free_LUNCH

- Everyone is aware of the political issue in Iran. As I write this blog, the protests are continuing and the toll mounting. It is difficult to say what stance the government is going to take. The opposition parties remain relentless in spite of the fact no leader has come the demonstration themselves. I am curious and hopeful that things will turn for the the better and the voice of the population (yes, democracy!!!) will be heard.

- In my opinion, Barack Obama is doing the right thing by not taking an aggressive stance on this situation. The action has to be timely and in no way provoke the incumbent government to take a drastic action while exercising their ego. He did release a statement today.

- Rafael Nadal has opted to skip Wimbledon this year because of a nagging injury (tendinitis). His aggressive movements across the courts takes a toll on his body that needs to recuperate. Here is an interesting article on him. His omission is a blessing for Roger Federer. He stands to win his record 15th title thus overcoming Pete Sampras’s earlier record. Roger also stands to gain the no. 1 rank if he wins the tournament. I will be watching.

- Apple’s Steve Jobs has been reported to have a liver transplant done. He is expected to be back at the helm soon. I hope this puts to rest all the stories going round about his health to come to a stop.

- We studied in our school that the benefits from a merger are often attributed to synergy between two companies. We were also told that these synergies are always overrated and over valuation leads to non-successful mergers. Then when we did our problems and exercises, we went back to using the same synergies to do our valuations. We learnt, unlearnt, and then learnt it again. Michelle Leder’s footnoted.org has this evaluation of a recent announcement.