Invest Wisely..Online Earning tips,Part time jobs,Adsense,Stock Market Tips

How to earn with Paid to click sites- PTC

2011-05-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

Now a lot of people jump to conclusion that they are going to make money right away.. But the truth is..... THEY ARE RIGHT..

WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT

The 1st rule is be honest. This way you end up making stress free money which is more valuable ( believe me.. no other way out)

Secondly ( no rules now) you need to show perseverance. You wont get rich in 10days. It might take some time for you to rake in bucks but hey.. you will make it for sure.

You want quick money, you start working a little more.

All these sites may seem silly to you but i will guide you through it to rake in some good money.

Now the bottom line.. referrals earn you more. So do invite your friends & family. If you are not able to do that.. I'll help you getting some. But you will need to work for it too.. Promise what is possible to others, not the castles in clouds

As usual, The DONT'S include: No malpractice, No Lies, and certainly No spam.

If you want to stay for long, earning passive income.. believe me, you don't want to take a wrong turn.

Applying all This will get you a reasonable amount per month and eventually.. a good return in the long run.

The PTC corner is very easy to start with. Join ALERTPAY and PAYPAL (e-banks) and register yourself with the sites. A lot of them pays you good but you need to sort it and keep the better ones. This way you only work and get paid Reasonably. Never OVERWORK or OVERBURDEN yourself. Joining all the sites might take a day or two. Then you can start earning by just clicking ads or referring, the latter being more promising ( if you cant, contact us and we will show you how)

Allways work regularly and for short durations. increase the frequency if you want to earn more but never work at a stretch.

Coming to the Survey zone, it pays you well and quickly too. There is only 1 catch.. You have to qualify for them. They are based on the requirements set by the advertisers. No one qualifies for all surveys so better take what comes your way. But once you get the hang, you will get hooked to it. The easiest of all I tell you..

Creating websites, google adsense, affiliate programs.. all this will require you to work hard and definitely some investment ( money and time). Will gladly help you when you feel you are ready.

Paid to click sites - Easy earnig with out any investment

2011-05-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

Friends there are a lot of Paid to click sites.
Most of them are fraud sites.But we have hand picked some of the best PTC sites for you.

Just check out these sites below.After joining these sites mail me on bizpandit@gmail.com . I will tell the secret on how to earn from these sites with out spending even a penny from your pockets.I am earning 1$ a day from each sites.So join them and mail me.
Before joining these sites you have to join Virtapay.They will give you $25 for joining and pay $10 for each work you are assigned.You ca use this money to get memberships in various site.

SITE 1
SITE 2
SITE 3
SITE 4
SITE 5
SITE 6

SITE 7
SITE 8
SITE 9
SITE 10

SITE 11
SITE 12
SITE 13
SITE 14 More sites will be added as get relevant sites....Just come and check regularly...
Do not forget to mail me on bizpandit@gmail.com after joining these sites...

Earn from filling forms

2011-03-31T01:52:00.000-07:00

Looking for work from home jobs in India .Here's legitimate online form filling job which pays.Click now.

Job opportunities from fast opportunities. Click here for more information about how to earn money online easy and fast from home.

Internet Jobs in India,I Earn Rs.2000 Per Day in Part Time," Smart, Easy & Tension Free

BIZA'S 14th supermarket @ IRINJALAKUDA, THRISSUR

2011-01-03T05:15:00.000-08:00

BIZA'S 13th supermarket @ ettumanoor, kotayam

2011-01-03T05:14:00.000-08:00

Invest Opportunity in Kerala

2010-12-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a great investment opportunity for you to invest in Kerala.
This is the emerging business in Kerala.
The name of the company is Bizzare business corporation.
The idea of this investment is simple.The aim our company is to start a supermarket in every legislative assembly in Kerala.The company was started 2 years ago and the name of our MD is Abdul Arshad. In each area of our supermarket we would create 1200 share holders 1st step when the share holders comes around 400 our company will buy suitable plot in the area 2nd step when it comes around 800 company will start building process 3rd step when it comes to 1200 shop will be opened for the public who will be regular customers for those super markets and in turn distribute quality products at minimum cost thus create new great revolution in the retail world.
Just after 2 years our company has opened 12 supermarkets in various parts of kerala.Our 13th project is opened in Ettumanoor,kottyam on december 1 2010.The work of our shopping centers in Bangalore and Manglore are also progressing and will be opened in january next year.Works of our supermarkets are going on in various districts across kerala.What make us different from other supermarkets is that we start supermarkets in our own plots and not on rented ones.We have also entered real estate development also.As initial step we have started villa project in Guruvayoor.Slowly we will enter other fields like hospital education etc.
So once you buy shares now,you will be entitled shares for that projects too.

Our Completed projects
BIZARRE 1st SHOPPE at Kottackal, Malappuram, Kerala inaugurated by Mr.Ummarali Sahib (Malappuram MLA) on 31 August 2008
BIZARRE 2nd SHOPPE at Olari, Thrissur, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Therambil Ramakrishnan (Thrissur MLA) on 1 September 2008
BIZARRE 3rd SHOPPE at Alappuzha, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. K S Manoj(Alappuzha MP) on 3 December 2008
BIZARRE 4th SHOPPE at Perumbavoor, Ernakulam, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Saju Paul (Perumbavoor MLA) on 12 March 2009
BIZARRE 5th SHOPPE at Adimali, Idukki, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr.Fancis George (Idukki MP) on 16 March 2009
BIZARRE 6th SHOPPE at Vadanappally, Thrissur, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Abdul Arshad (BIZARRE CMD) on 27 April 2009
BIZARRE 7th SHOPPE at Mannarkkad, Palakkad, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr.Jose Babu (Deputy Speaker, Kerala) on 27 April 2009
BIZARRE 8th SHOPPE at Vaikom, Kottayam, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Monce Joseph (Hon. Minister for Public Work, Kerala)
BIZARRE 9th SHOPPE at Omalloor, Pathanamthitta, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. K.Sivdasan Nair (Pathanamthitta MLA) on 27 April 2009.
BIZARRE 10th SHOPPE at Vadakara,Calicut.Inaugrated on 25th november 2009

Bizzare inviting you to become our business Associate

Total Investment: Rs 14250 Only

Your Investment will be divided into 1000 shares of Bizzare business corporation worth Rs 8 Rupees (1000x8=8000)

How you will be benefited from this investment.
1.You will get 1000 shares @8 rupees per share.This will be atleast 100 rupees per share when we get listed in stock exchange next year.So you can calculate how much money you will get after listing.You can sell these shares in share market as you do with shares of other companies.
2.Great discounts from all purchases from our supermarkets all over kerala and outside
3.Yearly dividend.(20% of yearly profit of all bizarre discount shops).This will be good amount as we are opening more and more shops each year.
4.Monthly incentives (30% of monthly sales profit from where you are purchasing)
5. Share growth and bonus. (share value)
6.Discount cards for you and you friends.You will get around 10 discount cards when you buy shares.You can distribute these cards among your friends and relatives,so that they will get discount from our shops.The main idea behind this is to make your friends and relatives our customers.You will also be indirectly benefited from this as you get monthly profit from these purchases.
7.Another mode of income is for who are ready to work for the spread of the company.You will be paid for every referral you make and people make around 1000 to 10000 each week.If you are busy with your job you need not do this,but can get all other advantages.
& many more benifits
If you are serious, there is a good opportunity to earn using referral system to establish your own business

This is not a money chain business. You don't need to buy any product or costly stuff for this.You just need to buy things for you daily life at low rates from outside.You get lots of benefits from this.

So i will advice you to buy shares by investing 14250 one time.This is not a huge amount now, but when you invest it after 2 years this will be a huge amount.
Don't miss this chance..One investor bought 20 shares of the company last week.He studied about this and invested his money.You too learn about this and invest.
If you don't buy this now at a cheap rate,you will regret when you find the shares listed in stock market and rate is more than hundred per share.
So think and take your decision.
contact riyazn123@gmail.com for more details

biza @ mannarkad

2010-12-10T01:02:00.001-08:00

BIZARRE GROUP OF COMPANIES

2010-11-19T01:02:00.000-08:00

BIZARRE was registered as a Private Limited Company, incorporated as per Indian Companies Act, 1956 on 02.11.2007. It started functioning on first january, 2008. BIZARRE was uplifted to the status of a public Limited Company, renamed as BIZARRE Global Marketing Systems Ltd. on 14th 2008.

BIZARRE Business Corporation Limited (BBC) which is a subsidiary of Bizarre Group Of Companies started its operation on 8th April 2009, issuing shares to the public for the promotion of super markets all over the world. Director board of BIZARRE has been enriched with the personalities who have experience in different fields of business.
BIZARRE is a lifestyle that creates a man
Bold, Intelligent, Zealous, Ambitious, Responsible, Rich and Efficient

Our guiding principles of honestey, integrity and smart work will help to build strong associations, which have resulted in the prosperity of every associate as well as in the exponential growth of the group itself.

Our infrastructure includes modern systems and a dedicated team of professionals with over a decade of experience in business of software development, marketing, investigative journalism and training .M/S. BIZARRE has been leading a team to initiate, inspire and implement a vibrant business in the field.

BIZARRE is a young, dynamic, technology driven organaisation working in a healthy and competitive environment to contribute creatively to the very existence of the society. We believe in developing fast online business solutions and nurturing long term relationship. BIZARRE has always believed in the power of trade and its contribution to the successes of the group.

VISION
With the intention of being the best company in the business world with the public participation, BIZARRE desires to start thousands of supermarkets throughout the therby creating permenent customers when its shops are being inaugurated one by one its own premises.

MISSION
BIZARRE , the effulgence of innovative business ideas, has been providing the best products and service to the socially committed people to enable them to have financial freedom in order to carry the novel ideas and build trust among the public. The committed Bizarrians have made BIZARRE a revolution.

Future Projects of Bizzare

2010-11-19T01:01:00.000-08:00

Bizzare Plans to enter following Sectors......

1. Real Estate
2. Education
3. Media
4. Tourism
5. Health
6. Insurance

Bizzare-Company Profile

2010-11-19T00:53:00.000-08:00

Industry profile

Bizarre Marketing Systems Private Ltd. Began as a Private Limited Company incorporated as per Indian Companies Act, 1956 on 2/11/2007. It started functioning since first January, 2008 and within a short span of two years the companies have more than 1lakh Business Associates and thousands of shareholders. Bizarre distributed approximately 23crore[1] rupees on a return as promotional income to their business associates and also paid 2.3crore[2] rupees as TDS to government for doing Multi Level Marketing and Bizarre has become a legend in India. Bizarre had started as a private Ltd company in Nov 2007 and it has lifted as a public Ltd company in July 2008.

The company’s sister concern Bizarre Business Corporation Ltd (BBC) started its operation on 8^th April 2009 and it was turned as group of companies. Director Board of Bizarre has been enriched by the personalities who have experience in different fields of business.

Mr. Abdul Arshad, the chairman and Managing Director of Bizarre Group of Companies has more than eighteen years in Multi Level Marketing besides a decade’s experience in software. The Patron of the company Mr. George Alexander is a social worker and has long association with print media. The Chief Executive officer Mr. KT Gopinath has 20 years of experience in official ranks in Government sector and held executive post in different Public Limited Companies. The company Secretary is M/s SVJS & Associates, company auditors M/s G. Joseph & Associates and the Legal Advisor Adv Philip. T. Varghese. The head office of Bizarre is located in Cochin.

VISION AND MISSION

VISION:- With the intention of being the best company in the business world with the public participation, BIZARRE desires to start thousands of supermarkets throughout the globe thereby creating permanent customers when its shops are being inaugurated one by one its own premises.

MISSION:- BIZARRE, the effulgence of innovative business ideas, has been providing the best products and service to the socially committed people to enable them to have financial freedom in order to carry the novel ideas and build trust among the public. The committed Bizarrians have made BIZARRE a revolution.

POWER OF MLM

Bizarre has achieved greater levels in always. Since Bizarre started providing the facility of Multi Level Marketing to its associates. There are three different types marketing systems existing in the world. They are

Direct Marketing

The products are purchased by the consumers directly from the manufacturer is called direct marketing.

Indirect Marketing

The consumers purchase products with the help of a dealer of channel system, i.e., manufacture + retailer + consumer.

Multi Level Marketing

Manufacturer sells their products directly to the consumers as a business man and getting business through proposed person.

MLM is treated as the business strategy of 21^st century. Only in MLM consumers do business. That’s why more than 150 countries implement MLM policies and strategies. Except information technology, the next biggest money transactions are done through MLM systems. An MLM system supports full time or part time jobs. Consumers do business on their own way and achieve benefits, so they enjoy full freedom in their work and achieve financial freedom. Not only get the financial freedom but recognitions love and respect can be received their business. In a certain extent we don’t have any interest to know co workers working skills, and their abilities. In MLM, performance of co-worker influences our earning capacity, if they perform more we earn more.

There are two methods for earnings in MLM:

1. Binary System

2. Re- Purchasing System

Bizarre Group is a monopolistic company in India to associate the strength of both systems like binary and re-purchasing systems.

SHARE OF BIZARRE

The latest Voice in 21^st ‘B’ world

21^st century is the period of financial revolution. The two important Industries in this financial revolution are Share market and Distribution Industry. Bizarre group of companies is growing financially day by day in the field of business like retail marketing, Real estate, and Share Marketing is an arena which can generate assured profit and continues growth big corporation like Wal-Mart, Reliance and Birla have already proven their presence in Retail Marketing.

Real Estate and infrastructure are the booming Industries in India. The leaders of Indian business Industry are the foremost in this field. Companies like Shoba developers and Sahara group have achieved a fabulous growth rate in the above cited industries.

Share Market is poised to achieve unique growth in the coming years. Retail Marketing based stocks shot up 30% to 160% and Real Estate and infrastructure went up 120% to 360% in the last financial year. This is testimony to the exponential growth achieved in these fields. Considering the above mentioned growth even a new industrialist in India Like Bizarre can utilize the ample space in Indian Share Market and generate considerable profit. In a period of 5 to 30 years, companies like Wipro, Infosys, Cipla and Ranbaxy have the potential of attaining 100 to 1lakh times growth in the Share Market Industry.

WIPRO: Investment of Rs. 10000 in 1980 will fetch Rs. 250cr++

CIPLA: Investment of Rs. 10000 in 1972 will fetch Rs. 100cr+

INFOSYS: Investment of Rs. 10000 in 1992 will fetch Rs. 2cr+

RANBAXY: Investment of Rs 1000 in 1980 will fetch Rs.2cr+

MILESTONES OF BIZARRE

Before 31^st Dec. 2008: Started 3 Supermarkets in North, Central and South Kerala.

Before 31^st Dec. 2009: Started ‘10’ Supermarkets at various Districts in Kerala.

: Purchased ‘9’ plots at various places in Kerala and ‘2’ plots in Mangalore and in the Metropolitan city, Bangalore

Before 31^st July. 2010: Started ‘11’ Supermarkets at various Districts in Kerala.

: Purchased ‘25’ plots at various places in South India.

ADVANTAGES OF BIZARRE DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY

Before 31^st Dec.2008: Paid Rs. Above 2.5crores as promotional income of business associates. Paid Rs. Above 2.5lakh as TDS to Government.

Before 31^st Dec.2009: Paid Rs. Above 10crores as promotional income of business associates. Paid Rs. Above 1crore as TDS to Government.

Before 31^st July.2009: Paid Rs. Above 23crores as promotional income of business associates. Paid Rs. Above 2.3crore as TDS to Government.

BUSINESS PLAN

There are two systems (1) Organizing System (2) Development System

Organizing System:-

1^st pair ratio is 1:2 or 2:1

2^nd pair onwards the ratio is = 1:1

Maximum pair Income Rs 1000/-Weekly Ceiling is 100pair.

Maximum Weekly Income Rs. One lakh.

Closing – Every Wednesday

(Organizing System, Bizarre apply dividing ratio:90% of the profit generated from the business at this level will be distributed at pair ratio. The payout will be released within one week from closing date, subject to all income tax and service charge deductions.)

Development System:-

Ø 1000nos[3] Share of Bizarre Business Corporation Ltd. (Face value Re.1 Premium[4] Rs.3)(2010)

Ø 11 Privilege cards

Ø Monthly incentive:- Share holders that who are moving privilege cards achieve Rs. 10000 value business will be rewarded for monthly incentives.

Ø Yearly Dividend

Ø Value appreciation:- Deliberately increasing the value of share utilize 80% asset from Companies Net Profit.

Ø Re-Purchasing Income: - 5% of income from sales which are only selected Product reserved for this purpose. This will be finding out 25 levels in the ratio of .20% People are eligible for Re-Purchasing income if they completed the Business Personal Volume through Privilege Cards monthly amount of Rs.10000/-

Re-Purchasing Income

Level	Max members	Min.Biz.per.vol	%	Income
1^st	You	10,000	.20	20
5^th	16	1.6 Lakh	.20	320
10^th	512	51.2 Lakh	.20	10240
15^th	16384	16.4 Crore	.20	327680
20^th	524288	524.3 Crore	.20	10485760
25^th	16777216	16777.2 Crore	.20	335544320

Ø Royalty Income:-

Position	Criteria	Org. Turnover 4%
*Biz Captain*	*150 pair in development system*	75
*Biz Major*	*1 pair Captain*	10
*Biz Colonel*	*1 pair Major*	5
*Biz Brigadier*	*1 pair Colonel*	3
*Biz General*	*1 pair Brigadier*	2
*Biz Minister*	*1pair General*	1
*Biz King/Queen*	*1 pair Minister*	1
*Biz Diamond King/Queen*	*1 pair King/Queen*	1
*Biz Crown diamond King/Queen*	*1 pair Diamond King/Queen*	1
*Biz Emperor*	*1 pair Crown diamond King/Queen*	1

COMPARISON TO OTHER MLM

	MLM Companies in Binary System	MLM Companies in Sunflower System	Bizarre in MLM
Joining with Natural Demand Products in Market Price (Consumer items)	NO	NO	YES
Quick and Easy Money by Week	YES	NO	YES
Stable Income by Month as per Performance	NO	YES	YES
Payout within the period of one walk through Bank	NO	NO	YES
Share Holding Facility	NO	NO	YES

BIZARRE PLANS TO ENTER INTO

1.Retailing 2.RealEstate 3.Education 4.Media 5.Tourism 6.Health 7. Insurance

TRAINING OF BIZARRE

1. Bizarre always provide training to its association on time of products and their business with excellent specialists.

2. In all companies which are reputed in the business world always held programs for better performance of their business executives.

