On Friday, the released US jobs data was a huge positive surprise. This coupled with a weakening dollar gave the stock market its perfect fuel cocktail. Risk-averse investors who were holding back seem to be taken by surprise. The surprise factor can instil much-needed confidence and calm nerves in global…
The markets are at peak polarization on valuations. We have an extremely expensive part and a very inexpensive part. There is no middle to this market. This gap will not sustain for too long. In a de-growing economy, earnings will be unable to guide investors in decision making. Most good…
Equity markets are battling bear sentiments in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the steepest crash markets witnessed since the global financial crisis in 2008-09. Uncertainty looms over the way forward. In this post, we share basic bear market investment strategies. Cashing Out Bear markets spike fear…
The RBI delivered on the government’s announcements. Another rate cut extended moratoriums on loans until August 31st, and changed credit exposure limits to large business groups, sound a clear pro-growth message. This is good news at a time when the GDP growth outlook is negative, urban stress seems to be…
Investing without a plan is like driving directionless on an unknown road. A map indicates your destination and the best path. Without one, you risk taking a winding route. Similarly, to make your investments work for you, you must know why you are investing. Your financial plan is a map…
The signals from the stimulus are crystal clear. It is more monetary than fiscal. Clearly, the government is trying to bet on the entrepreneurs, self-employed, farmers, rural industries, and local businesses. This seems increasingly like a Bharat driven economic recovery of India. More money will flow into rural Bharat than…
It was a very busy week on Deal street. Reliance came up with two back to back private equity deals for its telecom venture JIO platforms. GlaxoSmithKline PLC managed to exit its entire equity stake in HUL in one go. These deals clearly tell us that the appetite for Indian…
The good news from India’s big business triggered the stock market bounce. A swift, big capital raise will follow this good news. In the near-term, this is going to be the story of our markets. India’s big business has been under-capitalised. Companies already are brimming with debt. Now, even near…
The pandemic may cause layoffs and unemployment to spread well beyond the services industry. Money becomes a huge source of anxiety for anybody bogged down with financial responsibilities. How do you deal with the very real challenges of financial anxiety? Financial Anxiety & Stress Watching your bank balance dwindle, your…
Naturally, equity investors think that a crisis in debt funds will not affect them. They tend to see equity and debt as if they were two asset classes that exist in distinct silos. But, the reality is very different. Every equity market crash always had a distinct debt market connect.…
Debt Markets & COVID-19 COVID-19 has new surprises for the financial markets every day. Many of them are rude shocks. Four months into 2020 and we’ve seen negative oil prices, the swiftest bear market, sustained FII outflows, massive quantitative easing measures, and the VIX (Volatility index) crossing a record high…
An economy going through a phase of total shutdown for nearly two months is almost unheard of. We never wrote that scenario into our future strategies. We did not have a clear idea of how the second-order consequences would pan out. What happens when the whole world shut down for…