S.Africa set to earn a billion rand

The Indian Premier League (IPL)cricket tournament will bring an expected investment of about 1 billion rand (100 million U.S dollars) to South Africa, as said by the South African President Kgalema Motlanthe at the tournament’s opening ceremony in Cape Town. IPL is providing 10 million rand (1 million U.S. dollars) in scholarship funds for 300 students and 32 schools.
“Together, we formed the greatest partnership so that India, Brazil and South Africa could stand together and navigate a path through the unpredictable waters of globalization.”Motlanthe said choosing South Africa to host the tournament was a “tremendous vote of confidence”, but also inspired serious reflection.Nevertheless, he said choosing SA as a host showed confidence in its ability to host the IPL, the Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.“It is a vote of confidence in our facilities, our telecommunications capability and our cricket-loving fans who have already snapped up all the tickets for the IPL matches.
Motlanthe said the unique aspect of the IPL tournament was that it meant some opponents now became teammates and vice versa.“In entertaining us, the IPL teaches us this important lesson in life: no task is too big, no problem is insurmountable, no disagreement or rivalry is permanent, and every challenge is an opportunity to demonstrate our character and resilience,he added.

The present financial crisis explained in simple terms.............................

One-eyed-Gordon is the proprietor of a bar in London. In order to increase sales, he decides to allow his loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later.

He keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into One-eyed-Gordon's bar. Taking advantage of his customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, One-eyed-Gordon increases his prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. His sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases One-eyed-Gordon's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral. At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (subsequently of course fired due his negativity) at the bank decides that the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at One-eyed-Gordon's bar. However they cannot pay back the debts. One-eyed-Gordon cannot fulfill his loan obligations and claims bankruptcy. DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %.

The suppliers of One-eyed-Gordon's bar, having granted his generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities, are faced with a new situation. His wine supplier claims bankruptcy and his beer supplier is taken over by a competitor. The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties. The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.