Cheat Sheet

Written By: Varun Sinha | June 20, 2013 10:06 (IST)

The Indian rupee hit a record low of 59.94 on Thursday, while the BSE Sensex plunged over 400 points after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke confirmed that the Fed would begin reducing its stimulus spending later this year. Fed's overnight comments were a confirmation of what markets feared since May 22, when Mr Bernanke first signalled that the Fed may cut the pace of bond purchases at the next few meetings.

Written By: Varun Sinha | June 19, 2013 12:30 (IST)

Markets have been jittery ever since Fed Reserve chairman told Congress on May 22 that the Fed may cut the pace of bond purchases at the next few meetings. Overnight interest rates in the U.S. have been near zero since December 2008 as the Fed has more than tripled its balance sheet to around $3.3 trillion with its bond buying. The Fed's quantitative easing (QE) has helped drive up prices in risk assets across the globe. The Fed may signal a tapering down of its stimulus programme later today.

Written By: Varun Sinha | June 13, 2013 08:32 (IST)

Home loan equated monthly installments are a significant drain on salaries, so it's no surprise that the Reserve Bank's policy moves are closely tracked not only by economists, but loan consumers too. When headline inflation eased to over 40-month low in April, a rate cut on June 17 - when the RBI meets to discuss policy rates - looked a certainty. However, the sharp plunge in the rupee has changed all equations and more and more analysts have discounted the possibility of a rate cut next week.

June 12, 2013 20:08 (IST)

The rupee on Wednesday recovered after a five-session losing streak. The partially convertible rupee ended at Rs 57 57.79/80 against the dollar, 1 per cent stronger compared with 58.39/40 on Tuesday.

June 10, 2013 16:02 (IST)

The Indian rupee hit the 58 mark to the U.S. dollar on Monday, eclipsing the earlier record low of 57.32 against the greenback. The rupee was hurt by broad global gains in the U.S. currency and weaker domestic shares. The partially convertible rupee closed at 58.15 per dollar after earlier hitting a low of 58.16, a 1.9 per cent fall from its Friday's close of 57.06/07.

June 10, 2013 14:36 (IST)

Everybody makes mistakes. The repercussions of a mistake could be trivial or grave. Financial mistakes are one such blunder that can create big problems if they are not resolved immediately. Suppose Mr. X has planned for retirement at 60, and by mistake he forgets to consider the erosion of money value due to inflation. What would be the outcome at the time of his retirement? The retirement corpus would be peanuts. So let's discuss important financial mistakes we should avoid:

June 10, 2013 11:40 (IST)

The rupee weakness is broadly a negative for stock markets though export focused firms are likely to benefit from the sharp slide in the currency. Most big corporates use hedging strategies to protect themselves from fluctuation in the currency, but a weak rupee bodes well for exporters, who earn their revenues in dollars.

June 10, 2013 10:06 (IST)

The Indian rupee hit a record low against the U.S. dollar on Monday as the greenback strengthened against most global currencies. Some analysts say the rupee is headed all the way to 60 if the current trend persists.

June 10, 2013 09:57 (IST)

The rupee plunged to an-all time low against the dollar on Monday, taking its losses to 5.7 per cent since the start of May. The rupee is now the worst performer in Asia over this period. It breached the previous low of 57.32 to the dollar on Monday and is trading at 57.54 against the greenback. Having a currency at an all-time low is not a great advertisement for the government's management of the economy ahead of elections.

June 07, 2013 12:14 (IST)

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance industries Ltd, and Reliance Communications, the flagship firm of younger brother Anil Ambani-run Reliance ADAG Group, have entered into a Rs 12,000 crore agreement for sharing tower infrastructure.

Reported By: Varun Sinha | June 07, 2013 12:06 (IST)

When Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm announced a Rs 1,200-crore deal with younger brother Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications in April, RCom shares shot up 11 per cent. But on Friday, after the two companies inked a much bigger Rs 12,000 crore deal, RCom shares actually fell 1.4 per cent to close at Rs 116.40. RCom underperformed the broader Sensex, which closed 0.5 per cent lower at 19,429. RIL declined 1 per cent to Rs 784.60.

June 06, 2013 16:44 (IST)

A day after raising the import duty on gold from 6 per cent to 8 per cent, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram urged banks to advise their customers not to invest in gold. Top government officials said they will continue to take steps to discourage gold buying. The Reserve Bank has already advised banks against selling gold coins to retail customers.

Mumbai | June 06, 2013 15:40 (IST)

The rupee touched the key psychological level of 57 to the dollar on Thursday, approaching a record low hit nearly a year earlier as fears of an end to the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus sent the dollar higher and hit local shares. Below are some measures the Reserve Bank of India and the government could consider to protect the rupee.

June 06, 2013 10:28 (IST)

The rupee fell for the 13th session in 15, taking its losses to 5.2 per cent since the start of May and becoming the worst performer in Asia over this period. It breached the 57 mark to the dollar on Thursday and is trading perilously close to its all-time low of 57.32 against the greenback.

June 05, 2013 10:23 (IST)

To protect those buying homes from being conned by real estate developers, the cabinet has cleared an important new proposal. Here's how the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill could help you.

Written By: Varun Sinha | June 04, 2013 09:15 (IST)

Narayana Murthy's return as executive chairman of Infosys is being seen as a positive step for the stock by global brokerages. However, some analysts say the upside in Infosys may be purely sentimental and the company will have to take credible steps to become a leader again. A quick turnaround in Infosys' fortunes will surely take time, but Bhuvnesh Singh and Hitesh Das of Barclays believe the following four steps could provide some thrust to Infosys shares.

June 01, 2013 15:51 (IST)

Infosys has appointed N R Narayana Murthy as executive chairman in a bid to revitalise Indias best know tech company. Mr Murthy has requested the board to appoint his Harvard-educated son, Dr. Rohan Murthy, as his executive assistant for the next five years. The current executive co-chairman S. Gopalakrishnan will be re-designated executive vice chairman, while current CEO S.D. Shibulal will remain in his position.

May 31, 2013 16:02 (IST)

The EPF (Employees' Provident Fund) is the most popular investment for salaried individuals, and is maintained solely by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation of India (EPFO). As a rule, any company having more than 20 employees has to register with the EPFO.

May 29, 2013 11:24 (IST)

The Indian rupee neared a 10-month low against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as the greenback strengthened against most global currencies. Some analysts say the rupee is headed all the way to 60 if the current trend persists.

Written By: Varun Sinha | May 28, 2013 10:29 (IST)

Long term investors are better off betting on mid-cap stocks than locking large funds in blue chips according to a study by global analytical firm Crisil. Mid-cap equities (part of the CNX Midcap) have outperformed the generally preferred (more liquid) large-caps (Nifty), Crisil says, adding, mid-caps not only provided higher returns over longer time frames, but were also less volatile.