Best of BS Opinion: The retail risk, increasing the green cover, and more

Here are the top BS Opinion articles of the day

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for Thursday.
 

The strong bull run of last year in the stock market was driven and buttressed by retail interest. In calendar 2021, the value of retail equity holdings went up by over 60 per cent, and the number of active dematerialised accounts registered an increase of over 30 million. Our lead editorial notes that a substantial component of retail exposure consists of “hot flows”, with traders seeking quick returns via leveraged positions, alongside high-risk derivatives exposure. This money can exit quickly if the trend turns negative. This in turn can induce higher volatility, since retail investors tend to panic when things aren’t going their way. Read here

In the context of Paytm’s share price correction, Shyamal Majumdar argues that blaming investors for “insufficient understanding” of its business model can have only a limited shelf life. Read here
 

Our second editorial highlights the need for a well-defined forest conservation policy. Read here 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“All the ministries and departments have been requested to contain the expenditure within the approved Revised Estimate ceilings.” 
 

Ministry of Finance