The Crude Oil Crisis : Who Is To Blame?

The latest chain of events that has shaken the economies of the world is the rising price of crude oil. Just recently it touched the $135 mark. Who knows, it may even cross the $200 mark by the end of the year, if this trend continues. Various questions have been raised about the same all over the world, and as usual, the blame game starts. The oil corps blame the Middle East, and the Middle East blames the rising dollar. But the questions is, the common man blames whom?

The Scenario

Crude oil prices suddenly accelerated their upward journey and within no time touched the 135 dollar mark. Suddenly, the prises of commodities and services that depend on fossil fuels rose sharply. For instance, air travel became costlier owing to high prices of ATF. All this in turn triggered a rise in inflation.

How Did It Happen?

Frankly, even I don't know what went wrong, as I'm no business analyst. Some people say, the rise of the dollar, some say the oil companies are upto their old tricks, while some say, this is the handiwork of the US. But no one has a convincing answer for this question.

What's Going On In India?

Thankfully, the prices of petrol or diesel haven't increased, thanks to Union Oil Ministry. But this has had a huge negative impact on the oil companies. For instance, the Indian Oil Corporation reported around Rs.414 crores in losses. Just recently, the Finance Minister was planning to include a fuel cess on the income taxes, but since the general elections will be there next year, the government is unwilling to take any chances(I think the elections should be held every year then).

Possible Solution For India

India has plenty of options to curb the rising prices of petrol and diesel. One of the options is to cut the heavy import duty levied on crude oil. Consider this: Petrol is priced at Rs.27 a litre in Pakistan, while in New Delhi, where the fuel price is lowest in India, hovers around Rs.45. So, a reduction in the import duty plus the state octroi charges can bring down, or atleast stabilise the fuel costs. Other options include rationalising supply, subsidised supply of fuel, or to stick on to CNG or LPG.

The Blame Game

As usual, the blame begins. Some oil companies claimed that a 'break' between the supply and demand is one of the reasons for the price rise. While others claim that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) maybe behind the crisis. And what's more, some even point an accusing finger towards the Bush administration for its stance against Iran.

What I Feel...

As I said earlier, I'm not any sort of an analyst. So what I believe may or may not correct. Anyway, I feel this may be the work of OPEC and the oil companies as well to milk the consumers. Who knows, the oil traders may also be reacting to the 'war' going on in Iraq. Whatever the reason, I think it's time realise the importance of alternate eco-friendly energy sources for not only their eco-friendliness, but also their cost efficiency and abundant presence.

But, What's Your Opinion?

So what do you feel about all this? Who do you think is the culprit, or what's the possible solution? Please leave your comments below...

Now It's This Blog's Turn !

Damn! Whenever I visit this blog, my heart sinks. Ask me why? And the answer will be, I feel it's too dull, with no colours, less comments, many cross browser bugs, and almost zero interactivity. And to add to the discontent, the PageRank dropped to zero, thanks to the sponsored posts.

I completed the revamp of my James Bond blog. You can check that out. I've also finished creating two templates for the Blogger platform, which I hope to launch very soon. So you see, I've been quite busy.

But now it's time for me start the conversion. I'm confused over the style which I need to give, I mean a magazine styled template or a simple just-another-Blogger-blog styled template. And I prefer styling it my way, and not using any external readymade templates. Secondly, I need to integrate some of the scripts I worked on, popularly known in the Blogosphere as 'hacks'.

And maybe the most important of all, I have to revive the pagerank. Huh, now I have to make a search on how to revive a lost PR.

So please bear with me if you find any twists or turns in the layout.......

My Plans and Forthcoming Works

Hi people, I'm back after some looong study vacation. Although I won't be free for the whole time, but I'm trying to do a few more revamps and some rejuvenation.

First of all, I really want to change the appearance of this blog, and make it more interactive and appealling. I need to decrease the loading time too. Also, I really want to add a few more posts and polls. You might have seen a sudden spurt in the number of sponsored posts. Well, I had to do it as I need to switch to a new domain.

Secondly, I'm starting a few blogs, two to be more precise. One will be my personal blog and the second one, a blog on some blogger tweaks and some good templates. Else, I'll be merging the second one with the blog reviews.

Although this seems to be easy, it's going to be difficult to manage all the posting and the maintaining the blogs.And yes, my blog on James Bond also needs to 'restarted'. Currently, I'm brushing up some Photoshop basics, so that I can create some header designs and some banners for my upcoming works. I'm also considering buying some new domains to give a pro look altogether.

