Hi Mohan:
I have studied the RBI's policy moves as well as US$ reserves for quite some time until the end of August and the rupee was not under pressure, although the local (export oriented) businesses have been demanding a devaluation. If a free-float is allowed, the rupee is expected to firm up immediately, but can be subject to currency speculation.
For a long time, I had believed that (despite inefficiency and a host of other standard problems), Indian economic gurus have managed the economy very well by keeping it partially insulated from the International markets. For a materialistically poor india, the risk of getting poorer is much more troubling than the upside potential of a lopsided wealth creation through a completely liberalized market. The vagaries of capitalism that Zeev was talking about are not going to destabilize India as badly as it did the SE Asian countries, althouh it will keep India only spiritually rich <BG>. The Governor of RBI is a Ph.D. (Econ) from U. Penn and the Finance Minister is an MBA from Harvard. These guys are very talented and they have found reasons for keeping India somewhat insulated. They are vindicated now that they did not have to face the crises that SE Asia is undergoing currently. I cannot defend a lot of serious troubles ailing India, due mainly to demagouges, but I think the finance guys are doing as best as feasible, IMHO.
Sankar
Here is Boeing stuff:
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Boeing 747 production back in gear
by Polly Lane
Seattle Times business reporter
After a month's delay due to production snarls, Boeing's 747
assembly line in Everett got back on track to full production
yesterday.
"We've got airplanes in every position and are getting ready to
move to a four-day rate," said spokeswoman Leslie Wilder. Such
a rate would mean Boeing pushed one airplane out the door every
four days.
Boeing plans to increase the 747 production rate from four to five
a month early next year. Parts delays, training of inexperienced
new workers and falling behind in tasks prompted the company to
freeze the assembly line for a month so work and parts could
catch up.
About 1,500 hourly employees now are working on the 747 jumbo
jet assembly line during three daily shifts. The catching up of
tasks on the assembly line has allowed about 200 767 line
workers borrowed in August to return to 767 production, Wilder
said.
The company has not decided whether to work some shifts
through the usual holiday period between Christmas and New
Year's, she said.
Boeing also is freezing production of its next-generation 737s at
Renton for 25 days to help get work back in order there. The
catchup process began last week and will continue into next
month, said spokesman Brian Ames.
However, the company plans to deliver the first 737-700 to
Southwest Airlines possibly as early as next week. It had been
scheduled for delivery in October.
Production of 737s is being increased from 10 airplanes a month
in January to 24 a month by the end of 1998. The rate increase,
parts shortages and other problems have caused production delays
there, too.
Boeing said two weeks ago that late deliveries caused it to lose
$696 million in the third quarter. It also is taking $2.6 million in
pretax charges through next year for the production delays that
will result in late deliveries and penalties.
Delivery schedules have been readjusted into 1999 as a result of
the problems, and many engineers have been reassigned
temporarily from research and development work to help with
production engineering.
The goal is to be producing 43 airplanes a month by mid-1998 to
help satisfy Boeing's huge backlog of aircraft orders. |
