Joydeep Ghosh &Amp; Rajesh Bhayani

Stories by Joydeep Ghosh &Amp; Rajesh Bhayani

FMPs: Upset with mutual funds, investors shy away

FMPs: Upset with mutual funds, investors shy away

Rediff.com   4 Nov 2008

Though the fund houses have garnered over Rs 1,500 billion from investors, only 8-10 would declare their monthly FMP portfolios till a few months ago. Instead, they gave 'indicative portfolios' and 'indicative returns' to the potential investor. This month, all fund houses declared the portfolios of their schemes because of the half-yearly results. And, to the horror of many investors, the real portfolios were 80-90 per cent different from the 'indicative portfolios.'

Realtors double broker commission

Realtors double broker commission

Rediff.com   29 Oct 2008

In upmarket areas like Bandra and Khar, the going brokerage is as high as 4 per cent

Sebi says 'options open' on short sale ban

Sebi says 'options open' on short sale ban

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2008

In a key change in its stance, the Securities and Exchange Board of India said it is keeping its options open on banning short sales, which a section of brokers believes are responsible for the collapsing stock market. The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex fell below 10,000 Friday, the first time since July 2006.

Commodity prices drop under recession pressure

Commodity prices drop under recession pressure

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2008

The last two days' recovery in commodity prices has done little to ease all-round fears of a global recession following the sharp dip in prices over the past three months. Nor are things likely to improve soon.

Liquid-plus funds see negative NAVs

Liquid-plus funds see negative NAVs

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2008

Last week was unprecedented in the history of the Indian mutual fund industry-- the net asset values (NAVs) of nearly a dozen liquid-plus funds fell.

Defaults threaten fixed maturity plans

Defaults threaten fixed maturity plans

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2008

Fixed maturity plans, which have garnered Rs 102,133 crore (Rs 1021.33 billion) of average assets under management, are facing the prospect of rising defaults on their investments in the real estate and non-banking financial companies. This implies that if there are redemption pressures from their corporate and retail clients, these FMPs would have to raise cash from other resources to meet the demand.

P-note restrictions relaxed; investors indifferent

P-note restrictions relaxed; investors indifferent

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2008

A representative of a large FII having a huge share in the issue of P-notes said that these relaxations are "no big deal". The 40 per cent limit on investments through P-notes was not a hurdle as selling by FIIs in the last three quarters have been so huge that most of them have enough leg room for issuing fresh P-notes.

Banks unlikely to offer festival discounts

Banks unlikely to offer festival discounts

Rediff.com   1 Oct 2008

Prospective home buyers, who are looking forward to discounts this festival season, may be in for a rude shock. According to banking sources, most banks are unlikely to offer any discount.

Finance firms bank on emails to calm fears

Finance firms bank on emails to calm fears

Rediff.com   24 Sep 2008

In times like these, when the financial industry is reeling under the pressure of scepticism, communication has become the most important tool for financial services providers. Hence the flood of emails to associates, employees and investors.

Four banks to bail out Lehman's India businesses

Four banks to bail out Lehman's India businesses

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2008

In a move to soften the blow of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in the Indian stock and asset markets, four banks are set to take over its structured products businesses in India.

Clearing Corporation may guarantee forward deals

Clearing Corporation may guarantee forward deals

Rediff.com   12 Sep 2008

Forward contracts are settled by CCIL, but there is no guarantee that the parties may comply with CCIL's terms. "We have proposed to RBI to allow us to provide a guarantee for forward deals," said CCIL Chairman R H Patil. With the CCIL guarantee, banks providing products to currency hedgers, will benefit as they will have to make a lesser provision towards capital adequacy.

Pay up before the auction action begins

Pay up before the auction action begins

Rediff.com   9 Sep 2008

Home loan borrowers perpetually worry about the consequences of defaulting. And whether they wish it or not, there could be situations where they are forced to do so. For instance, after the Mumbai bomb blasts on July 11 2006, a large number of affected families found themselves in deep financial trouble leading to difficulties in servicing their home loans

Commex promoters may have to prune stakes

Commex promoters may have to prune stakes

Rediff.com   22 Aug 2008

Commodity futures exchanges are set for another round of equity restructuring with the Forward Markets Commission, the regulator, currently finalising guidelines that will require anchor investors to prune their equity holding to 26 per cent from the present 40 per cent after three years but before five years.

Auto loans: Floating rate is in

Auto loans: Floating rate is in

Rediff.com   20 Aug 2008

Most car buyers, when applying for a loan, grapple with the question of whether they should opt for a fixed or a floating rate option.

'Institutions will have to pay 100% for IPOs soon'

'Institutions will have to pay 100% for IPOs soon'

Rediff.com   18 Aug 2008

Sebi wants to reduce the time gap between the closure of an issue and its listing. This process is aimed at removing refund-related concerns and the grey market in IPOs.

Gold equity funds lag behind

Gold equity funds lag behind

Rediff.com   4 Aug 2008

While gold index funds have returned almost 10 per cent over the last three months, gold equity funds (investing in mining companies) have not given good returns in the last few months. At present, there are two gold funds, DSPML World Gold Fund and AIG World Gold Fund

Retail loan rates come a full circle

Retail loan rates come a full circle

Rediff.com   30 Jul 2008

Stock market investors and potential home buyers may not remember the years 1998 and 2008 too fondly.

Car loan? Have you signed a 'surrender letter'?

Car loan? Have you signed a 'surrender letter'?

Rediff.com   28 Jul 2008

Among the many documents that you sign when you take a car loan could also be a 'surrender letter' -- a document that declared you a defaulter even before the loan is sanctioned.

Global funds shine amid market chaos

Global funds shine amid market chaos

Rediff.com   25 Jul 2008

In January this year, the stock market started falling. In the following six months, it has lost over 30 per cent. The data on open-ended equity funds show that only a small cluster has managed to wriggle out with very little loss (See table). From a thematic point of view, only global funds have given returns.

Equity-linked FMPs too complex for retailers

Equity-linked FMPs too complex for retailers

Rediff.com   18 Jul 2008

This product was first introduced by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (ICICI Prudential FMP Series 33) and Deutsche Mutual Fund in February. Recently, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has also floated a similar fund. The Nifty return, multiplied by the participation ratio (that is pre-decided by the fund) is the final returns. In Aviator, the participation ratio is 140-145 per cent, leading to returns of 43.14-44.5 per cent in our given example.