When MF agents desert you, go the online way

With margins having shrunk for mutual fund distributors, a lot of independent financial advisors (IFAs) who used to service small investors have given up their business or are changing their business model. This, coupled with the advantages of investing online, is making a lot of investors change their way of buying mutual funds. “In the new environment, it has become difficult for distributors to service investors offline, and with investors finding it difficult to manage paper work, investing online is the way forward,”

Decoding the credit card statement

Users of credit cards receive the credit card statement akin to a bill every single month. Many of us have the tendency to just pay the amount due, without caring to give the bill a proper reading! Sometimes this habit can prove to be costly! Frauds or incorrect payment info might be overlooked! Do you tend to procrastinate or ignore reading the bill because you do not understand it? Terminologies used are confusing? Read on to understand your credit card statement better.

Affordable housing: Dream or reality????

Affordable housing is the buzz word in the real estate industry today.
Developers stung by credit crunch and lower demand for offices and premium residences in recent times have turned their focus to the middle class segment. Due to weak demand in the commercial and retail segments, most developers have started looking at the affordable residential segment to maintain cash flow to meet their contractual obligations. Further, with buyers being extremely price conscious, the demand for affordable housing is on the rise.

Motivation

Morning Motivation

When I woke up this

morning lying in bed,

I was asking myself;

What are some of the secrets of success in life?

I found the answer right there,in my very room.

AND NOT TO FORGET,THE CARPET SAID...KNEEL DOWN AND PRAY.

Carry a Heart that Never Hates.

Carry a Smile that Never Fades.

Carry a Touch that Never Hurts..

HAVE A PURPOSEFUL DAY IN THE LORD!

'God Blesses Us To Be A Blessing Unto Others'

Banks' Profits To Accelerate On Economic Growth.............

Banks likely to report a reduction in bad loans with the pickup in industrial growth

Leading banks are set to post higher quarterly profits on strong corporate and retail loan demand, and a rebounding economy will bring down consumer defaults and improve their asset quality.State Bank of India, the country's top lender, and rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are seeing a pick-up in demand for loans on the back of improving business and consumer confidence in an economy forecast to grow about 8.5 per cent in 2010-11."We are seeing a revival in the capital expenditure cycle and the confidence level is rising," said Rakesh Rawal, head of private wealth management at Anand Rathi. "These will ensure that credit growth remains on the upswing."A rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) earlier this month to counter double-digit inflation and expectations it will raise rates again at its scheduled policy on July 27 is unlikely to impact loan demand."The liquidity is going to be enough in the system. There may be an upward bias in interest rates but the rise is not going to be rampant," Rawal said. "The economic growth itself will create opportunities for the banking sector."Analysts said banks' loan growth in April-June, the fiscal first quarter, would have been helped by mobile carriers' scramble to secure funds to pay for 3G spectrum after winning an auction for high-speed radiowaves.The government had raised $14.3 billion from the auction, nearly double the target.

Lower Bond Yields

Bank credit in India grew an annual 21.70 per cent in early July, according to the RBI's data, in tune with a rise in business and consumer confidence, from a low 9.7 per cent last October and compared with 16.7 per cent at end-March.Brokerage Motilal Oswal said that revival in loan growth was likely due to higher capital requirements by corporates and increased investments on infrastructure such as roads and ports.The RBI sees non-food credit growth of banks at 20 per cent in 2010-11, still a far cry from growth rates of above 30 percent in the pre-crisis period.Banks are likely to report a reduction in bad loans with the pickup in industrial growth, but lenders such as government-run State Bank of India may raise the provision for such debts to meet a revised RBI directive.The 10-yr benchmark bond yield fell 30 basis points in the June quarter, which is likely to result in gains for banks that are required to hold at least 25 per cent of their deposits in government securities. Bond yields move inversely to bond prices.Shares of State Bank of India, which the market values at $33 billion, are up 7.5 per cent this year. ICICI and HDFC are up nearly 1 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, while the main market has gained about 3 per cent.

Govt banks face base rate heat..........

Lose out to private banks in bill discounting.
Government-owned banks, whose base rates are more than those of their private counterparts, have started feeling the heat.
discounting activity, in which a bank buys the bill before it is due and credits the value of the bill after a discount charge to the customer's account, is shifting to private banks. This is because the discount rate is lower than the base rate of most public sector banks. Banks cannot lend below the base rate, except to a few categories specified by the regulator.
Public sector banks, led by State Bank of India, have requested the Reserve Bank of India to keep bill discounting outside the base rate regime. The regulator, however, sees no merit in the request.
The earnings from bill discounting forms a part of banks’ interest income, while fees and charges come under the ‘other income’ head. Interest rates tend to be low for bills discounted against letters of credit.
“We are absolutely sure about end-use of funds in this case, as it is backed by the letter of credit. As the risk is low, interest rates tend to be very low for these products,” said a senior executive of a public sector bank.
Apart from SBI and Corporation Bank, which have fixed their base rates at 7.5 per cent and 7.75 per cent, respectively, all other government banks have a base rate of between 8 per cent and 8.25 per cent. The base rate of most private and foreign banks is less than 7.5 per cent.
SMEs benefitEffective lending rates in the base rate regime, as compared with the earlier BPLR (benchmark prime lending rate) regime, have been largely unchanged, though some banks’ rates for loans to small and medium enterprises have come down.
The finance ministry had asked the Indian Banks Association (IBA) to collect data from banks for comparing effective rates in the pre and post base rate regime for different categories, including home, education, small and medium enterprises, automobiles, agriculture and personal loans.
According to an IBA official, 60 per cent member banks reported no change in effective rates. IBA has 159 members.
“For example, if the effective lending rate was 10 per cent for a BPLR of 12 per cent, it will be base plus two per cent if the base rate is eight per cent,” the official said.
The official added some banks’ effective rates for small and medium enterprises were lower in the base rate regime. The effective loan rate of some banks is 100 basis points lower in the base rate regime as compared to the BPLR regime.

