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Paying with Bitcoin: What You Need to Know

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Cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, continues to rise in popularity despite its value’s volatility recently; and if you are looking to use bitcoin to pay for things, you have to take due diligence in knowing how to do it, where you can spend, buy, or earn bitcoins, and what the risks and advantages are.

How do you pay with bitcoin?

First, you need a bitcoin wallet. There are free bitcoin wallets available for smartphones and all major operating systems. Just like with a physical wallet, you must always secure it – this means being careful with online services, putting backup and encryption, and putting just small amounts in it for everyday use.

A very common use for bitcoin is for online purchases. Today, there are hundreds of retailers and online shops – even local businesses – that accept bitcoins. Bitcoin can be used to purchase gift cards, videogames, household items; you can also use it in tipping and donating to charity. There are different ways to pay using your bitcoin. You can pay using your wallet or app, via QR code, or pay directly to a bitcoin address. Making a blockchain payment is fast and convenient – and you do not need to key in sensitive information when making a payment.

What are the advantages?

  • Anonymity. Your purchases are discrete with bitcoin, which means they are never associated with your personal identity. In fact, the bitcoin address generated is different for every purchase you make.
  • Low Transaction Fees. Since there is still no government involvement in bitcoin transactions at this point, the costs of transacting are very low.
  • Mobile. Since paying with bitcoin can be done using an app on your mobile phone, you can pay for our purchases anywhere you are as long as you have internet access.
  • No interruptions. Since the bitcoin system is purely peer-to-peer, it is void of involvement of banks, financial institutions, and the government.
  • No Sales Taxes. One major advantage of paying with bitcoin is that no sales taxes are added in your purchases since there are no third parties identify or track them.

What are the risks?

One thing that you need to understand is that bitcoin, no matter how popular it has become at this point, is still experimental. Getting into bitcoin now can mean that you have to deal with the growing pains as it still at the stage in which it is still improving and such improvements may bring about new challenges.

Bitcoin price very volatile. You should look at bitcoin as a high risk asset and you must not keep your savings with bitcoin at this point.

You must adopt good practices in protecting your privacy as bitcoin is not entirely anonymous. Your identity behind the bitcoin address you’re using may be anonymous, but transactions and balances in your address can be seen by anyone.

Bitcoin payments cannot be reversed, so only transact with people you trust and business that have already established their reputation. Beware of scams, fake ICOS, and fraudulent activities.

 

This article was originally published at Hoganinjury.com.

Bitcoin Scams and How to Avoid Them

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Bitcoin has taken the world by storm, and since its introduction in 2008, it has inevitably faced several controversies. Scammers found a gold mine in the digital currency for many reasons. One of them is the fact that only a few people understand it, which makes it easier to make them believe false promises. Another reason is anonymity – cryptocurrency gives scammers relative ease to cover their tracks. Lastly, a major reason is that it is largely unregulated.  Bitcoin chiefly operates outside of the conventions of a financial system; and this worries regulators as it has the potential to be linked to money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, and terrorist funding.

What are the most common bitcoin scams and how do you spot them?

Fake Bitcoin Exchanges. One popular example for these would be South Korea’s BitKRX, which posed to be a branch of the country’s Korean Exchange (KRX) and claimed to be a platform to exchange and trade bitcoin. Ultimately, it turned out to be fraudulent. There are also those that pretend to be connected with well-known exchanges using apps or fake websites; users are scammed when they log in and their account details are given away. When you are directed to a website, make sure that the URL has “HTTPS” rather than just “HTTP.” Without the letter S, it means that the web traffic has no security and encryption.

Ponzi Scams. Someone promises an incredible return of investment using bitcoin and a lot of people buy in it. Before you know it, someone runs off with all of your money. That’s basically how Ponzi schemes work. At first, victims will be made to believe that it actually works – say, the digits in their bank account are increasing. This will also make them talk about its “success” and convince others to join in. Eventually, calls to the customer service are unanswered, there are technical problems with the website, or the money will be remitted late – among several excuses while your money disappears for good. If you see ads that sound like, “double your bitcoin overnight,” they’re probably scams. How it usually works is you have to send them your money first before they can double it.

Pyramid Schemes. Scammers use bitcoin as a product in pyramid scams. In these schemes, your low initial investment will be multiplied if you invite more people to sign up. After a lot of people have invested their money, the original scammer walks away with all the money.

Malware. Hackers have long been using malware in order to get a hold of other people’s login credentials and account details. Now, it’s being used to drain Bitcoin wallets that are connected to the Internet.

 

How do you avoid falling into these scams?

  • If the offer is too good to be true, stay away from it.
  • Be vigilant on social media – legitimate bitcoin traders and brokers can be victims of poser accounts or impersonators.
  • Never conduct financial transactions via direct messages on social media platforms.
  • Do your homework and research on services and platforms you encounter; verify their claims and check their legitimacy or whether they are a registered corporation or not.

 

This article was originally published at Hoganinjury.com

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Litigation

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Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are gaining more attention as days pass. Aside from the advantages that cryptocurrencies have like anonymity and easy international transactions, people are enticed by the fact that it can become a good investment. Apart from trading bitcoins for cash, you can also use bitcoins to buy gift cards, book flights, and hotels, buy furniture, or even buy real estate properties. Bitcoin purchases are not taxed at the moment since there is no way for third parties to identify, track, or intercept transactions that use bitcoins. Transaction fees are considerably lower as well compared to credit card transactions or services like Paypal.

Although there are many advantages in using bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, just like any other investments, you should always be careful with your transactions. Since cryptocurrency is not regulated, many unscrupulous people have taken advantage of this and incidents of fraudulent cryptocurrencies, and other types of scam related to cryptocurrency have happened. One example of this is Prodeum, a cryptocurrency start-up that scammed its investors in just one weekend.

