Insights into the Financial Mess that the world is into!
Interesting insights, indeed:
Since my comments are unlikely to add value to the excellent article, I offer none!
Regards,
N
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Friday, 5 September 2008
Beware of Bouncing Demand Drafts!
Beware of Bouncing Demand Drafts!
So, you thought that demand drafts can't bounce. Banish such naivete! Read on:
Regards,
N
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Cash is King
Cash is King
Hi folks,
Guess that I've been busy enjoying life while someone pointed out that I've not been regularly posting anything in any of my blogs.
Interesting to observe that my blogs are ALWAYS read when I don't post anything! Looks like I should post more infrequently.
Anyway, while I was away, our Indian markets seem to have "re-coupled" (if at all they had "de-coupled" in the first place) with the rest of the world, and have indeed started outperforming the major global indices on the downside!
A bear market is extremely good for real long-term investors for some interesting reasons:
- Gives you lots of time to read, write, go around golfing, goofing, blogging, bugging, begging, borrowing, etc.
- Makes you learn a lot about investing (though at a rather high cost)
- Enables you to crib about all the money that you could have made had you sold out at Jan '08 levels
- Enables you to advice others on the list of scrips that you can buy at current levels and make tons of money over the long-term (at last, long term means a really long term!)
Considering the free time that the bear market provides, it is time for you to read this wonderful article by Mr. Sanjay Bakshi (originally written in 1999) - Worth saving and reading once a quarter!
Regards,
N
Monday, 30 June 2008
ET Editorial or CPI (M) Press Release???
ET Editorial or CPI (M) Press Release???
Please read this view on the edit page of Economic Times, Chennai (dated June 30, 2008):
I've been a regular reader of Economic Times for well over a decade. Have agreed (or occasionally disagreed) with their views but have always respected their thought processes.
The above article left me speechless. If it was intended as a satirical piece, I didn't quite get it. May be I'm getting too old. Alternatively, if this article had been a press release by the CPI (M) folks, originally written by people like M/s Karat, Raja, etc., I could possibly begin to understand it.
But coming from ET, of all the places! What can I say???
This article actually suggests that Mutual Funds should deploy their cash holdings (which, incidentally, belongs to investors like you and me - not to the general public of India) into shares. The reason: "To change the sentiment in the market".
Since when did "Changing the sentiment in the market" become the objective of the fund managers? I was under the mistaken impression that fund managers were supposed to maximise returns on my hard-earned money invested with them in accordance with the original mandate of the specific fund / scheme. If the fund manager feels that this is the right time to go out and deploy cash to meet the scheme objectives, by all means let him/her do so.
However, if the fund manager thinks that markets are likely to tank further, thanks to factors like:
- Panicky FIIs, who are getting out of emerging markets to handle their own self-created mess back home
- Zooming commodity prices, especially that of the rude crude!
- Imported inflation
- Political uncertainties
- Likely earnings downgrades
then, ... ... ... ...
The fund manager ought to wait a few more days / weeks so as to buy exactly the very same shares that he/she thinks is worth buying at an even lower price.
Economic Times, I certainly expected more from you - I didn't expect you to get swayed by such things like "market sentiment" to give such imprudent recommendations to fund managers of AMCs.
Regards,
N
Sunday, 29 June 2008
GM hits a new low!
GM hits a new low!
Recently (a couple of days back) General Motors hit a half-century low level on the exchanges - less than $12 per share, last seen in 1955 - the year in which Bill Gates was born! Talk of coincidences!
Read this link for some interesting details and statistics:
What is this piece doing on this blog?
Simple - When we make investments in what we consider bluest of blue chips, we may perhaps be absolutely right - at that time.
We must, however, have the discipline to keep reviewing the investments periodically (don't bother watching the ticker every day or every hour) - at least once every few months. If the situation that warranted the original investment has changed, we must be willing to go right ahead and be willing to sell the scrip, irrespective of whether we are making some money or we are losing money on the original investment.
Regards,
N
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