Short-term government bonds fell behind longer-dated securities in demand this month so far due to a liquidity crunch in the banking system and expectations of a delay in a rate cut, said market participants. Investors have favoured longer-tenure government bonds, or g-secs, with insurance companies and pension funds leading the charge by stocking up on those with maturities of 30 years and more. Preference for longer-term securities was strengthened by the conclusion of the borrowing programme, which compelled institutional investors to fulfil their requirements in the secondary market.
Mutual funds (MFs) have stepped up equity purchases after staying on the fence for over two months. Their net equity investments reached a four-month high of Rs 7,700 crore in July, rising for the fourth consecutive month after withdrawing a net of Rs 5,100 crore in April 2023. This trend continued in August, with net investments of Rs 3,400 crore in the first three trading sessions, according to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
How do you avoid being laid off? If you have been let go, what should you do next? Ask rediff Career Gurus to find out.
The Confederation of Indian Industry on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar for setting up a centre of excellence in the areas of research, training and consultancy.
Among the Sensex firms, ITC, NTPC, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints and Tata Steel were the major gainers. Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
In mid-March this year, the finance ministry asked state-run banks to review their gold loan portfolio for the two-year period between January 1, 2022, and January 31, 2024. This business had grown at a fast clip. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data has it that it grew 15 per cent to Rs 1 trillion in FY24. Now, in recent times, any kind of exuberance in financial services has seen the authorities swoop down - be it pushing the lines on governance or unsecured credit.
With the Nifty50 surging past the 20,000 mark, the markets are experiencing a spate of initial public offerings (IPOs) with four issues set to raise over Rs 4,673 crore this week. Another quartet, cumulatively worth Rs 3,000 crore, is expected to launch next week. Companies like RR Kabel, SAMHI Hotels, Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services, and Yatra Online are set to hit the primary market this week, while Signature Global, Updater Services, Sai Silks (Kalamandir), and Vaibhav Jewellers are slated for next week. This flurry of activity is driven by multiple factors including buoyant market conditions, increased demand for IPOs, and specific rule on the disclosure of quarterly financials.
A remarkable story which helped in transforming a bureaucratic organization, to a customer centric organization. This experience may inspire several government / private organizations to modify or adopt digitisation to transform their business, notes Professor N Ravichandran (retd).
For the startup ecosystem in India, the scorecard so far has been a mixed bag, observes Akhil Gupta.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
Hybrid mutual fund (MF) offers, expected to drive higher investor interest after the change in debt fund taxation, are set to end 2023 with the slowest account growth in the past three years. Investment accounts in hybrid funds are up 5.7 per cent so far in 2023 compared with 7.6 per cent in 2022 and 20 per cent in 2021, shows the data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). In 2020, the count had dipped 2.4 per cent.
'Historically, equities have consistently outperformed debt, gold, property, and other assets over a reasonable period.'
Buying and selling of exchange trade fund (ETF) units worth less than Rs 25 crore will now have to take place compulsorily on the stock exchange platform, according to a new rule which comes into effect on Tuesday. The fresh norm, which comes into being after two deferments, is aimed at boosting liquidity and reducing tracking error. At present, investors directly deal with the asset management companies (AMCs) for purchase and redemption of ETFs - passive schemes that track a particular benchmark such as the Nifty50 index.
'When manufacturing or even services cannot generate the kind of employment they are looking for, they prefer to be unemployed rather than under-employed.'
The National Institute of Disaster Management has warned of a third COVID-19 wave peak in October. Dominic Xavier asks all Indians to wear a mask at all times and maintain every Covid protocol.
'We need to be far more careful given the fact that while this is group lending, it's essentially unsecured.'
Notwithstanding the recent sharp decline in the stocks of public sector companies, analysts at Jefferies remain bullish on this segment. State Bank of India, Coal India, and NTPC are their top picks in this space, they said in a recent note. The public sector undertaking (PSU) or state-owned enterprise (SOE) index, with a 70-percentage-point outperformance versus the National Stock Exchange Nifty50 over the past 12 months, comes after a decade of underperformance before 2020.
Most market analysts are expecting the momentum to shift towards 'quality' and 'growth' stocks in 2024 after the outperformance of 'value' stocks over the past three years. 'Value' stocks are generally well-established companies with steady profits that are trading at a discount to what they are intrinsically worth. Companies in sectors such as commodities, industrials, commercial vehicles and public sector units (PSUs) fall in this bracket.
Shares of public sector enterprises have corrected by up to 22 per cent month-to-date until March 19, 2024. Analysts attribute this steep fall to the valuation exuberance seen after a sharp run in these counters last year and suggest investors remain selective regarding the stocks in this space. "The rally in public sector undertaking (PSU) stocks has been stretched and sharp, although it is somewhat justified by improvements seen in earnings, operations, balance sheets, and overall profitability.
