I have moved my Finance blog to following URL:
http://www.jasginder.com/bizblog
Labels: Infrastructure, New Address
Labels: Finance
(All of these are either interactive or images)
Journey of the four weeks of dominoes turmoil
Price-Earning ratios graph, indicating when its time for stock to bond market shift
How the Credit Crisis Unfolded
A timeline of bailouts and buyouts of financial companies in US and UK
Sources: NY Times website
All Major credit cards accepted, Conditions apply
Condition: Bill should be atleast Rs.200
No return, No Exchange
2% extra on credit cards
This makes us wonder about the business model of a credit card and how the economies of a credit card transaction are placed between various entities involved in a transaction.
- Dividend in the hands of the investor is tax-free. But the mutual fund has to deduct a dividend distribution tax of 14.025 per cent in the case of individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and 22.44 per cent in the case of corporates.
- Long-term capital gains (investment of more than a year) enjoy indexation benefit.
- Short-term capital gains are added to the income of the investor and taxed as per his/her slab, whereas the interest on a bank deposit (except where special 80C approved) is added to the income of the investor and taxed as per his/her slab.
Below is another pull up from Rediff to explain it further:
What is indexation benefit?
The finance minister has been generous enough to recognise that inflation erodes the real value of any investment. So every year, he comes out with an inflation index based on the prevailing rate of inflation. The cost of investment is indexed by multiplying the index of the year of maturity and divided by the inflation index prevailing on the year of investment. If you have arrived at an indexed cost, then the long-term capital gain is taxed at 22.44 per cent and if you do not opt for the indexed cost, then the tax is 11.22 per cent.
How does this pan out?
Take an example of a 30-month FMP which, if launched now, will mature in June 2009. It will pass through three financial years - launch in 2006-2007 and maturing in 2008-2009. Thus, it can have a benefit of triple-cost indexation for the purpose of calculating post-tax yield. Look at the workings: Note: Cost Inflation Index for FY06-07 is 519. The assumption is that the CII for FY07-08 is 567 and for FY08-09 is 592. Clearly, the post-tax return is superior for an FMP. Simran was convinced of its benefits and was gung-ho about investing in it.
| Bank Fixed Deposit | 30 Month FMP | |
|
| With Indexation | Without Indexation |
Amount of Investment (Rs.) | 10000 | 10000 | 10000 |
Post Expenses Yield (p.a)* | 8.30% | 8.30% | 8.30% |
Tenor (in months) | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Approx Maturity Amt | 12,075 | 12,075 | 12,075 |
|
|
|
|
Gain | 2075 | 2075 | 2075 |
Indexed Cost | NA | 11,406 | NIL |
Indexed Gain | NA | 669 | NA |
|
|
|
|
Tax Rate | 33.66% | 22.44% | 11.22% |
Tax | 698 | 150 | 232 |
|
|
|
|
Post Tax Gain | 1377 | 1925 | 1843 |
|
|
|
|
Approx Post Tax Annualised Return | 5.5% | 7.7% | 7.3% |
Happy Investing!
PS: I would like to thank Tabassum Shaikh, RM (HSBC) for introducing me to benefits of the FMP and indexation.
Labels: Investment
In a blog about Finance , I think it is good to talk about an enabler of Finance - Cryptography. Today millions of dollars are being transferred all over the world on its basis alone. It secures all data traveling through the net. But how does it work ?
Let us take Jack who wants to make a deposit with his Bank. He decides to do it over the internet . But unknown to him is the fact that his soon to be ex-wife Jane, a supreme computer hacker is monitoring all data flowing from jack's computer so she can't be cheated out of any money in her settlement.
Now Jack does not know all this. He logs on to the bank's website and clicks the necessary buttons and the money goes to the bank, but this data also goes to Jane. Now can Jane find out the information from this data. In today's day and age - No. Why ?
Well Jack has used public key cryptography to ensure the safety of his data. How does this work ? Let us for simplicity imagine that if Jane knows a special number she will be able to break Jack's code. So how does Jack ensure the code remains secret ? He knows about a certain mathmetical function of the form R = p^q ( mod (N))
Now the Bank has a public key ( or say 2 number which everyone knows ) called q,N . The bank forms N by multiplying 2 prime numbers a,b ( say 3, 5 ) and chooses q which is relatively prime to the (a-1) x ( b-1 ) , say 7. In this case q=7, N = 15 ( Usually they are very large prime numbers ). It then makes it available to the public . Now say Jack wants to send the number 2 ( p) ( which tells his bank to make a deposit to his account ) to the Bank. He hence uses the formula and calculates R ( in this case R= 2^7 ( Mod (15) )= 8 )
Now Jane knows R = 8, q = 7, N =15, So she should be able to find out p easily ! Right ? Wrong ! The mathmetical function is a one-way function , which means calculating R is easy once one knows p, but it is impossible to figure out p given the value of R . But if one knows the components of N ( i.e the 2 prime numbers chosen by the bank ) one can easily calculate p by a special method given a value of R.
Thus it is possible to transmit data for Jack without Jane getting to find out about it as she can't find out p, but the bank is able to find out p, and based on it make a deposit in Jack's Account leaving Jane hanging in the air.
[Note: This is a very simplified version of explaining public key cryptography. If any one wants to know more read the book by Simon Singh called the 'Code Book']
Labels: Infrastructure, Science
Another factor to consider when studying the degree of inequality in a society is the amount of income mobility. Income mobility refers to the ease with which workers can move up and down in the hierarchy of earning power. If the rich always stay rich and the poor always stay poor, then an unequal income distribution is a permanent and serious problem. But if they can move then it is much better for national economy.
Labels: Economics