game and dropped from the squad.  Now this time may be this is the end for DADA.  One thing BCCI must think is to give respect to seniors.  He served for the country in the spirit of game of cricket.  Suddenly they drop the players by saying the bad reasons, if saurav is dropped then why sachin is there in the indian team.  He scored less that saurav in Ind-SL series.  

The way bcci proceed is, to tell the hidden message to Seniors, this is the time for the seniors to show the way to juniors.  But its a shame for players who dropped from the squad even they played well.  

BCCI must respect seniors.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Once a general manager wanted to test his people who had come from all over India, about their values of life.

He announced that in their seminar folder, there is PVC pouch and in it there is a seed. When they return, they must put it in a good soil in a pot and look after it very well.

He would hold a competition in the next year's seminar and that the best plants would be awarded suitably.
Everyone did what was told to him. A year passed quickly. And next year in a big hall, there were hundreds of pots and a great variety of plants-a great scene.

Except one pot in which the soil was there and no plant! The owner was standing quietly and seemingly ashamed of himself!

The general manager called him on the stage. He asked him what happened and he told him the truth. He planted the seed which he was given – and did that was to be done- but nothing happened!

The general manager declared him the winner!

Everyone was shocked. It was announced, "Gentlemen! The seeds I gave you were boiled seeds. You planted them and nothing happened! You acted smartly and used some other seeds.

This man was honest to his work and, therefore he did not cheat me or himself!"