Because of these scams, law firms have now been involved in helping the victims. Cryptocurrency litigation has now become something that some lawyers specialize in. There are a lot of factors to consider when a cryptocurrency dispute arises. Aside from fraudulent Initial Coin Offering (ICO), lawyers could get involved if the cryptocurrency was used to launder money or hide assets; they could also get involved when there is an issue with the company, commercial, or intellectual property laws being violated in relation to cryptocurrency.

Here are some things that you can do as a cryptocurrency user to avoid being scammed:

1. Research. – Just like with any other investments that you will make, research is essential. When investing in an ICO, make sure to read and dissect their white papers to ensure that you’re working with reliable people. Take time to research the people behind the ICO, their whole team, board members, and other investors. It’s vital for you to learn as much as you can about the company before investing so that there will be no unpleasant surprises.

2. Be vigilant. – Cryptocurrency is still primarily bought and sold at exchanges. Because cryptocurrency is something new and the fuss around it is its value, many people get scammed by the promise of unrealistic prices. If an exchange promises incredible discounts or offers that seem too good to be true, it probably is. Another thing that you can do to avoid bitcoin exchange scams is to check the exchange’s URL. If a website’s address starts with HTTPS instead of just HTTP, that means that the traffic is encrypted and therefore has more protection.

3. Only use trusted sources. – Hardware wallet is a physical device that stores your private keys. Hardware wallets offer more protection from hacking since there is no way for hackers to access them when you’re not online. However, hackers have now found a way around that. Some hackers sell hardware wallets that have a backdoor for them to access all your cryptocurrency and the best way to avoid this is only to accept hardware wallets from trusted sources.

Sources: This article was originally published at Hoganinjury.com

Five intelligent investment tips for long-term wealth creation

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Chasing returns is a huge mistake as it makes you worry about daily/weekly/monthly performance

 

  • Most investors invest with the thought of making as much gains as possible. However, having unrealistic expectations for your investments can lead to disappointment, especially when the instrument you are investing provides market-linked returns. Here are five things to keep in mind while investing to maximise your returns and fulfil your goals:
  • Define your goals and invest accordingly | Adopting a ‘why (goals)-how (process)-what (product)’ approach would be ideal. To develop this mindset, focus on goals and understand your risk profile before selecting products.
  • Understand the risk factors | The most common mistake people make is that they jump into an investment product blindly. Understanding risks involved is a very important aspect of investment planning. Plan your investments based on risks involved with clear objectives and the rewards will come.
  • Have a long-term outlook | Timing investment is logically impossible because the best entry and exit opportunities are known only in hindsight. No one can predict market movements with certainty. Therefore, it is important to allow your investments to compound over a long term.
  • Know what not to focus on | A decision on where and when to invest can be a complex decision for all of us. It’s best to eliminate some of the lesser relevant variables in this process. Always keep the larger picture/objective and eliminate the distraction in your decision-making process.
  • Seek advice from professionals | Finding out what is ‘the best’ stock to invest in can be tricky as it requires an understanding of the product’s basic nature and matching suitability with your needs and circumstances. Your best bet is to consult a trustworthy financial planner.

Top buy & sell ideas by Ashwani Gujral, Prakash Gaba, Mitessh Thakkar for short term

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Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com suggests buying NIIT Tech with a stop loss of Rs 1360, target of Rs 1410, Dabur India with a stop loss of Rs 450, target of Rs 475 and Axis Bank with a stop loss of Rs 630, target of Rs 655.

Source: Moneycontrol News@moneycontrolcom

The Nifty50 after opening higher extended its rally and hit a fresh intraday record high in early trade on August 21, but immediately cooled off to remain in the range of 42 points for rest of the session before ending the day at a record closing high.

The index formed a bearish candle on an intraday basis on daily candlestick charts as the closing value was lower than what it opened at. The pattern formed by Nifty was more like Hanging Man and Dragonfly Doji on the daily charts.

The Nifty50 opened the session at 11,576.20 and closed at 11,570.90 with gain of 19.10 points from its previous closing level of 11,551.75. The index gained to hit an intraday all-time of 11,581.75 which made a small upper shadow while it slipped to an intraday low of 11,539.60 which resulted in long lower shadow.

India VIX fell by 1.36 percent to 12.85 levels and overall lower volatility suggests a tight grip of the bulls in the market.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 11,546.4, followed by 11,521.9. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 11,588.6 and 11,606.3.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 28,257.90, down 16.35 points on Tuesday. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 28,171.24, followed by 28,084.57. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 28,325.24, followed by 28,392.57.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, top market experts recommend which stocks to bet on for good returns:

Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com

Buy NIIT Tech with a stop loss of Rs 1360, target of Rs 1410

Buy Dabur India with a stop loss of Rs 450, target of Rs 475

Buy Axis Bank with a stop loss of Rs 630, target of Rs 655

Buy Bajaj Finance with a stop loss of Rs 2850, target of Rs 2920

Buy Tata Elxsi with a stop loss of Rs 1425, target of Rs 1480

Prakash Gaba of prakashgaba.com

Buy NIIT Tech with target at Rs 1420 and stop loss at Rs 1340

Buy State Bank of India with target at Rs 313 and stop loss at Rs 303

Buy Strides Pharma with target at Rs 480 and stop loss at Rs 458

Buy Torrent Power with target at Rs 255 and stop loss at Rs 245

Mitessh Thakkar of mitesshthakkar.com

Buy Ambuja Cements with a stop loss of Rs 234 and target of Rs 250

Buy Colgate Palmolive with a stop loss of Rs 1152 and target of Rs 1195

Buy Grasim Industries with a stop loss of Rs 1048 and target of Rs 1100

Sell Indian Oil Corporation with a stop loss of Rs 160.5 and target of Rs 151

Buy Torrent Power with a stop loss of Rs 243 and target of Rs 261

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com/CNBC-TV18 are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Market Week Ahead: Top 10 factors that will keep traders busy next week

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Volatility in the rupee and prices of crude oil, carnage in midcaps and smallcaps, and trade tensions between US and China resulted in a lot of selling pressure in the week gone by

Source: Moneycontrol News@moneycontrolcom

The market corrected by close to a percent this past week, but thanks to Friday’s rally of over one percent on value buying at lower levels, the losses were greatly minimised.

