Published in ILLUMINATION·May 12What is SWIFT?Why do Banks need SWIFT? — SWIFT forms the bedrock for international financial transactions. International transactions refer to the movement of money beyond the country’s borders. The international transactions can range from payment instruction from a bank and Forex transactions to transactions requiring processing, settlement of securities etc. SWIFT: an information highway that connects banksSwift3 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Apr 16How do interest rates and Bond prices affect the demand for cash/money?Bond price is inversely related to the market interest rate — I hear interest rates, and I think, “how much my bank will pay me for parking my money in the bank?” For borrowers, the interest rate decides how much they will have to pay for taking a loan from the bank. Beyond those two contexts, the interest rate is rarely…Bonds4 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Mar 25COVID has changed the way people look at deathPeople are asking questions that decide whether they should express condolence or hatred — The death of a dear one can be devastating life-changing for people. It takes time to come to terms with the death of a loved one; All of us know that death is imminent, but what takes us by surprise is the timing. The death of a person lingers with…Grieve3 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Mar 15You should know what nominal and real interest rates areNominal Interest rate and Real interest rate — Banks are a great place to keep money, apart from convenience, you earn interest for parking your money with the bank. How much interest you earn depends on the interest rate? Interest rates are of two types: nominal and real. Nominal interest rate The nominal interest rate (advertised rate) calculates the amount you…Nominal Interest Rate2 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Mar 7Whites are not Getting Killed, Non-Whites are not Getting Killed, but Human Beings are Getting KilledWhy are we being Racist about a war? — Blood is red everywhere; the loss of a family member is bereaved equally by people across the globe, or is it that a section of the population has different colour blood because their skin colour is different? What astounded me was the racist overtone creeping in the Russia-Ukraine coverage. Is…Racist2 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Mar 7What is a negative interest rate? Is it effective?Banks haven’t gone for a high negative interest rate — Is Negative interest effective? Given the offbeat position of a negative interest rate, is it worth having a negative interest rate? The traditional banking world assumes that borrowers must pay interest for using lenders’ money and the risk associated with borrowing. …Economics3 min read
Published in Writers’ Blokke·Mar 2Monday MusingsHighway and the crowd — I shifted last month; the new place is a quiet one. It’s one among the 250 houses of my society. Located on the city outskirts, surrounded by hills and bordering a highway that branches off a national highway, the society is a pleasant place to stay. The quietness and peacefulness…Musings2 min read
Published in Writers’ Blokke·Mar 1Putin Behaved Exactly How Any Person Would BehaveRussia should have been checked earlier — People who commit felonies at some point have committed petty crimes and have gotten away with petty crimes, which embolden them to perform bigger crimes. I have watched several crime episodes in which the offenders have a history of breaking the law or getting into trouble with the law. There’s…Russia Ukraine2 min read
Published in Writers’ Blokke·Feb 21We need to stop stigmatising mistakesLearning from mistakes matters — Everyone makes it, but everyone hates it. If you are learning something new or in a new situation, you are more than likely to make it. It’s an important part of learning, yet we stigmatise it. It’s mistake. People scorn mistakes, but they forget, at times, they have made mistakes…Mistakes2 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Feb 21EMAS: Making aviation saferWhy EMAS is better than RESA? — Every year, on average,10 planes overrun a runway while taking off or landing. Over the past 30 years, overruns have caused at least 23 deaths and 300 injuries to passengers and crew at U.S. airports. While Runway End Safety Area (RESA) was mandated at airports, overruns continued to be fatal…Aviation3 min read
