Page 811 - Personal Finance

Tipping point

Banking: Prashant Joshi

Bank-auctioned homes may be cheaper

Watch out for any unpaid dues, taxes and society bills the previous owner could have defaulted on

Get real about consensus estimates

Oversimplification of estimates implies equal chances of success and failure for the trader

Private bonds earned highest for EPFO in last five years

Government securities remained consistently low between 8.2 to 8.1% in three years

Edelweiss Tokio launches Single Pay Endowment Assurance Plan

Also offers comprehensive cover equal to sum assured, wchih is 10 times of its single premium

Reliance Life eyes expansion in health insurance space

Health insurance is currently dominated by general insurance companies, but life insurance firms have started tapping the segment too

Cheaper to lease than buy a car

Compare interest paid on car loan and tax benefit on rentals before deciding

Sell physical gold and buy futures

Since physical gold is at a premium, gain from arbitrage by selling physical gold against delivery and buying futures

Update your investment strategy

Those who do not adapt to changes will lose out on superior investment avenues

Clubbing allowances, basic pay for PF deduction on cards

Gold loans are too expensive

For big amounts, loan against property is cheapest; for small ones opt for loan against insurance policy or FDs

Gold loan firms swing into action as falling prices spell trouble

May recall loans in extreme cases; loan-to-value ratio at 60% but scrap value 75%

Basic wages question haunts EPFO again

The move had been put on hold by Labour Ministry after adverse reports in sections of media

Apply online for PF transfer, withdrawals from Jul 1: EPFO

However, the EPFO's ambitious plan to provide permanent account number to all subscribers would be possible by early next year

EPFO transformation from July 1

Transfers, withdrawal to be online & immediate; PF organisation to collect detail from offices

Cheaper way to invest

Direct plans work for educated investors or ones who will concentrate on large-cap funds or ETFs

When lender misplaces property agreement

You will have to go through a long haul of filing a police complaint and inform the Registrar of Co-operative Societies

General insurance industry logs 19% growth in April-Feb period

The 27 non-life insurers collected Rs 61,885.11 crore premium in the April-February period of 2012-13.

Motilal Oswal MF floats 25-company 'Focused' fund

The fund will limit the number of companies it invests in to a maximum of 25