India rupee faces relegation; Euro zone jobless at new high; $120m for 'The Scream'; Worst offenders of Press freedom; South Africa needs to listen; India's 'flying coffins'; Ice-cube idea to chill out with the boss

1 Jewel in the crown trade: Sterling, rupee! (Matein Khalid in Khaleej Times) India was once the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. But sterling and the rupee will not share the same fate in 2012. Sterling’s resilience after Britain’s second consecutive GDP fall after its initial fall against the dollar, euro, yen and Swissie proves that the currency market believes that the Bank of England is obsessed with inflation and will not increase its gilt purchase program in response to the data. Global reserve managers have scrambled to buy UK gilt debt as a haven against the euro. Not even the reality of “technical recession” in the sceptered isle deterred safe haven flows into sterling last week.

I have consistently recommended a strategic short against the Indian rupee since last 2010, when it traded at 44 against the dollar. This was vindicated with a vengeance when the rupee plummeted to as low as 54 before the Indian government reacted with new NRI deposit incentives to attract high cost dollar inflows. However, the Standard and Poors warning to downgrade India’s sovereign credit rating and Governor Subbarao’s politically influenced decisions to slash the 50 basis point repo rate even though inflation expectations have risen and the trade deficit is a shocking $185 billion only vindicates my long term bearishness on the Indian rupee.

India’s long term sovereign debt rating is a dismal BBB minus, meaning that a downgrade would relegate Asia’s third largest economic colossus to the netherworld of sovereign junk at a time when industrial production has plunged, offshore investors are cutting exposure to Dalal Street and Dr Manmohan Singh’s Congress UPA government is mired in a succession of political scandals. The macro storm clouds are darkening around Mother India and it is entirely possible that New Delhi’s new tryst with (fiscal) destiny will include devaluation at midnight. The Indian rupee has huge downside risk, possibly as low as 60-62 in the next twelve months. So I am long Threadneedle Street and short Dalal Street! My jewel in the crown trade.

2 Euro zone jobless rate at new high (The New York Times) Unemployment in the euro zone rose to a new high in March. The data came a few days before crucial elections in France and Greece, and it is likely to prompt more intense calls for an easing of Europe’s austerity drive.  Unemployment in the 17 countries that belong to the euro zone rose to 10.9% in March from 10.8% in February, according to Eurostat. In March 2011, the rate was 9.9%, a number that illustrates the deterioration of the region’s economy in the last year. The monthly increase, the 11th in a row, translates into more than 17 million jobless people, and it is in line with other recent indicators showing that the euro zone economy remains distressed. Manufacturing in the region hit a 34-month low in April, according to a survey of purchasing managers released Wednesday by the research firm Markit.

3 A 13-year-old enlists MBAs to float start-up (The New York Times) To silence her stubborn hiccups during the summer of 2010, Mallory Kievman tried swallowing saltwater, making herself gag, eating a spoonful of sugar, sipping pickle juice and drinking a glass of water upside-down. Nearly two years and 100 attempted folk remedies later, the 13-year-old is preparing to lead a team of MBA students from the University of Connecticut in building a company that can bring her invention — Hiccupops, or hiccup-stopping lollipops — to market this summer. “It’s very rare, when you’re evaluating businesses, that you can envision a company or product being around 100 years from now,” said Danny Briere, a serial entrepreneur. Hiccupops is one of those things. It solves a very simple, basic need.”

4 ‘The Scream’ fetches $120m (The New York Times) It took 12 nail-biting minutes and five eager bidders for Edward Munch’s famed 1895 pastel of “The Scream” to sell for $119.9 million, becoming the world’s most expensive work of art ever to sell at auction. Gasps could be heard as the bidding climbed higher and higher, until there was a pause at $99 million, prompting Tobias Meyer, the evening’s auctioneer, to smile and say, “I have all the time in the world.” When $100 million was bid, the audience began to applaud. The price eclipsed the previous record, made two years ago at Christie’s in New York when Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” brought $106.5 million.

Munch made four versions of “The Scream.” Three are now in Norwegian museums; the one that sold on Wednesday, a pastel on board from 1895, was the only one still in private hands. It was sold by Petter Olsen, a Norwegian businessman and shipping heir whose father was a friend, neighbor and patron of the artist. The image has been reproduced endlessly in popular culture in recent decades, becoming a universal symbol of angst and existential dread and nearly as famous as the Mona Lisa.

5 ‘Beaten’ India MP weeps in Parliament (BBC) An MP from India's Gujarat state broke down and wept in parliament alleging she was assaulted by police when she went to attend a government function. Prabha Taviad showed bruises on her arms and said her hair was pulled and she was dragged into a police car. Police said they detained her as she was trying to hold a demonstration ahead of a function to be attended by Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Ms Taviad is an MP from India's governing Congress party, which in Gujarat is in opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

MPs from several parties expressed concern at the incident and said that "the security of MPs should not be taken lightly". The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, said she should take up the issue with Gujarat's chief minister.

6 The worst offenders of Press freedom (The Guardian) Eritrea leads the world in imposing censorship on the media, followed closely by North Korea, Syria and Iran, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It said 10 countries stood out as censors for barring international media, putting "dictatorial controls" on domestic media and imposing other restrictions. The other countries on the list are Equatorial Guinea, Uzbekistan, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Belarus.

