The landmark judgment by the Supreme Court to award Rs 1 crore to a patient for medical negligence is likely to push up medical costs for patients and force doctors and hospitals to adopt a defensive healthcare approach.

Medical costs may rise on insurance, new approach

Business Standard

Realty firm Parsvnath Developers Ltd said on Monday it will build a township project in Haryana with an investment of Rs 212 crore.

Parsvnath to build township project at Panipat

Press Trust of India

Battered insurer American International Group (AIG), which has received billions of dollars from the US government is looking to sell stocks of its subsidiary American International Assurance Company on an Asian bourse.

AIG plans Asia listing for life insurance subsidiary

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), has reduced the fee paid by the non-life insurance companies to General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) in order to manage the motor third party insurance business.

Irda reduces pool administrative charges

Public sector general insurance companies are aiming at a more than 10 per cent reduction in the claims ratio for health insurance in this fiscal year.

Govt insurance firms aim at squeeze on claims

In a year when equity markets fell by 38 per cent, the country&rsquo;s largest insurance company, state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has booked a profit of Rs 2,600 crore through sales of Indian stocks.

LIC makes Rs 2,600 cr in bear mkt

The country&rsquo;s largest bank SBI, under its Gold Deposit Scheme, has collected 548 kilograms of the precious metal in two months. The scheme which started on March 16 aims at bringing the gold into mainstream from the houses of people of the country.

SBI&#39;s deposit scheme gets 548 kg gold

Taking health insurance is part of going abroad, but watch when you choose to make small claims.

Travel insurance claims

Emotions should not drive your investment strategy and there's a way of ensuring this doesn't happen.

Courage with caution

Mutual funds are supposed to be well defined, wherein lies their appeal. This is true for all but one category of funds &ndash; opportunity funds. They roam all over the investment map. If an opportunity fund is true to its calling, it will move all around, scouting for the right opportunities, be it in market-cap, sector-wise or theme-wise holdings.

Not restricted by themes

I had invested Rs 80,000 in an equity linked savings scheme (ELSS) three years earlier. Now I want to redeem my investment.

Any equity investment over a year is tax-free

MasterCard Inc, the world&rsquo;s second- largest electronic payments network, will lose more than half of a $59 billion portfolio of US debit-card users after JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co decided to shift more business to Visa Inc, two people familiar with the matter said.

MasterCard to lose 50% US users after JPMorgan shift to Visa Inc

ING Vysya Life Insurance Company, a part of Dutch financial giant ING Group, is hiring over 3,000 advisers (agents) every month to distribute its products, according to the company&rsquo;s managing director and chief executive officer, Kshitij Jain.

ING Life to add 15,000 agents

Two leading banks, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, have sought permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to buy gold from retail investors.

SBI, HDFC seek RBI nod to buy gold from retail investors

State Bank of India on Friday said there was a softening bias in interest rates in the light of inflation staying below 1 per cent for a certain length of time. &ldquo;There is definitely a softening bias (in interest rates). It is not going to increase,&rdquo; said SBI Chairman OP Bhatt.

Softening bias in interest rates: SBI

Funds now offer themes that are based on quantitative models and profit-booking.

New kids on the block

Rely on your instincts and don't worry about others.

Investing amid conflicting signals

MARKET-LINKED HEALTH plans have advantages, but can hurt during downturns. This one is for the indisciplined investor.

Cover and corpus

I am 37 and have been investing in mutual funds since 2004. My monthly salary is Rs 90,000 and my wife earns Rs 40,000 pm. I was thinking of increasing my investments in PPF (started in 2004) to Rs 70,000 per year and also open a recurring deposit in the Post Office of Rs 5,000 pm for five years, then shift to NSCs. I have a home loan of Rs 23.5 lakh, started in November 2008, and I would like to close it in seven years, by prepayment of Rs 1.4 lakh per year. We are expecting a kid in October 2009. I plan to retire at 54 and take up farming. For this, I wish to purchase farming equipment after eight years. I also plan to buy a new car next year. My current investments are Rs 5 lakh in mutual funds, Rs 1.5 lakh in PPF and Rs 70,000 in NSCs. I can invest up to Rs 25,000 pm and increase it by a tenth every year.

Great start, but change some points

It is not convenient for the lay investor to keep switching between funds as interest rates change and the fund manager is in a better position to handle this.

Thematic funds shouldn&#39;t be your core holding

India&rsquo;s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank is slowing down its credit card business and has cut its card base over the past year, Sachin Khandelwal, senior general manager for retail assets, said in Mumbai today.

ICICI Bank slowing cards business

Personal Finance: Read about the smart strategies for Personal Finance Planning, Investing, Insurance, banking, budgeting, loans Tax Planning, retirement and insurance. Browse Business Standard to learn more on Personal Finance.

Personal Finance: Investing, Planning, Retirement, Loans, & Insurance | Business Standard

Read about the smart strategies for Personal Finance Planning, Investing, Insurance, banking, budgeting, loans Tax Planning, retirement and insurance. Browse Business Standard to learn more on Personal Finance.

Page 939 - Personal Finance