Financial year end? Banks, mutual funds gear up to improve cash positions

At the end of every financial year, banks and mutual funds (MFs) indulge in the practice of window-dressing, a term used to describe the actions taken by companies to improve the appearance of their financial statements. Typically, companies try to improve their cash positions by delaying payment obligations or divesting assets. A popular fund manager took a dig at this practice by likening MFs to departmental stores. “What is common between mutual funds just before fiscal year end and department stores just before Christmas? They both spend a lot of time, energy and money dressing their windows,” he tweeted.

...in a Shakespearean parody

 William Shakespeare was prominently featured during the speeches. Deputy chairman and Congress Member of Parliament PJ Kurien, who is also retiring, criticised the Opposition for disrupting the House. Speaking about his tenure in Parliament, he referred to a phrase from Shakespeare “As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport”, to sum up the state of affairs in the House. Kurien remarked, “As flies to wanton boys are MPs to Parliament; they kill it for their politics.”

All is well that ends well...

Wednesday saw the Rajya Sabha function without any disruption and a good sense of humour at display to bid farewell to some of its members, who retire from the House in April. Trinamool Congress member Derek O'Brien asked the soon-to-retire members to join other Members of Parliament (MP) for tea in the Central Hall and “follow the rule to never pay”. 

The Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad took a dig at Naresh Agarwal, who was retiring as a Samajwadi Party MP but had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party recently after the SP appointed Jaya Bachchan over him to the Rajya Sabha. Azad said Agarwal was like a sun that never sets. While Azad and DMK's Kanimozhi disagreed with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu bemoaning the frequent disruptions and said MPs protested to raise issues that concerned the common man, Naidu rebutted by disapproving the manner in which MPs trooped into the Well of the House and said, “All is not well that ends up in the Well”.