Prajna Capital - An Investment Guide

It’s important to consider both qualitative & quantitative aspects when it comes to assessing the health of your bank. THIS is a typical nightmare sequence these days. You see an endless line of people spilling out of the bank, anxiously withdrawing their deposits and carrying money away in bags and suitcases. In a fit of worry, you join the line. But when you reach the front, the cash teller tells you they have stopped dispensing cash. In shock, you wake up, thankfully to realise that it was only a dream. There are numerous rumours that are going around about whether Bank A or Bank B is on a shaky ground. You’re wondering if you’re making the biggest mistake by not taking your money out. But before you take any hasty step, remember that you need to base your decision on something other than rumour. While this may be slightly tedious, HEALTH BAROMETER When it comes to assessing the health of a bank, it’s important that you take both qualitative and quantitative aspects into a...

THIS could be the first instance of policy makers in India learning lessons from the Wall Street collapse. The finance ministry and regulators are looking at the possibility of banning credit rating agencies (CRAs) from providing allied services to clients whose debt instruments they rate. The government feels that when ancillary services such as consultancy and financial advisory are offered by the rating agency to the client which it rates, the former may be constrained to please the latter — a favour that would help in developing the market for their allied services. This would lead to the rating agency compromising on rating and make investors misjudge the worth of the securities they buy. This is in addition to the larger conflict of interest involved in accepting fee from the same entity whose instruments they rate. The proposed regulatory framework for credit rating agencies would explicitly address the conflict of interests grappling these entities, which is highlighted b...

What's special about March? Lots of things, actually. But from a tax point of view, it will be that time of the year when a lot of you will actually start figuring what your tax saving avenues should be. Little wonder that mutual funds report the highest inflows into equity linked savings schemes ( ELSS ) and life insurance companies record their highest sales in the first three months of the calendar year. Guilty as charged? Well, here's some help. Here's the first part of our special section dedicated to tax saving. We start right now with the absolute basics. You would have noticed that the tax department is more partial to women and specially, senior citizens. But those rates are the maximum you would have to pay if you did absolutely no tax planning. The very first step that you have to follow is to figure out what Section 80C (of the I ncome Tax Act ) is and how you can use it for your benefit. Any individual, irrespective of how much s/he earns, can reduce his taxab...