Same difference

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stopped by for a short while at the launch of Meghnad Desai's new book, Hubris: Why Economists Failed to Predict the Crisis and How to Avoid the Next One, before leaving to catch a flight to Russia for the BRICS Bank summit. He seemed to be in a jovial mood and joined in on the topic of the day (why experts failed to forecast the 2008 financial crisis and how the next one can be predicted). "The more I hear economists speak on which way the oil prices are headed, the more I realise why astrology is gaining credibility," he said amid cheers and clapping of hands. It didn't end there. Later, when a journalist sought his views on Greece, he quipped, "Ask the astrologers."