Domestic mutual funds (MFs) have underpinned demand for most public floats this year, dominated by small- and mid-sized initial public offerings (IPOs). Of the 24 IPOs that have hit the market so far this financial year (2023-24, or FY24), MFs have played the role of 'anchor investors' in 20. They have subscribed to over 40 per cent, or Rs 2,850 crore, worth of shares of the Rs 6,900 crore on offer in the anchor category, according to data provided by PRIME Database, a firm that tracks primary market data.
Uncertainty in the economy leads to fewer offers this year.
rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa offers advice on how to upskill yourself to advance in your career.
Whenever there is an evaluation scheme, it is human tendency to score as high as possible. None would like to highlight their shortcomings, and everyone likes to highlight their positives. This is what is happening in this context of rankings as well, points out Profesor N Ravichandran.
Despite markets turning volatile, share sale activity at India Inc has surged to its highest level in five months. So far in March, promoters, strategic investors and other large shareholders have been able to offload shares worth more than Rs 33,000 crore-the most since November-defying uncertain market conditions. Both the Sensex and the Nifty are on course to post their fourth straight monthly loss amid headwinds, such as interest rate tightening by the US Federal Reserve and the global banking crisis.
rediffGURU Samkit Maniar answers readers' personal income tax queries
rediffGURU Mohit offers advice on how you can manage your emotions and improve your personality to be more confident and positive.
Break the chains of debt, invest in your future, and wave the flag of financial independence high. Freedom awaits, comrades. Let's conquer this battlefield together this Republic day, exhorts Vatsal Ramaiya.
Over 2 lakh aspirants will be appearing for the test scheduled between October 11 and November 6, 2012.
This shift is driven by a pursuit of a superior lifestyle and an innate desire to be grounded in an owned plot of land. Villas, situated within gated housing societies, have gained popularity as a property type, witnessing strong traction due to elevated aspirations and the need for more living space.
The domestic equity market, which is on a record-breaking spree, will focus on macroeconomic data announcements, movement in global stocks and the US Fed minutes to get further direction, analysts said. Trading activity of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) will also innfluence investors.From the domestic macroeconomic front, Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data for the manufacturing sector will be released on Monday, and that o,f the services sector on Wednesday. Investors, this week, will keenly watch major global market events, icluding the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, scheduled to be out on Wednesday.
Being driven to abandon Indian middle-class values, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
The migration of domestically developed intellectual property to foreign corporations within India reflects an anomaly in the demand pattern of the country's job market, points out Kanika Datta.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty pared early gains to close marginally lower in highly volatile trade on Thursday due to losses in Larsen & Toubro and cautious trading ahead of the release of domestic inflation data. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 35.68 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 61,904.52 after hitting the crucial 62,000 mark in opening deals. During the day, it hit a low of 61,823.07 and a high of 62,168.22.
'I found it unbelievable that L&T said 45,000 jobs were waiting to be filled because of unavailability of suitable skillsets.' 'So, when the Opposition sweepingly says there are no jobs, I'm sorry... I'm not saying it's raining jobs, but there are jobs. The (skill) gap has to be bridged.'
However, the second quarter of FY24 is expected to be muted, and, with that, the hope of double-digit growth is now being pushed to FY25. However, analysts are expecting the momentum in the closure of record total contract values (TCVs) will continue, as has been the case over the last two quarters.
Stocks of small- and mid-cap companies continued to gain ground in July, notwithstanding analysts sounding caution on these two market segments given the sharp run thus far in calendar year 2023 (CY23). Sanjeev Prasad, co-head of Kotak Institutional Equities, in a note co-authored with Anindya Bhowmik and Sunita Baldawa in June-end, had cautioned against the sharp run in small- and mid-caps. "We do not see any particular reason for the excitement in small- and mid-cap stocks.
September 13 is the last date to apply for the Common Admission Test 2023. I always recommend to do the registration early on.
Go through the form carefully and be sure about all the data that you are intending to fill in, advises Aashish Sood.
Moody's Investors Service on Friday affirmed India's rating at the lowest investment grade of 'Baa3', with a stable outlook, saying high growth will support a gradual increase in income levels, but flagged risks of populist policies due to rise in political tensions. Moody's said although India's potential growth has come down in the past 7-10 years, the growth would outpace all other G20 economies through at least the next two years, driven by domestic demand. Moody's said the restoration of robust growth prospects post-pandemic, the effective commitment to inflation targeting and the rehabilitation of the financial system aided by reform supports its view of strengthening monetary and macro policy effectiveness.
The message is clear: The 60-year-old wise uncles need to handhold the 40-year-old entrepreneurs when, obsessed with ambition and greed for growth, they become a victim of hubris, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
For the time being, digital lending remains a grey area, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