Let's hope this works out in the next few months...........All I need is your support and some suggestions. You can leave a comment here or contact me.

How The Insurance Companies Bully People...........

The other day, as I watched the ad of an insurance company boasting its services, I was wondering as to how these companies react when the real calamities befall. In some way or the other, these companies accept the premiums with both hands while at the time of claims, people literally have to spread both their hands. Then whether it is life insurance cover, car insurance, or medical insurance, these people literally make you run on your toes.

How can one forget how the companies reacted after the July 26th 2005 deluge in Mumbai? As it is, lakhs of people suffered immense losses in the form of property, vehicles, grains, and even lives. Godowns were filled with water, cars were submerged, yet the insurance people, instead of lending a helping hand, they added salt to their wounds by giving them only a percentage of the actual insured amount. And later, flood affected vehicles did not get anything!

Now let's talk about medical insurance. People diagnosed with problems of high blood pressure, diabetes and other obesity and heart related problems are never insured. Now check out some stats : one out of every seventeen Indians is diabetic. And three out of five suffer from high blood pressure and hypertension. And I need not say anything about obesity. That's the way the cookie crumbles....

Oh, I missed the most important part - the documentation. Damn, the number of documents and proofs you require to show your existence are simply terrorizing! If I want want to get a life insurance cover, I need to show my PAN(Permanent Account Number) card, ration card, a proof of my residence, my birth certificate, a document showing my existence!

All this reminds of Maddux, the fictional character in most James Hadley Chase's marvellous novels. He seems to smell frauds and scamsters even before they become one. He is the one who always avoids the payment of dues by proving something or the other. It is said that, for him, paying the dues, is like giving a pound of flesh.

Well, time for me to sign off, I'll be back with some more 'How blahblah folks fool you.....' stuff.

Is Northern Rock The Luckiest Bank Ever?

I was just going through the newspaper(Mumbai Mirror) yesterday, when I came across this article in the editorial section. The heading was 'A bank is nationalised'. The first para highlighted the plight of the depositors when a bank drowns. At the first place, I thought it would be a story about an Indian bank. But later I realised it was a rock solid bank from UK........

My speculations were false indeed. It was the Northern Rock Bank from the Uk, with assets of over Rs.904000,00,00,000 , or 113 billion pounds. But suddenly, the Northern Rock plunged southwards, thanks to the new mortgage crisis. The scandal was discovered long back, in 2007. The bank still struggles due to high borrowing costs. But what exactly happened? People rushed to the bank to withdraw all their money amidst speculations that the bank may collapse. The result? The bank ran out of cash, and asked England's Reserve Bank for help. And what's the best part? The government nationalised the bank! Now, the bank's website says that the depositors' money is safe and all branches, call centres and other operations remain open for business as usual.

So why is the bank lucky? Or the luckiest? Usually, when such an event takes place, big banks jump to takeover such banks and all the shares are transferred. And the biggest advantage for these big banks is manpower. But take the case of Northern Rock. The Bank of England nationalised it straight away, just because it was one of the top five lenders of Mortgages UK. By doing this, the bank has not only restored its services, but also recieved the extra cash which it required.

So what do you have to say on this?

Muralitharan's Mouth-Opening Spins (Pictures)

Muttiah Muralitharan is the name which terrifies world class batsmen, thanks to his lethal spins. But now, allow me show its funny side........

I got this idea, as I was reading an article about him in today's newspaper. These photos are not to insult him, and are published with due respect. Hope you enjoyed them..........

The Best Credit Services For the Bad Credited

The internet is jammed these days with loads of credit offers, loans and other related stuff. And there are people with damaged credit. For such people, Bad Credit Loans is the place to be. These guys are proffesionals and give you free guidance on recuperating your ruined credit, and build a good income.

They offer you with links to websites offering credit card reports as to how efficiently your card is being used, or whether it is being used fraudulently. The information gained thus is vital and very useful in monitoring the use of your credit card.

Home loans are these days very common, with everyone wanting to live in a luxurious house, a place they can call home. But bad credit history becomes a hurdle. These guys provide you with lists of all those home loan services that not only specialize in approving bad credit, but also offer lower interest and processing fees.

In recent times, unfortunately, geting an auto loan may be quite tedious, as you need to furnish details on your income, your capability in returning the loan, and also your income tax details. But some organizations offer loans to people who are unable to show these details, in short, have bad credit. And these organizations are all listed there.

Apart from all this, this site lists the best websites offering all kinds of loans, including home loans, credit card services and other finance related matters. All those listed there are aptly categorized, ranked and appraised. And what's the catch? It's for people with bad credits!