3. In order to improve the caliber of executives. Bizarre takes responsibilities of their performance according their achievement in every month.

Multi National Companies are performing on behalf of team of experts; personalities are derived from the output of top level education. Japan is the authentic example for this. Bizarre provide appropriate training to their associate for upgrading the business. Based on the performance of the Company provides one, two or three day inside and out of Nation programs, the first well performers batch done in International Training in Bangkok on 28^th April 2008 and completed 2^nd May 2008. That was a mile of Indian MLM, business secret of success behind the Bizarre is an associate start with a pair of units and after completion of training they become capable as a trainer. Bizarre conduct periodic developmental programs for right person those who attain the supreme position like Biz Captain and above positions. Subject under this circle are Company Act, Company Law and full or part time Management Training etc. are controlled by concerned resource person.

FEATURES of bizarre

Ø Starts with minimum investments.

Ø To initiate income one has to do minimum two direct sales.

Ø Income distributed Weekly, Monthly and Yearly.

Ø Income for Generations.

Ø 100% transparency

Ø Do business world widely through internet.

Ø Maximum support from the part of leaders because one can do only two sales directly.

Ø Company is in introduction, so get seniority.

Ø It is a social work.

Bizarre try to become a part for creating job opportunities, personality development and ensuring the financial position of 2020’s National Integration Programmes.

Conditions:- Company has the right to terminate the member due to financial manipulations and should have to renewal yearly getting the incentives.

METODS TO LEAD SUCCESS

1. Subscribe Membership.

2. Introducing the leader’s minimum 10 number of persons directly or in a meeting for the purpose of subscribing two member ships.

3. Advanced study about business from website or broachers.

4. Communicating the leaders to know projects and its time limits.

5. After joining frequently participating companies training programmes and gave importance to Home meetings.

6. Success done only through team work and co-operation.

7. 4steps to implement this system are:

Eligibility : membership to 9 pair (Business Executive)

Team formation : 10 pair to 24 pair (Development Officer)

Team Organizing : 25 pair to 99 pair (Area Manager)

Team Development : 100 pair and above (Biz Captain and above Ranks).

[1] Before 31^st July 2010

[2] Before 31^st July 2010

[3] From 1st Aug. 2010. It may increase depends upon the profitability of the company and the recommendations by the board of directors

[4] Premium will be increasing according to growth and goodwill of the company

Why invest in retail supermarkets-Why to invest in Bizzare

2010-11-19T00:51:00.000-08:00

Possibilities of retail industry in India
Retailer is any person/organization instrumental in reaching the goods or merchandise or services to the end users. Retailer is a must and cannot be eliminated. Retailing involves all activities incidental to selling to ultimate consumer for their personnel family and household use.
India's retail industry is the second largest sector, after agriculture, which provides employment. According to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the retail sector will create 50,000 jobs in next few years.
The Indian retailing industry is becoming intensely competitive, as more and more payers are Vying for the same set of customers. The major retail players are Pantaloon Retail, Shoppers Stop, Reliance, etc.., Retailing is one of the biggest sectors and it is witnessing revolution in India. The new entrant in retailing in India signifies the beginning of retail revolution.
According to AT Kearney, The Windows of Opportunity shows that Retailing in India was at opening stage in 1995 and now it is in peaking stage in 2006. India's retail market is expected to grow tremendously in next few years. India shows US$330 billion retail market that is expected to grow 10% a year, with modern retailing just beginning. India ranks first in 2005. In fact, in 2005 and 2006, India is the most compelling opportunity for retailers, because now India is in peaking stage.
There are two types of Retailing in India, i.e. Unorganized Retailing and Organized Retailing.
Unorganized retailing in India:-
In India, the most of the retail sector is unorganized. In India, the retail business contributes around 11 percent of GDP. Of this, the organized retail sector accounts only for about 3 percent share, and the remaining share is contributed by the unorganized sector. The main challenge facing the organized sector is the competition from unorganized sector. Unorganized retailing has been there in India for centuries, theses are named as mom-pop stores. The main advantage in unorganized retailing is consumer familiarity that runs from generation to generation. It is a low cost structure; they are mostly operated by owners, have very low real estate and labor costs and have low taxes to pay.

Organized retailing in India:-
In late 1990's the retail sector has witnessed a level of transformation. Retailing is being perceived as a beginner and as an attractive commercial business for organized business i.e. the pure retailer is starting to emerge now. Organized retail business in India is very small but has tremendous scope. The total in 2005 stood at $225 billion, accounting for about 11% of GDP. In this total market, the organized retail accounts for only $8 billion of total revenue. According to A T Kearney, the organized retailing is expected to be more than $23 billion revenue by 2010.
In organized retailing will grow faster than unorganized sector and the growth speed will be responsible for its high market share, which is expected to be $ 17 billion by 2010-11. Retailing will show good prospects in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, kolkata, Banglore and Kanpur. After Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong, In India Delhi will be the next big retail destination, According to Confederation of Indian Industries whose findings have shown that Delhi has the good resources and good conditions for the retail sector. Out of the total earnings of the Government of Delhi Rs 11,000crore, Rs 6,500crore is achieved from the retail sector.
Present Indian Scenario:-
• Unorganized market: Rs. 583,000crores
• Organized market: Rs.5, 000crores
• Over 4,000 new modern Outlets in the last 3 years.
• Over 5,000,000 sq. ft. of mall space under development.
• The top 3 modern retailers control over 750,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
• Over 400,000 shoppers walk through their doors every week.

Growth drivers in India for retail sector:-
• Rising incomes and improvements in infrastructure are enlarging consumer markets and accelerating the convergence of consumer tastes.
• Liberalization of the Indian economy.
• Increase in spending Percapita Income.
• Advent of dual income families also helps in the growth of retail sector.
• Shift in consumer demand to foreign brands like McDonalds, Sony, Panasonic, etc.
• Consumer preference for shopping in new environs.
• The Internet revolution is making the Indian consumer more accessible to the growing influences of domestic and foreign retail chains. Reach of satellite T.V. channels is helping in creating awareness about global products for local markets.
• About 47% of India's population is under the age of 20; and this will increase to 55% by 2015. This young population, which is technology-savvy, watch more than 50 TV satellite channels, and display the highest propensity to spend, will immensely contribute to the growth of the retail sector in the country.
• Availability of quality real estate and mall management practices.
• Foreign companies' attraction to India is the billion-plus population.

Top ten retailers in India
1. Pantaloon Retail:
It is headquartered in Mumbai with 450 stores across the country employing more than 18,000 people. It can boast of launching the first hypermarket Big Bazaar in India in 2001. An all-India retail space of 5 million sq. ft. which is expected to reach 30 million by 2010. It is not only the largest retailer in India with a turnover of over Rs. 20 billion but is present across most retail segments - Food & grocery (Big bazaar, Food bazaar), Home solutions (Hometown, furniture bazaar, collection-i), consumer electronics (e-zone), shoes (shoe factory), Books: music & gifts (Depot), Health & Beauty care services (Star, Sitara and Health village in the pipeline), e-tailing (Futurbazaar.com), entertainment (Bowling co.)
One of their recent innovations include e-commerce’ hybrid format of ’small’ shops , the area for these stores will be 150 sq. ft. fitted with 40 digital screens. Customers will be encouraged to browse through the entire range of products on digital screen. They will be able to place the order, the delivery of which will be arranged by the shop to their homes within a few hours
2. K Raheja Group:
They forayed into retail with Shopper’s Stop, India’s first departmental store in 2001. It is the only retailer from India to become a member of the prestigious Intercontinental Group of Departmental Stores (IGDS). They have signed a 50:50 joint venture with the Nuance Group for Airport Retailing. Shoppers Stop has 7, 52, 00 sq ft of retail space with a turnover of Rs 6.75 billion.
The first Hyper city opened in Mumbai in 2006 with an area of 1, 20,000 sq. ft. clocking gross sales of Rs. 1 billion in its first year.Crossword brand of book stores, Homes stop a store for home solutions, Mothercare a concept stocking merchandise related to childcare are also owned by them. Recently, Raheja’s have signed an MoU with the Home Retail Group of UK to enter into a franchise arrangement for the Argos formats of catalogue & internet retailing.
The group has announced plans to establish a network of 55 hypermarkets across India with sales expected to cross the US$100 million mark by 2010.
3. Tata group:
Established in 1998, Trent - one of the subsidiaries of Tata Group - operates Westside, a lifestyle retail chain and Star India Bazaar - a hypermarket with a large assortment of products at the lowest prices. In 2005, it acquired Landmark, India's largest book and music retailer. Trent has more than 4 lakh sq. ft. space across the country. Westside registered a turnover of Rs 3.58 mn in 2006.
Tata’s has also formed a subsidiary named Infiniti retail which consists of Croma, a consumer electronics chain. It is a 15000-17000 sq. ft. format with 8 stores as of September 2007.
Another subsidiary, Titan Industries, owns brands like “Titan”, the watch of India has 200 exclusive outlets the country and Tanishq, the jewellery brand, has 87 exclusive outlets. Their combined turnover is Rs 6.55 billion.
Trent plans to open 27 more stores across its retail formats adding 1.5 mn sq ft of space in the next 12 DLF malls.
4. RPG group:
One of the first entrants into organised food & grocery retail with Foodworld stores in 1996 and then formed an alliance with Dairy farm International and launched health & glow (pharmacy & beauty care) outlets. Now the alliance has dissolved and RPG has Spencer’s Hyper, Super, Daily and Express formats and Music World stores across the country.
RPG has 6 lakh sq. ft. of retail space and has registered a turnover of Rs 4.5 billion in 2006.It is planning to venture into books retail, with the launch of its own bookstores “Books and Beyond” by the end of 2007. An IPO is also in the offering, with expansion to 450+ MusicWorld, 50+ Spencer's hyper outlets covering 4 million sq. ft. by 2010.
5. Landmark group:
Launched in 1998 in India. Lifestyle is spread across six cities, covering 4.6 lakh sq. ft. with a turnover of Rs 3.5 billion in 2005. A new division named Lifestyle International has emerged for their international brands business comprising Bossino, Kappa and Springfield in their portfolio.
Their retail mix includes Home solutions (Home centre), fashion (lifestyle, landmark International), value retailing (max retail), hypermarkets & supermarkets (Max), kids entertainment (Funcity).
They plan to invest Rs. 300 crores in the next two years to expand on Max chain, and Rs 100 crores on Citymax 3 star hotel chain. They have already instituted a separate company christened Citymax Hotels (India).
6. Piramal Group:
In September 1999, Piramal Enterprises announced their arrival into retail with the launch of three retail concepts: India's first true shopping mall of international standards, called Crossroads; a lifestyle department store named Piramyd Megastore; and a family entertainment centre known as Jammin. Piramyd Megastore and Jammin were anchor tenants for Crossroads (recently sold to Pantaloon for Rs 4 billion). In 2001, the group entered the business of food & grocery retail with the launch of TruMart supermarkets in Pune.
They have around 18 TruMart stores covering 1.90 lakh sq. ft. registering a turnover of Rs 37.6 mn in 2005. Piraymd Megatsore’s contributes more than 70 % to their retail mix with a turnover of Rs 112.8 mn. They plan to open 150 stores covering 75 mn sq ft of retail space in the next 5 years.
7. Subhiksha:
Subhiksha is a Chennai-based, decade old, no frills, food, grocery, pharma and telecom, discount retail chain. ICICI Venture Capital holds 24% in the equity capital of Subhiksha. It has more than 500 stores across the country covering a retail space of more than 1 million sq ft with a registered turnover of Rs 3.34 bn in 2006. It has a planned investment of Rs.300 crores to ramp up its operations to 1200 stores by 2008.
New but potential BIG players
8. Bharti-Walmart:
Their plans include US$ 7 bn investment in creating retail network in the country including 100 hypermarkets and several hundred small stores. They have signed a 50:50 percent joint venture agreement with Walmart. Wal-Mart will do the cash & carry while Bharti will do the front-end.
9. Reliance:
India’s most ambitious retail plans are by reliance, with investments to the tune of Rs. 30,000 cr ($ 6.67 bn) to set up multiple formats with expected sales of Rs 90,000 crores ($20 bn) by 2009-10.
There are already more than 300 Reliance Fresh stores and the first Reliance Mart Hypermart has opened in Ahmedabad. The next ones are slated to open at Jamnagar, followed by marts in Delhi / NCR, Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Pune and Ludhiana.
10. AV Birla Group
They have a strong presence in apparel retailing through Madura garments which is subsidiary of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. They own brands like Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, Trouser town.
In other segments of retail, AV Birla Group has announced investment plans of Rs 8000 - 9000 crores in the first 3 years till 2010.
The acquisition of Trinethra (food & grocery) chain in the south has moved their tally to 400 stores in the country. Their “More” range of 15 supermarkets are slated to open at Nashik, Pune and other tier II cities in Western India in 2007.

Many agencies have estimated differently about the size of organized retail market in 2010. The one thing that is common amongst these estimates is that Indian organized retail market will be very big in 2010. The status of the retail industry will depend mostly on external factors like Government regulations and policies and real estate prices, besides the activities of retailers and demands of the customers also show impact on retail industry. As the retail market place changes shape and competition increases, the potential for improving retail productivity and cutting costs is likely to decrease. Therefore it is important for retailers to secure a distinctive position in the market place based on values relationships or experience. Finally it is important to note that these strategies are not strictly independent of each other; value is function of not just price quality and service but can also be enhanced by personalization and offering a memorable experience

Invest in Retail supermarket chain in kerala..

2010-11-19T00:47:00.000-08:00

ദയവായി ഇതു മുഴുവൻ വായിച്ച് നോക്കൂ,അവസരങ്ങളുടെ ഒരു ലോകം നിങ്ങളെ കാത്തിരിക്കുന്നു

Bizarre is a lifestyle that creates a man Bold, Intelligent, Zealous, Ambitious, Responsible, Rich and Efficient.
Bizarre gives a lifetime Business opportunity to achieve financial freedom through our unique plan. In each area of our supermarket we would create 1200 share holders 1st step when the share holders comes around 400 our company will buy suitable plot in the area 2nd step when it comes around 800 company will start building process 3rd step when it comes to 1200 shop will be opened for the public who will be regular customers for those super markets and in turn distribute quality products at minimum cost thus create new great revolution in the retail world.

ഈ ബിസിനസ് പ്രദാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന കമ്പനിയുടെ പേര് ബിസ ഗ്ളോബൽ മാർക്കറ്റിംഗ് സിസ്റ്റംസ് ലിമിറ്റഡ് എന്നാണ്. 1956 ലെ ഇന്ത്യൻ കമ്പനീസ് ആക്റ്റ് അനുസരിചച് 2007 നവംബർ 2 ന് രജിസ്റ്റർ ചെയ്ത് 2008 ജനുവരി 1 നു പ്രവർതനം ആരംഭിച്ചു. ഒരു പ്രൈവറ്റ് ലിമിറ്റഡ് കമ്പനിയായി പ്രവർത്തനം ആരംഭിച് പ്രവർത്തന മെഖലയിലെ മികവ് ഒന്നുകൊണ്ട് മാത്രം 2008 ജൂലൈ 14 ന് ഒരു പബ്ളിക് കമ്പനിയായി ഉയർപ്പെട്ടു. മാർക്കറ്റിങ്ങ് രംഗത് 16 വർഷതെ പ്രവർത്തന പരിചയമുള്ള വൈക്കം സ്വദേസശിയായ ശ്രീ അബ്ദുൽ അർഷാദാണ് കമ്പനി എം ഡി, കേരളാപോലീസിൽ ഇൻസ്പെക്റ്റർ റാങ്കിലുള്ള ശ്രീ കെ ടി ഗോപിനാഥാണ് കമ്പനി സി ഇ ഒ. രാഷ്ട്രീയ മാധ്യമ രംഗത് പ്രശസ്തനായ ശ്രീ ജോർജജ് അലക്സാന്ണ്ടറാണ് കമ്പനി രക്ഷാധികാരി. ഇവരോടൊപ്പം സാമൂഹ്യ-സാമ്പത്തിക-വിവര സാങ്കേതിക രംഗങളിൽ കഴിവ് തെളിയിച്ചിട്ടുള്ള പ്രഗത്ഭരായ വ്യക്തികളട്ങുന്ന ഒരു ബോർഡാണ് കമ്പനിയെ നയിക്കുന്നത്. 2009 ഏപ്രിൽ 8 നു കമ്പനിയുടെ സബ്സിഡിയറി കമ്പനിയായി ബിസ ബിസിനസ് കോർപ്പറേഷൻ ലിമിറ്റഡ് രൂപംകോണ്ടു. ഈ കഴിഞ്ഞ വർഷം കേരളത്തിൽ രജിസ്റ്റർ ചെയ്യപ്പെട്ട കമ്പനികളിൽ ഏറ്റവും അധികം അംഗീകൃത മൂലധനവുമായി ജനിച്ച കമ്പനിയെന്ന റെക്കോർഡ് ബി ബി സി ലിമിറ്റഡിനാണ്. എകദേശം 15 കോടിയോളം രൂപ കമ്മീഷൻ ഇനത്തിൽ നൽകുകയും 3 കോടിയിൽ അധികം രൂപ ഇന്ത്യ ഗവന്മെണ്ടിലേക്ക് നികുതി ഇനത്തിൽ നൽകുകയും ചെയ്തുകൊണ്ട് ബിസ മുന്നേറിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

കേരളത്തിലെ 140 നിയോജക മണ്ഡലങ്ങളിലും പൊതുജന പങ്കളിത്തത്തോട് കൂടി ജനകിയ സൂപ്പർമാർക്കറ്റുകൽ സ്ഥാപിക്കുക എന്ന്താണ് കമ്പനിയുടെ പ്രഥമ ലക്ഷ്യം.

