It can be no one’s case that the global economy will not take a long time to recover and, as a result, it will be a year or more before the Indian economy also moves back to its high growth trajectory.
The news that Citigroup is likely to have its strongest quarter since 2007 when the problems at the bank first began to surface, is terrific. Citibank was the worst hit by the crisis and if this bank is now beginning to see some profits, it does signal that even if the good news is still some distance away, at least the bad news seems to have slowed. That’s a good sign.
In India, though the IIP for January is also negative, it is important to note that Ashok Leyland is now moving from a three-day to a five-day week, and Tata Motors is also increasing capacity at its bus plant. Admittedly, it is early days yet, but we need to keep this in mind.
Sanjay Singh, Gurgaon