Thursday, July 15, 2010

Markets in Everything: Currency Design, Part II

"India has finally got a symbol for the Rupee and joined a select club of countries whose currencies have an unique identity (see graphic above). The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the design, which includes both the Devnagiri 'Ra' and the Roman capital 'R' and has two parallel lines running at the top. The parallel lines symbolise the equal to sign.

The symbol selected has been designed by an Indian Institute of Technology postgraduate D Udaya Kumar and was selected from among five short listed symbols."
 
See CD post here from March 2009 about the contest for the rupee symbol, with a $5,000 prize to the winner, almost 5 times India's per-capita GDP of $1,031 in 2009 ($2,941 on a Purchaing Power Parity basis, which takes into account the relative cost of living). 
 
HT: Sanil Kori

7 Comments:

At 7/15/2010 2:01 PM, Anonymous EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy said...

Queue up the "How do I get the Rupee symbol?" questions in every conceivable computer context...

 
At 7/15/2010 2:03 PM, Anonymous gettingrational said...

For thirteen centuries the Indian currency was backed by the value of silver. Starting in the 1800's silver was mined in large quantities in the U.S. and Europe leading to devaluations of the Rupee. The name rupee derives from rupa or rup; the Indian name for silver. Gold backed currencies gained in value relative to silver backed rupees. After independance silver backing was removed and the value of the rupee has gone up over time.

The symbol looks cool and I'm sure we will be seeing it increasingly over the years in financial media.

 
At 7/15/2010 2:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It has the obligatory slashes through the symbol that other currency symbols have and kinda an R shape. Should be fairly easy to remember like the Yen and Euro symbols.

 
At 7/15/2010 5:56 PM, Blogger PeakTrader said...

Markets in Everything? How about Government in Markets or Everything. The 2,400 page finance reform bill?:

Finance bill favors interests of unions, activists

This legislation includes provisions totally unrelated to the financial crisis which may disrupt America's fragile economic recovery.

Business groups are also rankled that the legislation would impose costly new burdens on airlines, utilities and other non-financial businesses that were victims rather than villains in the crisis, simply because they use financial derivatives.

The powerful new consumer protection agency that is the centerpiece of the reform bill also would provide substantial employment opportunities and funding for Democratic and social-activist groups such as the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN).

Rather than focus on the abuses in the mortgage-lending market that led to the crisis, the new consumer agency would have broad-ranging powers to regulate and punish virtually any company that has a financial relationship with consumers.

An activist director of the consumer agency could use agency power to direct loans to favored constituencies, regardless of whether the loans are sound or pose risks to the banking system.

"During our negotiations on the consumer bureaucracy, my Democrat friends were not focused on the mortgage market. Their sights were set on the rest of the economy," he said. "The new bureaucracy is an enormous reach across virtually every segment of our economy, and a massive expansion of government influence in our daily financial lives."

The bill would create more than 20 "offices of minority and women inclusion" at the Treasury, Federal Reserve and other government agencies, to ensure they employ more women and minorities and grant more federal contracts to more women- and minority-owned businesses.

The agencies also would apply "fair employment tests" to the banks and other financial institutions they regulate, though their hiring and contracting practices had little or nothing to do with the 2008 financial crisis.

 
At 7/15/2010 6:22 PM, Blogger PeakTrader said...

Harvey Pitt, former SEC chairman, on the finance reform bill:

Legal and consulting fees will skyrocket. This bill is truly the "Lawyers' and Consultants' Full Employment Act of 2010." Most of the attempted reforms are poorly drafted, or contain loopholes so large that a fleet of trucks could get past the supposed barriers. Where the bill accomplishes something it is largely likely to harm competition, force a "brain drain" of talent away from Wall Street, and boost the performance of commercial and investment banks located outside the US.

 
At 7/15/2010 11:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

PT - you're right it's a total fail. That shouldn't be much of a surprise considering the party running the joint.

regime change - Jan 20, 2013

 
At 7/16/2010 3:05 AM, Blogger PeakTrader said...

Instead of focusing on job creation, the government sends more unemployment checks, after the huge "stimulus" bills, while implementing massive regulations that drive-up costs and uncertainties. The result will be huge tax increases, and less government services.

 

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