Volatility in the rupee and prices of crude oil, carnage in midcap and smallcap stocks and trade tensions between US and China resulted in a lot of selling pressure.

Broader markets continued to see sharp correction for the second consecutive week, despite recovering on the last day of the quarter, with the Nifty Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices falling 2.2 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Both indices crashed 14 percent and 16.6 percent in first half of 2018, which was expected after their stellar rally in 2017. This year, they have underperformed the Nifty and Sensex, which gained 1.7 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

 Bears continued to dominate Dalal Street, and their pressure looks like it is here to stay this coming week. Experts said that volatile trade too will remain in the week to come, adding that the focus would slowly shift from global cues to June quarter earnings, which will kick off in the second week of July.

“Nervousness in the market is expected to continue on negative global clues and we will see key indices trading in tight range for the next couple of weeks,” Gaurav Jain, Director at Hem Securities, told Moneycontrol.

Jain said rising fears of a trade war, higher crude prices, and tightening of economies across the globe have hurt the economy and market sentiment. “With no significant events in the coming week, global clues will continue to dominate trading sentiments and stock-specific approach will continue,” he said.

Rajeev Srivastava, Business Head – Securities and Commodities, Reliance Securities, told Moneycontrol that in the backdrop of higher fuel prices, higher interest rate and a weakening rupee scenario, the market may trade in a range and is unlikely to witness any strong appreciation in the next 6-8 months.

He advises investors to invest in quality stocks, which are less vulnerable to macro concerns and have healthy cash flow visibility.

Considering the likely pickup of rural consumption, corporate capital expenditure in the consequence of higher utilisation and recent reforms, Jain is hopeful that corporate earnings will witness double digit growth in coming quarters.

Here are 10 key factors that will keep traders busy next week:

Rupee

The Indian rupee hit an all-time low of 69.09 against the dollar during the week because of higher crude oil prices and strong demand from exporters and banks. It managed to recover 62 paise from the lowest level but failed to end the week on a positive note, ending 0.93 percent weaker at 68.47.

The domestic currency fell for the third consecutive month against the dollar in June and corrected 5 percent in the first quarter of FY19, the biggest quarterly fall since September 2013.

Multiple headwinds like a strong dollar, higher crude prices and concerns related to inflation and fiscal slippage dented sentiment, but interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has said that there is no need for a knee jerk reaction to the volatility.

“Rising oil prices, political risk in a pre-election year, low equity risk premia pointing towards relative high valuation and tightening financial conditions in the domestic economy are the major factors which is specifically hurting the rupee,” Anindya Banerjee of Kotak Securities told Moneycontrol.

He said a strong US economy is prompting the US Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy, and fears of a trade war are affecting most emerging markets were therefore, not a rupee-specific risk.

As a result, carry trade, which is the biggest force driving currency markets, especially EM currencies, is on reverse gear for the rupee in 2018, Banerjee said.

Crude

After the announcement of an increase in supply by OPEC and its allies at their recent meeting, crude oil prices corrected sharply from a three-and-a-half-year high of $80.50 a barrel to around $73 a barrel, but rebounded towards $80 due to unplanned disruption in Canada, Libya and Venezuela.

Another reason why investors were worried were the US’ sanctions on Iran, the fifth largest oil producer in the world, which would reduce a big volume of crude from world markets at a time when demand is rising.

Brent crude futures, the benchmark for international oil prices, jumped 5 percent to $79.44 a dollar during the week.

“As India is the world’s third-largest oil consumer after US and China, with more than 80 percent of its oil demand met through imports, the soaring oil price environment will doubtlessly impact the Indian economy,” CD Equisearch said.

The research firm said market analysts believe that OPEC and its partners could choose to fill up the shortfall created by stress on oil production in Venezuela, Angola and Iran.

“Several countries that are a part of the deal have excess capacity to increase production. US oil producers will also seek to take advantage of the decrease in global oil production but may be confined due to infrastructure bottlenecks and paucity of demand for the extra light grade oil produced by them,” it said.

Auto Sales Data

Auto companies will release their June sales data on July 1 and July 2. So the stock reaction is likely on the coming Monday.

Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, TVS Motor, Ashok Leyland, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Escorts etc will be in focus.

“Interaction with leading channel partners indicates moderation in retail sales across segments, particularly in rural areas. This can largely be attributed to weak sentiment due to low farm realisations, a delay in the onset of monsoon, and lower crop disbursement by financial institutions,” Motilal Oswal said.

Motilal Oswal Expectations for June sales

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Macro Data

Nikkei Manufacturing PMI for June will be released on Monday, followed by Services PMI for the same month on Wednesday.

Foreign Exchange Reserves data for the week ended June 29 will be announced on Friday. Deposit and bad loan growth numbers for the week ended June 22 will also be declared on same day.

Technical Outlook

The Nifty closed the June series below 10,600 levels on Thursday but managed to end the week above 10,700 due to sharp rally on Friday. It was a good start to the July series but bears retained their dominance at Dalal Street as the index lost a percent. Even the Midcap and Smallcap indices failed to get support from bulls as they lost 2-3 percent in a week despite recovery on Friday.

Rangebound move is likely to continue in the coming week and the crucial levels are around 10,550 on the downside and 10,850 on the upside, experts said.

“Index fell sharply from the higher levels and breached the intermediate support of 10,700. Friday’s recovery was quite strong and pulled the index back above 10,700 mark; however it has not damaged the bearish setup. If you got excited about bounce then we think it was a counter trend rise and not a fresh rally. Like we said earlier, bullish possibilities will open up only on a close above 10,900,” Gajendra Prabu, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities told Moneycontrol.

