| Kodak moments….Great names are not always good investments! |
| Remember, stock prices are based on future prospects of a company and sector, not past successes. |
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| Why isn't shining India contributing a little more? |
| Dominique Lapierre carries a rickshaw puller's hand bell in his pocket at all times. It belonged to Hasari Pal, the protagonist of his best-selling 1985 book, City of Joy. |
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| Investors should participate only after a thorough understanding of how currency markets work |
| These include GDP growth, fiscal and monetary policies, inflows and outflows of the currency, local stock market performance and interest rates. |
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| Choose the right option |
| A good retirement plan should ideally be a combination of a variety of investments. Just as you use different tools to perform a multitude of tasks, all these options can work for you in diverse ways. |
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| "Insurance is for the long term, so don't exit before five years" |
| With the recent capping of expenses, these charges are likely to go down further. The charges under Ulips are comparable with those paid by customers under the load-free structure of mutual funds. |
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| Highest NAV or marketing gimmick |
| “No matter how skillful you are, you can't invent a product advantage that doesn't exist. And if you do, and it's just a gimmick, it's going to fall apart anyway” - William Bernbach, advertising guru. |
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| Choose the right 80C option |
| The pasta in cheese sauce looks inviting, while the salad bar is choc-a-bloc with interesting options. But one can eat only as much as one's appetite allows, so it is important to be choosy. |
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| The taxpayers' checklist |
| This means you are exploiting the power of compounding to the fullest over your career span. |
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| An insider's guide to easier home loans |
| More interestingly, the report puts the spotlight on broad trends on defaulting patterns, which may help you gauge how banks evaluate a borrower's eligibility for a home loan. |
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| How to invest without fear |
| A safe investment sounds like a paradox, considering the jaw-dropping losses investors suffered during the global financial crisis. |
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| Pay for being rich |
| Wealth tax is payable on residential real estate, jewellery, art and artefacts, motor cars, yachts, aircraft and hard cash. The tax is 1 per cent of the combined value of these assets exceeding Rs 30 lakh. So, if a person has taxable wealth of Rs 50 lakh, he will have to shell out Rs 20,000 as wealth tax every year. Remember, unlike income tax, wealth tax is payable every year for the same assets. The idea is to tax unproductive, non-essential and idle assets. This is the reason commercial property, bonds, fixed deposits, stocks, Ulips, gold funds, mutual funds, even your savings account bank balance, are exempt from wealth tax. |
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| It pays to revamp |
| Did you know that of the Rs 100 spent on your credit card, about Rs 2 is divided among financial institutions? A part of this, known as assessments, goes to the company that your card is affiliated to, which in India is usually Mastercard or Visa. |
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| The rise of commodities |
| Even the less volatile real estate prices came under pressure as there were few buyers left in the market. Sales plummeted because the uncertainty made consumers jittery. |
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| A cause for concern |
| Charitable intent doesn't always translate into judicious charity. Scrutinising an NGO before you donate your hard-earned money to it is as important as screening the company whose shares you want to buy. |
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| Gaining by going green |
| Be it entrepreneurs eager to protect the environment or organisations intent on working in sync with their habitats, the green movement has gained momentum |
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| Right ingredients, wrong recipe |
| Which do you think is more difficult, managing a business or an investment portfolio? It's a no-brainer; the former is definitely tougher. |
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| Banking on change |
| Taking convenience a step forward, the industry is now focusing on instant gratification single-screen view of all your financial accounts, instant cash deposit, fund transfers via SMS, etc. |
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| Foreign havens |
| Once a month, 43-yearold Ramanand Dubey transfers an average of Rs 30,000 to his savings account in a Swiss bank. No, he is neither a drug lord nor a politician trying to stash away dirty money. |
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| When to sell a fund |
| Which is why we find it difficult to let go of our prized possessions, whether it's a car that no longer runs, a house that's falling apart or a fund that's been losing consistently. |
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| Artistic revival |
| Those were the days; a Souza or Husain commanded a price for which you could buy a sea-facing apartment in the swanky neighbourhood of Worli in Mumbai. Today, you may have to toss in a small painting by Ram Kumar to clinch the deal. |
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