How hormones can destabilise financial markets
August 7, 2015
Can hormones be instrumental in destabilising financial markets? Yes, says a study. The hormones testosterone and cortisol may spur traders to take more risks, thereby hiking the risk of destabilisation of financial markets. “Our aim is to understand more about what these hormones do. Then we can look at the environment in which traders work, and think about whether it is too stressful or too competitive,” said lead author Dr Ed Roberts from department of medicine at Imperial College London. “These factors could be affecting traders’ hormones and having an impact on their decision-making.” Researchers simulated the trading floor in the lab by having volunteers buy and sell assets among themselves. They measured the volunteers’ natural hormone levels in one
More »
World economy may slip to 1930s-like depression: Raghuram Rajan
August 7, 2015
The global economy is “slowly slipping” into Great Depression-like problems of the 1930s, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has cautioned, asking central banks from across the world to define the “rules of the game” to find a solution. Rajan, among the few to have predicted the 2008 financial crisis, said the problem was a “broader” one and for the entire world, not just for industrial countries or emerging markets. The former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist, who had earlier warned against competitive monetary policy easing by central banks globally, said the situation was different in India on this front, adding RBI was more focused on reducing lending rates to spur investment. “We need rules of the
More »
Regulator seeks details on non-regulated pension funds
August 7, 2015
The Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority is collecting information on various superannuation funds that are not regulated. According to BS Bhandari, Member, PFRDA, the idea is to bring them under the regulatory ambit while ensuring protection for subscribers. The PFRDA currently regulates the National Pension System and the newly launched Atal Pension Yojana. “The pension landscape in the country is varied…There are superannuation funds that are at present not regulated by any regulator. These seek tax exemption from EPFO or tax concession from the CBDT. Now we are trying to see whether there is adequate regulatory framework for protection of subscribers’ interest. We have written to some of the entities and companies and are collecting information on this
More »
Gold bonds coming soon
August 7, 2015
The Centre has released a draft paper on the sovereign gold bond scheme mentioned in the Budget. India imports about 300 tonnes of gold in coin form every year. As this is assumed to be investment demand, the government wants to replace this by offering gold bonds for investment purposes, with a sovereign guarantee. These bonds offer a better alternative to coins. You need not worry about safekeeping your gold or incur fund management charges, as you do for gold ETFs. According to the draft paper, gold bonds will be issued for tenures of five to seven years, in denominations of 2, 5 and 10 gram. The bond will be priced at the prevailing market price for gold. At the
More »
Successful Investing
July 30, 2015
Time-tested system that ensures you has money when you need it the most and do not have to make compromises START INVESTING EARLY There is ample evidence that it pays to start early to realize your financial goals KEEP SOME MONEY ASIDE FOR EMERGENCIES Disasters do not strike with a warning; make sure you are not a sitting duck THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT HOW LONG YOU ITILL BE INVESTING FOR Have a time frame with investments; else you will be all over with your finances REMEMBER THAT INFLATION WILL EAT INTO YOUR SAVINGS Inflation has the reverse impact of compounding and takes away the value of what you have ASK YOURSELF HOW MUCH RISK YOU CAN TAKE Understand that risk tolerance
More »
