Quick edit: Statistics lie. The Statistician lied. The first is an often repeated adage. The second is the appalling state of governance in our country. Manipulation of data is an old trick in a government’s bag. But, the context in which such manipulation surfaces in the public domain is very…
2011-12 was a year of negative returns on equity assets. The sensex lost close to 10.5 % over the year. Negative years will always be compensated by one bumper year of profits. But, that may not be soon enough. Usually, markets move through long years of lull trading when they…
An ominous phase of volatility in commodities seems imminent. We are seeing price fluctuations increasing across commodities. The demand-supply estimates of key commodities have either been hazy or improperly assessed over the past year and this helped traders profit from increased volatility. The current year could well see demand drop and…
The markets closed on March 31, 2011 with the Sensex at 19,445. It closed today at 17,404. The year saw a clear negative return of 10% on the Sensex. Investor sentiment was marked by a heightened aversion to equity. Gold was a clear investor favourite. Of the total liquid savings,…
The Government of India wants to tame gold. It is moving with full resolve to do so and the budgetary proposals are to be viewed in that light. Why is the Government wanting to tame gold? The reasons are macro-economic. Gold consumption of Indian households has risen to $ 45…
Bull markets happen once in several years. The most recent one was in 2008. We have had a four year bear market play out. Investors have gradually lost faith in equity and preferred to place greater faith in other asset classes. Debt, gold and real estate have been the preferred investment…
Quick Edit Investing in 2012 has gotten a lot tougher. Volatility has increased across asset classes. The rupee has weakened against the dollar. Interest rates aren’t going down anytime soon. Oil prices are still holding on to gains and straining the finances of importing nations like us. Gold may not…
Little was expected of this budget. Yet, this budget did not fail to disappoint the stock market. Budgets have long ceased to be sensational. ‘Dream’ budgets are no more doable. Even if a finance minister risks delivering a budget with the stock market in mind, it will not materially help…
Quick Edit: It is budget time again. Over the years, budgets have become boring. There is nothing to look forward to. Reform expectations run low and subsidy fears loom large. Political populism has always prevailed over sound economics under successive UPA regimes. Even parliament has started passing budgets with little…
QUICK EDIT: Everyone knows the basics of finance. Spending must be in line with earnings. Aligning income and expense is important to maintain a state of credit-worthiness. The past three decades have seen Nations moving away from this basic principle. India has an old habit of not running her finances…
Quick Edit: A sharp upswing. Rising indices. Yet, many investors find their portfolios lagging. Why? Portfolios are to be designed keeping the future in mind. Given the dynamic nature of economic activity, businesses which performed well a few years back are struggling now. If your portfolio was built in 2008…
Quick Edit: The journey from bear markets to bull markets is often short and swift. When markets move from one phase to another, they give very little time for investors to react. Investors often come on board very late for this very reason. Now is clearly not the time to…