Economists and businessmen agree with the French economist Thomas Piketty, that inequality today is close to that of the era of Robber Barons.

Yesterday was the last day of Shradh, the period of 'closed observance' on Hindu calendars when it is deemed 'inauspicious' to start new ventures or make new investments. Also known as Pitru Paksha, the shutdown has been used to delay nominations for upcoming elections.

You win some and you lose some. Its activist government seems to have won some measure of protection for research, production, and employment in France by taking a 20% stake alongside GE in Alsthom.

Today Nokia fell for a real reason, unlike yesterday. The Finnish maker of tablet chargers recalled them because they risk electrocuting users

The boost came from a Japanese shopping spree ahead of a rise in the sales tax April 1, to 8% from 5%. So the boom in consumption was a one-off.

The best performing companies will be ones with more sales and production outside of Japan. As Indians line up to vote, most observers expect a victory for the supposedly pro-business Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Narendra Modi.