Shabbir Kayyumi, Head – Technical & Derivative Research, Narnolia Financial Advisors said medium term view of range bound movement remains intact as long as indices trade above 10,550. “Nifty RSI near 50 marks also suggests sideways move in coming trading session. Confluences of Fibonacci retracement and 100 EMA round 10,570 levels imply robust support and Nifty will remain strong till it holds above this level.”

Downward sloping trend line connecting previous two major top of 11,121 and 10,929 suggests resistance at 10,850, he added. “Regression line is flat around 10750. We expect sideways movement for next few trading session. On the flip side, Nifty has to close below 10,550 to change this sideways movement thesis.”

Listings

Chemical manufacturer Fine Organic Industries is set to debut on bourses on Monday. The final offer price is fixed at 783 per share. The Rs 600-crore initial public offer was oversubscribed by 8.99 times during June 20-22.

After stellar response to the Rs 466-crore IPO, railways consultancy firm RITES is also going to list its equity shares on same day. The company after consultation with book running lead managers has fixed final issue price at Rs 185 per share. The IPO had garnered strong investor demand, with the issue getting oversubscribed 67.24 times during June 20-22.

Corporate Action

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Stocks in Focus

GVK Power: Company initiated the process to monetise its airport assets. Sources told CNBC-TV18 that Paris-based ADP, Singapore’S Changi, Candian Pension Fund and Private Equity Players may be interested in picking up stake.

IDBI Bank: The IRDAI board is likely to have discussed allowing LIC to buy controlling stake in IDBI Bank. Government sources say they will move a cabinet note only after all the regulatory approvals are in place, reports CNBC-TV18. Also former SBI MD B Sriram assumed charge as MD & CEO of the bank effective June 30.

Tata Steel: Company and Thyssenkrupp signed a definitive agreement to create a new European steel champion.

NMDC: Company & Kopano Logistics Services established a 50:50 joint venture company, Kopano-NMDC Minerals to undertake exploration & development of mineral properties in South Africa.

Cadila Healthcare: Zydus gets final approval from US FDA for Triamterene & Hydrochlorothiazide tablets USP.

TCS: Promoter and promoter group of company have communicated their intention to participate in a Rs 16,000 crore share buyback.

HDFC Bank: Managing Director, Aditya Puri told CNBC-TV18 that the bank has no plans to increase foreign branches at this point.

Bank of Maharashtra: MD & CEO RP Marathe & ED RK Gupta divested of functional responsibilties.

Reliance Industries: Company has signed an agreement to acquire US-based open telecom solutions provider Radisys for $1.72 per share in cash. The acquisition is aimed at accelerating Jio’s innovation and technology position in the areas of 5G, IOT and open source architecture adoption.

Viceroy Hotels: As part of the Resolution Process, the Resolution Professional has issued Form G to prospective resolution applicants to submit resolution plan for the company.

Shree Renuka Sugars: After completion of the open offer by Wilmar Sugar Holdings Pte. Ltd, Narendra Murkumbi has stepped-down as the Vice Chairman & Managing Director of the company. He will continue as non-executive director of the company.

Udaipur Cement Works: Approved a project at a capital outlay of Rs 37.50 crore at company’s plant for captive use, and also approved obtaining omnibus approval for raising of funds by way of issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of upto Rs 200 crore at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Parsvnath Developers: Brickwork has re-affirmed the rating ‘B’, assigned to Rs 360 crore non-convertible debentures (Series A) and Rs 244.39 crore non-convertible debentures (Series B) of subsidiary Parsvnath Rail Land Project.

Gujarat Lease Financing: Board has approved the merger of GLFL subsidiaries with GLFL.

Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys: The agitation has been called off with immediate effect. However there would be a loss of around 500 tonnes of ferro chrome production.

Salzer Electronics: Company to acquire two overseas companies – Advanced ID Asia Engineering, Thailand and United Marketing and Trading Limited, Hong Kong.

Welspun Enterprises has received provisional certificate for commercial operation of the Deihi-Meerut Expressway Package-Ol w.e.f. June 28.

Ujaas Energy: CRISIL assigned BBB+/Negative (downgraded from A-/Stable) rating for long term bank loan facilities and A2 (downgraded from A2+) rating for short term bank loan facilities.

Bharat Financial Inclusion completed the second securitisation transaction of Rs 815.75 crore in FY19. With this transaction, the company has completed two securitisation transactions worth Rs 1,365.82 crore in FY19.

Oriental Bank of Commerce has revised base rate from 9.45 percent per annum to 9.50 percent per annum w.e.f. 30.06.2018.

TCS board to consider financial results and interim dividend on July 10

Thermax has concluded an order of Rs 340 crore from a leading Indian steel manufacturer for a specially designed boiler, electric turbo generators and ancillary equipment for their production facility in Maharashtra.

Adani Transmission: Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission approves acquisition of Reliance Infra’s Integrated Business of Generation, Transmission, Distribution and retail of power for Mumbai City by Adani Transmission.

Amber Enterprises: Company has extended the timeline to complete the acquisition of balance stake in Ever Electronics of 51 percent by December 31, 2018 in one or more tranches.

Bosch: Holding company Robert Bosch GmbH plans to sell the packaging machinery business.

Borosil Glass Works: ICRA has placed the long-term rating of A+ and the short-term rating of A1+ assigned earlier to Rs 40 crore Line of Credit on rating watch with developing implications.

Dilip Buildcon: Three wholly owned subsidiary companies have received the sanction letter from NBFC and Nationalized Bank to finance their Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) projects. Company is in advance stage to get the sanction for the remaining HAM projects to achieve the financial closure within the specified time period of the Concession agreement.

Esha Media Research has signed an agreement with Limelight networks, Inc, Tempe, AZ. USA.

Mayur Uniquoters: Guman Mal Jain, Chief Financial Officer has resigned due to some personal reason.

