Even though the plastic money has lot of advantages, credit cards are one of the dreaded financial instruments as far as consumers are concerned, due to the sheer amount of money he/she has to pay in terms of interest for revolving credit and other charges. So, no doubt, this shall be the first of the liabilities a person has to repay.
Considering the ongoing economic down turn, apart from reducing credit card spends, there are a few other things that one may follow to lead a safer ‘financial’ life. This includes maintaining and emergency fund, having a strictly followed budget etc.
This article from rediff explains about various things that you may consider for yourselves to lead a financially safe live in the economic decline. Worth a read!
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Friday, 6 February 2009
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri is CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008 (Business)
HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri is the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008 (Business category). Given in six categories - Politics, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Public Service, and Global Indian - these awards “recognize, celebrate and honour Indians who have contributed to our country and in turn have strengthened our society and contributed to building Brand India in 2008”, says the official CNN-IBN website.
”This year's awards are even more significant as they personify the undying spirit of a billion free Indian minds, in the wake of terror, natural disaster and economic challenges," the website adds.
Each category had six nominees. Mssrs Ratan Tata, Baba Kalyani, C.B.Bhave (SEBI), S.Ramadorai (TCS) and Uday Kotak (Kotak Group) were the other nominees in the Business category.
Mr. Puri won, as CNN IBN puts it, for “steering HDFC Bank well in a tough time, ensuring growth without taking risks and leveraging his customer-base well.”
The winners in the other five categories are Nitish Kumar (Politics), Abhinav Bindra (Sports), Aamir Khan (Entertainment), G. Madhavan Nair & Team Chandrayaan (Public Service) and A.R. Rahman (Global Indian).
In December 2008, leading financial daily Business Standard declared Mr.Puri as Banker of the Year (2008) for successfully leading his bank in tough times.
”This year's awards are even more significant as they personify the undying spirit of a billion free Indian minds, in the wake of terror, natural disaster and economic challenges," the website adds.
Each category had six nominees. Mssrs Ratan Tata, Baba Kalyani, C.B.Bhave (SEBI), S.Ramadorai (TCS) and Uday Kotak (Kotak Group) were the other nominees in the Business category.
Mr. Puri won, as CNN IBN puts it, for “steering HDFC Bank well in a tough time, ensuring growth without taking risks and leveraging his customer-base well.”
The winners in the other five categories are Nitish Kumar (Politics), Abhinav Bindra (Sports), Aamir Khan (Entertainment), G. Madhavan Nair & Team Chandrayaan (Public Service) and A.R. Rahman (Global Indian).
In December 2008, leading financial daily Business Standard declared Mr.Puri as Banker of the Year (2008) for successfully leading his bank in tough times.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Interest rate on credit cards to increase to 49%
Banks can now charge an annual interest rate of up to 49% from credit card customers for late payment (revolving credit). Earlier it was capped at 30% by a consumer court order, which the Supreme Court has put on stay on pleas from banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank, American Express etc.
Citibank, in its petition, says,
Banks would have ‘n’ reasons to justify this, but people, bit cautious on your credit card spending from now!
More details here.
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- Credit card and effective interest rate
Citibank, in its petition, says,
The facility of credit cards is availed of without any interest for a certain stipulated period and it is only after the expiry of that period that interest is levied on a credit card account for non-payment or late payment of dues. It is also relevant to note that credit card transactions de-facto constitute unsecured credit availed of.But the question is, how much return (or interest rate charged) would a bank want for unsecured credit through credit cards? Also, the so called ‘stipulated period’ varies with respect to one's date of purchase and payment due date, and can be as less as one day as well.
Banks would have ‘n’ reasons to justify this, but people, bit cautious on your credit card spending from now!
More details here.
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- Credit card and effective interest rate
Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement and Saving Tax
The balance sheet is one of the key financial statements of a company and is of particular interest to an existing or prospective shareholder of the company. Here’s an article from Rediff, which explains how to read a balance sheet.
Similar to balance sheet, cash flow statement is another key financial statement of a company and is a mandatory part of the company’s financial reports since 1987. It tells an investor how the company’s operations are running, where the money is coming from and how it is spent. This article describes what is a cash flow statement?
Two months from now, the financial year will come to and end and then starts the proceedings for filing tax returns. So, various ways for saving tax should be done in these two months. This ToI article, explains 10 smart ways to lower your tax bill.
Similar to balance sheet, cash flow statement is another key financial statement of a company and is a mandatory part of the company’s financial reports since 1987. It tells an investor how the company’s operations are running, where the money is coming from and how it is spent. This article describes what is a cash flow statement?
