Who would have guessed that the first Jewish female chieftain of The New York Times (unless you count Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger) got herself tattooed in violation of the rabbinical ban against tattoos? I owe an apology to Lucy Kellaway who was right about Jill Abramson’s nutty body art. The Financial Times columnist yesterday poked fund at Abramson’s heretical tattoos, one of the Times‘ Gothic T and another, a red H, celebrating Harvard. Abramson is old enough to have attended Harvard’s female annex, Radcliffe. I thought Kellaway goofed; it was me (and Abramson) who did. Apologies to Lucy.
My closest “shiksa†(non-Jewish) girlfriend Heather is converting to Judaism the week after next. I am seriously worried about my social circle becoming monolithic.
Moreover the latest whiz interpretation of Britannia, the homeland of my husband’s family, translates the ruler of the waves as brit (covenant), ana (favor), and ya (God.) The Lord may be hidden in your name too, eTeacherBiblical writes. That’s forcing things but so is tattooing your employer’s logo on your back.
My name, Vivian, can be written as Chaya in Hebrew or as Zoë in Greek but it is Latin and means nothing in Hebrew. My friend’s name translates to Avrash. But since heather barely grows in the Middle East, the more usual translation is Netta meaning small plant. My favorite aunt bore that name.
The British stockbroker who arranged the Kindertransport for Jewish children to the UK from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939, Sir Nicholas Winton, has just turned 105. The Czech Republic has again nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Today as promised I look into how investors can play the overwhelming but potentially polarizing Modi victory in India and write up news from Mongolia (not again!), Thailand, Britain, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Hong Kong, and South Africa. Here is part 1 of what is coming from my India sola toppee.
*Thailand is now under martial law which may be an improvement over red- and yellow-shirts killing each other on the streets of Bangkok. The baht had fallen along with the SET (stock market) before the central bank intervened to support the currency. Thai Fund (TTF) is down.
*It is tough to forecast what the Narendra Modi victory will produce in India because his control of the upper house of parliament is still in negotiation, which will affect the makeup of the new government. The BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) this morning saw over 71% of stocks advancing on Modi Day 2. The rupee is flagging in part because of the uncertainty.
Both easy US fund vehicles, Morgan Stanley India Investment, IIF, down 0.5% and Aberdeen India Fund, IFN, down 1.32%, are suffering from morning-after sickness. Meanwhile Ascendas India Trust is up all of 2% today, still below its 52-wk high of 64 cents at 60 c. ACNDF mainly trades in Singapore so it is lagging the round of 2nd thoughts.