Our Completed projects

BIZARRE 1st SHOPPE at Kottackal, Malappuram, Kerala inaugurated by Mr. Ummarali Sahib (Malappuram MLA) on 31 August 2008
BIZARRE 2nd SHOPPE at Olari, Thrissur, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Therambil Ramakrishnan (Thrissur MLA) on 1 September 2008
BIZARRE 3rd SHOPPE at Alappuzha, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. K S Manoj (Alappuzha MP) on 3 December 2008
BIZARRE 4th SHOPPE at Perumbavoor, Ernakulam, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Saju Paul (Perumbavoor MLA) on 12 March 2009
BIZARRE 5th SHOPPE at Adimali, Idukki, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Fancis George (Idukki MP) on 16 March 2009
BIZARRE 6th SHOPPE at Vadanappally, Thrissur, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Abdul Arshad (BIZARRE CMD) on 27 April 2009
BIZARRE 7th SHOPPE at Mannarkkad, Palakkad, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Jose Babu (Deputy Speaker, Kerala) on 27 April 2009
BIZARRE 8th SHOPPE at Vaikom, Kottayam, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. Monce Joseph (Hon. Minister for Public Work, Kerala)
BIZARRE 9th SHOPPE at Omalloor, Pathanamthitta, Kerala. Inaugurated by Mr. K.Sivdasan Nair (Pathanamthitta MLA) on 27 April 2009.
BIZARRE 10th SHOPPE at Vadakara,Calicut.Inaugration on 25th november 2009

Bizzare inviting you to become our business Associate

Total Investment: Rs 14250 Only

Your Investment will be devided into 1000 shares of Bizzare business corporation worth Rs 8 Rupees (1000x8=8000)

BENEFITS FOR PROMOTERS AND SHARE HOLDERS

1. weekly promotion income. (binary income 1:1 ratio (RS:1000/- TO 1,00,000/- ) closing every Wednesday and the Income will transaction through The SBI, SBT, ICICI bank accounts.

2. Royality income. (150 pairs)royality of Rs: 7000/- to 15000/- every month.

3. Repurchase income. (.2% of the turnover at the shop created by your group.)

4. yearly divident.(20% of yearly profit of all bizarre discount shops)

5. monthly incentives (30% of montly sales profit from where you are purchasing)

6. Share growth and bonus. (share value)

& many more benifits

If you are serious, there is a good opportunity to earn using referral system to establish your own business

Invest in Shares of Bizzare, Experience the benefit of growing Share Market

Your share value will be 10 to 100 times within few years as we are going to be indexed in share market soon.

for more details riyazn123@yahoo.co.in
call Said Mohd 9946332161 (Business promoter)

Power Of Music

2008-09-24T03:36:00.000-07:00

In this fast world, all of us under great mental stress. And because of this mental stress we are often prone to many diseases. You should always remember that our mental state has a great effect on various diseases. Most of the diseases increases as a result of great stress, Psoriasis is an example of a disease which aggravates just because of the stress.

So for getting relieved from this stree yu should have a leuire time and to be fresh.So it is important to have a good free time to relax.It just acts as a rejuvenator.

Music is the best way to have a good peace of mind acts as a stress buster.
Music is found to be having a great effect in treating certain diseases and also. Music helps to relieve your mental tensions and is useful in making you energetic. Now it is easy to enjoy music as there are lots of radio stations. But it is difficult to get all the stations at a single step. Now there is a solution for all. However, with the help of HD Digital radio we can get all the radio stations with digital quality where ever you are. The main attraction of this product is that you can get local radio stations at digital quality. The FM stations are heard like CD quality and AM stations are heard as FM quality. They also provide iPod Taggingfacility also.

HD Radio technology is available in tabletop systems and shelf units. It is also available in car and marine stereo units. Therefore, it is very necessary for you to own this great product. You will be completely happy to own it...

Also check for Polk iSonic ES2

India: Facing Strong Headwinds...Goldman Sachs

2008-05-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Cyclical headwinds due to worsening macro; stay selective

The Indian financial sector is facing cyclical headwinds due to a worsening outlook for inflation in the near term and a subsequent tight monetary policy regime, in our view.
We believe this will lead to slower growth in assets and earnings than expected by the market. Our coverage universe is down 30% from its 52-week high, underperforming
the broad market index (down 21% from its 52-week high).However, we believe the long-term structural growth story for the sector remains intact and recommend a selective
approach over the near term.

Strong, sustainable earnings growth visibility the key driver

A tighter monetary policy outlook in the near term is likely to affect consensus expectations for loan growth and NIM. We see potential for consensus to cut earnings estimates
as we believe it has not yet factored in the implications of the ongoing monetary policy tightening fully by way of moderation in loan growth; and squeeze on lending margins—
empirical data shows that lending margins come under pressure during tighter monetary policy conditions.

Our estimates are 8% and 7% below consensus for 2008E and 2009E,
respectively. The gap between GS and consensus estimates has begun to narrow; we expect material downward revision to consensus expectations over the next 3 months.
We see headwinds to the price performance of Indian financials given slower growth, a tighter monetary policy, downward revision in consensus expectations and valuations that
are still at the higher end when compared with peers in the region. We believe strong and sustainable earnings growth visibility alone could drive stock performance.

Axis Bank, HDFC are our top picks; maintain Sell on IBFSL

For us to be outright positive on the sector, stability in macro economic conditions should be restored. In our view, macro economic conditions are far from being favorable, at present.
Until such time, our bias is towards stocks that will perform well despite the current tough operating environment. In our view, Axis Bank (AXBK.BO; Buy) and HDFC (HDFC.BO; Buy)
fits into this criterion. We see meaningful potential upside to our Camelot-based 12-month target price. For others, we continue to expect the financial sector to trade in a range, we
recommend buying stocks at the suggested entry level and selling them closer to our target prices.

Downside risk likely if inflation threat persists

Inflation remains a key risk to our expectations. We expect RBI to maintain a tight policy stance in the near term. If inflation concerns persist, we believe there could be strong policy action leading to further downward revision in loan growth expectations. The upside risk to market expectations would arise if inflation concerns abate quickly and banks are able to raise lending rates without affecting loan growth prospects we attribute a low probability to this event.

15 ways to build a great relationship with your boss

2008-04-02T19:57:00.001-07:00

Wish you had a better relationship with your boss? Feel like you are ignored in favor of others? Wondering if you have any career progression left?

Think about how well you are helping your boss get her job done and meet her obligations. Are you doing everything you can (within legal and ethical bounds, of course) to help her look good and get ahead.

If not, your relationship may be getting in the way. Consider this list of 15 things you can do to improve your relationship with your boss.

1. Show up every day full of energy and enthusiasm. Love your job, and dive into it eagerly every moment of the day. Can't do that? Perhaps you need to find a different job!
2. Be positive. No griping around the water cooler, or in emails or text messages or elsewhere. No complaining and no wallowing in misery. Find the silver lining and focus on it. That does not mean you can never point out a problem to your boss. Just make sure it is a real problem and try to bring two or three potential solutions along with the problem.
3. Learn every day. Learn new skills, pickup new knowledge, meet new people, find new resources. Help refresh the mind of the group.
4. Set SMART goals, review them with your boss to get agreement on targets and deadlines, report on your progress and seek an evaluation when you have delivered on the goals.
5. Speaking of which - Deliver Results! Bosses love that.
6. Take all the time-off you are entitled to. Smart bosses understand that folks are much more productive when they have time to recharge - at night, on the weekend and on vacation. (Bosses note: you need to take time off, too, or your team never will.)
7. Under-promise and over-deliver. Make your mind up to promise only what you know you can control and deliver, and then do it.
8. Do work that is accurate, complete, relevant and useful.
9. Contribute your ideas to make things better.
10. Support your boss. Just like all of us, bosses need positive feedback and encouragement. Make your feedback specific, tied to goals, and behavior based.
11. Focus your work on the things that make a difference to your boss.
12. Communicate just enough and not too much. Learn how much your boss wants to know about various work issues, opportunities and projects and respect those desires.
13. When you communicate with your boss, use her style. If she loves details, give her details. If she wants the big picture, give her that. If she wants to know how a proposal will affect people, provide your thoughts. If she just wants the facts, just give her the facts. If she wants you to get to the point quickly, do so. If she wants to chat first, do that too. Communicate the way your boss likes, not necessarily in your natural style.
14. Say "No" when you need to. The best bosses fear they won't be told when an idea is stupid - so tell 'em!
15. When the boss gives you an assignment, develop a plan of attack and share it with her soon. A good boss will delegate the "what" and expect you to put together the "how." Reward her with a quick and well-thought response.

Does Management know their Staff?

2008-04-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

On walking into the factory, the MD noticed a young guy leaning
against the wall, doing nothing. He approached the young man and
calmly said to him, how much do you earn?"

The young man was quite amazed that he was asked such a personal
question, he replied, none the less, "I earn $ 2 000.00 a month, Sir.
Why?"

Without answering, the MD took out his wallet and removed $ 6000.00
cash and gave it to the young man and said, "Around here I pay people
for working, not for standing around looking pretty! Here is 3 months
'salary, now GET OUT and don't come back".

The young man turned around and was quickly out of sight. Noticing a
Few onlookers, the MD said in a very upset manner, "And that applies
for everybody in this company". He approached one of the onlookers
and asked him, "Who's the young man that I just fired?" To which an
amazing reply came of, "He was the pizza delivery man, Sir...!!!"

Indian Real Estate: The Coming Collapse

2008-03-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

In my near 3 decades in Stock markets, I have seen many busts come, each getting replaced by an even bigger one.

The Harshad fix of 1992 repeated in 1994, the tech bust of 2000 that continues till date and much before these two were the drought linked bust-ups of Rajiv Gandhi's tumultous 5 years as PM.

The latest, fuelled by foreign and God knows which source of money is the Indian Real Estate bust. Just think, a 300-500 sq feet shop now sells for roughly Rs 1 crore and over in the Malls of Ludhiana, the same may sell for over Rs 3 to 5 crore in Bombay.

What returns would you need to sustain an investment of such magnitude for so small an office space? What type of business could have margins that would justify investment into Reality this expensive and which are the guys who are forking out money to buy them?

On the flip side, what kind of a Rental Income is this outrageously valued asset earning? About 1 per cent per annum, this type of asset was earning roughly 8 per cent three years ago, 6 per cent two years ago and now virtually nothing.

At the cost of sounding trite I think HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh has got Wool in his head or he is demented. Here is one guy who talks down Real Estate everywhere he goes, but his company keeps funding Real Estate. So either everyone at HDFC is equally lost or this nation has seriously run out of shrinks..anyway.

In 2008 your financial world is going to change... dramatically

For a decade it's been so simple for property investors. All they've had to do is buy property, and then sit back and watch it soar in value.

It's been so easy to make money that people have started treating their houses as a bank and a pension, as well as somewhere to live.

They've taken out loans against their homes on the basis they'll make a big profit in the future. They've bought houses they can't afford on the basis - again - that they'll make a big profit in the future. They've planned their retirement around property on the basis that - you've guessed it - they'll make a big profit in the future.

And every time that someone predicts a property crash, and nothing happens, those same people have become more and more convinced they're doing the right thing.

But they're making the most expensive mistake of their lives.

No bubble lasts forever. That's a FACT. There is a mountain of evidence that the property market is in a sick, sick state. FACT.

A property slump is coming....And, crucially, it's going to start very soon...

2008 Investment death-trap
#1: Buying property

According to the housing bulls, panicky estate agents and other crash deniers, house prices won't slump in 2008 because:

a] the supply of property can't cope with demand and...
b] the economic fundamentals are still strong

We don't agree. It's perfectly possible to have falling house prices even if GDP growth is respectable and employment is strong - as the American property market is proving right now.

And if supply and demand really was the crucial factor, rents would have gone up at the same rate as house prices. They haven't. In fact, house prices are now overvalued compared to rents by at least 50%.

No, the real reason why house prices have boomed is that interest rates have been low and lenders have been excessively lax. And that has allowed people to pay prices they really can't afford.

Now the gravy days are over. Interest rates rose 4 times in 2007 alone. And lenders, spooked by the US subprime disaster and worried about a repeat over here, are turning off the supply of cheap credit.

The result? The housing market is left without the two crutches - low interest rates and easy credit - that were keeping it upright. Right now, it's teetering alarmingly. Eventually it has to collapse. And when it does, it could have a long way to fall...

"The extent of house price over-valuation may be considerably larger in some national markets in Europe than in the
United States," - IMF Report, Oct 2007

House prices are set to fall. Almost every objective observer says so. But by how much?
Last October the International Monetary Fund warned that homes were overpriced by up to 40%.

That's far more than the overpricing in the US before the current property slump began there. Credit agency Fitch reckons that prices are overvalued by 20%; HSBC by 30% or more. Global banking group ABN-AMRO puts the figure at almost 50%.

Ed Stansfield, of Capital Economics, forecasts an overall decline in prices in 2008 of 3%. Henry Pryor, CEO of property website PrimeMove.com predicts a fall of 15% this year. Economist and MoneyWeek contributor James Ferguson thinks prices will go down by 3-5% in 2008, and by 41% in the longer term.

We're predicting a fall of 20% in real terms over the next 3 years.

So what should you do?

Well, if you already own a house, you're happy there and you're comfortable with your mortgage debt, don't do anything. You can think about selling at the top and investing elsewhere but why not just relax and enjoy your home.

But if you're thinking about getting onto the ladder, or of upsizing, then I'd urge you to think again.

Just look at the figures...

The average price of a detached house in the UK is now £323,000. The average price of all property is now £211,000. If we're right, and property is set to come down by 20%, people who buy the average detached house now could see £64,600 wiped off their assets in the next 3 years.

Plus you'll be paying higher and higher mortgage fees to cover the original cost.

We believe the solution is obvious. If you absolutely must buy a house to live in, then make sure you have a decent deposit and a sensible mortgage. And that means no interest-only mortgages, no 'lie-to-buy' deals, no sharing with friends and definitely no 50 year life sentences.

But if you don't really need to buy, why not rent? You'll save money in the short term. You'll protect yourself from the spectre of negative equity. And you'll be perfectly placed to grab a bargain when house prices come crashing down.

You'll also have more money to invest in alternative, lucrative sectors.

I'll introduce you to MoneyWeek's 3 favourite investments for 2008 later. But first let's move on to the next investment death-trap.. .

2008 Investment death-trap
#2: Buy-to-let

At the start of a raging bull market, buy-to-let seems close to the perfect investment. You buy a property, tenants queue up to pay the mortgage for you and then, when you decide to sell, you bank a massive capital gain.

But when interest rates are rising, rental yields are plunging and house prices are all set for a long downturn, it's a sure-fire way to lose money.

According to the industry hype, buy-to-let landlords rake in 8.5% each year from their tenants. In the real world the gross rental yield is more like 5.5%.

After fees, maintenance and other costs that figure slumps further, to 3.5% (and we haven't even mentioned stamp duty and other buying costs yet).

With interest rates just below 6%, many buy-to-let landlords are already swallowing big losses. And the fallout from the credit crisis means it's going to get worse and worse.

Why the credit crunch is set to wipe out Buy-to-Let

Many people think that mortgages are priced off the Bank of England's base rate. In fact they're normally priced off the rate at which banks can borrow from each other. And since the Northern Rock crisis, when the banks became more reluctant to lend to each other, that rate has shot up.

And this is the crucial bit. Interest rates for buy-to-letters and subprime buyers, which started off higher anyway, have risen particularly quickly. In September 2007, for example, two buy-to-let lenders, Advantage and Edeus, increased their average rates by 0.75% and 0.65%.

In the circumstances it's no surprise that people are starting to jump off the buy-to-let bandwagon. The number of buy-to-let investors selling their property leapt by 27% in the first quarter of 2007.

By December 2007, the proportion of landlords choosing to sell up at the end of the lease had jumped to 6.5%. I'd urge you to steer clear of this dead investment too. It could easily cost you £20,000 in the next 3 years.

And if you already own a second property I'd urge you to sell it soon.
This is why...

"Revealed: the 231 year-old 'secret' of perfect property market timing"

You probably won't have heard of the economist Fred Harrison.

But that's all set to change. After analysing 231 years of business cycle statistics, Harrison has made a discovery that's enabled us, for the first time ever, to predict when housing bubbles start and end.

I'm not going to get into the complex details of it here. But basically Harrison has discovered that the housing market operates on a cycle that's based around land prices.

As an economy grows, so does the demand for land. Because the supply of land is fixed, it becomes more expensive. As prices go up, corporate profits and wages are squeezed. Finally there comes a point when prices simply can't go any higher because people can't afford to pay them any more.

And this is the really interesting bit. In every single case the cycle lasts the same time - 18 years, which consists of 14 years of stable or rising prices and 4 years of recession.

The last UK housing bubble burst in 1990...

Which means that the value of your property investments could start to plummet right now in 2008.

There are a huge number of scary stats and facts that scream that a crisis is on the way. Here are just a few...

The average house is now worth an extraordinary 9 times average earnings. The long-term average is just 3.5!

Last month (January 2008) the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) announced that December 2007 was the worst month for the housing market since the aftermath of Britain’s last recession in 1992.

In 1993 first-time buyers made up 55% of the market. That figure has now slumped to 29%.

According to the Empty Homes Agency, there are 850,000 empty properties in England alone. So the 'supply v demand' argument used by crash deniers might not be such a factor after all?

Individual insolvencies are up 225% in the last 2 years as a nation of debt junkies struggles to cope.

In May 2007 Jon Hunt, founder of Foxtons, sold the UK arm of the business. A smart move from the first big rat to jump ship?

For the first time ever, personal debt is higher than the entire value of the economy. GDP is forecast to hit £1.33 trillion for 2007 - less than the £1.35trn which was outstanding on mortgages, credit cards and personal loans in June. [5]

A study from ABN-AMRO found the UK is even more vulnerable to a housing slump than the US. Sales of existing homes now stand at their lowest rate since records began.

In December 2007 Halifax reported the biggest biggest three-month fall in house prices since 1995.

