The extension of single party rule in India is now clearly off our radar. The 2019 general elections will be won on the strength of alliances. Obviously, the ruling party will need to reboot its strategy while the opposition suddenly seems to have begun its preparation earlier. As investors, we…
The FIIs are back. November clearly showed a change of mind. The DIIs continue to receive money from domestic investors. It is in this scenario that we go into the last phase of state elections. If the verdict in the five states is not too adverse, we could see a…
Rising oil and dollar mean only one thing for the Indian economy – trouble in the near-term. Business fortunes and purchasing power are closely intertwined with oil and the dollar. Inflation could rear its ugly head if both oil and dollar become difficult to manage for the government. Stock markets…
In good years, defensive investors have to be content with the KNOWLEDGE that their gains, although perhaps less than maximal, were achieved with risk protection in place, even though it turned out to be not needed. – Howard Marks Every investor scrutinizes the relationship between risk and…
Investment Strategy Bond markets may witness volatility over the next few weeks. Debt portfolios could see notional losses because of this. Portfolios can be protected by sticking to instruments with shorter maturities or by either holding investments until maturity. Fresh investments should be made in a phased manner, taking advantage…
Monetary Policy: As the macroeconomic outlook becomes less transparent the monetary policy committee has only become more steadfast in its neutral stance. This leaves room for all possible outcomes and actions. The neutral stance has often been equated to a status quo for policy rates. So, the rate hike of…
Interest rates are a great leveller. They always set the trends of the equity markets. But we have two sets of rates to contend with, domestic and global rates. Domestic interest rate trends are constantly shifting and puzzling. Just when the trend seems set to rise, something happens which softens…
Market Outlook: Volatility has struck debt and equity markets in equal measure in 2018. Valuations continue to remain an area of concern with respect to equity markets and volatility will continue to persist until earnings match valuations. This is a global phenomenon and is not restricted to domestic equity markets.…
Last month, Janet Yellen handed over the reins to Jerome Powell. He was initiated as Fed Chair into a chaotic market, as the US markets corrected sharply in his first week. There has been much speculation as to what kind of Chair Powell would make. On one hand, he’s seen…
* This post was updated on 30 November 2020 An Introduction As banking systems in multiple countries evolved, the need to have an international agreement that bound them arose. The idea was to addresses regulation, supervision, and risk management for banks across the globe. The Basel Committee on Bank…
The RBI first issued 8% bonds in 2003. As the name suggests, they pay 8% interest per annum and the interest income is taxable. Investors need to invest a minimum of Rs. 1,000 there is no ceiling or limit on the investment amount. Normally, the bonds have a maturity of six years.…