Punjab National Bank sold entire stake of 3,30,000 shares of ICRA through block deal at exchange platform for gross sale consideration of Rs 108.60 crore on June 28.

The New India Assurance Company board approved the allotment of bonus shares in the ratio 1:1

Global Cues

Japan’s Nikkei Manufacturing PMI and Foreign Exchange Reserve for June, China’s Caixin Manufacturing PMI for June, Europe’s Manufacturing PMI for June and Unemployment Rate for May, and US Manufacturing PMI for June will be released on Monday.

On Tuesday, US Factory Orders and Euro Area Retail Sales data for the month of May will be announced.

On Wednesday, US Auto Sales for June, China’s Caixin Composite and Services PMI for June, Japan’s Nikkei Services PMI for June and Europe’s Composite and Services PMI for June will be released.

US’ FOMC Minutes, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended June 30, ADP Employment Change for June, Non Manufacturing PMI for June and Composite and Services PMI for June will be announced on Thursday. Europe’s Retail PMI for June will be released on the same day.

The US Balance of Trade for May, US Non-Farm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate for June, and Japan’s Household Spending for May will be declared on Friday.

Shariah Compliant Mutual Funds

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There are only 2 Shariah compliant mutual fund schemes in India, Tata Ethical Fund and Taurus Ethical Fund

 

What makes them Shariah based

Most primary thing that makes them Shariah based is they follow a Shariah stock index S&P Shariah or CNX Shariah). What this index is and what stocks it contains will be a separate discussion. Some of its characteristic:

  1. Investing in islamically legal business companies.
  2. Debt is not high.
  3. Interest income is very low.
Other characteristic:
  1. Long term investment.
  2. No short-selling or day trading which is same as betting.
  3. No liquid investment in interest bearing components.
  4. No lending of MF assets.
  5. No investment in other mutual funds.
  6. No investment in any derivatives.

Fund Details

These are equity funds but no tax saving. There is no entry load; no exit load if withdrawn after a year; trail commission 1.5 to 2.5%.
Performance is good enough for long term.

Tata Ethical Fund:

This fund invests in stocks based on the CNX Shariah 500 Index. As a result, it suffers from the same problem as that of Tauras Ethical Fund. However, it does one thing important: Purification.
Once the Mutual Fund has earned profit, it calculates any non-legal income from Interest and donates to charity and you only get the actual profit.
Because of this am tempted to say that this could be the only halal MF. Only thing am not sure how they deal with stocks of companies that have taken loans.

Tauras Ethical Fund:

It invest based on stocks as present in S&P BSE 500 Shariah index. If you consider the S&P Shariah index to be 100% halal, then this fund will be fine. However, the index definitely contains stocks of companies that have upto 30% debt or 5% interest income and the fund does nothing about it. All this is clearly mentioned in the Scheme Information Document. And this is the problem with the fund.

Fund Performance:

It is important to also see if your investment is giving your profit or loss. Else you would be better off not investing at all.
Performance of all 3 Funds is below average compared to other Equity Funds.
They are not making loss but the profit is very small about 10-13% over 3 years. This obviously is far less than inflation. But this is the state of most halal investments; the returns are very less.
Perhaps this is the test of Allah, most haram investments will give excellent returns.

Concluding Notes

  • If you are determined to invest in MF then Tata Ethical Fund can be considered.

 

  • Goldman Sachs CNX Nifty Shariah Index Exchange Traded Fund itself truthfully declares that although they follow a Shariah based stock index they are not completely shariah compliant. This can be found in its Scheme Information Document.

 

For more Details visit their official website

Tata Ethical Mutual Fund: http://www.tatamutualfund.com/our-funds/equity/sectoral/tata-ethical-fund

Tauras Ethical Fund:  https://www.taurusmutualfund.com/OurSchemes/taurus_ethical_fund.html

Mutual Funds

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Buying shares in mutual funds can be intimidating for beginning investors. There is a huge amount of funds available, all with different investment strategies and asset groups. Trading shares in mutual funds is different than trading shares in stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The fees charged for mutual funds can be complicated. Understanding these fees is important since they have a large impact on the performance of investments in a fund. The following is a guide to help get a new investor up to speed on the basics of trading mutual funds.

What Are Mutual Funds?

A mutual fund is an investment company that takes money from many investors and pools it together in one large pot. The professional manager for the fund invests the money in different types of assets including stocks, bonds, commodities and even real estate. An investor buys shares in the mutual fund. These shares represent an ownership interest in a portion of the assets owned by the fund. Mutual funds are designed for longer-term investors and are not meant to be traded frequently due to their fee structures.

Mutual funds are often attractive to investors because they are widely diversified. Diversification helps to minimize risk to an investment. Rather than having to research and make an individual decision as to each type of asset to include in a portfolio, mutual funds offer a single comprehensive investment vehicle. Some mutual funds can have thousands of different holdings. Mutual funds are also very liquid. It is easy to buy and redeem shares in mutual funds.

There is a wide variety of mutual funds to consider. A few of the major fund types are bond funds, stock funds, balanced funds and index funds. Bond funds hold fixed-income securities as assets. These bonds pay regular interest to their holders. The mutual fund makes distributions to mutual fund holders of this interest.

Stock funds make investments in the shares of different companies. Stock funds seek to profit mainly by the appreciation of the shares over time, as well as dividend payments. Stock funds often have a strategy of investing in companies based on their market capitalization. Market capitalization is the total dollar value of a company’s outstanding shares. For example, large-cap stocks are defined as those with market caps over $10 billion. Stock funds may specialize in large-, mid-or small-cap stocks. Small-cap funds tend to have higher volatility than large-cap funds.

Balanced funds hold a mix of bonds and stocks. The distribution among stocks and bonds in these funds varies depending on the fund’s strategy. Index funds track the performance of an index such as the S&P 500. These funds are passively managed. They hold similar assets to the index being tracked. Fees for these types of funds are lower due to infrequent turnover in assets and passive management.