One million debt-ridden householders are using credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent.
Here's what we think will happen.

Investors will do the maths on buy-to-let and then rush to sell up.

People who've overstretched themselves won't be able to meet the higher mortgage payments. They'll either lose their homes or have to sell up.

People will scramble to sell their property. For sale signs will dominate streets. Repossessions will rocket.

And first-time buyers, the traditional lifeblood of the market, won't be around to take up the slack. Instead they'll wait and see if prices go lower.

But as panic hits the markets, and unprepared investors scramble to save themselves from devastating losses, a wave of profit opportunities will open up.

Traps like this...

2008 Investment death-trap
#3: Commercial Property

The era of easy credit and low interest rates didn't just spark the housing bubble, it also fuelled a spectacular boom in the commercial property sector.

Prices for shops and offices went through the roof. Overall the retail sector achieved a whopping 60.5% gain in the three years to 2007 alone.

But now the boom is officially over. The price of commercial property has been pushed so high that the average yield (the amount of rent paid compared with the purchase price) now stands at just 4.5%, well below the UK base rate.

Investors can now get a better return from buying risk-free government bonds than they can get from investing in the increasingly volatile retail sector.

Commercial property funds, including the market-leading schemes run by New Star and Norwich Union, have all seen their values dive in the last 12 months.

Between December 2007 and January 2008 alone 3 of Britain’s biggest property funds – Friends Provident, Scottish Equitable and ScottishWidows – were forced to shut their doors to withdrawals by small investors after an outbreak of panic selling.

Other fund managers, including Schroders and UBS, have already put a block on withdrawals by institutional clients.

The UK’s commercial property market is now in a worse state than at any time since the early 1990s.And there is little hope of things getting any better soon. In fact they’re going to get a lot worse. Investment bank Morgan Stanley predicts a market fall of 50%.

Economics consultancy Capital Economics predicts that commercial property prices will fall by 18% in real terms by 2010.

In the circumstances our advice is simple. If you're thinking of sinking money into commercial property schemes, please don't.

The idea of swallowing substantial losses in the short-term in the hope of cashing in sometime in the unknown and distant future doesn't make a lot of sense to us.

'Cut your losses and run your profits' is the general advice given to investors in shares. We see no reason why you shouldn't do exactly the same for asset classes, particularly commercial property.

If you've already sunk money into a 'lame duck' retail scheme our advice is to get it out if you can - even if there are exit charges to pay.

And don't get back into commercial property till there are clear signs that the market is bottoming out.

The Warren Buffett You Don't Know

2008-03-06T02:12:00.000-08:00

Warren Buffett is returning to the U.S. from Europe in a private jet. As his plane nears its destination, the flight attendant gives out landing cards and a warning to all eight passengers aboard. ''The customs inspector here is utterly humorless,'' she says, ''so no wisecracks or he will tear the plane apart from fore to aft.'' Buffett, who quips as reflexively as he breathes, takes his card without comment.

In the terminal, a surly looking man with a crewcut and a pistol on his hip sits behind a small table. Buffett hands over his passport and landing card to the inspector, who does not seem to realize that the professorial-looking 68-year-old standing before him is America's second-richest man. Or perhaps he just gets a kick out of trying to take the high and mighty down a peg. ''You left some things blank,'' the inspector says peevishly. ''Do you have $10,000?''

The question could have launched a dozen snappy retorts, but Buffett restrains himself. ''I have what I left with,'' he says carefully. The inspector furrows his brow--was that some kind of joke?--but does not press the issue. He asks Buffett if he has any anything to declare. ''I was given two books,'' Buffett says. ''Well, you have to put it down, then,'' snaps the agent, who fills in the blank himself.

Buffett shows not a flicker of annoyance at being treated like a misbehaving child. He stands mute and impassive before the inspector, who, after a few more curt remarks, can think of nothing else to do but let ''the Oracle of Omaha'' be on his way.

***************

Has there ever been a less pompous billionaire than Warren Edward Buffett? Hollywood might cast him in the role of an amiable teacher at a Midwestern college or a sweet-tempered, wisecracking inventor who eventually wins a Nobel prize and gets the girl besides. To hear Buffett sing his beautifully artless rendition of Ain't She Sweet to his own ukulele accompaniment is to wonder not only how such a man came to measure his net worth in billions but also whether he might not be a time-traveler from a more innocent age.

If Buffett had a business card, it would identify him as chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) But he is far better known--indeed, world-famous--as the greatest stock market investor of modern times. The figures, though often cited, still astound: Had you put $10,000 into Berkshire when Buffett bought control of it in 1965, you'd have $51 million now, vs. just $497,431 if the money were invested in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index.

The numbers don't lie, but the story they tell is out of date. Buffett has not added a major position to Berkshire's bulging stock portfolio since amassing 4.3% of McDonald's Corp. (MCD) in 1995. In the meantime, he has transformed what long has been a sideline at Berkshire--the acquisition of entire companies--into the main event. Over the past three years, Berkshire has spent $27.3 billion to buy seven companies in industries as disparate as aviation, fast food, and home furnishings. The $22 billion purchase of reinsurer General Re Corp., which closed late last year, was Buffett's largest ever.

The effect has been dramatic: In short order, Berkshire has been transformed from a closed-end fund in corporate drag to a bona fide operating company. At the start of 1996, the company's famous stock portfolio accounted for fully 76% of Berkshire's $29.9 billion in assets. But by the end of 1999's first quarter, the figure had plummeted to 32% as assets quadrupled, to $124 billion. Today, Buffett's company employs 47,566 workers, double the number in 1995.

And he isn't done yet. ''I'd love to make a $10 billion to $15 billion acquisition, and we could go bigger than that if I really like the company,'' says Buffett, who holds $15 billion in cash and is sitting on top of an additional $30 billion in unrealized gains in Berkshire's stock portfolios.

It's all there in black and white in Berkshire Hathaway's famously literate annual reports, but somehow the company's transformation has gone not just unheralded but unnoticed. Berkshire is ''possibly the most talked about and the least understood company in the world,'' contends Alice Schroeder, a PaineWebber Inc. insurance analyst who in January published one of the few comprehensive studies of the company ever undertaken by a brokerage house.

MISUNDERSTOOD. The common view is that Berkshire shares fetch a premium because of Buffett's reputation as a latter-day Midas. The ''Buffett premium'' undoubtedly is real in the sense that if the man died today, the stock would plunge tomorrow. In Schroeder's view, though, Berkshire's stock is already trading at a sizable discount to its true value, which she estimates at $91,000 to $97,000 per A share. The A shares lately have been trading at about $70,000. The basic problem, Schroeder says, is that the world continues to misperceive Berkshire as little more than the sum of the stocks it holds in its $37 billion portfolio. In other words, the market tends to overreact to news about the seven stocks that form the core of Berkshire's holdings (table). Over the past 12 months, Berkshire has fallen by about 17%, from a high of $84,000 in June, 1998. In Schroeder's view, the main cause of this decline is the plunging value of Buffett's colossal stakes in Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and Gillette Co (G).

The radical recent shift in Berkshire's corporate profile does not reflect a radical change in Buffett's thinking. In most ways, he remains true to the conservative precepts of value investing. In essence, Buffett continues to prefer today's sure thing to the next big thing, no matter how spectacular its potential. Forget Internet stocks: Buffett still will not invest in even such well-seasoned high-tech companies as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) or Hewlett-Packard Co. (HWP) because he doesn't believe that anyone can predict how much they will earn over the next decade or two. ''I can't do it myself,'' he says. ''And if I don't know, I don't invest.''

Even in his stock-picking heyday, Buffett preferred owning businesses to passive minority investment. Until recently, though, Berkshire's acquisitions have been few and far between because Buffett insisted on buying top-quality businesses at discount prices. What has changed is that he is now willing to pay a premium for one-of-a-kind businesses.

Why this is so is not completely clear. The Buffett psyche is notoriously labyrinthine. ''I could easily spend a lot of time trying to analyze Warren if I didn't consciously try not to,'' says Olza M. Nicely, CEO of auto insurer GEICO Corp., one of Berkshire's largest subsidiaries. ''There are certain mysteries you just have to accept.''

In Buffett's view, he is putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece. ''Berkshire is my painting, so it should look the way I want it to when it's done,'' he says.

In an era in which most CEOs at least mouth the platitudes of good corporate governance and shareholder rights, Buffett, in his good-natured way, is a throwback to a time when a mogul was a mogul and did as he damn well pleased. ''Berkshire is the company I wanted to create. It's not the company Alfred P. Sloan wanted to create. It fits me,'' he says. ''I run it with our investors and managers in mind, but it is designed to fit me.'' To be blunt, Buffett stands revealed as a driven, even monomaniacal corporate empire-builder.

For all his offhand charm, Buffett is pretty much all business all the time. Aside from an addiction to luxury air travel, he is a man of simple tastes and frugal habits. He neither spends his money nor gives much of it away. Philanthropy, the renascent vogue of America's superrich, interests him peripherally at most. Buffett intends to take his fortune to the grave--and to keep adding to it until the day he dies. ''The problem I've got with doing anything else except what I'm doing is that there is nothing remotely as fun as running Berkshire,'' he says. ''I'm selfish that way.''

So far, Berkshire's legendarily devoted shareholders would not have it any other way. In May, some 15,000 of them flocked to Omaha to sit at the feet of the master during Berkshire's three-day festival of an annual meeting, which Buffett calls ''Woodstock for Capitalists.'' Of course, Buffett and his wife, Susan T. Buffett, are the largest Berkshire shareholders by far: Their 38.4% stake is worth about $40 billion.

The highest circle of management power at Berkshire has always been tight, but it has shrunk in recent years--to Buffett alone. Charles T. Munger, Buffett's longtime vice-chairman and business alter ego, continues to enliven the annual meeting by playing the part of drolly laconic sidekick to Buffett's ebullient master of ceremonies. Behind the scenes, though, his influence has waned. ''Charlie and I don't talk a lot anymore,'' acknowledges Buffett, who says he did not even bother to consult his vice-chairman before making the epochal Gen Re acquisition.

By all accounts, including their own, Munger and Buffett have not fallen out. But while Buffett is wholly devoted to building Berkshire, Munger, 75, now spends his time chairing a not-for-profit hospital and serving as a trustee of a private high school. ''Charlie is broader in his interests than I am,'' Buffett says. ''He doesn't have the same intensity for Berkshire that I have. It's not his baby.'' Munger concurs: ''Warren's whole ego is poured into Berkshire.''

***************

In mid-April, Buffett led a small entourage on a whirlwind European tour to promote one of Berkshire's latest acquisitions, Executive Jet Aviation. I went along for the ride (on one of EJA's Gulfstream IV-SP jets) and got an unusual chance to observe the notoriously press-shy Buffett at close range against a kaleidoscopic backdrop of private airports, luxury hotels, and banquet halls stretching from London to Frankfurt to Paris.

Buffett survived a demanding regimen of midmorning coffees, two-hour luncheons, 90-minute press conferences, and four-course banquets. ''I never get tired,'' he told reporters in London, ''except for my voice.'' Actually, Buffett was ashen with fatigue midway through the third day but soldiered gamely on, answering even the lamest questions with the same expansiveness and wit the fifth time he heard them as he did the first.

Only once did Buffett show annoyance. During a press conference at the Frankfurt airport, Richard Santulli, EJA's normally understated chief executive, let his admiration of Buffett overflow. ''People say that he's the most astute investor of the 20th century,'' he said. ''I say ever.''

Buffett, who was sitting at Santulli's side, gave a little snort. ''Why not?'' he said sourly. ''I'm sitting right here.''

Like any mogul, Buffett has his special needs. On this trip, he indulged two of them, listed here in reverse order of importance: red meat (at lunch and dinner) and Coca-Cola (all the time).

Whenever I lost track of Buffett, Coke often appeared to guide me--a carbonated version of the proverbial trail of crumbs. In London, our party went from airport to hotel in separate cars. When I arrived at the Berkeley Hotel, I did not have to wonder for long whether Buffett had preceded me. A bellhop approached with a shopping bag. ''Is this yours?'' he asked. Inside were two six-packs of Cherry Coke. Two days later, I was in the crowded lobby of the Schlosshotel Kronberg near Frankfurt, following a white-gloved waiter bearing aloft a single bottle of Coca-Cola on a silver tray.

Buffett bought Executive Jet in mid-1998 for $725 million. Although this is a pittance compared with what Berkshire paid for General Re, the EJA deal was no less a milestone in its way. EJA, which pioneered the fractional ownership of business jets, is the first true emerging-growth company that Buffett has ever owned. What's more, the very idea of investing in business aviation would have been considered downright sacrilegious throughout most of Berkshire's history.

For years, Buffett mocked corporate ownership of jets as a wasteful executive perk. But in 1986, he bought a small used plane for Berkshire, then traded up to a more expensive model a few years later. He named the jet ''The Indefensible'' and made sport of its purchase in his 1989 report to shareholders: ''Whether Berkshire will get its money's worth from the plane is an open question, but I will work at achieving some business triumph that I can (no matter how dubiously) attribute to it.''

The truth is, Buffett had fallen in love with his plane but could not yet admit it. In 1995, he was introduced to Santulli by the head of one of Berkshire's operating companies and bought a one-quarter share of a Hawker for personal use. His wife, who has become a frequent flier, called the new plane ''The Richly Deserved.'' (Not to be outdone, Buffett renamed Berkshire's jet ''The Indispensable.'') Santulli offered to sell his company to Buffett when Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS), a founding minority investor, began pressuring him to float a public stock offering.

Executive Jet in no way resembles the sort of business on which Buffett cut his teeth as an apprentice to the late Benjamin Graham, co-author of the value-investing bible, The Intelligent Investor. Graham's method emphasized creating a ''margin of safety'' by investing only in stocks trading at two-thirds of net working capital. He called them ''cigar butts''--companies the stock market had discarded but that still held a puff or two of value to extract.

Buffett was Graham's most accomplished disciple. But as the pupil established himself, he began to feel constrained by the mentor's method. For Graham, a business was an abstraction wholly defined by a set of numbers on a page; he had no interest in its products, its management, its personality. But Buffett's boundless curiosity and enthusiasm were not satisfied by the ghoulish exercise of profiting from the last dying gasps of derelict companies. Buffett's yearnings and dissatisfactions did not begin to coalesce into an investment philosophy of his own until he met the blunt-spoken Munger in 1959. The two, closely matched in intellect and outlook, quickly became the closest of partners. Munger urged his friend to leave the cigar butts in the gutter and think of value in more expansive terms. Says Buffett: ''Charlie kept pushing me back to the idea that what we really needed to own was the wonderful business.''

Even so, it took Buffett a long time to tailor Graham's straitjacket conservatism to the more generous dimensions of his own personality. His $11 million purchase of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 was a costly case in point. Initially, Buffett saw the floundering old-line company as a classic Graham play. But then the textile manufacturer rallied unexpectedly, and Buffett sank more money into it on the belief that this cigar butt had a future after all. It did indeed, but not in textiles.

Buffett did not come fully into his own until he and Munger collaborated on the $25 million acquisition of See's Candies in 1972. The San Francisco maker of boxed chocolates was the first business of any sort for which Buffett paid more than book value--three times book, in fact.

What, in Buffett's view, makes a business wonderful? It starts with ''a sustainable competitive advantage.'' Underline sustainable. Buffett will not invest in a business unless he feels reasonably certain how much it will earn over the next 20 to 25 years. But for all of Buffett's cerebration, he does not feel truly comfortable unless a business ties into his own everyday experience. His favorite companies tend to traffic in elementally appealing brand-name products that Buffett not only uses himself but also invests with almost totemic meaning: a bottle of Coca-Cola, a Gillette razor blade, a box of See's candy, and, yes, even a Gulfstream jet.

Buffett has always been especially partial to companies that can sustain a competitive edge without tying up much capital. Consider Scott Fetzer, which makes a variety of industrial and consumer products, including Kirby vacuum cleaners and Quikut knives. Since 1986, when Berkshire paid $315 million for Scott Fetzer, its earnings have risen by only 5.5% a year on average. Yet Buffett repeatedly has praised it as a model of capital efficiency. In 1998, Scott Fetzer netted $96.5 million after taxes on its $112 million in equity, a return on equity of 86%. This is all the more breathtaking considering that Buffett has been milking it for 13 years, extracting more than $1 billion all told.

Ever since Berkshire's 1967 acquisition of National Indemnity Co., insurance has held double appeal for Buffett. Not only does he like the economics of the business--or parts of it, anyway--but a well-run underwriter also generates a steady flow of low-cost investment dollars, or ''float,'' as a matter of course. The 1996 acquisition of GEICO, now the sixth-largest U.S. auto insurer, doubled Berkshire's float at one stroke, and the Gen Re buy nearly tripled it, to $21 billion.

In Buffett's view, the quality of a company's management is integral to its value as a business. And when acquiring companies, Buffett is as concerned with the motives of the selling CEOs as he is with their abilities. ''What I must understand is why someone will continue to get out of bed in the morning once they have all the money they could want,'' Buffett says. ''Do they love the business, or do they love the money?''

No less an authority than John F. Welch, CEO of General Electric Co., considers Buffett a superb judge of managerial talent. Buffett and Welch have gotten to know each other over the years as golf partners and as rivals in auto insurance and other businesses. ''Take 20 people you know quite well but Warren has just met casually,'' Welch says. ''If you ask Warren his opinion about them, he'll have each one nailed. He's a masterful evaluator of people, and that's the biggest job there is in running a company.''

In 34 years, Berkshire has never lost an operating chief except to death. In fact, the great majority of its subsidiaries are still run by the same executive who brought them to Berkshire in the first place. The operating head of longest tenure is Charles N. Huggins, who has been president of See's Candies since Buffett acquired it. Huggins is 74 years old now, but he's not Berkshire's oldest manager. That would be 85-year-old Harold Alfond, who founded Dexter Shoe Co. in 1956 and sold to Buffett in 1993 for Berkshire shares now worth $1.5 billion.

