Author: Dr.Mathew Joys

The Bitcoin Lion Wakes Up!

Dr.Mathew JoysFinance/Economy 0

Bitcoin has officially reached an all-time high of $59K. Its market capitalization is now over a trillion dollars. The fact is that those of us who know nothing about cryptocurrencies are getting excited when we learn that thousands have been harvested in recent days.

If you want to move into an investment, it is cheaper and easier than trading stocks and options.

FSix years ago, when I first analyzed the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and recommended it to some, many people said it was a scam, and I thought it was crazy. It then had a market capitalization of just over $ 6 billion. This year, Bitcoin became the first crypto to earn a trillion dollars.

Over the past few years, the lucky few have had the opportunity to book high gains of up to 16,377% – a rare history of those who were able to turn $ 1,000 into $ 164,770.

As mentioned above, at about $ 59,000 each, Bitcoin is still a clever strategy to double your money to 10x or 20x. Over time, as more and more people try their luck, the event may turn out to be a catastrophe.

Gold has always been. The era of what was once considered a safe haven seems to be coming to an end.

Hedging is a good idea, but no one wants to do it with gold that has fallen into a bear market pattern. When the pandemic hit the United States in March 2020, gold prices fell again after a slight rise. Then the yellow metal is not doing its job now.

Last year, the United States spent $ 5.3 trillion on coronavirus relief, more than $ 27% of our annual GDP, but that did not significantly affect the price of gold.

The situation in the U.S. stock market has changed significantly this week. However, few investors may have noticed these signs. After a month of market fluctuations, the S&P and Dow jumped simultaneously, hitting all-time highs. For the first time in history, the Dow jumped to 33,000

Most people are thankful for Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion U.S. rescue plan, which will soon create a massive surge in the economy and pocket many Americans in the crowd.

Now, if you are a gold digger, many other things are hard to accept. It’s even more challenging for you to buy that Bitcoin has taken over the job of gold.

This is because gold has a history of thousands of years, while bitcoin has existed for a decade.

People have used horses for thousands of years. Within a decade, cars had eliminated horses, as the saying goes!

Then crypto has become your question mark!

If you have not yet taken your first step in this burgeoning market, there is no better time to do it. One reason for this is that as of January 2021, there are more than 4,000 cryptocurrencies in existence. Many are worthless. In the name of this, brokers and advisers are flooding the internet. Without a phone number or an office to ask questions about, or a certificate to show off, this cryptocurrency system, which continues to buy and sell only on digital platforms worldwide, has become a headache for economists and a secret money-making platform for intelligent greed.

For example, Bitcoin was the story of the highest investment in 2013 and 2014.

They have been at the forefront of developing currency exchanges and investment funds, driving Bitcoin into the headlines. At the time, Bitcoin was trading at $ 90. Over the next five months, Bitcoin rose 1,192 percent to $ 1,163. People across the country made millions of dollars. Some were even millions of banks. As a matter of fact!

Bitcoin’s popularity has grown due to its resistance to inflation, which is expected to become a more widely used payment method. But skeptics argue that its wild price rise could keep many companies away.

The market was buoyed when the electric car maker’s investment raised Bitcoin to a record high of $ 58,332.36. Still, the currency fell slightly after billionaire CEO Elon Musk expressed some skepticism on Twitter.

Many tons of cryptocurrencies are benefiting from this massive cash flow. Although many share the same DNA as Bitcoin, their total is very small.

As the world looks back on our time’s most revolutionary technological advances, two of the most important of these cryptocurrencies should be seen as examples.

  1. ETHEREUM (ETH)

As of March 2020, the ETH is trading at $ 130.

Today, a single shot costs more than $ 1,825. That’s about ten times more in a year. If you invested in ETH five years ago, a 1,000 investment would be worth more than $ 800,000. This is a very rare and unusual 80,000% gain.

  1. LITECOIN (LTC)

LTC was the first crypto to launch with Bitcoin in 2011. Today, a litecoin costs $ 201.11. Five years ago? It was trading below $ 5 that day. If you had bought $ 1,000 worth of Litecoin in 2016, you would have $ 34,200 in your pocket today.

There is no such thing as intellect when you think of yourself, and you have to test whether it exists today.

As Bitcoin soared from close to $ 5,000 last March and soared to $ 60,000 on March 13th, you may feel that something is missing now.