Some popular objectives of a mutual fund are –

Fund Objective What the fund will invest in
Equity (Growth) Only in stocks
Debt (Income) Only in fixed-income securities
Money Market (including Gilt) In short-term money market instruments (including government securities)
Balanced Partly in stocks and partly in fixed-income securities, in order to maintain a ‘balance’ in returns and risk

Managed by an Asset Management Company (AMC)

The company that puts together a mutual fund is called an AMC. An AMC may have several mutual fund schemes with similar or varied investment objectives.

 

The AMC hires a professional money manager, who buys and sells securities in line with the fund’s stated objective.

All AMCs Regulated by SEBI, Funds governed by Board of Directors

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mutual fund regulations require that the fund’s objectives are clearly spelt out in the prospectus.

In addition, every mutual fund has a board of directors that is supposed to represent the shareholders’ interests, rather than the AMC’s.

Basic of MF

Net Asset Value or NAV

NAV is the total asset value (net of expenses) per unit of the fund and is calculated by the AMC at the end of every business day.

How is NAV calculated?

The value of all the securities in the portfolio in calculated daily. From this, all expenses are deducted and the resultant value divided by the number of units in the fund is the fund’s NAV.

Expense Ratio

AMCs charge an annual fee, or expense ratio that covers administrative expenses, salaries, advertising expenses, brokerage fee, etc. A 1.5% expense ratio means the AMC charges Rs1.50 for every Rs100 in assets under management.

A fund’s expense ratio is typically to the size of the funds under management and not to the returns earned. Normally, the costs of running a fund grow slower than the growth in the fund size – so, the more assets in the fund, the lower should be its expense ratio.

Load

Some AMCs have sales charges, or loads, on their funds (entry load and/or exit load) to compensate for distribution costs. Funds that can be purchased without a sales charge are called no-load funds.

Open- and Close-Ended Funds

1) Open-Ended Funds

At any time during the scheme period, investors can enter and exit the fund scheme (by buying/ selling fund units) at its NAV (net of any load charge). Increasingly, AMCs are issuing mostly open-ended funds.

2) Close-Ended Funds

Redemption can take place only after the period of the scheme is over. However, close-ended funds are listed on the stock exchanges and investors can buy/ sell units in the secondary market (there is no load).

Important documents

Two key documents that highlight the fund’s strategy and performance are 1) the prospectus (legal document) and the shareholder reports (normally quarterly).

Why invest through Mutual Funds?

Professional Money Management

Fund managers are responsible for implementing a consistent investment strategy that reflects the goals of the fund. Fund managers monitor market and economic trends and analyze securities in order to make informed investment decisions.

Diversification

Diversification is one of the best ways to reduce risk (to understand why, read The need to Diversify). Mutual funds offer investors an opportunity to diversify across assets depending on their investment needs.

Liquidity

Investors can sell their mutual fund units on any business day and receive the current market value on their investments within a short time period (normally three- to five-days).

Affordability

The minimum initial investment for a mutual fund is fairly low for most funds (as low as Rs500 for some schemes).

Convenience

Most private sector funds provide you the convenience of periodic purchase plans, automatic withdrawal plans and the automatic reinvestment of interest and dividends.

Mutual funds also provide you with detailed reports and statements that make record-keeping simple. You can easily monitor the performance of your mutual funds simply by reviewing the business pages of most newspapers or by using our Mutual Funds section.

Flexibility and variety

You can pick from conservative, blue-chip stock funds, sectoral funds, funds that aim to provide income with modest growth or those that take big risks in the search for returns. You can even buy balanced funds, or those that combine stocks and bonds in the same fund.

Tax benefits on Investment in Mutual Funds

1) 100% Income Tax exemption on all Mutual Fund dividends

 

2) Equity Funds – Short term capital gains is taxed at 15%. Long term capital gains is not applicable.
Debt Funds – Short term capital gains is taxed as per the slab rates applicable to you. Long term capital gains tax to be lower of – 10% on the capital gains without factoring indexation benefit and 20% on the capital gains after factoring indexation benefit.

 

3) Open-end funds with equity exposure of more than 65% (Revised from 50% to 65% in Budget 2006) are exempt from the payment of dividend tax for a period of 3 years from 1999-2000.

 

Note: Equity Funds are those where the investible funds are invested in equity shares in domestic companies to the extent of more than 65% of the total proceeds of such funds.

 

By now you would have realized that investing in mutual funds is not just a decision but is more a process.

 

Mutual Fund Investing Checklist

Using the checklist below should help you to extract the most from your mutual fund investment process. We assume that you will be investing largely through mutual funds to meet your targeted asset allocation plan.

1. Draw up your asset allocation

You can use moneycontrol’s Asset Allocator for this. Take a printout of your suggested asset allocation plan so that you can use that to plan your investments across mutual funds.

2. Identify funds that fall into your Buy List

How do you do this? Simple. Just go to Find-A-Fund and run a query specifying the parameters you are seeking.

3. Obtain and read the offer documents

You could do this by either asking your broker or the asset management companies. You might also find some of these documents if you go to our Request-A-Form service.

4. Match your objectives

Read through the offer documents and check to see whether the mutual funds identified meet your investment needs in terms of equity share and bond weightings, downside risk protection, tax benefits offered, dividend payout policy, sector focus and other parameters of relevance to you. For ease in short listing, you can use our Find-A-Fund query module.

5. Check out past performance

Make sure you do this. There is no other indicator that you can use as effectively to select funds for investment. Yet again (we won’t tire of saying this), for ease you can use our Find-A-Fund query module to find out your selected funds’ performance over various time periods.

6. Don’t forget the index funds

Index funds offer you probably the ideal hedge against varying performance across sectors and across fund managers over longer-periods of time.  moneycontrol recommends that you have atleast some part of your assets in index mutual funds (you would have seen this in your recommended asset allocation plan also if you have used moneycontrol’s Asset Allocator).