Berkshire's operating ranks contain a second octogenarian billionaire: 82-year-old Albert L. Ueltschi, chairman and CEO of FlightSafety International Inc., a pilot-training concern Berkshire bought for $1.5 billion in 1996. An ex-pilot, Ueltschi founded the company in a LaGuardia Airport hangar in 1951. ''I'm like Warren,'' says Ueltschi, who has no plans to retire. ''I like what I do so much that I don't consider it work.''

***************

Somewhere between Frankfurt and Paris, Buffett gets up and walks back to the airplane's pantry to fetch a box of Swiss Sprungli chocolates an admirer had given him in Germany. Buffett makes his way slowly up the aisle of the plane in his shirtsleeves, offering the candy to each passenger aboard.

A half-empty box of See's chocolates rests on the table where I'm sitting. Buffett pops a piece in his mouth. I ask him whether he thinks he could identify See's in a blind taste test against other brands. ''Of course,'' he says. ''I can also tell Coke from Pepsi. The thing is, most Americans prefer Pepsi to Coke because it is 4% sweeter, but Coke still outsells Pepsi by a huge margin.''

As Buffett continues in this vein, he starts staring at the box of Sprungli he carries. He shifts it to one hand as if he were about to choose a piece, then seems to change his mind. ''It's a showy sort of candy, isn't it?'' he says and then falls silent. He gazes raptly at the Sprungli for a full 45 seconds as the conversation continues around him. Then he abruptly sets the box down and returns to his seat without a word.

Later, I recount this to Chuck Huggins, See's president, who chuckles knowingly. ''Yeah, that's Warren. Brand-loyal.''

The office next to Buffett's is occupied by Michael Goldberg. A former McKinsey & Co. consultant, Goldberg was hired in 1981 to bring order to Berkshire's far-flung insurance interests and essentially functioned as chief operating officer for the next 11 years. The single-minded intensity Goldberg brought to the job created friction in the ranks--and gave him a bad case of burnout. In 1993, Buffett reassigned Goldberg to ''special projects'' and eliminated his old position.

The line managers who once reported to Goldberg, now 53, have reported directly to Buffett ever since--as do the chiefs of all 22 of Berkshire's operating companies. Buffett essentially lets the chiefs of the companies that Berkshire acquires run their businesses as before, except that he requires them to transfer their excess cash to Omaha and clear capital-spending plans with him. Buffett, who thinks of his role as Berkshire's ''capital allocator,'' collects the enormous cash flow that the subs produce--$13.4 billion last year--and uses the money to buy more businesses, either in whole or in part, through the stock market.

Buffett tends not to initiate contact with his operating executives: He waits for the phone to ring. ''Let me know about any bad news as soon as possible,'' he tells his subordinates, ''but otherwise, you are free to call me as often or as seldom as you like.'' Buffett's managerial passivity should not be mistaken for indifference. Some operating chiefs say he nearly memorizes the monthly reports they send to Omaha.

During holiday seasons, Buffett requests daily sales reports from See's and Borsheim's, Berkshire's huge upscale jeweler in Omaha, because the ebb and flow of retailing hold an enduring fascination for him. Year-round, he speaks to two execs almost every day: Richard Santulli and Ajit Jain, who runs Berkshire's reinsurance business in Stamford, Conn.

Berkshire's homegrown insurance group offers a variety of property-and-casualty coverage in certain U.S. markets. But its chief business is a high-risk, high-reward specialty that Jain developed over the past decade in reinsuring ''super-catastrophes''--earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and such. Buffett found the economics of ''super-cat'' seductive: Berkshire has made at least $865 million pretax in underwriting profits since 1991. But it was the complexities of analyzing super-cat risk that hooked him. Says Jain, 47: ''Warren and I might have had a 30-second conversation or a 30-minute one, but he has been involved in every piece of business I have done.''

As for Santulli's business, Buffett is intrigued not just by the novel challenges posed by EJA's rapid growth but also the logistical complexities of the fractional-shares business. ''He likes the mental challenge of it,'' says Santulli, a former mathematics professor. ''He calls it 3-D chess.'' Even so, Buffett is careful not to impinge on Santulli's operating authority. EJA's chief once asked Buffett for advice in making a decision and was rebuffed. ''Don't bother with that,'' Buffett told him. ''Just decide.''

Buffett's laissez-faire management style has been tested most severely in recent years by Berkshire's misadventures in shoes. From 1991 to 1993, Buffett laid out $650 million to buy three old-line makers of midprice shoes: H.H. Brown, Lowell, and Dexter. In essence, he was betting that his companies would benefit as the appeal of imports waned and U.S. consumers returned to home brands. Buffett hasn't made many fundamental strategic errors, but this was a doozy: Imports now account for 95% of domestic shoe purchases, vs. 70% in the early 1990s. Since 1994, operating profits of Berkshire's shoe group have plummeted 57% on an 18% decline in revenues.

Dexter has fared much worse than Brown, which absorbed Lowell and has buoyed itself by shifting much of its production offshore. Although Dexter now does some manufacturing in Puerto Rico, it has placed overriding emphasis on maintaining full employment at its four factories in its home state of Maine. By all accounts, Buffett has played no part in this divergence in basic strategy--and performance--between H.H. Brown and Dexter except to countenance it by his silence. ''It's amazing how little he bothers you,'' says Francis Rooney, chairman and CEO of H.H. Brown. ''He never even comments.''

The deference Buffett shows Berkshire's subsidiaries is all the more remarkable because it does not come naturally to him. ''With almost every one of the companies Berkshire owns, I think I would do something different if I was running them--in some cases, substantially different,'' Buffett says. The reason he doesn't impose his views, he adds, ''is simply that I am not inclined to make myself unhappy. I sort of accept things as they come.''

It's not that simple. Buffett knows the sort of self-motivated, hands-on exec he covets wouldn't tolerate being pushed around by Omaha. And Buffett's respectful treatment of his managers has instilled in them an ambition to ''make Warren proud,'' as one puts it. ''Somehow, Warren has been able to keep a diverse cast of characters working harder for him than they did for themselves,'' Goldberg says. ''I see it every day--and I still don't know how he does it. But I do know that all of us feel this incredible responsibility to him.''

***************

We arrive late to Paris, touching down in a freakish, near-gale-force windstorm that both thrills and alarms our pilot. In four cars, we race as fast as rush-hour Paris traffic allows from Le Bourget to Dassault Aviation Group's magnificent 19th century chateau--familiarly known as Le Rond Point--on the Champs Elysees. EJA is the largest commercial customer of Dassault Aviation, Europe's leading manufacturer of business jets. Serge Dassault, the company's chairman, is hosting tonight's gala reception and dinner in Buffett's honor. By the time we arrive, the reception is in full swing. But Buffett takes a few steps into the foyer and hustles up a flight of stairs. It will be a good 35 minutes until he descends and joins the party.

Downstairs, the guest of honor's whereabouts is Topic A among Dassault's distinguished guests. It might puzzle them to learn that Buffett is on a transatlantic call to one of his employees. The matter he is discussing with Ajit Jain this evening is not urgent. But it is Buffett's custom to speak with Jain every evening. If that means keeping 200 of France's richest people waiting, then c'est la vie.

In mid-May, Buffett moderated a panel on Internet commerce at Microsoft's annual CEO summit in Seattle. As Buffett tells it, the assignment reflected William H. Gates III's sense of humor. But the Microsoft chairman and CEO, a friend of Buffett's since 1991, says it was no joke: ''Every principle that Warren holds about business and business value will still apply in this new world we're going into.'' Gates, who owns Berkshire stock in his personal account, adds that he has learned more about business from Buffett than from anyone else. ''People really underestimate what he has created in Berkshire,'' he says.

Unlike most megacorporations, Berkshire was not erected on the foundation of a single great business. Buffett began with a dying textile maker and parlayed its dwindling cash flow into ownership of a massive portfolio of enduringly profitable operating businesses. By the end of 1998, Berkshire had amassed shareholder equity worth $57 billion. This is a staggering sum, putting Berkshire well ahead of General Electric, Microsoft, and every other U.S. corporation and ranking it second in the world to Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Buffett could retire tomorrow and be confident of his place in business history not only as stock investor extraordinaire but as a corporate builder of the first rank.

LIMITS OF SCALE. Instead, of course, he is still in there pitching, to borrow one of the baseball metaphors that so delight him. From 1965 through 1998, Berkshire's book value per share rose 24.7% a year on average--trouncing the 12.9% average annual gain in the S&P 500. For some time now, Buffett has warned that the company's sheer bulk will prevent it from matching its breathtaking historical average in the future. His avowed goal is to increase its worth at an average of 15% a year. It's a modest aspiration only by comparison, for it implies adding $58 billion of shareholder equity over the next five years.

Except for the shoe group, Berkshire appears to be in fine fettle. Executive Jet is by no means its only hope for growth. GEICO, Berkshire's largest subsidiary in terms of revenue, has been wresting market share from rivals at an impressive rate and yet still has only 3.5% of the vast U.S. auto-insurance market. Like EJA, Gen Re is planning to expand in Europe and around the world. At the same time, Borsheim's, Scott Fetzer, See's Candies, and other Berkshire companies are experimenting with E-commerce. ''The No. 1 topic Warren and I talk about now is whether retail selling is going to move over to the Internet,'' says Ralph E. Schey, Scott Fetzer's chairman and chief executive.

The pursuit of accelerated growth carries added risk. In 1998, Berkshire had a banner year, posting a 48% increase in net earnings, to $2.8 billion, on revenues of $13.8 billion. But net income dropped 25%, to $541 million in the first quarter, largely because of earnings declines at GEICO and Gen Re. While both insurers were hurt by intensifying price competition, a German subsidiary of Gen Re's also took an embarrassing $275 million pretax loss on a workers' compensation pool. The down quarter did not seem to faze Buffett, who is famous for taking the long view.

If Berkshire were in fact a painting, it would look like a Jackson Pollock: an idiosyncratic product of inspired improvisation. In building his company virtually from scratch over the past quarter-century, Buffett conjured no overarching strategic vision, followed no master plan other than to buy good businesses at the right price. Even when he erred--a rare occurrence--he enfolded his purchases in an embrace intended to be permanent. ''We buy everything, even a stock, with the idea that we will hold it forever,'' he says.

It is hugely important to Buffett that his corporate handiwork outlast him. In fact, it is his hope that Berkshire--his masterpiece in progress--survive him in exactly the form it exists upon his death, like a painting framed and hung on a museum wall. But might there not come a time when his successor might be smart to sell some of Berkshire's weaker units? ''I don't think so,'' Buffett says. ''I hope whoever follows me would behave pretty much as I would if I were to live forever. I feel I owe it. I owe it to the people who sold me their businesses. They didn't have to sell to me. If I die tonight, I want them to get what they were expecting.''

MYSTERY HEIRS. Buffett says he already has picked a successor--two of them, actually: one to manage the stock portfolio, the other to oversee the operating companies. Their identities have not been disclosed to shareholders or, for that matter, to the heirs apparent themselves, because Buffett reserves the right to change his mind. He says he might eventually settle on a single successor.

Munger, who has most of his own billion-dollar net worth in Berkshire stock, professes optimism about the company's post-Buffett prospects. ''The corporate culture of Berkshire is more durable than that of the average corporation. That will go on,'' Munger says. ''The one place a death will hurt us is we're not likely to get as good an allocator of capital as Warren in the next CEO, whoever that is. But it will still be one hell of a business.''

In a company as decentralized as Berkshire Hathaway, the operating businesses need not suffer an immediate loss of momentum from Buffett's passing. On the other hand, it is not clear that a holding company with a grand total of 12 employees can be said to have a corporate culture. Without question, Berkshire's operating chiefs are united in their admiration of Buffett and his principles. But most of them barely know one another, and none is remotely Buffett's equal in terms of breadth of knowledge or personal authority. With its challengingly eccentric mix of businesses and its loose, informal structure, Berkshire Hathaway fits Buffett to a T but might well prove unwieldy for lesser mortals--especially ones constrained by loyalty to Buffett's preservationist credo.

The outlook for Buffett's personal fortune is no less problematic. His wife is his sole heir, but she is 67 years old and might not outlive him. The Buffetts have three children--Susan, 46; Howard, 44; and Peter, 41. Howard and Susan are directors of Berkshire, but none of the Buffett progeny is involved in the management of the company.

FAMILY PLAN. Buffett has said that it is his wish that 99% of the money he has made eventually go to the Buffett Foundation, to be distributed to worthy causes under the direction of Allen Greenberg, 42, the ex-husband of his daughter Susan A. Buffett. Greenberg works out of a one-person office in the same building that houses Berkshire. The foundation was set up in the mid-1960s but operates with a scanty endowment. Currently, it disburses $11 million to $12 million a year, with the bulk of the funds going to groups that provide family-planning services, including abortions. When the foundation comes into its full endowment, it is likely to rank as the world's largest philanthropy.

Buffett is often criticized--privately, to be sure--as a tightwad. But he insists that he is holding tight to his Berkshire stock not out of greed but out of a desire to ensure that control of the company passes to his heirs. ''I think I could control it with as little as 1% of the stock,'' Buffett says. ''With 35%, my wife could carry on, but not with 1%. I'd view it as a tragedy if someone whose achievement was issuing the most junk bonds or having the silliest stock price took over the company and all that we've built evaporated.''

It would indeed be a tragedy in the classical sense if the specialness of Buffett's great gifts contains the seeds of his empire's eventual undoing. For just as no one other than Buffett could have created Berkshire Hathaway, it may well come to pass that no one other than Buffett can make it work.

Investment approach of Warren Buffet

2008-03-06T02:09:00.000-08:00

Buffett's philosophy on business investing is a modification of the value investing approach of his mentor Benjamin Graham. Graham bought companies because they were cheap compared to their intrinsic value. He was of the belief that as long as the market undervalued them relative to their intrinsic value he was making a solid investment. He reasoned that the market will eventually realize it has undervalued the company and will correct its course regardless of what type of business the company was in. In addition he believed that the business has to have solid economics behind it. Buffett's investment style is also heavily influenced by Phil Fisher.

The following are some questions to determine what business to buy, based on the book Buffettology by Mary Buffett:

Is the company in an industry with good economics, i.e., not an industry competing on price. Does the company have a consumer monopoly or brand name that commands loyalty? Can any company with an abundance of resources compete successfully with the company?
Are the Owner Earnings on an upward trend with good and consistent margins?
Is the debt-to-equity ratio low or is the earnings-to-debt ratio high, i.e. can the company repay debt even in years when earnings are lower than average?
Does the company have high and consistent Returns on Invested Capital?
Does the company retain earnings for growth?
The business should not have high maintenance cost of operations, high capital expenditure or investment cash outflow. This is not the same as investing to expand capacity.
Does the company reinvest earnings in good business opportunities? Does management have a good track record of profiting from these investments?
Is the company free to adjust prices for inflation?

Buffett also concentrates when to buy. He does not want to invest in businesses with indiscernible value. He will wait for market corrections or downturns to buy solid businesses at reasonable prices, since stock market downturns present buying opportunities.

He is known for being conservative when speculation is rampant in the market and being aggressive when others are fearing for their capital. This contrarian strategy is what led Buffett's company through the Internet boom and bust without significant damage, although critics have also noted that it may have led Berkshire to miss out on potential opportunities during the same period.

He also asks at what price is the business a bargain, and his answer typically is when it provides a higher rate of compounded return relative to other available investment opportunities.

Warren Buffett's letters to shareholders are a valuable source in understanding his investment style and outlook.^[13]

Payday Loans

2008-03-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

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Chidambaram: Sivaganga's Robin Hood Or Houdini

2008-03-04T03:24:00.000-08:00

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram' s annual budget is one part Robin Hood and another part Houdini. It's hard to say which one is worse.

In his Feb. 29 budget speech in parliament in New Delhi, Chidambaram announced a 600 billion-rupee ($15 billion) debt waiver for farmers.

This sum, which amounts to a staggering 10 percent of the government's tax revenue in the current fiscal year, would have sufficed to create 15,000 megawatts of new power-generation capacity, enough to significantly reduce the country's perennial and debilitating electricity shortages.

There's no denying that farming in India is facing a crisis. Productivity gains have stalled. The overall economy has grown an average of 8 percent per annum since 2002, adjusting for inflation. In this six-year period, real agricultural output has expanded 2 percent annually with high year-to-year volatility.

Reports of indebted farmers committing suicide have dominated newspaper columns and political debates, putting pressure on the government to take drastic measures.

With general elections very likely to be held later this year, Chidambaram didn't disappoint the ruling coalition. It is, after all, impossible for any government to be returned to power in India without the support of rural voters.

So Chidambaram decided to play Robin Hood.

Playing Robin Hood

He even defended the debt-forgiveness plan as a bonanza for the banking industry, which, he said at a post-budget press conference, would now be rid of potential bad loans.
The least the finance minister could do was to acknowledge the ``moral hazard.''
Voters in India have been known to shun the incumbent party.

So if the ruling Congress Party-led coalition manages to return to power, debt forgiveness will be equated with political nirvana. From time to time, the weather and commodity-price risks inherent in the farming business would shift to the hapless taxpayers. No political party will object because none of them can afford to be seen as anti-farmer.

Chidambaram' s performance was so subtly masterful that the taxpayers aren't even sure if they have been robbed.

The budget left the corporate-tax rate unchanged and cut the excise levy on manufacturers to 14 percent, from 16 percent. The income-tax burden on individuals will also be somewhat lower now. Only the charge on short-term capital gains -- profit on securities sold within a year of purchase -- was raised to 15 percent from 10 percent.

Touch of Houdini

As for the write-off, it doesn't even show up as a budgetary expenditure.
And that's nothing short of a Houdini trick.

Analysts aren't yet sure just how the financial system will be compensated. One possibility is that banks will be given government bonds with which they can replace their impaired assets. Chidambaram himself has been evasive.

All he said is that the government would provide liquidity to the banking system as loans to the farmers are written off over three years.

``You must allow me that I have some intelligence, '' he said. ``I have done my homework.''
Investors certainly would hope so. This penchant for keeping large increases in expenditure ``off-budget' ' has already assumed odious proportions.

Oil companies are being compensated through special government bonds for keeping retail fuel prices low. This has a clear, known fiscal cost, which is nonetheless not included in the budget deficit. A similar strategy has been adopted to tackle food inflation.

