Suggested weekend readings (June 11, 2011)

As India is transitioning from a developing country to a developed country, it is bound to face many social challenges.  The gap between India's rich and poor is widening as our economy expands.  One of the measures adopted by the Government is allowing underprivileged students same education as those of other well-privileged.  The Right to Education Act, passed in 2009, mandates that private schools set aside 25% of admissions for low-income, underprivileged and disabled students.  This Wall Street Journal articles examines the impact of this on the daily lives of these children and their parents.  A very interesting read. Click here to read the article.

Another WSJ article on China's Property Market, how it has grown in last few years, its impact on the life of ordinary citizens and where it is headed now.  Nice visualizations and graphics.  Thanks @deepakshenoy for the link.

And in other news,  as per the news reports, Provident fund accounts shall be available online from 1st July 2011.  Bachhat shall carry a detailed post on the same once this is implemented.

Enjoy monsoon....Happy weekend :)

Suggested weekend readings (May 14, 2011): Sundaram Equity Plus NFO, Speak Asia, and ULIPs

Sundaram Equity Plus NFO is closing on 16^th May 2011.  OneMint has a good review of the same.

Multi-level Marketing (MLM as it is famously known) seems to be back again in the form of Speak Asia.  Is it a scam?  Learn more about it through Deepak Shenoy’s post at Captial Mind, Hemant Beniwal’s post at The Financial Literates and articles (Link1 & Link2) at MoneyLife.

And contrary view on ULIPs – when it can be good.  25 minutes video chat with Manish Jain.  Posted by Deepak Shenoy at Marketvision.

Have a happy weekend!!

Happy Diwali, Thanks and Suggested Weekend Reading

Dear Readers,

Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year to all of you.

Two of my blog posts – one on the advertised yields of infrastructure bonds and the other one on choosing the right term insurance plan - got published in DNA Money, a supplement of DNA newspaper.  Thanks all of you for your support to the blog and your comments to make it better.

Suggested reading for this extended weekend.

A good post reflecting the understanding of money by a girl in 4^th standard. Link: http://www.subramoney.com/2010/10/my-understanding-of-money/  and an article by P V Subramanyam on when to cut your losses which appeared in Business Standard, 31^st October 2010 edition.  Link: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/cut-your-losses/413246/

Keep reading and sharing your comments & suggestions to make this blog more informative and better.

Thanks

Suggested weekend readings (October 9, 2010)

Today we will look at few basic concepts which concern ourselves on a day-to-day basis.  A beautiful visual guide to help one understand inflation (link) and deflation (link) in simple terms. Source: Mint

A good article by Deepak Shenoy on how inflation can assist you in saving less than required (link). 

And a nice game teaching you personal finance lessons (link).

Enjoy the weekend.

Suggested weekend readings (September 24, 2010)

Suggested weekend readings on Personal Finance.

From September 2010, new norms kicked in for ULIPs. This article from Mint suggest that not much has change and they still should be the last choice for long term investment in equities (link).

Moneywatch on how re-balancing of portfolio works in investor’s interest (link), one of the fundamentals of portfolio management, which will be covered in more detail later in this blog.

No-nonsense article on age old principle of goal based investing (link) and a hilarious conversation on financial advisory (link). Courtesy: Subramoney

Have a happy weekend.