7. Think hard about investing in sector funds

Investing in specific sector funds is recommended for aggressive investors. However, if you are not in close touch with the developments in the sector or do not review your portfolio regularly, we would not recommend investing in sector funds.

8. Look for `load’ costs

Management fees, annual expenses of the fund and sales loads can take away a significant portion of your returns. As a general rule, 1% towards management fees and 0.6% towards annual expenses should be acceptable. Try and avoid funds that have a sales load, unless of course they have a consistent track record of being a top-performer.

9. Does the fund change fund managers often?

Since you will be giving past track record a consideration, you are inadvertently relying on the continuity of the fund manager. Stay away from mutual funds whose fund managers change often.

10. Look for size and credentials

As far as possible avoid investing in funds with an asset base of less than Rs25 crores. Which means that we are recommending you invest in funds only after they have established a track record. And unless it is a really exciting new (theme) fund that fits into your asset allocation plan, try and avoid new funds.

11. Customer Service

Check out the customer service delivery mechanism of the mutual fund you choose. Can you get in touch with them easily? How long do they take to disburse payments? How often do they send you portfolio updates? And investor newsletters? These questions are important to address because shortcomings on any of these factors could affect your overall returns.

12. Diversify, but not too much

Do not hold just one fund in each asset category. Its good to diversify your risk between different funds, but do not overdo it. moneycontrol recommends two, or maybe three funds in each asset category.

13. Style, not returns matter first in the long-term

Don’t let a top performing fund veer you away from a disciplined approach. Stick to your chosen asset allocation plan.

14. Monitor regularly and review

Try to review your mutual fund holdings atleast once a quarter. If you follow the same principles to review as you did to identify the mutual funds you invested in, you will be able to take `sell decisions’ very easily. You can read more about this approach by clicking

 Invest Monitor and Review.

Having made an investment in a mutual fund, you should monitor it to see whether its management and performance is in line with stated objectives and also whether its performance exceeds or lags your expectations. Unlike individual stocks and bonds, mutual fund reviews are required less frequently, once in a quarter should be sufficient.

 

A review of the fund’s performance should be carried out with the objective of holding or selling your investment in the mutual fund. You might need to sell your investment in a mutual fund if any of the events below apply –

You change your investment plan.

For example, as you grow older you might adopt a more conservative investment approach, pruning some of your riskier (equity-oriented) funds.

A fund changes its strategy.

A fund that alters its investment objective or approach might no longer fit your strategy.

The fund’s poor results persist.

If a fund regularly trails other funds that invest in similar securities, consider replacing it. The poor performance is more often than not a reflection on the relative expertise of the asset management company.

15. Invest regularly, choose the MIP

Try to make mutual fund investing an integral part of your savings and wealth-building plan. The monthly investment plan option offered by some mutual funds is a strongly recommended approach for you to execute this process . However, don’t let the availability of this option override your fund selection criteria.

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Shariah Compliant Mutual Funds in India

Trade set-up for Wednesday: Top 15 things to know before Opening Bell

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Experts advise traders to keep a stop below 10,600 for all long Nifty positions.

The Nifty rallied 6.2 percent in April after falling 8 percent in February and March which resulted in a strong bull candle on Monday’s daily candlestick chart. Formation of a strong bullish candle suggests that momentum is strong and there is a higher possibility now for the index to hit levels closer to 10,900, experts suggest.The index has been forming higher highs and higher lows on the daily chart for the last three trading sessions which indicates that the supports are gradually shifting higher.

However, owing to relentless strength displayed by the bulls in the last five weeks a pause or minor correction can’t be ruled out going forward. Experts advise traders to keep a stop below 10,600 for all long positions.

The Nifty which opened at 10,705.75 on Monday slipped marginally to hit an intraday low of 10,704.60. It hit an intraday high of 10,759 before closing 47 points higher at 10,739.35.

“The Nifty has successfully closed the gap zone between 10,736-10,702 levels registered on February 5 as it signed off the April 30 session with a small bullish candle,” Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist – Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in said.

“However, on the monthly charts, it has registered a robust bullish candle which has erased all panic losses witnessed in March. If the index continues to trade above this gap area, then it could take the index to 10,928 levels,” he said.

Mohammad said investors should use corrections as a buying opportunity as long as the Nifty sustains above 10,600 levels. “We are advising traders to remain long with a stop below 10,600 on a closing basis.”

India VIX rose 2.85 percent to 12.36 on Monday. Lower volatility suggests that bulls are holding a tight grip on the market. Volatility has been falling for the last four consecutive weeks.

We have collated top 15 data points to help you spot a profitable trade:

Key support and resistance levels for the Nifty
The Nifty closed at 10,739.3 on Monday. According to pivot charts, its key support level is placed at 10,709.6, followed by 10,679.9. If the index starts moving upwards, the key resistance levels to watch out are 10,764.0 and 10,788.7.

Nifty Bank
The Nifty Bank index closed at 25,531.6. The important pivot levels, which will act as crucial support, are placed at 25,458.43, followed by 25,385.27. On the upside, the key resistance levels are placed at 25,611.13, followed by 25,690.67.

Call options data
In terms of open interest, the 11,000 call option has seen the most call writing so far at 56.89 lakh contracts. This could act as a crucial resistance level for the index in the May series.

The second-highest build-up has taken place in the 10,800 call option, which has seen 34.29 lakh contracts getting added so far. The 10,900 call option has accumulated 26.11 lakh contracts.

Call writing was seen at the strike price of 11,000, which added 5.77 lakh contracts, followed by 10,800, which added 3.3 lakh contracts and 11,200, which added 2.35 lakh contracts. Hardly any call unwinding has been seen.

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Put options data
Maximum open interest in put options was seen at a strike price of 10,500, which added 38.68 lakh contracts till date. This could be a crucial resistance level for the index in May series.