Today's headaches are merely being transferred to tomorrow.

Off-Budget

One day the bonds will have to be redeemed; when cash leaves the exchequer, the expenditure will have to be brought on budget. By then, it may be another finance minister's problem.

To be sure, Chidambaram did, in his budget last week, say that this particular accounting practice needed to be reconsidered. But any such review is still about two years away.

There are other problems with Chidambaram' s most recent budget. The minister hasn't made any provision for the hefty salary increases for civil servants that he may announce after the Pay Commission, which resets the wages of government workers every 10 years, submits its report by March 31.

The panel's recommendations are widely expected to be generous, jeopardizing several years of fiscal consolidation.

``Recent fiscal gains, a cornerstone of the sovereign's improved creditworthiness, could not only come under threat but be severely reversed by this pay review,'' says Standard & Poor's analyst Sani Hamid in Singapore.

Enough `Headroom'

In all fairness, the budget ought to have given investors a chance to gauge the risk.
The state-owned Indian Railways, which has had a separate budget since 1925, did just that last week by acknowledging that its wage bill for the next fiscal year may get bloated by as much as 50 billion rupees.

Chidambaram chose not to make the adjustment.

The finance minister's response is that he has enough ``headroom'' in the budget to meet any salary increases that the pay panel may recommend.

Investors would have preferred to see evidence of that headroom because his projections for tax collections appear to be rather optimistic.

As an increasingly important part of the global economy, India needs to gain credibility for its budgets. That means making them more transparent, and less magical.

America's Economy Risks Mother Of All Meltdowns

2008-03-04T03:23:00.000-08:00

America’s economy risks mother of all meltdowns By Martin Wolf
Published: February 19 2008 18:21 | Last updated: February 19 2008 18:21

“I would tell audiences that we were facing not a bubble but a froth – lots of small, local bubbles that never grew to a scale that could threaten the health of the overall economy.” Alan Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence.

That used to be Mr Greenspan’s view of the US housing bubble. He was wrong, alas. So how bad might this downturn get? To answer this question we should ask a true bear. My favourite one is Nouriel Roubini of New York University’s Stern School of Business, founder of RGE monitor.

Recently, Professor Roubini’s scenarios have been dire enough to make the flesh creep. But his thinking deserves to be taken seriously. He first predicted a US recession in July 2006*.

At that time, his view was extremely controversial. It is so no longer. Now he states that there is “a rising probability of a ‘catastrophic’ financial and economic outcome”**. The characteristics of this scenario are, he argues: “A vicious circle where a deep recession makes the financial losses more severe and where, in turn, large and growing financial losses and a financial meltdown make the recession even more severe.”

Prof Roubini is even fonder of lists than I am. Here are his 12 – yes, 12 – steps to financial disaster.

Step one is the worst housing recession in US history. House prices will, he says, fall by 20 to 30 per cent from their peak, which would wipe out between $4,000bn and $6,000bn in household wealth. Ten million households will end up with negative equity and so with a huge incentive to put the house keys in the post and depart for greener fields. Many more home-builders will be bankrupted.

Step two would be further losses, beyond the $250bn-$300bn now estimated, for subprime mortgages. About 60 per cent of all mortgage origination between 2005 and 2007 had “reckless or toxic features”, argues Prof Roubini.

Goldman Sachs estimates mortgage losses at $400bn. But if home prices fell by more than 20 per cent, losses would be bigger. That would further impair the banks’ ability to offer credit.

Step three would be big losses on unsecured consumer debt: credit cards, auto loans, student loans and so forth. The “credit crunch” would then spread from mortgages to a wide range of consumer credit.

Step four would be the downgrading of the monoline insurers, which do not deserve the AAA rating on which their business depends. A further $150bn writedown of asset-backed securities would then ensue.

Step five would be the meltdown of the commercial property market, while step six would be bankruptcy of a large regional or national bank.

Step seven would be big losses on reckless leveraged buy-outs. Hundreds of billions of dollars of such loans are now stuck on the balance sheets of financial institutions.

Step eight would be a wave of corporate defaults. On average, US companies are in decent shape, but a “fat tail” of companies has low profitability and heavy debt. Such defaults would spread losses in “credit default swaps”, which insure such debt. The losses could be $250bn. Some insurers might go bankrupt.

Step nine would be a meltdown in the “shadow financial system”. Dealing with the distress of hedge funds, special investment vehicles and so forth will be made more difficult by the fact that they have no direct access to lending from central banks.

Step 10 would be a further collapse in stock prices. Failures of hedge funds, margin calls and shorting could lead to cascading falls in prices.

Step 11 would be a drying-up of liquidity in a range of financial markets, including interbank and money markets. Behind this would be a jump in concerns about solvency.

Step 12 would be “a vicious circle of losses, capital reduction, credit contraction, forced liquidation and fire sales of assets at below fundamental prices”.

These, then, are 12 steps to meltdown. In all, argues Prof Roubini: “Total losses in the financial system will add up to more than $1,000bn and the economic recession will become deeper more protracted and severe.”

This, he suggests, is the “nightmare scenario” keeping Ben Bernanke and colleagues at the US Federal Reserve awake. It explains why, having failed to appreciate the dangers for so long, the Fed has lowered rates by 200 basis points this year. This is insurance against a financial meltdown.

Is this kind of scenario at least plausible? It is. Furthermore, we can be confident that it would, if it came to pass, end all stories about “decoupling”. If it lasts six quarters, as Prof Roubini warns, offsetting policy action in the rest of the world would be too little, too late.

Can the Fed head this danger off? In a subsequent piece, Prof Roubini gives eight reasons why it cannot***.

(He really loves lists!) These are, in brief: US monetary easing is constrained by risks to the dollar and inflation; aggressive easing deals only with illiquidity, not insolvency; the monoline insurers will lose their credit ratings, with dire consequences; overall losses will be too large for sovereign wealth funds to deal with; public intervention is too small to stabilise housing losses; the Fed cannot address the problems of the shadow financial system; regulators cannot find a good middle way between transparency over losses and regulatory forbearance, both of which are needed; and, finally, the transactions- oriented financial system is itself in deep crisis.

The risks are indeed high and the ability of the authorities to deal with them more limited than most people hope. This is not to suggest that there are no ways out. Unfortunately, they are poisonous ones. In the last resort, governments resolve financial crises. This is an iron law.

Rescues can occur via overt government assumption of bad debt, inflation, or both. Japan chose the first, much to the distaste of its ministry of finance. But Japan is a creditor country whose savers have complete confidence in the solvency of their government.

The US, however, is a debtor. It must keep the trust of foreigners. Should it fail to do so, the inflationary solution becomes probable. This is quite enough to explain why gold costs $920 an ounce.

The connection between the bursting of the housing bubble and the fragility of the financial system has created huge dangers, for the US and the rest of the world. The US public sector is now coming to the rescue, led by the Fed. In the end, they will succeed. But the journey is likely to be wretchedly uncomfortable.

*A Coming Recession in the US Economy? July 17 2006, www.rgemonitor. com; **The Rising Risk of a Systemic Financial Meltdown, February 5 2008; ***Can the Fed and Policy Makers Avoid a Systemic Financial Meltdown? Most Likely Not, February 8 2008
martin.wolf@ ft.com

Warren Buffett-"Investors Should Not Rule Out A Significant Economic

2008-03-04T03:21:00.000-08:00

Warren Buffett on Monday said the U.S. economy is in recession and that "stocks are not cheap."

Speaking on CNBC television, Buffett also said he is no longer offering to guarantee $800 million of municipal bonds backed by MBIA Inc (MBI.N), Ambac Financial Group Inc (ABK.N) and FGIC Corp, three large bond insurers.

Buffett said that "from a common-sense standpoint right now, we're in a recession," though the U.S. economy has not yet recorded two straight quarters of declining gross domestic product, a traditional indicator of recession.

He said, though, that the environment is "nothing like '73 or '74 yet," referring to a deep economic downturn also marked by rising oil prices and falling stocks. Buffett said investors should not rule out the possibility of a significant economic downturn.

On Friday, Buffett's insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) reported an 18 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit.

This stemmed in part from weakness in businesses linked to housing, including units that make bricks and carpet, and that offer real estate brokerage services.

Bond insurers, which normally insure relatively safe municipal bonds, came under pressure in late 2007 after they also guaranteed billions of dollars of riskier debt, often tied to subprime mortgages.

On Feb 12, Buffett offered to reinsure $800 billion of municipal bonds, but only at a steep premium. The offer didn't include the riskier debt. Bond insurers rejected the offer, and have been seeking new sources of capital or possibly breaking themselves up.

Buffett on Monday said his earlier offer is "not on the table." In December, Buffett started its own bond insurer, Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp.

Why did the stock market crash?

2008-02-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

Was it inevitable?
When the global economy has been cooling down, and the financial sector in particular has been heading from one cold shower to the next, it was inevitable that stock markets around the world would start catching the chill.
The way in which Asian stock prices responded last week to the fall of the Dow Jones and Nasdaq indices by 4 per cent, hitting a 10-month low, has also punctured a hole in the decoupling argument (which said Asia would not be hit by an America-based problem) that had become fashionable in recent weeks.
Investors around the world have taken note of the fact that the broad-based S&P 500 index is at a 16-month low, along with European stocks. And investors seem to have little faith in the Bush rescue plan's ability to ward off a recession in the US. The Fed will almost certainly respond with sharp cuts in interest rates towards the end of the month, but the market has already discounted for that.
Indian markets worst hit
It is interesting that Indian markets were hit the most, among all Asian markets. This may have been because the correction in the overheated Chinese stock market began some weeks ago. Investors will also have noticed that the third-quarter corporate numbers show significant deceleration in both sales and profit growth, when compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
When coupled with the data showing that the export target for the year will be missed by a wide margin, and that the industrial sector has suffered a sharp slowdown, it was inevitable that stock prices would have to come off their dizzy highs.
What began with profit-booking and unwinding of long positions cascaded on Friday into a 3.5 per cent decline in the Sensex. Foreign institutional investors had moved to the sidelines in the secondary markets even earlier, and FIIs have been net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,200 crore (Rs 22 billion) in January. Also relevant was the Reliance Power IPO, which pulled in a record amount of application money (Rs 1,15,000 crore (Rs 1,150 billion)). Even if a third or a fourth of that was being garnered by sale of stocks, it is a large enough sum for the market to go into correction mode.
There is no doubt that valuations had become expensive. Even after the 10 per cent correction from the market's peak, the Sensex trades at a trailing P/E multiple of 24.5, which is not cheap in anyone's book.
Yet, buying may soon begin
A global liquidity surplus had certainly contributed to momentum buying. The question is whether the correction that has occurred so far is enough for fresh buying to emerge, or whether a further fall is required before value-based buying starts.
On a forward basis, the Sensex trades at an FY09 estimated P/E of 18. The floor therefore would probably be a Sensex level of 17,000-odd -- which would mean wiping out the gains of the past three months, no more. Provided the general economic and corporate news does not get worse than has already been anticipated, fresh buying cannot be very far away.
Indian stocks witnessed their second-biggest fall ever on Monday.
Is everything okay with the economy?
The fundamentals of the Indian economy are still very strong. Some analysts say that business environment is good, but corporate earnings are not as good as they wree last year.
Will foreign investors sell more stocks?
Market expectations are that foreign investors would continue to sell.
With FIIs turning sellers on the domestic bourses, it is likely that domestic mutual funds might step in and buy equity thereby preventing a further fall. However, it remains to be seen if this would happen.
What should traders do now?
"If you have the money it's a great time to buy into this market," said Ambareesh Baliga of Karvy Stock Broking on NDTV Profit. There is no fundamental reason for this massive fall in the market and its been all about margin calls, he added.
Given the rise in volatility, it may not be advisable to trade in stocks that lack liquidity. Trading in stocks, which do not find presence in the derivatives segment may be dangerous.
The reason is simple: derivatives give you an option to hedge your position, limiting your losses, in case the market goes against you.
Keep your trading positions about 30 per cent lower than what you can actually afford. This would greatly help in avoiding distress sale in case the regulators slap additional margins. For an investor, leveraged positions are completely avoidable.
Stock market traders and investors panicked on Monday as the Indian markets crashed.

!!!Types of Marketing!!!

2008-02-08T02:51:00.000-08:00

You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I am very rich. Marry me!"
That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says, "He's very rich. Marry him." That's Advertising.

You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and get her telephone number.
The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me."
That's Telemarketing.

You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.
You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it,
and offer her A ride, and then say, "By the way, I'm very rich. Will you marry me?"
That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.
She walks up to you and says, "You are very rich..I want to marry you"
That's Brand Recognition.

You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I'm rich. Marry me"
She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.
That's Customer Feedback !!!!!

Real Estate

2008-02-02T06:35:00.001-08:00

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Money Matters

2008-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

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Why did the stock market crash?

2008-01-25T03:48:00.001-08:00

Was it inevitable?

When the global economy has been cooling down, and the financial sector in particular has been heading from one cold shower to the next, it was inevitable that stock markets around the world would start catching the chill.

The way in which Asian stock prices responded last week to the fall of the Dow Jones and Nasdaq indices by 4 per cent, hitting a 10-month low, has also punctured a hole in the decoupling argument (which said Asia would not be hit by an America-based problem) that had become fashionable in recent weeks.

Investors around the world have taken note of the fact that the broad-based S&P 500 index is at a 16-month low, along with European stocks. And investors seem to have little faith in the Bush rescue plan's ability to ward off a recession in the US. The Fed will almost certainly respond with sharp cuts in interest rates towards the end of the month, but the market has already discounted for that.

Indian markets worst hit

It is interesting that Indian markets were hit the most, among all Asian markets. This may have been because the correction in the overheated Chinese stock market began some weeks ago. Investors will also have noticed that the third-quarter corporate numbers show significant deceleration in both sales and profit growth, when compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

When coupled with the data showing that the export target for the year will be missed by a wide margin, and that the industrial sector has suffered a sharp slowdown, it was inevitable that stock prices would have to come off their dizzy highs.

What began with profit-booking and unwinding of long positions cascaded on Friday into a 3.5 per cent decline in the Sensex. Foreign institutional investors had moved to the sidelines in the secondary markets even earlier, and FIIs have been net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,200 crore (Rs 22 billion) in January. Also relevant was the Reliance Power IPO, which pulled in a record amount of application money (Rs 1,15,000 crore (Rs 1,150 billion)). Even if a third or a fourth of that was being garnered by sale of stocks, it is a large enough sum for the market to go into correction mode.

There is no doubt that valuations had become expensive. Even after the 10 per cent correction from the market's peak, the Sensex trades at a trailing P/E multiple of 24.5, which is not cheap in anyone's book.

Yet, buying may soon begin

A global liquidity surplus had certainly contributed to momentum buying. The question is whether the correction that has occurred so far is enough for fresh buying to emerge, or whether a further fall is required before value-based buying starts.

On a forward basis, the Sensex trades at an FY09 estimated P/E of 18. The floor therefore would probably be a Sensex level of 17,000-odd -- which would mean wiping out the gains of the past three months, no more. Provided the general economic and corporate news does not get worse than has already been anticipated, fresh buying cannot be very far away.

Indian stocks witnessed their second-biggest fall ever on Monday.

Is everything okay with the economy?

The fundamentals of the Indian economy are still very strong. Some analysts say that business environment is good, but corporate earnings are not as good as they wree last year.

Will foreign investors sell more stocks?

Market expectations are that foreign investors would continue to sell.

With FIIs turning sellers on the domestic bourses, it is likely that domestic mutual funds might step in and buy equity thereby preventing a further fall. However, it remains to be seen if this would happen.

What should traders do now?

"If you have the money it's a great time to buy into this market," said Ambareesh Baliga of Karvy Stock Broking on NDTV Profit. There is no fundamental reason for this massive fall in the market and its been all about margin calls, he added.

Given the rise in volatility, it may not be advisable to trade in stocks that lack liquidity. Trading in stocks, which do not find presence in the derivatives segment may be dangerous.

The reason is simple: derivatives give you an option to hedge your position, limiting your losses, in case the market goes against you.

Keep your trading positions about 30 per cent lower than what you can actually afford. This would greatly help in avoiding distress sale in case the regulators slap additional margins. For an investor, leveraged positions are completely avoidable.

Stock market traders and investors panicked on Monday as the Indian markets crashed.

Compare prices

2008-01-25T03:48:00.000-08:00

Hello friends I just happened to visit a site which gives you comparison of rates of various commodities. Savebuckets is a site which compares the rates of various electronic and other goods. This site does not sell any products; this is only a price comparison site which allows you to compare prices on a wide range of products through hundreds of different shops. They have a wide range of goods which vary from Consumer Electronics to Electronic Games to Household items & Kitchen goods, Clothing, Shoes, Jewellery, Computer Hardware and all those things which you need.
The site is very simple and easy to use and any one with a slight knowledge of computer and internet can use this site nicely. The best thing that I liked about this site is that, it also helps us to find goods that match our budget. If you have found the product that you are looking for but it is over the budget that you have set aside to buy then an option called My Price allows you to enter your email address and the maximum amount you are prepared to pay. Savebuckets will then check the prices of that product across all the shops when they update their prices and will email you when your product has reached or fallen below your maximum price. If after two weeks the price has not fallen to your maximum amount we will send you an email with the current lowest price and a link to the Savebuckets site where you can renew the My Price for that product.
I feel you should visit price comparison today

Online Shopping

2008-01-20T05:41:00.000-08:00

Online business is never so simple with those old shopping cart software. But now your entire website and online business can be managed from one complete ecommerce shopping cart software. Is it cool!!

Ashop Commerce provides you with a complete ecommerce solution with its revolutionary online store building software. This is surely one of the worlds most easy to use web based administrations with award winning features allows the merchant to build an online store capable of competing with the webs most powerful sites for a simple, low monthly fee. Having helped 1000's of now successful merchants, Ashop Commerce is the most intuitive shopping cart software in the world providing the most up to date and relevant advice you need to start or advance your online business.