But it would be best if you were 100% focused on allowing your stock portfolio winners to rise higher and continue to know how to protect those gains when the market finally turns around.

The price of the world’s largest digital currency rose 8 percent to $ 59,274.13 a day earlier. That brings the total value to $ 1.15 trillion. (Coindesk Data Show).

Prices began to rise following further indications that institutional investors and large corporations were coming to cryptocurrency.

For example, Bitcoin-based investment firm NYVDG announced on Monday that it had raised $ 200 million from a group of investors, including Wall Street Titans Morgan Stanley, New York Life, billionaire financier George Soros, and Soros Fund Management.

Insurers on the company’s platform now have exposure to bitcoin worth over a billion dollars, which can be “an example of accelerating institutional bitcoin adoption”. The company’s announcement comes a month after Tesla revealed it had bought $ 1.5 billion worth of bitcoin, following in the footsteps of smaller companies such as Microstrategy and Jack Dorsey’s Square.

It remains at full strength this year as well.

The latest US stimulus package worth $ 1.9 trillion has now brought more money to market. The arrival of this new paper money reduces the value of the already popular dollar. This happens naturally. If the dollar had depreciated 13% of purchasing power against foreign currencies last year – it would have continued and would have had accurate results. This means that your purchasing power is declining rapidly. This means that following the same policy is a big mistake. Winners are said to be added quickly.

These are just some of the goal-setting shareware that you can use. No strategy is perfect. Any investment always carries the risk of loss. Some fail along the way.

But the coming months and years are likely to be more exciting and rewarding than anything we’ve seen before. There can be no doubt that peer-to-peer transactions and digital currencies are echoing a revolution that removes intermediaries and transfers power into the people’s hands. Any Crypto investment is a risky affair, play responsibly, lucky ones mint the fortune!

(My safer recommendation, there is a Bitcoin tracking stock whose symbol is GBTC, which trades around $52; which moves in parallel to Bitcoin).

Let me conclude,  nothing is guaranteed, but the potentials are enormous.

A Brighter Side Of Black History Month

Dr.Mathew JoysCulture 0

Years back, while reading the book ‘Roots,’ I had only a faint idea of the background of African slaves in America. That time, my thoughts could compare life only with scheduled castes and tribes in India.

 

“In all of us, there is a hunger, marrow-deep to know our heritage,” says Alex Haley, the author of the said book- which is one of the most extraordinary and influential books of our time. The story is about Kinta Kinte, a young man taken from The Gambia when he was seventeen and sold as a slave and transported to North America, following his life and the lives of his six generations of slaves, farmers, blacksmiths, porters, etc. in the United States. In reality, even now, inequality between white and Black Americans persists in almost every aspect of society and the economy.

During my early school days, I knew only the name of Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery in America in February 1865. But later, the name of Martin Luther King Jr. was much inspiring to me while I heard about his assassination in 1968, while I was a college student.

 

The only celebration during every February I heard earlier was Valentines’ Day in western countries. Later my readings revealed much about the struggles of the Black Community to bring this great nation to this level. The hatred, the disrespect of the whites and other superior-minded communities in America is being hidden under the declaration “no discrimination”. Those words guarantee that human rights are exercised without discrimination of any kind based on race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, etc.,

 

Every February, America celebrates Black History Month, showing respect and recognition for the hard work and sacrifices made by African Americans. Of late Black History Month is significant as the social unrest of 2020 has illuminated the active presence of institutionalized racism in America and its impact on the Black community.

 

Black History Month is now the inseparable part and parcel of our combined American history. The racial significance somehow just boiled down to a compilation of greatest events from the March on Washington DC, or from some of our sports heroes, or to the renamed BLM street, in Washington DC.

 

History describes that Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, also known as African-American History Month. Since it is officially recognized by governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently has been observed in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

 

During these observations, we take the time to remember and honor greats such as Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, and renowned Oprah Winfrey. Congress enacted an Act in 1986 that commemorates February as “National Black (Afro-American) History Month.” Both presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton issued their own proclamations recognizing it as a national observance, added many decorations during Barack Obama’s presidency.

 

Even though our great country is known for its vistas of equal opportunities, inequality between White and Black Americans prevails in almost every aspect of society and the economy. Various study reports on the disparities expose how the so-called Black Community is struggling for its existence.

