Vikram Singh

Finance and Technology interests mainly, with Science, History and Politics close behind

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Blessing in disguise for the students: These universities are overrated and overpriced and don’t enhance career prospects.

[The Economist @TheEconomist]

English-speaking countries that attract a lot of well-off Indian students have started narrowing the gates for foreigners. To take full advantage, India’s elite private universities will need to swerve some home-grown obstacles https://t.co/aDxz0wwHTI

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Common sense

[Deirdre Bosa @dee_bosa]

So... are we still compute constrained? If Meta has excess compute... SpaceX has excess compute to sell...and the neoclouds are selling off on this news...

What exactly is scarce?

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

But,But,But….AI, EV, Robotics

[zerohedge @zerohedge]

China is fine

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Sugar poisons the body - eliminate it.

[Krish Ashok @krishashok]

The most pernicious and convincing lie influenzas tell you is that ultra processed food is the singular cause of our metabolic problems. Just one problem - Indians barely eat ultra processed food in comparison to other large economies. So, what is the real culprit?

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

@elonmusk Content creators of AI videos on X should proactively identify such videos as AI or face consequences.

[Crazy Moments @Crazymoments01]

Oh my goodness, how could anyone say no to that face?! The sign warns not to feed the Quokkas, but this little guy is an absolute professional at begging with that famous smile. Truly the happiest and most charming animal on Earth!

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

The market is right - don’t fight it.

[Jack Prandelli @jackprandelli]

US crude just hit $73.
📉Down 39% from the $119 March peak.

The market has officially priced the war as over.

Let me tell you what $73 oil is actually pricing in:

✅ Hormuz fully reopened and flows normalized
✅ Qatar LNG back at 100% capacity
✅ SPR being replenished
✅ Tankers freely transiting the Gulf
✅ Inflation falling, demand recovering

Now let me tell you what's actually happening:

❌ PetroChina couldn't find a tanker to load Iraqi crude this week
❌ Freight rates are still 3x pre-war levels
❌ Hormuz traffic: 29 ships in 5 days, 62% running dark
❌ Qatar capacity: 17% damaged for 3-5 years
❌ US SPR: lowest since 1983, still drawing
❌ Jeff Currie: normalization "not until year-end at the earliest"

The financial market is pricing a political headline.

The physical market is pricing a broken supply chain.

$73 oil with empty SPRs, crippled Hormuz traffic, and damaged Qatari infrastructure is not a relief rally.

It's the biggest disconnect between financial and physical markets I've seen in this crisis.

And disconnects this large don't close slowly.

Full analysis in my article.
Link in the comments 👇

Image Source: Bull Theory

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

India obsessed with US perception of it. US will only care about India when it becomes a great power.

[Kanwal Sibal @KanwalSibal]

What has been salvaged yet? No trade deal. More tariffs on India, declining US investment, India targeted on HIB visa issue. 40% decline in Indian students joining US universities because of perceived insecurities , racist elements in MAGA base encouraging Hindu phobia, Rubio visiting Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata to send a message, US Christian lobbies opposing our domestic legislation, waiver on Chabahar withdrawn, killing of US nationals by US navy with no expression of regret, regional courting of Pakistan, and so on.

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

No one cares how much New York exports to California or the other states in America.

Intra- EU trade is similarly unimportant.

[Michael A. Arouet @MichaelAArouet]

Each time I talk about Poland's breathtaking economic miracle, someone tries to argue that it is due to EU subsidies paid by Germany.

Guess what, Germany exports more to Poland than to China, Italy, or the UK. Nobody benefits more from the Polish boom than Germany.

Got it now?

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Expect markets to become desensitized to statements made by both sides.

[Anas Alhajji @anasalhajji]

المثير في أمر هذه الحرب أن النظام الإيراني تعلم أشياء كثيرة من الأميركيين وخبرائهم في الفضائيات الذي كانوا يعطون الإيرانيين أفكار لم تكن تخطر على بالهم.

الرئيس ترمب كان يصدر تصريحات أو يتصرف قبل افتتاح السوق لتخفيض أسعار النفط. الآن الإيرانيون يتبون نفس السياسة، ولكن ترفع أسعار النفط!

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

When The Economist takes a position on any issue, the opposite viewpoint is usually true and just.

[🇺🇸 Kyle Bass 🇹🇼 @Jkylebass]

Mainstream media, once a bastion of clear-eyed liberalism, now peddles selective outrage: George Floyd’s death warranted wall-to-wall coverage, global sanctimony, and policy upheaval. Henry Nowak…an 18-year-old student stabbed to death, then handcuffed while bleeding out after his killer weaponized a false racism claim…gets a shrug and a scold about ‘dangerous’ talk of anti-white prejudice.
If a suspect’s lie can override a dying boy’s pleas, and elite media dismisses the pattern as populist grudge-mongering, that’s not journalism. It’s two-tier morality: some victims elevate narratives, others threaten them. Equal justice isn’t a ‘dark turn’…it’s the bare minimum. Pretending otherwise erodes trust in media faster than any protest.@Keir_Starmer @nytimes @Nigel_Farage

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

The last thing India needs is more babies.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

India’s birth rate has fallen below replacement.

