Page 774 - Personal Finance

Raising cash against endowment policies

Flexibility in repayment makes such loans good for home loan prepayment or credit card dues

Home and auto loans get dearer

SBI, HDFC Bank raise base rates by 0.2% each

Marginal increase in EMIs

But if the trend continues, your monthly budget would be stressed

Banks must issue TDS certificates to customers in time

Banks must issue such certificates to customers whose I-T deducted at source within time-frame of ncome tax rules

Investor focus shifts to mid- and small-caps

Market participants are judging that valuations of many blue-chips, large-cap companies are stretched

46 equity schemes beat Sensex to new highs

Redemptions, cash-calls acted as barriers for others

Don't rush to demat insurance policies

If your e-account doesn't match the insurer's repository, the policy would have to be held in physical form

Realty check

Case study

Are retail investors making a mistake?

Exit from equities if your investment was goal-linked or if you urgently need cash. Else, stay; rebalance your portfolio by picking attractively valued and some better-performing stocks

Investing: Rishi Nathany

Readers' Corner

Are banks wrongly branding people as defaulters?

Credit bureaus have become a weapon banks wield even against a consumer who deserves much better

No more lost in transmission

New norms for passing on the ownership of shares on someone's death will bring more cases under a simplified procedure

Insurance cover no big deal for company deposits

Even if the government goes ahead with its proposal, one should proceed with caution

Medium-term equity plays

Sectors such as automobiles, auto ancillaries and textiles could be good 12-18 month bets

Indians, Chinese aren't saving enough for comfortable retirement: survey

Survey says they they put their money in short-term instruments that may not provide long-term hedge to inflation

Why states dare to give NPS a miss

While Tamil Nadu had signed up with the PFRDA to shift their employees to the NPS in April 2003, Maharashtra signed up in November 2005

Mix assets for alpha returns

Overexposure in any one instrument will restrict performance

Suffering from catch-up mentality

If you did not enter when the Nifty was at 5500, it makes little sense to do so when the index is at 6300

The missing link in new Reit regulations

Lack of clarity in taxation would be a spoiler for investors