“Fight for your rights” is the basic advice given by black mothers to their children even before going to school.

 

While white pregnant women have a better surviving, black women are susceptible to three to four times likely to die.

At the College level, at least fifty percent or more white students go through graduation. Only about one-third or less of the Black students attain bachelor’s degree or post-graduate studies.

 

Black undergraduate students owe about $7,000 or more than their friends of other categories, even in  student loans. Black adults received almost 20% longer federal jail lives. It is evident that Black adults are 1.5 times less likely to have health insurance coverage than others.

 

Black families on retirement may have only a median saving of about $30,000, whereas whites may have $120,000 or more. Even on the life expectancies, white men may enjoy till 76.6 years, whereas Black men run below an average of 72.2 years.

Black families are 50% less than White households in owning their homes. Thus these two maintain a wide gap in their lives and lifestyles.

 

Black is an intense color; I admire it for so many many reasons. But most Oriental or Asian immigrants do not have an affinity towards the Black color; as they usually classify themselves as “Brown.”

 

2020 happened to make yet another history, for the first time in US a Black Woman Kamala Harris, decorates the throne of American Vice President. Off late, many have leaned towards Black and demonstrating some courage to say that we are also Black. Maybe they have realized that Whites will never accept them, or perhaps they are black to the extent of the hair dye they are used to!

IAPC Atlanta Chapter Initiates Discussion on Pravasi Issues

Dr.Mathew JoysCommunity, Immigration 0

Indian Pravasis around the world face enormous issues in their struggle for existence. Indo-American Press Club, with its chapters around major cities in the USA and Canada, has been a growing influence among media professionals and having its united voice heard at the higher levels of power.

 

IAPC Atlanta Chapter hosted the “Pravasi Questions 2021” zoom meeting on Saturday, Feb 13th. Consul General of Atlanta Dr.Swati V Kulkarni, Ambassador Pradeep K Kapur, IAPC chairman and author Dr. Joseph M Chalil made this meeting a diplomatic powerhouse.

 

“Vaccine Maitri has emerged as a successful program which is helping the Indian community enormously during the year-long pandemic struggle. We are also proud to say that with its vast resources, India has become the pharmacy of the world,” remarked Dr. Swati Kulkarni in the opening address.

 

The Zoom Meeting with participants from the USA and Canada commenced with the welcome address by Jomy George, Secretary of the Atlanta Chapter. Annie Anuvelil, Secretary of, National Executive Committee, introduced Ambassador Pradeep Kapoor and Dr. Joseph Chalil to the session. IAPC Director Kamlesh Mehta introduced and invited Dr. Swati Kulkarni to commence the discussion on the crucial issues facing by the Pravasis.

 

Consul General addressed many key issues and developments from the perspective of Govt. of India. Vande Bharat mission during the Pandemic was an all-time success across the globe to bring in the Indian citizens home. Vande Bharat helped 700 stranded Indian citizens in the USA to return to India. The New Budget helped the Indian diaspora to raise its goals. Also, the new budget is designed to honoring the honest, human-centric, inclusive, and whole. The Govt. wants to stop the violence and resolve agriculture issues.

 

Ambassador Pradeep Kapoor elaborated on the background and features of Dual Citizenship and explained the issues and constitutional changes required to pass the Dual Citizen Bill. India is a welcoming country for centuries from people around the world. Terrorism is a threat for the Govt. to pass the law to allow to have other nationalities to take citizenship. But a collective request and memorandum from various groups and organizations across the globe can change the views of the government on Dual citizenship.

 

Regarding the question on the uniform procedure on getting business loans in India, Ambassador mentioned that the cost of a loan in India is very high compared to most foreign countries. He also elaborated the functioning of various levels of the embassy, ministry of foreign affairs, and forum for redressal of public grievances, where Pravasi can address various issues. Ambassador encouraged IAPC to act as a responsible forum to represent various Pravasi issues to the Govt. of India.

 

Dr. Joseph Chalil addressed the issues on the scope of investing in India and insurance for elderly parents in India, explained with various suggestions and recommendations.

Dr. Mathew Joys, Vice Chairman, in his closing remarks, added that IAPC would be continuing with more episodes of topics on social importance and proceed ahead with the recommendations derived during these high-level discussions. He thanked IAPC Atlanta chapter secretary Jomy for moderating the discussion and other chapter members involved and worked to make this meeting flawless.

