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…
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…
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.…
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…
The falling interest rates made many investors move from debt to equity. While doing so, they chose investment instruments which were paying good dividends. Dividends became a proxy for interest. This trade worked well for little under a year. Subsequently, it has gone horribly wrong. Here is the bad news…
The heightened volatility in our markets seems unrelenting. Fear is pervasive. Every rally is getting sold. Markets are nervously scanning global indices all the time in anticipation of more bad news. While Coronavirus seems to have been contained in China, it is wreaking havoc in the western world. India is…
The Covid saga has open timelines. Economic activity is under lockdown. Stock markets are functioning. This unusual setting throws investors a peculiar problem. We now know that economic growth in 2020 – 21 is likely to be minuscule, with visible risks of even turning negative. But, the global financial system will…
My best investing lesson was when our family started setting up a mango orchard. We went about scientifically constructing the place and the planting went fine. Then, we had unexpected weather. The plants died in numbers. We relentlessly replanted. Tended to the plants for four years with great care. The…
We are coming out of the biggest roller-coaster week in Indian investing. The date, Friday 13th March, seemed almost celestially made with this destiny. The lower circuit filter hit by the index in early morning trade gave most market participants the shivers. It was a moment everybody knew could happen…
The last week offered great buying opportunities. The next week may be even better. The key thing to remember in investing is to show conviction when it is found most wanting. This is never easy. When the world is gripped by fear, it may be too much to ask many…