Two months from now, the financial year will come to and end and then starts the proceedings for filing tax returns. So, various ways for saving tax should be done in these two months. This ToI article, explains 10 smart ways to lower your tax bill.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Rise in NRI remittances to India
Despite economic recession, Indians working abroad had sent a record $40 billion as remittances to India in just 9 months of calendar year 2008. As the last quarter is a festival period, the total remittances for the year may even exceed $50 billion. This would be way ahead of World Bank’s prediction of $30 billion for India in 2008.
In 2007, with $27 billion as remittances, India was placed as the number one recipient of inward remittances globally by World Bank, with China in close second ($25.7 billion). And the story would be no different this year as well.
Inward remittances (unlike FII) are considered ‘sticky’ as this money is sent to India primarily for savings and family spending, and hence would remain in the economy. Thus it plays a major part in boosting the economy, in particular, during the ongoing recession. Hence, as a policy measure, government is also promoting NRI remittances through higher interest rates on NRI deposits. This could offset the FII outflow to some extent and thus could reduce the dependence of the economy on FII money.
Even though the recession is progressing, remittances had not/may not fall due to the following reasons.
1. The fear of job loss forces people to save more, especially in the safer Indian financial markets
2. Rise in rupee dollar exchange rate would fetch more rupee than ever when transferred to India
3. Rise in interest rates of FCNR and NRE deposits
More details here.
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- Online money transfer to India for NRIs
In 2007, with $27 billion as remittances, India was placed as the number one recipient of inward remittances globally by World Bank, with China in close second ($25.7 billion). And the story would be no different this year as well.
Inward remittances (unlike FII) are considered ‘sticky’ as this money is sent to India primarily for savings and family spending, and hence would remain in the economy. Thus it plays a major part in boosting the economy, in particular, during the ongoing recession. Hence, as a policy measure, government is also promoting NRI remittances through higher interest rates on NRI deposits. This could offset the FII outflow to some extent and thus could reduce the dependence of the economy on FII money.
Even though the recession is progressing, remittances had not/may not fall due to the following reasons.
1. The fear of job loss forces people to save more, especially in the safer Indian financial markets
2. Rise in rupee dollar exchange rate would fetch more rupee than ever when transferred to India
3. Rise in interest rates of FCNR and NRE deposits
More details here.
Related Articles
- Online money transfer to India for NRIs
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Online money transfer to India for NRIs
With the advent of SWIFT and other international inter-bank money transfer networks, the importance of other retail value transfer systems such as Western Union etc. have probably come down. As with the case of any internet based systems, online money transfer systems also offer convenience, speed, traceability etc. to its customers. Also, it allows remittances to be done within the comforts of home.
Following is a non-comprehensive list of varoius Indian banks offering online money transfer to India.
AxisRemit – This is a service offered by Axis Bank.
Money2India – This service is offered by ICICI Bank.
QuickRemit – This service is offered by HDFC Bank.
Citi Online Remit - This service is offered by Citi Bank.
Remit2India - This service is offered by Times Money
Most of these banks charge a nominal service fee and allow money to be transferred to any bank in India, not just the bank doing the transfer.
Related Articles
- What is a Core Banking System?
Following is a non-comprehensive list of varoius Indian banks offering online money transfer to India.
AxisRemit – This is a service offered by Axis Bank.
Money2India – This service is offered by ICICI Bank.
QuickRemit – This service is offered by HDFC Bank.
Citi Online Remit - This service is offered by Citi Bank.
Remit2India - This service is offered by Times Money
Most of these banks charge a nominal service fee and allow money to be transferred to any bank in India, not just the bank doing the transfer.
Related Articles
- What is a Core Banking System?
Friday, 30 January 2009
Educational Loans
The global economic recession and subsequent job loses allow for a good time (I’m not sure I should be saying as curtly, but it depends on how you look at it) to advance on one’s career by upgrading their educational skills by joining a good institution for higher studies. In such a situation, the expenses are well met through student loans; if you don’t have enough savings.
Private student loans are handy for the knowledge seeker in the sense, they generally have no collateral requirements, have an interest rate that’s fairly manageable and may need to be paid back once the applicant secures an employment (or may be six months from the time of course completion, as the case may be) once he/she has completed his/her studies.
College loans have always been a helping hand for the aspirers of knowledge. Most of the times, the availability of the loan depends very much on the institution in which one has secured an admission. It also allows students to not depend on their parent’s worth for pursuing higher education.
Private student loans are handy for the knowledge seeker in the sense, they generally have no collateral requirements, have an interest rate that’s fairly manageable and may need to be paid back once the applicant secures an employment (or may be six months from the time of course completion, as the case may be) once he/she has completed his/her studies.
College loans have always been a helping hand for the aspirers of knowledge. Most of the times, the availability of the loan depends very much on the institution in which one has secured an admission. It also allows students to not depend on their parent’s worth for pursuing higher education.
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