I remember during my analyst days (omg how being a CA helped!) I would cross check figures form different senior executives / promoters and I would get different numbers. It always set me thinking about the CEO – was he really incompetent or was he just fibbing about the numbers, or had he just removed his eyes from the ball, so to speak.

So when Donald Trump builds a relationship with Saudi Arabia, you realize how hollow American politics is vis a vis its stated ‘Liberty,…promise to ITSELF’.

It has built a relationship with the bloodiest monarchy (anarchy?) of the world. SA depends on oil (so we dare not let oil prices come down). They keep buying “the best” ammunition in the world, made by the biggest killing nation of the world aka USA. The USA which is grappling with its loss of world market share, weakening (really?) currency, reduced political clout, increasing arrogance…..and NO ABILITY TO HANDLE any of these, forget all of these!

So the SA monarch places an order for US $ 110 Billion. This figure has been constant in all his statements, but he cannot decide how many jobs it will create. It has varied from 450,000 to 1 million. I am sure he could say 2 million, and nobody will care. I guess DT is beyond care.

However, the Americans have done far worse things in the past. So a few days from the mid terms….the question is “should you trust a liar”. The world is far more forgiving today. I would look at the sincere attitude of the person. So when Pappu cannot decide on the price Namo is paying for a plane (it has varied too much) or how much Adag is going to make on the Rafale deal…I would trust Namo more than i would trust Pappu.

If you are interested in knowing whether a ceo is bluffing, go and read 5 annual reports at a time…of the same company. Read the Management discussion and Analysis, Directors Report for sure…and notes on accounts if you are an analyst or a CA (doing CA also!). Then you will realize that the most important document to read for an investor is the balance sheet. Not watch the Cnbc interview of a ceo….