There are many advantages that you can get by opting for Ashop Commerce shopping cart
1. Savings in set-up and operational costs. You won't need to pay shop
assistants, rent costly street premises, or answer a lot of pre-sales queries
2. Reducing the costs of order processing
3. You can reach a much wider audience..
4. You can compete with larger companies with less investment
5. You'll receive payments more quickly from online transactions
6. Your business can be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
7. You should be able to provide better customer service and attract
more loyal customers
8. You will be able to track purchases and use data to improve your
offering
9. Your shopping cart can function as only a catalogue for existing customers.

I feel you should try this shopping cart software

Cheap Broadband connection

2008-01-13T02:48:00.000-08:00

While looking for an Internet service provider we have to take care of many things. When it is a broad connection we should select carefully as it costs more than dial up connection. There are some factors that you have to look for when you select a Broad band connection. Speed is the main factor that you have to check first and then comes the cost. The only internet service provider which fulfills both this requirement is BT Total Broadband. They provide up to 8mb of download speed and is very economical. You can select from a wide range of tariffs according your budget. They give you cheap broadband connection
They also provide you with other value added services like Home IT Support, Entertainment, Wi-Fi services, online security, Email & IM. The main thing that which will help you is the online security system as it gives protection against viruses, spy ware, identity theft and hacking codes with our best ever online security.
With the entertainment facility you can play Xbox or PS2 games with millions of gamers worldwide, get the best in pod casting and transform the way you listen to music.
Visit broadband

Earn from Blogging

2008-01-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

Most of the people surfing the net has a dream to make a big fortune by doing online jobs .But most of them are not able to meet their goals. They either get cheated by purchasing some e-books or some programmes which say they will help money or get under the hands of some other scams which will be just wasting your time. According to me internet is the best way to make money .this is because you can earn money by just spending a small duration.
Today I will explain an easy and the best way to earn money online. You can money online by just writing reviews.Smorty.com is such a site which will pay you for just writing reviews and posting it in your blogs and sites. They also pay you every week through PayPal and so you do not have to wait for earnings to reach a specific amount as in some other sites. With smorty.com I have earned 100$ in just 2weeks.i feel this is the most reliable way to earn money online rather than depending on other programmes like Adsense. If you have more than one blog then you can earn more money than you think of.
The procedure is simple. You have to register in this site first and then add you blogs or site in this site. When you sites are approved then you will be able to write reviews and earn money.
Don’t wait now blog for moneynow

General Market Advice:

2008-01-06T03:37:00.001-08:00

1. Never chase a stock.

2. Buy when markets are in the grip of panic.

3. Only buy fundamentally strong stocks, which are undervalued.

4. Buy stocks grown in top line and bottom line over the past years.

5. Invest in companies with proven management.

6. Avoid loss-making companies.

7. PE Ratio and Growth in earnings per share are the key.

8. Look for the dividend paying record.

9. Invest in stocks for sure returns.

10. Stocks have been the high yielding asset class over the past.

11. Stocks are an asset class.

12. The basic property of any asset class is to grow.

13. Buy when everyone is selling and sell when everyone buys.

14. Invest a fixed amount each month.

Last But not least Trust our tips and then invest to earn huge profit

Taken from http://sharetipsinfo.com/Trading%20advice.html

Shopping online made easy

2008-01-06T03:37:00.000-08:00

Shopping online is a very easy and simple method .It makes shopping fun and with out any waste of time. Online shopping has many good aspects like that they help save our time which we take to go to many shops. We can great discounts and offers when we shop online which normally do not get from retail shops.

Now there is great news for the online shop keepers. There is a new Shopping Cart Software! This will make costumers happier and will help increase your sales.
This Shopping Cart Software is one of the worlds most easy to use web based administrations. With award winning features, it allows the merchant to build an online store capable of competing with the webs most powerful sites for a simple, low monthly fee. Ashop Commerce has helped 1000's of now successful merchants in the United States and is now regarded as the most intuitive shopping cart software in the world. You will be provided with the most up to date and relevant advice you need to start or advance your online business. All shopping carts are hosted on our ultra fast web servers. They also provide you with 24x7 monitoring, multiple nightly backups and a guaranteed 99.8% uptime. They also help to provide you with search engine optimization and other research to increase your sales
Online store keepers can check this shopping cart software

Earn from Casinos

2008-01-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

While discussing sources of earning money online, earning money through casinos has a significant role to play. By playing online casino a person can earn amounts which could not be even dreamt of. It is very easy to earn by spending a small amount through online gaming.
Even though we could earn large sums with online casinos, we could also lose large sums if we are not properly directed. The sitehttp://www.topusaonlinecasinos.com/ plays an important role in this way by giving necessary tips and by grading different online casinos.
http://www.topusaonlinecasinos.com/ has reviews of over a number of quality gambling sites. They rank them and also tell why should play with them.
The home page of the site itself gives a quick view of what is inside it. In the front page you can see a small description of all the sites included by them. Casinos are ranked by pro poker and blackjack players, according to bonus size, payout rate, and customer support, number of games, deposit options, graphics and ease of use. There is also a small review of all these sites given in the front page.
Readers who are interested to earn money through online casino should definitely try this site.

Interesting Management Stories

2007-12-12T04:16:00.000-08:00

Story # 1

It's a fine sunny day in the forest and a lion is sitting outside his cave, lying lazily in the sun. Along comes a fox, out on a walk.

Fox: "Do you know the time, because my watch is broken"
Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix the watch for you"

Fox: "Hmm... But it's a very complicated mechanism, and your big claws will only destroy it even more."
Lion: "Oh no, give it to me, and it will be fixed"

Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that lazy lions with great claws cannot fix complicated watches"
Lion: "Sure they do, give it to me and it will be fixed"

The lion disappears into his cave, and after a while he comes back with the watch which is running perfectly. The fox is impressed, and the lion continues to lie lazily in the sun, looking very pleased with himself.

Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the lazy lion in the sun.

Wolf: "Can I come and watch TV tonight with you, because mine is broken"
Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix your TV for you"

Wolf: "You don't expect me to believe such rubbish, do you? There is no way that a lazy lion with big claws can fix a complicated TV.
Lion: "No problem. Do you want to try it?"

The lion goes into his cave, and after a while comes back with a perfectly fixed TV. The wolf goes away happily and amazed.

Scene :
Inside the lion's cave. In one corner are half a dozen small and intelligent looking rabbits who are busily doing very complicated work with very detailed instruments. In the other corner lies a huge lion looking very pleased with himself.

Moral :
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY A MANAGER IS FAMOUS; LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES.

Management Lesson in the context of the working world :
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY SOMEONE UNDESERVED IS PROMOTED; LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES

Story # 2

It's a fine sunny day in the forest and a rabbit is sitting outside his burrow, tippy-tapping on his typewriter. Along comes a fox, out for a walk.

Fox: "What are you working on?"
Rabbit: "My thesis."

Fox: "Hmm... What is it about?"
Rabbit: "Oh, I'm writing about how rabbits eat foxes."

Fox: "That's ridiculous ! Any fool knows that rabbits don't eat foxes!
Rabbit: "Come with me and I'll show you!"

They both disappear into the rabbit's burrow. After few minutes, gnawing on a fox bone, the rabbit returns to his typewriter and resumes typing.
Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the hardworking rabbit.

Wolf: "What's that you are writing?"
Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves."

Wolf: "you don't expect to get such rubbish published, do you?"
Rabbit: "No problem. Do you want to see why?"

The rabbit and the wolf go into the burrow and again the rabbit returns by himself, after a few minutes, and goes back to typing. Finally a bear comes along and asks, "What are you doing?

Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat bears."
Bear: "Well that's absurd ! "
Rabbit: "Come into my home and I'll show you"

Scene :
As they enter the burrow, the rabbit introduces the bear to the lion.

Moral:
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW SILLY YOUR THESIS TOPIC IS; WHAT MATTERS IS WHOM YOU HAVE AS A SUPERVISOR.

Management Lesson in the context of the working world:
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW BAD YOUR PERFORMANCE IS; WHAT MATTERS IS WHETHER YOUR BOSS LIKES YOU OR NOT

Indian Stock Market – Tricks to excel in it.

2007-12-02T06:04:00.002-08:00

Want to excel in stock market? Here are some tips to help you in being a good intraday trader and Delivery Investor.
Start with a realistic goal in mind.
First you have to make a decision whether you want to become a trader or seek and employment. Always keep a realistic goal in your mind about what you want to achieve from Indian stock market.
Never make the mistake of believing that you have become the master.
No body is perfect in stock market. Learning never ends here. One should not feel he/she is the king if they make money in 5-6 trades without any loss. One should keep himself open for new learning and appoint consultants for himself. As professionals can help you best.
Draw up a trading plan.
Prepare a trading plan, back test it with historical data and then stick to it. Don’t keep fine tuning the plan i.e never change plan stick to it.
Start with the smallest amount of capital that you can effectively trade with.
Initially start with a small amount and cautiously enter the stock market. You should concentrate on achieving the best possible returns over a 3 month period.
Make a commitment
Don’t get overexcited after a few wins in stock market and start increasing your capital, that is a sure sign that you are not in control, the market is controlling you which mean you are on the path of getting trapped in the stock market.
Sharetipsinfo suggests you to monitor your performance of winning or losing on a weekly basis, Do review each trade and assess your performance.
Take a break
No matter you are making or losing money in stock market. You should take a break after fix intervals lets say after 4 months, pause for a 3-4 days. Again review your performance and identify any gaps in your knowledge that needs additional works.
Take PROFESSIONAL HELP
If you know there is a problem in your trading plan, don’t hesitate to consult a mentor. Find an experienced and performance oriented professional company who are providing tips to there clients. Take advantage of there research and knowledge.
Long term strategy
After 12 month again review your performance and decide whether you are ready to commit more capital to the stock market or not. But we assure you with professional help and your own knowledge you will surely be a winner in Indian or any stock market.

Indian Stock Market Trading Golden Rules

2007-12-02T06:04:00.001-08:00

We are mentioning few golden rules for trading and investing in Indian stock market or in any other Stock market.
If you want to be a successful intraday / day trader or Positional / Delivery investor then simply follow these golden rules.
"Trading runs in cycles; some are good, some are bad, and there is nothing we can do about that other than accept it and act accordingly"
Think in terms of probabilities and act upon them. There are no certainties in trading. You can keep yourself out of trouble by thinking in terms of probabilities. Get comfortable with approximate predictions and interpretations.
"To trade/invest successfully, think like a fundamentalist; trade like a technician"
Along with economic fundamentals that will drive a market higher or lower, but we must try to understand the technical as well.
"Don't be a hero. Don't fight the trend. Follow the money flow"
You should forget the news, remember the chart as chart already knows the news is coming and buy on rumors; sell on news.
"In trading/investing, an understanding of mass psychology is often more important than an understanding of economics"
Trading is a psychological game. Most people think that they're playing against the market, but the market doesn't care. You're really playing against yourself. Hope, fear and greed are not strategies: they are emotions. Simple emotions are not an effective strategy. Positive emotions could cause us to fail to apply risk precautions. Negative emotion could cause us to hesitate.
"Learn to monitor yourself and draw conclusions from your mistakes. "
Predetermine maximum losses in every potential trade. Do not risk more than 5% of your capital on any trade. Don't average your losses.
"Buy that which is showing strength - sell that which is showing weakness"
The public continues to buy when prices have fallen. The professional buys because prices have rallied. This difference may not sound logical, but buying strength works. The rule of survival is not to "buy low, sell high", but to "buy higher and sell higher". Furthermore, when comparing various stocks within a group buys only the strongest and sells the weakest.
"Think like a guerrilla warrior."
We wish to fight on the side of the market that is winning, not wasting our time and capital on futile efforts to gain fame by buying the lows or selling the highs of some market movement. Our duty is to earn profits by fighting alongside the winning forces. If neither side is winning, then we don't need to fight at all.
"When you lose, don't lose the lesson!"
Forget the names but remember the events. Those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Make mistakes with composure and character, without blaming others, and don't dwell on mistakes.
"Evaluate your results at least monthly".
Monitor your P&L, your win/loss ratio, and the relationship between your biggest wins and worst losses. Reviewing these results helps you continually improve your understanding of the markets and yourself.
"When in doubt, get out."
Scrutinize your positions at all times, each day, and you will not be left holding a stock without reason. Be willing to change direction at any time, because your flexibility as an individual investor is a big advantage which should be embraced!
"There is no "genius" in these rules. They are common sense and nothing else, but as Voltaire said, "Common sense is uncommon." Trading is a common-sense business. When we trade contrary to common sense, we will lose. Perhaps not always, but enormously and eventually. Trade simply. Avoid complex methodologies concerning obscure technical systems and trade according to the major trends only".

ShareTipsInfo >>Investment in stock market

2007-12-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

If you are new to the stock market you must know that today’s hot stock market is both inviting and intimidating to new investors. Here's how to start an investment portfolio of your own.
When you purchase stock, the word "stress" takes on a whole new meaning as when you reads the morning paper or listens to the radio and finds that his best stock dropped 20 points a share yesterday.
The investor become habitual of reading the business section of the paper first, turning to the stock tables to see how his life is doing, this sets his mood for the day. If his stocks are up, everything is beautiful and off to work he goes with a big smile. He says proudly "I picked that stock!"
But if his stocks are down, we've got Mr. Grumpy for the rest of the day.
it’s all about stock market investing most investors become addicted to the market. It becomes an obsession.

SMART INVESTMENT:
• Read about the fundamentals of the stocks and the market, attend a seminar or take a class on investing and review online financial sites.
• Set your goals based on your financial position and a stock-picking strategy.
• Don't ever buy a stock without first learning about its business and who its competition is. You want to focus on the leaders in an industry.
• Invest in what you know. Consider the stocks of local companies with which you are familiar and in which you have confidence.
• Check out the past of the stock that you are going to buy.
• Invest in more than one or two stock so that lose in one stock can recover from the profit in the another one.
• Buy stocks that you will feel comfortable holding. Resist the temptation to dump a stock the moment its price drops a few percentage points. Give it a chance.

Write Reviews and Earn Money

2007-11-30T06:17:00.000-08:00

Here is a good earning opportunity for all those who run a blog or site.You can earn by writing reviews and get paid for that. What you have to do is to join in the site mentioned below and bid to write reviwes about the advertizers.You will be paid according to the rating of your site and traffic.Click here to know more.
The proces is actually very simple.What you have to do is to add your blog or site in this site--->Search for advertizers --->Place a bid and place a review in your blog if it is approved.
I think you can give it a try.Just Try it here

Life Insurance

2007-11-30T04:04:00.001-08:00

Now there is another way to put your money to work for you.This is by the means of investing in Life Insurance.
Investing in Life Insurance has many benefits in it.The first benefit of it is that it provides your family a support when you are leave this world suddenly.Other benefit is that while you live they help you pay for the medicines.
I just came across a new site http://www.lifeinsure.com while i was surfing the net for some of the best Insurance Sources.The site is very useful and you can instantly obtain life insurance quotes and information.You can also check the market on your own before you talk with anyone.

One of the remarkable things that i would like to share with you is that you can insure for a Term or time that you wold like to insure yourself. Term is simple. You pay a premium for a period of time (the term) from one to thirty years and if you die during that time the insurance is paid to the person or persons you designate to receive it - called the beneficiary (ies).
http://www.lifeinsure.com/lifeinsurance/termlife.asp.Try life term insurance

You can also instantly check the quotes for Insurance Market for Term Life Insurance from this site.Just check http://www.lifeinsure.com/lifeinsurance/quotes.asp for quotes.Check your Quote Here

7 Rules of Long Term Investment:

2007-11-10T06:04:00.000-08:00

A defensive investor is one who generally places high emphasis on the safety of his capital through avoiding serious mistakes while making investment decisions.
Also, a defensive investor is one who aims at freedom from effort and the need for making frequent decisions.
In these volatile times, thus, such an investor should keep some benchmarks for himself while selecting his portfolio of stocks. Only this would be of help in his need for making less frequent decisions.
These are some of the characteristics that a defensive investor should look at in a company, or the potential investment target(s).

1. Adequate size of the enterprise: This is one of the most important factors while selecting a company for investment. Investors should note that small companies or those that are in the nascent stages of their development are more likely to have a volatile future than bigger corporations.
While an aggressive investor would have interests in such small yet growing companies, this should not be a defensive investor's cup of tea. He should be content in having large and strong companies in his portfolio.

2. Sufficiently strong and stable financial condition: A sufficiently strong financial condition of a company should be another top priority for defensive investors.
They should make sure that their investment target (company) has a strong balance sheet and profit and loss account, and a very strong cash flow statement. This is because, more than book profits, it is the strong cash position that is of help for the company in times of pressure and uncertainty.
Also, for a company to be a sound investment target, not only should it have a history of decent earnings growth, but also stability in the same. A company with a volatile earnings growth history is more likely to be a risky proposition.

3. Dividend growth: A consistent dividend payment record is another indicator of the sound financial position of the company. While there might be instances when a growing company is ploughing back earnings towards future growth rather than paying large dividends, investors must see that there are no grave inconsistencies in dividend payments.

4. Moderate P/E ratio: A moderate price-to-earnings ratio is a very useful indicator for a defensive investor. This is because a relatively lower P/E would save investors from paying a very high price that does not justify the value of an investment.
Also, a history of moderate or less-volatile P/E's also helps the investors' cause. This is because a company that has had volatile P/E's in the past is a case of investors building up 'irrational expectations' of its growth.

5. Management quality: Apart from these performance parameters, investors should also take note of the 'management quality', its vision and the past track record.

6. Do your homework: All said and done, while the rules mentioned above are benchmarks that every defensive investor needs to apply before making any investment decision, the fact that he should do his homework carefully should not lose relevance.
This means that he should research well about the company's history, its business model and factors that are likely to affect its future performance.

7. Long-term view: Also, the investor should have a long-term (more than 3 years) investment horizon for this maximises the chance of garnering adequate return on investments.

