Chinese whispers

Almost everyone I speak to nowadays suggests or portrays that he/she is keeping an eye on foreign financial institutions — both domestic and overseas.

"This would be a good time to start reading the trade press carefully for news of overseas banks making acquisitions or changes to their businesses," said one of my colleagues, who has never displayed any iota of interest in the financial sector.

Another one whispered while sipping a cuppa of cutting chai, "I have been hearing about opportunities in niche banks, in hedge funds. This one even exuded an intelligent tone that gave an impression of i-know-it-all. "The market is highly competitive, and with funds that have been raised to take advantage of distressed properties and assets of various kinds, it's worth a watch now." WOW.

Really! I whispered the same to my man --the i-banker. He laughed. Just like my father used to when I discussed my theories about Indian cricket.

Next day, a senior journalist from a reputed organisation (fully aware that my husband is an i-banker) casually asked me, "I hear a lot of people are using the exorbitant cash they made in last year’s bonuses and severance to day trade and manipulate the market?" A raised eyebrow...

He continued, "Not good for society but good for their pockets. They made a killing riding on AIG during the day yesterday, in global markets. Why even scour for a job?."

I went back home and asked -- you know who. He laughed.

A sad demise ... of peace

Imagine waking up at 6 am on a weekday, because your husband forgot to put his Blackberry on silent. It happened with me.

Lately, my i-banker of a husband has taken to sleeping with his Blackberry safely tucked underneath his pillow. ("Reason," he tells me, "I don't want to miss replying to any important mails sent from US or HongKong office.")

Now, I know this husband of mine has never treated the phone any better. There were days, believe me, the Blackberry was tossed carelessly inside the wardrobe and dutifully forgotten until morning. But now, ever since I have understood this credit crisis, it's the most important gadget that travels to bathrooms, sits in front of TV, and even goes for a walk with my husband. The connection and GPRS connectivity is checked when the emails don't pour in after three and a half minute. And I can go on.

Once awake, I had a freakish urge to shutdown the gadget but when I saw the mailbox flash a name that read 'Lehman brother's' I was clearly intrigued, even at 6 am in the morning. The mail (Yes, I checked it when I am not supposed to peep into other's emails) read that Lehman brothers was to file Chapter 11. Not only was this bit alien to me, it also irked me that some company filing a chapter 11 was so important that my poor hubby was being mailed to keep his eyes open at 6 am in the MORNING!

Ignorant me, realised the impact of the mail only when I was explained, By then, it was time to forget Lehman Brothers and save my job.

Udayan Mukherjee -- My friend, my enemy

CNBC TV18's star news reader/anchor/correspondent and ofcourse a well-paid executive editor Udayan Mukherjee must have earned the wrath of many wives like me. For the uninitiated, he reads the stock market analysis at 10 pm everyday and has an ardent i-banker followers like my husband.

The moment my husband hears the clock chime 10 pm (which is my time to watch Bigg Boss on Colours), there is a rush in the house to find the remote control and whoever lands it is the proud winner of the TV.

While we were struggling everyday for TV, elsewhere in the US housing prices continued to decline. Merrill Lynch was the first to report a large loss, at $5.5 billion on 5 Oct 2007. Only to come back less than three weeks later on 24 Oct 2007 to say that the losses were now over $8 billion. Eventually, losses reached $500 billion a year into the crisis for all global institutions. How do I know these numbers? Hello, didn't I tell you, I was an i-banker's wife!

Going back to Udayan, he started the bulletin with a grim expression and a script that was splintered with words like "gloom", "job cuts", "crisis" ...you would know the rest.

We were informed, thanks to CNBC TV 18's zealous reporters and analysis that the Merrill losses were followed by losses at most of the large global financial institutions. Many CEOs lost their jobs and the companies were forced to raise capital. Oh yeah, its losses had risen to $350 billion.

ALl this while, I had missed several of my Bigg Boss sessions (forcing me to stay back late at work to catch up the episodes on You Tube)