The 10,600 put option 31.89 lakh contracts so far and the 10,400 put option has now accumulated 31.37 lakh contracts. Put writing was seen at the strike price of 10,600, which added 6.56 lakh contracts, followed by 10,700, which added 6.47 lakh contracts and 10,800, which added 2.8 lakh contracts.

Put unwinding was seen at the strike price of 10,300, which shed 1.42 lakh contracts, followed by 10,200, which shed 1.14 lakh contracts.

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FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 385.47 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 261.98 crore in the Indian equity market, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Fund flow picture
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Stocks with higher delivery percentage
High delivery percentage suggests that investors are accepting delivery of a stock which indicates investor bullishness.

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81 stocks saw long build-up
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68 stocks saw short covering
A decrease in open interest along with an increase in price mostly indicates short covering.

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40 stocks saw build-up of shorts
An increase in open interest along with a decrease in price mostly indicates build-up of short positions.

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20 stocks saw long unwinding
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Bulk Deals:
PC Jeweller: Multiple block deals were seen in this counter, but two of them stood out for their sheer size. Alphagrep Commodities traded 67.59 lakh shares at Rs 171 apiece. QE Securities traded over 44 lakh shares at Rs 168 apiece.

Sumeet Industries: Niraj Modi bought 10 lakh shares at Rs 15.90 apiece.
(For more bulk deals click here)

Analyst or board meet/briefings:
Axis Bank: The company had an investor conference on April 30.

Godrej Properties: An investor and analysts conference will be held on May 4.

Yes Bank: Multiple investors met the management recently.

Stocks in news
Bombay Burmah: The CFO of the firm has resigned with effect April 30.

Ceat: The company’s Q4 net profit rose over 16 percent YoY to Rs 77 crore.

Hindustan Zinc: Q4 net profit has fallen 18 percent YoY to Rs 2,505 crore.

HCL Technologies: Keki Mistry resigns as Non-Executive Independent Director with effect from April 30

Rolta India: VL Ganesh resigns as CFO with effect from April 30

M&M: Total sales in April rose 22 percent YoY to 48,097 units.

Maruti Suzuki‘s April sales at 1.73 lakh units, up 14.4% YoY.

Tata Motors April domestic sales up 86% YoY to 53,511 units.

IHH Health, Munjal-Burmans raise bids for Fortis Healthcare by 7-9% on the last day of receipt of bids.

Larsen & Toubro: The firm has sold its electrical & automation business to Schneider Electric for Rs 14,000 crore.

One stock under ban period on the NSESecurity in ban period for next day’s trade under the F&O segment includes companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit. For May 2, PC Jeweller is present in this list.

Stocks in the news: Mindtree, DLF, ABG Shipyard, Ashok Leyland, Magma Fincorp

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Mindtree | DLF | ABG Shipyard | Ashok Leyland | Magma Fincorp |Container Corp | Jain Irrigation | Infibeam | Dynamatic Technologies and NMDC are the stocks which are in new today.

Here are stocks that are in news today:

Results today: TCS, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra CIE, Reliance Power, Cyient

Mindtree Q4 QoQ – Net profit up 28.8 percent at Rs 182.2 crore, revenue up 6.3 percent at Rs 1,464 crore

ACC Q1CY18 YoY – Consolidated revenue up 14.2 percent at Rs 3,624.6 crore; profit up 18.6 percent at Rs 250.4 crore

 DLF: The company has sought to allay concerns about slow pace of monetization of land assets, Bloomberg reported.

Bharat Dynamics signed licensing agreement with Defence Research Development Organisation (DROO) for ASTRA MK-1 Weapon System

Sun Pharma: One of the owned company’s subsidiary increased stake in Ranbaxy Malaysia Sdn Bhd via purchase of 4.93 percenet stake; current holding increased to 95.67 percent.

Mark Builders: SEBI has banned the firm and its directors from market

ABG Shipyard: Fresh bids are invited for the company under insolvency law.

Trigyn Techno: Company received technology support staffing contract by Baltimore county public schools for 5 years

Sadbhav Infrastructure: Investment committee meeting on April 23 to approve NCD of Rs 170 crore

Ashok Leyland: The company has drawn up Rs 1,000 crore plan for 2018-19.

Magma Fincorp – ICRA upgraded credit rating to AA-/stable for bonds and bank facilities; raises Rs 500 crore through QIP route, per share price is Rs 155

Container Corp: Company to consider stock split on April 30

Ambuja Cement/ACC – Board of Directors approved limiting the period of the master supply agreement with ACC for 3 years

Jain Irrigation: Board approves plan to raise Rs 260 crore loan from World Bank arm

Kirloskar Oil Engine – Blackstone emerges as front runner to buy the Company: ET

Tata Steel may acquire 75 percent in Bhushan Steel: Media Report

Amtek Auto – Subsidiary gets two binding bids by Liberty, Deccan Value: Media Report

Infosys clarified that company has not received any alleged anonymous whistleblower complaint

Mastek declared dividend of Rs 4 per equity share of Rs 5 each

Jubilant Foodworks clarified on allegations about some products of Domino’s Pizza via video that co assure that they use real cheese in their products

Workhardt board meeting on May 4 to approve raising of fund via non-convertible debentures (NCD)

Infibeam: Company receives online marketplace contract from NSDC.

ICICI Bank chairman meets MF heads over succession plan, if Chanda Kochhar quits: BS

IFCI invites bids for sale of stake in NSE

ABG Shipyard – Fresh bids invited for the company

Lemon Tree Hotels signs 3 management contracts for hotel in Uttarakhand

As announced earlier Great Eastern Shipping takes delivery of very large gas carrier of about 81,617cbm

Dynamatic Technologies: Company signs MoU with France’s Daher Aerospace

NMDC: Company cuts prices of lump ore and fines by Rs 100 each to Rs 2,900 per tonne and Rs 2,560 per tonne with effect from April 18