Finance and Markets -

Around a year ago, world markets witnessed all time low figures (after global crisis). On March 9, 2009, MSCI all-economy world index exhibited numbers that are rarely seen throughout the world. In less than 16 months, value of stocks fell by around 60%, which is a considerable fall in any market. This year, however, the stocks rallied back and recovered around 80% till January 2010. And people started becoming optimistic about the fundamentals that drove the market. With worries about Euro debt, equity markets are definitely not optimistic today, which now questions the recovery of the US economy and futility of several stimulus packages. Post January, we have seen a gradual fall in the market. It seems that MSCI index is going through tough times. Probably it needs few more stimulus packages. Few experts, on Tuesday, commented about current market instability. From Odey Asset Management,  [...]

Toyota Motors had recently repaired recalled cars that risked flaw of accelerating suddenly. However, the repaired cars have started malfunctioning again, to which Department of Transportation (DoT) has started investigating. DoT officials are generating reports based on consumers’ views and complaints. Finally, Morgan Stanley finds a buyer for its stake of 34.3% in China based China International Capital Corporation. However, buyer’s identity is not disclosed yet. General Growth Properties has been given a five-month extension to develop and present a plan to escape bankruptcy Vikram Pundit of Citibank has returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday. Meanwhile the financial institution still owns $25 billion provided by treasury and 27% stake is still owned by the government. Hundreds of people had invested and lost all the money in Ponzi scheme introduced by UBS, which was followed  [...]

Every individual is talking about the new buzzword, ‘Cloud Computing’, but I wonder if anyone understands it. If you are one of them, fret not, because you will be uttering these words by the end of this post. Let’s have a look at it from the investor’s point of view. Usually, maintenance cost or overheads are quite huge in IT companies, or that’s what every manager says. However, many harsh measures are taken to keep this cost under control. Some companies prefer rightsizing the number of employees, some buy the software instead of developing them, and few outsource the whole spectrum of operations. Due to these measures, or may be some other reasons, these companies have continued to grow, mainly for two reasons: More work is done by them every year; and managers increase the cost, a counterproductive result. However, this cloud computing, although saves lots of money and  [...]

Being frugal isn’t easy. It takes efforts and smartness to save a little amount every month. Here is a list of 15 practical money saving tips for people who intend to save real money. Don’t wait for an opportunity to invest. Let it operate automatically. Ask your bank to invest a fixed amount every month for 401(k) or other investment plans. Keep adding money in your saving account. This will earn you good amount as interest every month. Aviod paying banking fees. Use your bank services for free to pay bills, checks, auto deposits, etc. Don’t get simple credit cards. Pick the one that offers cash back facility. Over a period of time, you get a good return. Keep searching for hot deals that can save you some money. Don’t buy any items without proper homework. Use ceiling fans and table fans instead of air conditioners. They consume much less electricity than the latter. Replace  [...]

Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, outlined various plans for 2010. Let’s have a quick look at the highlights of his speech. According to Pranab, India’s first challenge is to arrive again at 9% GDP growth rate as soon as possible. Internal development of the country highly overlooked, and hence, the finance minister wants to deepen and broaden the agenda. He sees signs of improvement in domestic investment and foreign investors are being active again. However, he thinks it’s too early to say that the worst is gone. Hence, the country’s economy can be depended on the stimulus package, if things seem wavering again. A major concern, however, the country faces is the oil price. Due to its inability to get domestic prices down to world level, India has to import around 75% of its total oil consumption, which is definitely not a good sign. Therefore, as an immediate  [...]

After a bitter debate, the European antitrust administrators and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) agreed to provide a ballet screen that will give European population an opportunity to download and use any internet browser, all of them Microsoft Internet Explorer’s rivals. The gang of rivals ready to compete includes Safari (AAPL), Google Chrome (GOOG), Opera and Firefox. The page will contain, by next week, links to download any of the available browsers. However, the order of list will change every time the user refreshes the page. According to the antitrust administrators of Europe, this is probably the best way to make people aware about the other available browsers. The static page browserchoice.eu runs Javascript, which keeps of track of jumbled lists and automatically rearranges itself. Microsoft isn’t definitely doing itself any favor. In fact, this ballet page seems to  [...]

The cyclic nature of our market, bullish and bearish, is currently replaced, or rather pulled, by other sources it seems. Essentially dominated by fundamentals, the market is now run by technicals. The market is not reacting to any astonishing news, good or bad, and is operating independently. This is nothing but an outcome of technicians-run-market. It is like a boat sailing on the sea, ignoring the signals of the radar. And obviously, this trend wouldn’t last long. However, such market behavior is affecting investor’s profit. People generally buy before good news and expect good returns. Or inversely, they sell before a bad news is publicly declared to reduce their loss. But they get nothing more than being deceived. Hence, here are few things that you can do when such situation prevails. Focus on your long term goals Changing your goals with every uncertain movement in  [...]

Among all other expenses, food is the most flexible one. We can save enormous amount by using few simple tips. It’s wise to stock basic stuff in bulk. This will save considerable amount of money. However, don’t try to stock perishable goods. Keep a track of stores that offer great benefits to customers through discounts and coupons. Keep a track of food stuffs that you regularly buy in small quantities. Get them in large quantities whenever possible. Don’t forget that for additional discount you can use a manufacturer’s coupon along with store coupon. Consider grocery shopping as a business deal. Next time you go the nearby grocery store, try to maximize your profit. Don’t forget to have a goal. Don’t shop daily. Do it twice a month or once in a week. Don’t go for food shopping when you are tired, hungry, stressed, or depressed. Plan your shopping when you  [...]

Although Apple (AAPL) is launching extremely interesting products, most of them useful for every individual, the stock seems to be on the verge of violating the upward movement. AAPL is almost ready to hit the 52 week low mark. No, I ain’t a pessimist. The products, especially iPad, are very useful but they can defy the law of market. In the next few months, we will definitely see a plunge in the stock price. And there are many reasons that compel me to say this. The market in which apple is operating is crammed with competitors and it’s tougher than ever to derive maximum revenue. iTunes is a convenient way to purchase MP3. However, the same business model has been adopted by many companies, which is quijte similar to the Apple ones. Moreover, the content, music that is, isn’t Apple’s production. You will get the same content all over the web. Though iPhone is an incredibly  [...]

My inbox is full with emails of investors asking about Forex trading, its working, its strategies; in short, the basics. Hence, I decided to post few articles that can be quite informative and helpful for beginners. Initially, when investors know about Forex market, they are quite excited to trade in. However, it’s important to realize that this market is very intricate and can take away your shirt. Hence, learning is most significant aspect before investing even a penny in Foreign Exchange market. You will have to hire a broking service to invest money in Forex. But don’t fret because there are numerous brokers waiting for you to approach them. However, you need to conduct some research before selecting any of them. Spreads The commission a broker gets is based on spreads. Alright, let’s first learn what spread is. The difference between buying and selling price of any currency  [...]