Indian Farmers, We Need Not Fail!

Dr.Mathew JoysEditorial/Opinion, Nation, Nation India 0

The government and the farmers remain unchanged in their positions. For the eighth time, the farmers ordinance were discussed with the leaders of the farmers’ organizations. But the Central government washed their hands by saying that they let the Supreme Court decide on the issue.The panel, which will be nominated by the Supreme Court, will hold further deliberations. 

 

Supreme Court orders non-implementation of agricultural law The Supreme Court also directed the formation of an expert committee on agricultural law. The Center has asked for one day to decide the members of the expert committee. The Chief Justice also directed that the venue where the farmers are currently protesting should be changed. The court also directed that adults, women, and children withdraw from the strike. The court had earlier told the central government that it did not want to spill farmers’ blood. The court also said it was responsible for preventing the bloodshed. The apex court said it knew how to decide the matter

 

Representatives of the farmers’ strike ask if the discussions with the government could not yield any solution, what is the solution if it is discussed with the Supreme Court Committee? Farmers’ organizations are also confirming that the struggle is not over until the rules are upheld, and they have not stopped the protest.

 

On the other hand, supporting the farmers over the three farm laws, the Congress on Saturday said the Prime Minister should resign if he can’t repeal the laws and depend on the Supreme Court to break the deadlock with farmers. Incidentally, with the next round of deliberations among the representatives of both sides on January 15th, the opposition party Congress has decided to conduct Kisan Adhir Diwas [Farmer’s Rights Day] holding protest marches, dharnas, and petition Governors to annul the farm laws.

 

“The Constitution has not given the responsibility of framing the laws to the Supreme Court but to the Parliament of India. If this government is incapacitated to discharge this responsibility, then the Modi government has no moral authority to remain in power even for a minute,” Congress communication chief Randeep Surjewala added.

 

The central government is misleading the farmers declaring that the new laws are good for farmers.”Our stand is unequivocal — we want a legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSPs) for farm produce, besides revoking all the three farm laws. If our demands are not fulfilled, we will continue with our agitation indefinitely,” Mr. Singh said.

 

The Sikh people are fighting to defeat the new agrarian laws that are not farmer-friendly, not wanted by the farmers, and implemented only for the corporates. All Indians, and all future generations, will have to pay bribes to corporates and work for them, of course.

 

Farmers are gearing up to intensify their strike after the eighth failed talks with the central government. The farmers’ decision is to block the Palwal Manesar highways. The farmers said that the tractor would march to the four borders of Delhi, and the Desh Jagran campaign will continue for two weeks. The question arises as to what is next as the farmers are not ready to accept the conditions put forward by the government or the government is not ready to accept the demands of the farmers. But the farmers are adamant that they will not back down from their stand. 

 

Joginder Singh, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), one of the largest outfits in Punjab, alleged that The government has been trying to justify the laws by saying that several farmers’ unions are supporting them, but this is only an attempt to weaken the ongoing movement and divert attention. “The government intends to establish a parallel platform to weaken the ongoing agitation.”

 

Punjabi actor Gurpreet Ghuggi at Singhu meeting protesting farmers, said, “This fight is of the ‘zameerdar’ (one with a conscience) the farmers have rejected the three farm laws, so you (Centre) should also reject it now.”

 

It is also alleged that some middlemen, commission agents & political leaders with vested interests are running this movement. The farm laws are meant to favor the farmers, but eventually, the new reforms are likely to hurt the peasants and be controlled by few corporates.

 

Despite the cold and rain, many are arriving at the border. The farmers have decided to hold a tractor rally led by women. With elections looming in four states and one union territory, the central government will try to end the peasant agitation as soon as possible.

 

Under a Blanket Challenge, AIYF youngsters at Thrissur, Kerala could collect 5000 new blankets they are sending to the Farmers on strike in the shivering cold weather in New Delhi.

 

Recently, Indo American Press Club hosted two Zoom Conferences with Ambassador Pradeep Kapur’s active participation, Mr. Khanderao Kand (Director of FIIDS USA, Yogesh Andlay, Co-founder of Polaris and Nucleus, Dr. Nishit Choksy, Berkeley, MI and another one with the leadership of Mr. N.K.Premachansran MP, Mr. P.C. Cyriac IAS, Dr. Ejaz Ghani ( Lead Economist at World Bank), Prof. M.D. Nalappat (Vice-Chair Manipal Advanced Research Group) analyzed the damaging Farmers Ordinance’s various features and how the laws are destroying the traditional agricultural system in India.

