The highlight of the month, and in fact of the year till date, has been stunning victory of Congress-led UPA in the recently concluded elections. The victory has ended days of politics of coalition management. The win is hinting at a new era of reforms that could well unshackle the increasingly robust potential of Indian economy. The market has responded favourably as there is a distinct chance that India could benefit from its development-friendly government policies.

Did you benefit from the …

Read complete post >>

Back when they were feeling flush, many well-off folks made gifts of cash or stock to their adult children without much hesitation. Now some are reluctant to give, worried that they won’t have enough left for their own retirement or that their children may become too dependent on handouts.

Some parents make loans to their children to start a business, buy a new car and pay income taxes. But they tell them, ‘I want you to get the money back.’ Even parents who …

Read complete post >>

According to money manager Ken Fisher, the stocks that got clobbered most late in a bear market are the most likely to do well in the early stages of the next bull market, reports the Forbes.

This year has gotten off to a bad start, with the Sensex down to 8000-9000 levels. This just makes me more determined in my bullishness. I like stocks for 2009 precisely because they did so badly in 2008. Did we hit absolute bottom in November? Maybe, …

Read complete post >>

Financial services firm UBS feels that India is, still, one of the most attractive places in Asia at present, reports the Economic Times of India. In fact, UBS has upgraded India from moderate underweight to overweight as it feels that valuations have improved substantially and that the Indian economy is less affected by the global financial crisis than most other markets. The foreign financial major, however, does expect further weakness in the coming quarters. Among Asia’s leading economies, China remains UBS’ largest …

Read complete post >>

… Continued from Part 1 & Part 2 of the series …

What you should NOT DO in the market

Try and time the market. As mentioned in Part 1, the market does not follow any fixed pattern or trend. It will take its own course. Trying to time the market is a common mistake made even by veterans who have spent years and years studying and understanding the market. Its better to let the market decide its own course, …

Read complete post >>

… Continued from Part 1 of this series …

Golden rules of investing in the market

The first and foremost step in making every financial decision is to have a goal or objective in place. Goal can be short-, medium- or long-term depending on the individual’s requirement. Ideally, you should choose a few momentum-based stocks to meet your short term goals and invest the rest in growth and value stocks with sound fundamentals, good track record and professional management to …

Read complete post >>

The Sensex has retracted from its peak of around 21000, touched lows in the 7600-8000 range and is presently trading in a close range of 9000 in the last few months. Still the crucial question on every investor’s mind remains: “Whether the time has come to start investing again in order to reap the benefits of early bird investing?” But some questions still remain unanswered: Has the market bottomed out yet? Should we wait for some more time before taking a final …

Read complete post >>