Prajna Capital - An Investment Guide

Credit cards don't just substitute for cash, they can also earn you reward points. And you, too, can tap the monetary value of the points collected on your card. How to accumulate points? Every time you swipe your credit card to make a purchase, you collect reward points. Typically, you get one point per Rs 100-250 spent. This, however, depends on the card and the bank. For instance, banks offer more points on co-branded cards. State Bank of India gives one point per Rs 40 spent on its Gold Card and eight points per Rs 100 on its co-branded Tata Card. The value of each reward point also varies across credit cards and banks. The value of a point can be anywhere between 30 paise to a rupee and is also a function of the merchant partner in case of co-branded cards. For example, the value of one point on the SBI Gold Card is 70 paise, while it is Re 1 on the SBI-Tata Card. The limitation with most accelerated reward points on co-branded cards, however, is that they can be redeemed only...

A ir travel... don’t bother to fasten those seat belts. Flying has become too much of a luxury even for the well-heeled. For the rest, it’s good old Laloo rail. Before complaining about those stinking toilets, remind yourself you’re saving on astronomical airfares. Corporate honchos aren’t on this track just yet but they’ve been forced to downgrade from the luxuries of business class to humble economy. Just last month, a leading Indian bank asked its entire investment banking division to stop travelling business class. Babus, too, have to look for the cheapest flight deals after the Centre’s warning that leave travel allowance (LTA) isn’t a ticket to splurge. B ollywood’s shouting ‘cut, cut, cut.’ The stars have cut fees and producers their budgets. Actor Sanjay Dutt, who was charging Rs 15 crore, is back to a more affordable Rs 4-5 crore. Sanjay Dutt Productions CEO Dharam Oberoi explained that the actor thought it would be “unfair to hike his prices at a time when the industry i...

TIGHT financial markets will likely aggravate the down cycle in the real estate sector and lead to a sharp fall in property prices and defaults by few developers, Deutsche Bank said. Reiterating its underweight rating on the sector, the investment bank forecasts further downside in realty shares, which have declined roughly 33% so far this year. “We are yet to see a sharp fall in fundamentals for the sector in terms of a sharp fall in property prices, defaults by developers to banks, and a sharp decline in revenues and profits,” Deutsche said in a recent client note. The investment bank opines that a severe down cycle in the sector now seems inevitable with the reversal in economic growth, low property prices, slump in mortgage rates and under-supply of units. “We forecast major shortfalls in net cash flow, with asset-liability mismatches in a tight financial market environment and a currently cautious central bank. Most developers will not acknowledge a significant down cycle...