The best businesses can see very sharp swings in valuations. Just a small earnings disappointment, a moderating growth forecast and uncertainty on inflation have once again taught us a very simple lesson. This lesson has happened in the best of FAANG stocks. The markets have shown these marquee companies a…
Diwali to Diwali we have had a very sombre Samvat. We are entering the new Samvat on a note of caution. Our expectations are clearly running low. We sense trouble from global markets. We are aware that inflation must be tamed within a reasonable time horizon. We respect the unknown…
Stagflation refers to an economic condition caused by a combination of slow economic growth, high unemployment, and rising prices. The runaway inflation and falling reserves cause a lot of distress. We have witnessed it from far in the recent past in Zimbabwe and Venezuela. The current economic crisis in Sri…
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs “Safety Needs such as Personal security and a shelter to stay” is one of the basic needs of every human being. More than a basic need, we all aspire to buy our “dream home” come what may. Purchasing a house often needs detailed planning…
The story of King Canute goes that he stood in front of the tide demanding that the sea recede. This is a story of greater forces humbling power. The Federal Reserve’s messaging is clear: it wants full employment and inflation at 2%. But, higher interest rates and aggressive communications will…
Let us talk about holistic financial planning and why it is important for a smooth life (financially). We had covered individual components of financial planning in earlier blogs, but why should someone prefer holistic financial planning over simply focusing on individual aspects such as investment planning, insurance planning, tax planning,…
The rupee closed at an all-time low of 82.32. Year to date, it has depreciated more than 7.5%. While the rupee’s performance is still better than global peers, it has become a cause for concern for FII. YTD, the FII and FPI have taken out 1.5 Lakh Crores from Indian…
Here is the transcript if you would like to read it instead: Ram: That is a great question, Susithra. This is indeed true. We see so many financial calculators online which help someone calculate the future value of their goals, or how much their investment is going to be worth in…
The debate on whether our markets are completely coupled or can actually be decoupled with the US markets is an endless one. But, in our obsession with the global markets, we assume that anything that affects their economies will also affect us. Historically, a lot has happened in common or…
The market is reacting to the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy announcement. The Fed is keen on doing whatever it takes to bring inflation down to 2%. This commitment to raising rates (evidenced in the Fed’s dot plot) well into 2023 spooked US markets, and now the contagion is spreading. It…
The weakening of sentiment in the US markets is happening. We are witnessing home loans getting pricier, new starts in housing shrinking, inflation coming down month on month, and investors reacting very sharply to bad news. The sharp fall in stocks like FedEx and Adobe in a single trading session…
Here is the transcript if you would like to read it instead: Ram: Welcome back to Kairos, a podcast on financial planning where we talk about doing the right thing at the right time. My name is Ram and I have Namratha with me today to talk about the topic…