जीवन.............

एक बोध कथा जीवन में जब सब कुछ एक साथ और जल्दी - जल्दी करने की इच्छा होती है , सब कुछ तेजी से पा लेने की इच्छा होती है , और हमें लगने लगता है कि दिन के चौबीस घंटे भी कम पड़ते हैं , उस समय ये बोध कथा , " काँच की बरनी और दो कप चाय " हमें याद आती है । दर्शनशास्त्र के एक प्रोफ़ेसर कक्षा में आये और उन्होंने छात्रों से कहा कि वे आज जीवन का एक महत्वपूर्ण पाठ पढाने वाले हैं ... उन्होंने अपने साथ लाई एक काँच की बडी़ बरनी ( जार )
टेबल पर रखा और उसमें टेबल टेनिस की गेंदें डालने लगे और तब तक डालते रहे जब तक कि उसमें एक भी गेंद समाने की जगह नहीं बची ... उन्होंने छात्रों से पूछा - क्या बरनी पूरी भर गई ? हाँ ... आवाज आई ... फ़िर प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने छोटे - छोटे कंकर उसमें भरने शुरु किये h धीरे - धीरे बरनी को हिलाया तो काफ़ी सारे कंकर उसमें जहाँ जगह खाली थी , समा गये , फ़िर से प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने पूछा , क्या अब बरनी भर गई है , छात्रों ने एक बार फ़िर हाँ
... कहा अब प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने रेत की थैली से हौले - हौले उस बरनी में रेत डालना शुरु किया , वह रेत भी उस जार में जहाँ संभव था बैठ गई , अब छात्र अपनी नादानी पर हँसे ... फ़िर प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने पूछा , क्यों अब तो यह बरनी पूरी भर गई ना ? हाँ .. अब तो पूरी भर गई है .. सभी ने एक स्वर में कहा .. सर ने टेबल के नीचे से चाय के दो कप निकालकर उसमें की चाय जार में डाली , चाय भी रेत के बीच स्थित थोडी़ सी जगह में सोख ली गई ... प्रोफ़ेसर साहब ने गंभीर आवाज में समझाना शुरु किया
– इस काँच की बरनी को तुम लोग अपना जीवन समझो .... टेबल टेनिस की गेंदें सबसे महत्वपूर्ण भाग अर्थात, parmeshwar, परिवार , बच्चे , मित्र , स्वास्थ्य और शौक हैं , छोटे कंकर मतलब तुम्हारी नौकरी , कार , बडा़ मकान आदि हैं , और रेत का मतलब और भी छोटी - छोटी बेकार सी बातें , मनमुटाव , झगडे़ है ..
अब यदि तुमने काँच की बरनी में सबसे पहले रेत भरी होती तो टेबल टेनिस की गेंदों और कंकरों के लिये जगह ही नहीं बचती , या कंकर भर दिये होते तो गेंदें नहीं भर पाते , रेत जरूर आ सकती थी ... ठीक यही बात जीवन पर लागू होती है ... यदि तुम छोटी - छोटी बातों के पीछे पडे़ रहोगे और अपनी ऊर्जा उसमें नष्ट करोगे तो तुम्हारे पास मुख्य बातों के लिये अधिक समय नहीं रहेगा ... मन के सुख के लिये क्या जरूरी है ये तुम्हें तय करना है । अपने बच्चों के साथ खेलो , बगीचे में पानी डालो , सुबह पत्नी के साथ घूमने निकल जाओ , घर के बेकार सामान को बाहर निकाल फ़ेंको , मेडिकल चेक
- अप करवाओ ... टेबल टेनिस गेंदों की फ़िक्र पहले करो , वही महत्वपूर्ण है ...... पहले तय करो कि क्या जरूरी है ... बाकी सब तो रेत है .. छात्र बडे़ ध्यान से सुन रहे थे .. अचानक एक ने पूछा , सर लेकिन आपने यह नहीं बताया कि " चाय के दो कप " क्या हैं ? प्रोफ़ेसर मुस्कुराये , बोले .. मैं सोच ही रहा था कि अभी तक ये सवाल किसी ने क्यों नहीं किया
... इसका उत्तर यह है कि , जीवन हमें कितना ही परिपूर्ण और संतुष्ट लगे , लेकिन अपने खास मित्र के साथ दो कप चाय पीने की जगह हमेशा होनी चाहिये । ( अपने खास मित्रों और निकट के व्यक्तियों को यह विचार तत्काल बाँट दो .... मैंने अभी - अभी यही किया है )