 

Media projection is more important on the Farmers’ agitation in India. As a responsible media club, Indo American Press Club is prompted to impact the mainstream western media for global narrative,” Ambassador Pradeep Kumar Kapoor said while presiding over the Zoom Meeting hosted by Indo-American Press Club (IAPC) on “What’s the truth behind the Indian Farmers Protest?”

 

Mr. Vimal Goyal, CPA, and industrialist from Long Island, NY, expressed a different perspective on economic considerations. He affirmed that the latest one is the most comprehensive farmers bill, as the farmers were left behind with no recognitions so far. He believed that this bill is going to promote the abundance of rice and wheat. He also mentioned that the poor farmers do not have resources for e-commerce or transporting facilities, and hence they have to resort to the greedy private middlemen.

 

For every grain produced by the peasantry, the leading share goes to the corporates without making a fair profit to the toiling masses. Today there is no Mahatmaji, no Nehru to lead a second freedom struggle. If the opponents were foreigners then, today the enemies are inside the democratic republic. It is not easy to fight and win against them.

 

If farmers fail today, in future we may to have to pay the price for the air we breathe, by leasing the entire atmosphere above India to the monopolies. If we fail today, we will have to lease out all the rivers flowing through the nation to the monopolies and even pay for the water we drink. It’s time to respond.

(Picture Courtesy” Gulf Today)

IAPC Seminar ByAlberta And British Columbia Chapters On Global Economy In The Post-Covid Era

Dr.Mathew JoysFinance/Economy, Health, Media 0

“Covid pandemic globally impacted meticulously by various factors like globalization severely disrupted, the digital revolution accelerated, and inequality in all the sectors drastically increased,” said Dr. EtayankaraMuralidharan, Ph.D. (School of Business, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Canada.), commencing the Zoom conference on Saturday, January 9th, 2021.

 

As a part of IAPC’s Web series Town Hall meetings, Alberta and British Columbia Chapters together was hosting the seminar on the subject “Global Economy in Post Covid Era.” The meeting was presided by Dr. Joseph Chalil( Chairman, IAPC), and Dr. P.V Baiju ( IAPC Director board member) was the moderator for the seminar.

 

Dr. Muralidharan presented the vivid aspects of the Covid consequences and how the world is adopting and reshaping globalization with social media resources like Zoom or webinar. He narrated the income inequality and income mobility and the means to change the objective or methods of operation in the governmental, organizational, and individual levels. He presented in turn how organizations contribute to social inequalities and how the firms need to develop CSR practices, reshape work designs, and to align compensation

 

The other panelist and economic expert, Dr. S. Mohammed IrshadPh D. (Jamsetji Tata School of Disaster Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India presented how the Covid pandemic pushed the economy down. Major countries are on the brink of economic recession, and the global economy is going to trail Pre pandemic trajectory for many years to come. He explained how economic resilience or accountable capitalism or how government stimulus can help overcome it.

 

The subject matter experts, after their presentations, tactfully answered the various questions raised by the audience. It was condensed that already pre Covid recession was creeping in, and the unexpected pandemic boosted the factors of recession. It is still uncertain how long the peril will continue.

 

BinoyKaruvayil, VP of the IAPC Alberta chapter, welcomed the guests and all the participants from the various chapters in Canada and the USA. Miss NeethuSivaram of the British Columbia Chapter well managed the event as the MC. Anjaleena Jose, the budding singer with her melodious voice, inspired the participants with her patriotic song ‘ VandeMataram.’

 

Dr. Joseph Chalil thanked the guests and the Chapter members of the hosting Chapters. Chairman also released the colorful “IAPC Alberta Chronicle Vol 2” and congratulated Chief editor Rajesh Peter and the editorial team. Founder Chairman GinsmonZacharia, General Secretary Biju Chacko, Treasurer Reji Philip, BoD member Thampanoor Mohan, Vice President C G Daniel, Treasurer Innocent Ulahannan were also active participants of the Zoom Meeting.  With the vote of thanks by Anitha Naveen, Secretary BC chapter, the productive and informative session was concluded.