Like every year, there were several contenders.
I salute Aung San Suu Kyi, 'the lady' of Myanmar. She joins the league of outstanding leaders who change the fortunes of a nation.
My heart goes to Hajj pilgrims who lost their lives in Mecca. Mount Everest melted with pain to see Nepalese children under debris. Disasters like Storm Desmond, Chennai floods and heat-wave in Pakistan expose the dark side of our uninhibited growth. Finding traces of water on Mars is good but let’s find ways to keep our cities livable. The COP21 team at Paris deserves the award for their efforts to save the future generation from Mother Nature's fury.
The pugmarks of terrorism became visible across the world map. The beautiful Paris suffered a barbarous attack. It made Russia’s Putin a strange ally of the West. But remember, all their enemies aren't common. Attacking with drones and killing a few leaders and many soldiers sporadically can’t defeat a radical and contagious ideology.
Al-Qaeda yesterday, ISIS or Boko Haram today.
Middle-east and North Africa is a minefield. Ousting them from Syria is possible but preventing a re-assembly in Afghanistan later may become 'Mission Impossible'.
Blood stains on Eiffel Tower are helping resurgence of nationalists like Marine Le Pen. Political economy will make it difficult for Angela Merkel to remain an angel for refugees. Europeans won't build a 'Grand Budapest hotel' for them.
Probability and consequences of a Brexit or Grexit are unknown but a re-think on Schengen could create an existential threat for EU.
Events in Greece made me understand why anything not easily understood is called 'Greek'. I loved Varoufakis, their biker finance minister. Draghi's ECB has done "whatever it takes" but pumping more gasoline can’t fix a weak engine.
The year saw central banks taking divergent paths. "Will she, won't she" was the mother of all debates in financial markets. Janet Yellen finally moved out of zero bound. Don't get Fed up, question hounding next year will be - none more, some more or a lot more (rate hike).
The rise of nationalist fervor and treaties like TPP and bilateral deals don't augur well for the future of globalization. The spirit of one universal market can reboot the sputtering global trade.
China sneezed, emerging markets caught a cold but commodity producers contracted pneumonia. Emerging markets saw their economies, asset values and currencies submerging. Democracies and economies have their self-correcting mechanisms. There are signs of cleansing political winds in countries like Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. Commodity prices and corporate profits are bottoming. Bargain-hunters, draw out your fishing nets.
Slowdown, Collapse, Crisis, Downfall and Bubble are the top suggestions of the Google search-box on typing “Chinese economy”.
Just glance at the might of BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) before Betting on imminent collapse of Dragon. It is undergoing a painful but powerful transformation, perhaps, the way a dragon changes its skin. Deadweight of investment and credit-led bubble is bursting to give birth to a consumption and services led economy.
Pundits predicted Renminbi to devalue to 7/$. A currency war unleashed could have as dramatic consequences as the seventh episode of Star Wars. This is their SDR moment:
- Special status for currency by IMF,
- Drawing a new Silk route, and
- Asserting its Right in the South China Sea.
China at crossroads between ‘an awakened force’ or a shattered empire was a strong contender.
Narendra Modi, the Chief Marketing Officer of brand 'India' deserves salutation for taking India to top of the FDI league.
Biharis were not convinced but baharis (outsiders) are absolutely charmed. He lost ballots to Nitish, Lalu and Kejriwal but won a bullet train project, a landmark border settlement with Bangladesh and Rafale fighters. Though his tea party failed in ending the tamasha in parliament, he got rousing approvals outside India. Grand Old Party would know that a bahubali reform like GST for the nation can herald a new era.
The nation is experiencing a Piku moment: less motion, more emotion! Chandrababu’s plan to metamorphose Amravati into Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore gets less limelight than Hardik Patel, Indrani Mukherjee or RadheMaa. Column space and prime time on television devoted to the loss of APJ Abdul Kalam, the greatest Indian of our times, relative to Yakub Menon's hanging reflects the state of public discourse. The debate on intolerance has reached an intolerable decibel.
Let's 'beef' up the fight against the poverty. Let's not rant about 'awards' but for real rewards for the "common man". We will miss the ineffable RK Laxman.
Raghuram Rajan crossed the 007 hurdle (repo at 6.75%) but bond yields refuse to nudge down. This mystery like ‘Spectre’ can be solved only by a James Bond. The battle against inflation is surely won but the war may still be on. Commodity prices may not remain low forever. Rajan is a willful supporter of banks’ crackdown on defaulters. “Kings of good times” should watch their calendars. Modi and Rajan are bravely steering India towards a cashless society.