Among those most educated, India’s birth rate fell below replacement many years ago.

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Google has a vested interest in SpaceX‘s success. It owns 6.1% of SpaceX, valued at approximately $106 billion.

[Aadit Sheth @aaditsh]

Wait. Google is paying SpaceX $920 million per month for GPUs?

Google. The company that builds its own TPUs. That runs one of the largest cloud infrastructures on earth. Is renting 110,000 Nvidia GPUs from a rocket company.

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this. Either Google's AI compute needs have gotten so massive that even they can't build fast enough. Or SpaceX has built something in AI infrastructure that nobody was paying attention to. Or both.

$920M a month. $30B over the contract.

Whatever is happening behind the scenes at these companies is moving way faster than what we see publicly.

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

India missed the first AI round - the “chips” round.

[Steve Hanke @steve_hanke]

#IndiaWatch🇮🇳: India’s stock market was worth more than 2x Taiwan’s and 3.5x South Korea’s just 18 months ago.

Today, FT reports that both Taiwan and South Korea have OVERTAKEN India.

INDIA'S MISSED THE AI PARTY.

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

It’s not about the Euro.

[Michael A. Arouet @MichaelAArouet]

This is wild. While most countries have enjoyed decent growth in real wages, Italy and Spain have seen none for three decades.

Maybe the introduction of the euro there wasn’t the best idea? Pressure on wages is the only avenue left when one cannot devalue the currency anymore.

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

True wisdom

[Amena Bakr @Amena__Bakr]

In the midst of the biggest energy security crisis that the world has ever seen Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz has been silent, and what he says is a sign of being humble to admit that he doesn’t know what will happen next. “Being silent is a form of talking”

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Do nothing: don’t overreact to a transitory event.

[Sadanand Dhume @dhume]

With the rupee plummeting to historic lows, foreign investors headed for the exits, and India about to slip behind Bangladesh in per capita GDP, it’s time for Modi to rethink his approach to the economy. [My take] v @WSJopinion
https://t.co/DxFAEVMVwm

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Panagariya is 100% correct : Intervening in the currency market is as foolish as imposing tariffs on importing gold and silver.

[Harsh Gupta Madhusudan @harshmadhusudan]

Respectfully disagree with Dr. Panagariya. Precisely because this is not 2013, or the fundamentals are actually very solid in terms of CAD or inflation etc, we should not let rupee depreciate more. It is currently under a speculative attack and the right thing to do is to hold.

The outflows right now is not because of oil or trade (end-Feb to mid-May) but because of FPI selling. Further rupee weakness further strengthens the reflexivity of selling.

The ratio of India GDP PPP to GDP USD is at the highest ever, maybe outside of the mid-1990s. The government must continue to rationalise energy prices to send the right price signals, and continue to keep moderate import tariffs on gold (tweak as needed.)

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Those who unjustly accuse others of racism reveal their own weakness of spirit and intellect and suffer from an inferiority complex.

[Sreemoy Talukdar @sreemoytalukdar]

Truth to tell, I was in two minds about writing this piece. A nation and a people laser-focused on their rise and confident of their place in the world should not get perturbed by barking dogs on the street.
But I did. There's a reason. 🧵

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

Throughout history, India’s knowledge, culture and tradition flowed to China and the rest of Asia – the reverse never occurred.

[Harsh Gupta Madhusudan @harshmadhusudan]

The Chinese, who cannot even talk to their own folks on this platform, are lecturing Indians about why Vietnam etc got China+1 investments as Indians are too argumentative and defensive, not willing to learn etc. It is all typical gaslighting nonsense.

The Chinese, despite their hostility towards the Vietnamese, are happy to invest there because a relatively small Vietnam can never become a true economic rival the way India can and will. It is as simple as that. Beijing has actively put in poison pills. DC is also openly saying it cannot let India become another China.

The Indian elite is actually more invested in India than the Chinese elite in China. Entrepreneurs, army officers and administrators do not overnight vanish in India the way they do in China. This is not a Stalinist-Maoist state.

Make no mistake, Beijing is very scared about India's latent and developing potential. And America is also a bit more than nervous as its own officials have confessed on Indian soil itself.

India has made significant improvements in its manufacturing, defense and deep tech ecosystems starting from a very low base even as late as a decade ago. Delhi has simultaneously accepted more trade and more industrial policy.

Much more needs to be done of course, and is being done. Manufacturing will be one of India's key strengths over and above its unique services one. Do not let the frustrations of others bamboozle you into doubting your own country.

India is a generation behind China and two behind America. It will cover the gap in decades, not generations. Yes, we should rise even faster but we are rising starting with universal adult franchise in a continental-sized civilisation and a millennium of heroic resistance to colonialism behind us.

Please learn to differentiate between well-wishers and those pretending to be so.

[Vikram Singh @_VikramSingh]

They want it gifted to them on a platter - threats to fight are a bluff.

[Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47]

.@POTUS: "It’s always been the biggest thing for [President Xi], Taiwan. Now, with me, I don’t think they'll do anything when I’m here. When I’m not here, I think they might, to be honest with you... I'd like to see everybody making chips over in Taiwan come into America."