The report said of Eritrea, which is run with an iron hand by President Isaias Afewerki, that "no foreign reporters are granted access ... and all domestic media are controlled by the government." It said North Korea, Syria and Iran were "three nations where vast restrictions on information have enormous implications for geopolitical and nuclear stability". The report gave these reasons for including the other countries:  In Equatorial Guinea, all media are directly or indirectly controlled by the president. Uzbekistan has "no independent press and journalists contributing to foreign outlets are subject to harassment and prosecution". In Burma, reforms "have not extended" to rigid censorship laws. Saudi Arabia "has tightened restrictions in response to political unrest". In Cuba, the Communist party controls all domestic media. In Belarus, recent crackdowns have sent "remnants of independent media underground".

7 Why South Africa needs to listen (Johannesburg Times) Leon Wessels, the former National Party democracy negotiator, made a simple point in a radio interview about democratic South Africa’s 18th birthday last week. We have become very good at telling, he said, but we have lost the art of listening. Despite the self-congratulatory speeches by government ministers and President Jacob Zuma, no one who was listening at all could have missed the consensus in the surrounding hubbub that we are in a bad place.

The government messages focused on the many successes achieved since 1994, but the foundations for them were laid and much of the work towards them was done in the first decade of our freedom. Then the wheels began to come off. Personal interest began to trump the people’s interests, power politics became the shortest route from penury to extreme wealth and volume displaced intellect as the deciding factor in public discourse. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said on Sunday, the future is not for someone else to deliver. There are things our government can do, there are sacrifices rich people can make and there is work for poor people to do to improve their own conditions. “It starts within us, with the recognition  that we do not live in a vacuum,” he said.

8 Jakarta’s ‘road jockeys’ (Straits Times) Jakarta's carpooling laws were meant to ease traffic jams. Instead, they have spawned an industry of professional hitchhikers who help drivers comply with highway rules - for a fee. Hundreds of men, women and children line the main arteries of the Indonesian capital every weekday, offering to ride in private vehicles during rush hours, when cars are obliged to carry at least three passengers on key stretches. The 'jockeys' - as they are known - do not stick out their thumbs like typical hitchhikers around the world. Here, one finger signifies a jockey working solo, while two offers a pair, usually a mother with a child in tow or a baby in a batik sling. In a country where millions are struggling to climb out of poverty and into an expanding middle class the jockeys - who charge about a dollar a ride - have turned their services into a career.

9 India’s ‘flying coffins’ (Dawn) Dubbed ‘flying coffins’ or ‘widow makers’ in the air force, India’s ageing collection of Soviet-era MiGs have long been unpopular with air force pilots. New figures show why. India’s Defence Minister AK Antony said there had been 482 accidents in the last 30 years, resulting in the deaths of 171 pilots and 39 civilians. The MiG fleet is now 873-strong. Experts say a majority of the accidents involved India’s single-engine-based MiG-21s, a combat aeroplane which has been flown by some 50 countries since it was developed by then Soviet Union in the 1950s.

India plans to replace its MiGs with 123 modern aircraft in a deal worth $12 billion. France’s Dassault Aviation in January won the right to enter exclusive negotiations to sell its Rafale planes.

10 The bid doubt over Facebook (The Wall Street Journal) Facebook Inc. has built a $3 billion-a-year advertising business by convincing marketers to buy new forms of advertising designed to create buzz around their brands. But some advertisers with big spending accounts are wondering whether they're getting their money's worth. "The question with Facebook and many of the social media sites is, 'What are we getting for our dollars?'" said Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing at Kia Motors Corp.'s North American division. While building brand awareness on a site with 900 million users is valuable, Mr. Sprague said he's unclear if "a consumer sees my ad, and does that ultimately lead to a new vehicle sale?" The concerns from Kia and other advertisers underscore the difficulties of measuring results of nascent-forms of social-media advertising.

11 Dress designs to fight India’s chain snatchers (The Hindu) A rising number of chain-snatching incidents in India’s Mysore city has perhaps “forced” police to come up with some strategies, even novel ideas, to curb the menace. Police roped in some tailors to stitch different types of neck scarves and high-neck jackets that could be worn by women on their dress, including sari and salwar kameez, for covering ornaments, mainly the mangalasutra and gold chains. Policewomen have recommended some designs — and tried them out too. As chain-snatching incidents happen mostly when women go in for a stroll, the police feel that scarves or jackets, if worn, can deny the offenders an opportunity to strike.

Commissioner of Police KL Sudheer is optimistic. “I strongly believe that the measure will work and minimise the incidents, as the offenders cannot be sure whether their targets are wearing gold chains. This is only one of the steps taken to address the issue.” Women interested in looking at the designs can visit the Lashkar police station, where scarves and jackets have been displayed.

12 Ice-cube idea to ‘chill out with the boss’ (The Economic Times) Sir Richard Branson launching ice cubes in his own likeness for select passengers travelling on his airline has put a new spin on the idea of ‘chilling out’ with the boss. His willingness to put his head on the (ice) block if the situation so demands is also implicit in the gesture. The ‘Little Richard’ ice cubes’ utility in the future as stress-relieving tools for anyone distressed by the airline should also not be ignored. Nothing can be as therapeutic as chewing the heads of people responsible for perceived annoyances, and now that option will be available to at least the ‘upper-class’ passengers of Virgin Atlantic whenever they wish. That could certainly help water down more serious complaints by irate travellers in the future.