Gold: A Reason To Own

2007-11-10T02:41:00.000-08:00

The CEO of Freeport Mcmoran was on CNBC US, the other night. While the stock indexes plunged globally here was one guy with a smug smile on his face. Reason: they own the biggest gold mines on earth and no new Gold discoveries have come about. At most a $ 1000 per ounce price tab, will see money being pushed into marginal mines to pull out whatever metal is left under the surface. In the entire history of mankind, the total physical Gold that has been mined equals a Cube with one side about 35 feet in height. Most of this Gold is held by individuals in Asia, and demand is rising as younger families set up homes and buy bullion to build and protect wealth. But there is no more metal in sight..so a possible multi-year bull market in Gold is in the making, that should see metal prices cross the $ 1500 to $ 2000 an ounce figure in maybe 2 years from now.

Miners can scarcely believe their eyes as gold soars through another 28-year record. How far can it go? So much money to spend digging! Suddenly there is no shortage of bullish forecasters to cheer them on!

Earlier this year US investment bankers Morgan Stanley saw a target of $ 800 an ounce for 2008. Then Goldman Sachs came in with an $850. The two bankers outbid themselves. And then there were the cautious Swiss. Its bankers UBS put up a miserable $760 for 2008 and $700 for 2009. They had been going for $650 and $550 respectively – whoops!

Australia ’s Bureau of Agriculture and Resources isn’t getting over-excited either. Being economists, they talk in averages. For 2007 they’ve computed $675 and for 2008 a figure of $685. At least we can understand that they don’t think gold will fall far. French bankers Societe Generale have been coy on a precise target, but are less bullish now gold’s gone through $750. Yet the Dutch, at bankers ABN Amro, are forecasting that gold will have a very good Christmas indeed.

Waves of investment and speculation

Maybe the Swiss, French and Aussies bankers aren’t so wrong to be cautious. UBS refers to the jewellery demand and the attention being given to gold by investors and speculators.

Its analysts are seeing “waves of investment and speculation”. (Trust the Swiss to spot the money flows. That’s why they’re going for wide price swings).Given the volatile conditions, that seems to be the pattern of all markets this decade, so profit taking should be expected.
Will it stay up, or will it go down? Everyone seems to be looking for inspiration in different places. Isabel and I have researched the world over, clicking our mice and logging notes.

Morgan Stanley is looking at global growth and spreading inflation problems. Both are good for gold. The record high oil price is doing more than its bit to fuel inflation fears. The International Energy Agency prompted oil forecasts of $100 for this winter, referring to “a lofty deficit.” The Germans, in the form of refining group Heraeus, said they were keeping an eye on oil in response to another factor - declining South African mining output. It was down 5.2% in the third quarter on a year ago.

The Germans also focus on central bank gold sales. That’s a huge point. Reducing central bank sales have brought gold up from 1999s depths of $251. And they have good reason note it. Germany’s Bundesbank is the largest central bank in the Eurozone. It has said it will sell only eight tonnes of its 120 tonne allocation in the new Central Bank gold agreement year (it starts this month). The remaining 3,414 tonnes will be held back.

ALL down to ETFs?

South African broker Macquarie First South is saying it is ALL down to the investors in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). “The ETFs are actually driving the gold price because there’s so much money going into ETFs,” the broker’s analyst David Hall says.The Indians are looking at themselves. India’s gold imports for jewellery have been a major impetus to the gold price rise. The peak gold-buying Dussehra and Diwali festivals are celebrated in November.

In the January-June period Indian gold imports shot up nearly 90% to 521 tonnes. Not only is the country increasingly prosperous, but the rupee has been rising. That has kept the gold price below the sensitive Rs 10,000 per ten gram level. While forecasts for increasing gold consumption are being cut over there, they still show a 15-25% increase.

More importantly, in a nation of 1 bn people, a couple of million marriages take place across the country in the months from Diwali to February, and even small amounts of gold bought per marriage of say 200 to 300 ounces works out to a whopping 200 mn to 300 mn ounces of Gold demand in perpetuity. Some agreeably will be re-cycled Gold, but the rest is demand for fresh Gold mined out of the Earth.

The coming years can be different as Governments rapidly de-base currencies and a Nation which had seen slavery for nearly 200 years will revert to buying even more Gold, in place of all other assets including cash and currencies.

In London the precious metal traders were looking at the weakness of the dollar against the Euro. Traders Virtual Metals is another with an $800 forecast. That’s based on the dollar falling along with US interest rates.

Also scoring in our log is that “super fund” set up by the big three US banks to help out market liquidity. Predictably, comment comes from JP Morgan. This should keep US interest rates, and thus global liquidity, accommodative it says. So, “inflation-related pressures on gold will continue”.

De-hedging programmes at the mines have been providing yet more backing for gold. Those smart Australian economists quite rightly make a big thing of this. If the miners put tonnes of their future, as well as present, production on the market, that is a big dampener. Miners may “hedge” or guarantee their income by doing this. The weight of supply kills the price.

Rising gold removes the incentive to sell future production. “In the first half of 2007, gold producers reduced their outstanding hedge positions by around 300 tonnes, providing strong support for the gold price,” says the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics’ latest commodity review. Majors who did this included Barrick Gold, Newmont, Lihir Gold, and AngloGold Ashanti.

Everyone is trying to pick the top

There are detractors around. Better be prepared for the “bears”. As traders Marex Financial point out: “Everyone is trying to pick the top.” The hedging issue is raised at Japanese broker Mitsui. Its head of precious metal research, Edel Tully, says it was inevitable that the rate of de-hedging would slow.

Last year the gold price was helped by production falling to a ten-year low. At the moment world gold production is expected to be roughly stable. Less from South Africa, more from Australia, and merging producers like China. That may change.

Still, the dollar is key. UK bankers HSBC put it succinctly: “We have long maintained that the US dollar is the primary influence in determining gold prices.”
Complaints about the effect of the lower dollar on export markets are coming from Europe and China. Will Washington listen when there is an $800 billion-a-year current account deficit to worry about? Undoubtedly not!

So, not many points to trigger profit-taking, then.

Keep mining

Lessons To Be Learnt Before Entering Markets.... 1

2007-10-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

What is Investment?
The money you earn is partly spent and the rest saved for meeting future expenses. Instead of keeping the savings idle you may like to use savings in order to get return on it in the future. This is called Investment.

Why should one invest?
One needs to invest to:
§ earn return on your idle resources
§ generate a specified sum of money for a specific goal in life
§ make a provision for an uncertain future..

What are various options available for investment?

One may invest in:
§ Physical assets like real estate, gold/jewellery, commodities etc.
and/or
§ Financial assets such as fixed deposits with banks, small saving
instrume nts with post offices, insurance/provident/pension fund etc.or securities market related instruments like shares, bonds,debentures etc.

What are various Short-term financial options available for investment?
1)Savings Bank Account
2)Money Market or Liquid Funds
3)Fixed Deposits with Banks

What are various Long-term financial options available for investment?

1)Post Office Savings
2)Public Provident Fund
3)Company Fixed Deposits
4)Bonds
5)Mutual Funds

What is an ‘Equity’/Share?
Total equity capital of a company is divided into equal units of small denominations, each called a share. For example, in a company the total equity capital of Rs 2,00,00,000 is divided into 20,00,000 units of Rs 10 each. Each such unit of Rs 10 is called a Share. Thus, the company then is said to have 20,00,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each. The holders of such shares are members of the company and have voting rights.

OECD: India's Economic Growth is sustainable

2007-10-11T03:11:00.001-07:00

India's current economic growth - averaging 8.5 percent annually over the past four years - appears sustainable, but it can do better by opening its markets and easing government control, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday.

The Paris-based economic grouping of 30 countries gave much of the credit for India's rapid economic expansion in recent years to its government's efforts in the early 1990s to switch from a socialist-style state to a market-driven economy.

Over the past 15 years, India has significantly opened its markets to foreign competition, cut down government intervention in economic activities and liberalized policies to allow a bigger play for private capital.

As a result, "the sustainable growth rate of the (Indian) economy has reached 8.5 percent," the OECD said in its first-ever survey of India, released in New Delhi. That is the average pace at which the economy grew in the past four years.

Separately Tuesday, credit rating agency Standard & Poor's predicted 8.6 percent growth for India's gross domestic product in the current fiscal year ending March 2008.

Such economic expansion will help India double its per capita income in a decade, the OECD report said. It would have taken India 55 years to double average incomes if it had stayed on the growth path experienced in the three decades following the country's independence in 1947, the report aid.

Still, many economists remain concerned that much of the growth is concentrated in areas like telecommunications, information technology and other services sectors - and that many Indians, especially in rural areas, have benefited little from the boom.

More than 300 million people in India still live on less than the equivalent of $1 a day.

"This growth is meaningless if it is not inclusive," said Isher Judge Ahluwalia, who heads the Indian Council of Research in International Economic Relations, a New Delhi-based think tank.

The Indian government says it wants the economy to grow even faster so that more people can benefit from it.

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said "it is possible" for India to accelerate its economic growth to 10 percent if the country moves quickly to build infrastructure, reforms its labor market and further opens up to foreign capital, especially in the financial and energy sectors that are still dominated by state-run firms.

"The impressive response of the Indian economy to past reforms should give policy makers confidence that further liberalization will deliver additional growth dividends and foster the process of pulling millions of people out of poverty," the OECD report said.

Meanwhile, foreign investors have increasingly flocked to India to seize opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Foreign funds have already bought more than $14.5 billion in Indian stocks this year, according to Securities and Exchange Board of India.

That money, which has come on the top a record $16 billion the country received in foreign direct investment through last fiscal year, has helped Indian shares reach record highs.

On Tuesday, the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex rose 4.5 percent to cross 18,000 for the first time. The index has gained more than 2,000 points, or 13 percent, in just 14 trading sessions

A Sino-Jap Battle for Iron Ore

2007-10-11T03:11:00.000-07:00

A quiet Sino-Japanese skirmish in the wild west of Western Australia over iron ore flared hotter Wednesday, with Japan-backed Murchison Metals launching a pre-emptive hostile takeover of smaller rival Midwest Corp.

Murchison’s offer, valued at up to 986 million Australian dollars ($887 million), came after the West Australia state government confirmed Monday that it had given up hope that the two competitors would work together and decided instead to choose only one to develop rail and port links to iron ore deposits that the two companies are developing in the remote midwest region of the state.

Ostensibly, the takeover battle is being fought among two mid-size Australian iron ore producers. Both, however, are deeply entwined with Chinese and Japanese interests that are competing for increasingly expensive metal resources.

Murchison is allied with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. (other-otc: MSBHY - news - people ), which agreed in June to a joint venture partnership in which it will buy half of Murchison’s iron ore production.

Murchison also has South Korea’s largest steel maker, Posco, as a major shareholder and a key customer.

Midwest is aligned with Chinese commodity trader Sinosteel Corp., which is backing its iron ore projects in the region. China passed Japan as the world’s largest buyer of iron ore in 2003.

Murchison is about 2.5 times larger than Midwest in terms of market capitalization.

A showdown was seemingly inevitable as neither side would like to see the other party win the government’s tender as the sole developer of the rail-port infrastructure project.

Midwest advised its shareholders to stay put before its board has a chance to review the merits of Murchison offer.

Paul Kopejtka, Murchison’s executive chairman, said merger talks between the two companies had failed and that recent events had also made the timing of the bid sensible.

“The value that can be generated by combining these companies will diminish over time as each company moves forward with separate development plans,” he said.

Murchison said combining it with Midwest would create Australia’s second-largest listed iron ore producer after Fortescue Metals and a major pure-play iron ore producer with targeted 2008 production of 45 million tons.

Its two-tiered offer offers a sizable carrot for Midwest to dissolve its planned joint venture with Sinosteel: an all-stock 4.70 Australian ($4.23) bid for each Midwest share, a 34% premium over its Monday close, or 986 million Australian dollars ($887 million).

However, if Midwest incurs a “material tax liability” by selling a 50% interest in its development projects in Weld Range and Koolanooka to Sinosteel, a lower offer would be on the table at 4.38 Australian dollars ($3.95) per share, a 25% premium, or 919 million Australian dollars ($826 million).

Murchison was up 2.17% early Monday afternoon at 5.19 Australian dollars ($4.68). Midwest soared 29.63% to 1.04 Australian dollars (94 cents).

Online Job Vaccany

2007-10-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a golden chance for all those who want to earn
money online.A  reputed Blog network firm is looking
for candidates who could provide them with articles on
selected subjects .These articles will be posted in
their blogs when it meets all the necessary
recommendations.If you are a person who has the
ability to write articles or can get news from
different sources,you can apply for the post.
If you are selected you have to post articles on
regular basis.The payment will be according to the
hits to your blog and the quality of the article.You
will be paid when your earning reaches 1000 rupees

Contact at  smartraz@yahoo.co.in   for more
information along with the details of area where you
can contribute by writing.


Dont miss this chance,You could earn a living from this.

Quotes of Warren buffet 2

2007-09-29T06:56:00.007-07:00

You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right.
We do not view the company itself as the ultimate owner of our business assets but instead view the company as a conduit through which our shareholders own assets.
When Berkshire buys common stock, we approach the transaction as if we were buying into a private business.
Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.
Accounting consequences do not influence our operating or capital-allocation decisions. When acquisition costs are similar, we much prefer to purchase $2 of earnings that is not reportable by us under standard accounting principles than to purchase $1 of earnings that is reportable.
Never invest in a business you cannot understand.
Unless you can watch your stock holding decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market.
Why not invest your assets in the companies you really like? As Mae West said, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful".
(When speaking of managers and executive compensation) The .350 hitter expects, and also deserves, a big payoff for his performance - even if he plays for a cellar-dwelling team. And a .150 hitter should get no reward - even if he plays for a pennant winner.
The critical investment factor is determining the intrinsic value of a business and paying a fair or bargain price.
Risk can be greatly reduced by concentrating on only a few holdings.
Stop trying to predict the direction of the stock market, the economy, interest rates, or elections.
Many stock options in the corporate world have worked in exactly that fashion: they have gained in value simply because management retained earnings, not because it did well with the capital in its hands.
Buy companies with strong histories of profitability and with a dominant business franchise.
Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.
It is optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.
As far as you are concerned, the stock market does not exist. Ignore it.
The ability to say "no" is a tremendous advantage for an investor.
Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell.
Lethargy, bordering on sloth should remain the cornerstone of an investment style.
An investor should act as though he had a lifetime decision card with just twenty punches on it.
Wild swings in share prices have more to do with the "lemming- like" behaviour of institutional investors than with the aggregate returns of the company they own.
As a group, lemmings have a rotten image, but no individual lemming has ever received bad press.
An investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she avoids big mistakes.
"Turn-arounds" seldom turn.
Is management rational?
Is management candid with the shareholders?
Does management resist the institutional imperative?
Do not take yearly results too seriously. Instead, focus on four or five-year averages.
Focus on return on equity, not earnings per share.
Calculate "owner earnings" to get a true reflection of value.
Look for companies with high profit margins.
Growth and value investing are joined at the hip.
The advice "you never go broke taking a profit" is foolish.
It is more important to say "no" to an opportunity, than to say "yes".
Always invest for the long term.
Does the business have favourable long term prospects?
It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.
Remember that the stock market is manic-depressive.
Buy a business, don't rent stocks.
Does the business have a consistent operating history?
An investor should ordinarily hold a small piece of an outstanding business with the same tenacity that an owner would exhibit if he owned all of that business.

Quotes of Warren Buffett 1

2007-09-29T06:56:00.006-07:00

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.
Warren Buffett

Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.
Warren Buffett

I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute.
Warren Buffett

I am quite serious when I say that I do not believe there are, on the whole earth besides, so many intensified bores as in these United States. No man can form an adequate idea of the real meaning of the word, without coming here.
Warren Buffett

I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.
Warren Buffett

I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.
Warren Buffett

I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.
Warren Buffett

If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.
Warren Buffett

If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.
Warren Buffett

In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.
Warren Buffett

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.
Warren Buffett

It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction.
Warren Buffett

It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.
Warren Buffett

Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.
Warren Buffett

Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.
Warren Buffett

Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.
Warren Buffett

Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.
Warren Buffett

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.
Warren Buffett

Our favorite holding period is forever.
Warren Buffett

Our favourite holding period is forever.
Warren Buffett

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.
Warren Buffett

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.
Warren Buffett

Risk is a part of God's game, alike for men and nations.
Warren Buffett

Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.
Warren Buffett

Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.
Warren Buffett

The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.
Warren Buffett

The first rule is not to lose. The second rule is not to forget the first rule.
Warren Buffett

The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth.
Warren Buffett

The only time to buy these is on a day with no "y" in it.
Warren Buffett

The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is. For to a degree, people read the press to inform themselves-and the better the teacher, the better the student body.
Warren Buffett

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.
Warren Buffett

Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.
Warren Buffett

Value is what you get.
Warren Buffett

We believe that according the name 'investors' to institutions that trade actively is like calling someone who repeatedly engages in one-night stands a 'romantic.'
Warren Buffett

We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds.
Warren Buffett

We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.
Warren Buffett

When a management team with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.
Warren Buffett

When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.
Warren Buffett

Why not invest your assets in the companies you really like? As Mae West said, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful".
Warren Buffett

Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.
Warren Buffett

You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing.
Warren Buffett

You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.
Warren Buffett

Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it's not going to get the business.
Warren Buffett

Creating Your Website for Google AdSense

2007-09-29T06:56:00.005-07:00

Before you even begin your site, make sure you've come up with a topic that you feel you know plenty about. That way it will be easiest to write a lot of content.
The more content you have, the better chance you have getting accepted into the program. Also, the more content, the greater the earning potential. AdSense is nothing but a numbers game. If you want to make a lot of money, prepare to write a lot of content.
Now let's talk about building your website. There are two ways you can approach this:
1) Do it yourself Method
2) Hire Professionals to design your website

1. The Do It Yourself Method
If you use the Do It Yourself Method, you will have to go and register a domain name (yoursite.com) and then sign up for a web host and build your pages. You can either learn HTML or buy some kind of web editor like Microsoft FrontPage to build your pages. That's the method I used to build this site.
Averaging between $10 and $15 per month, the Do It Yourself Method is usually the most cost friendly of the two but you are mostly on your own in terms of learning how to create your web pages and adding the AdSense code to your site.
Web hosts are generally there to house your site. They don't specialize in helping you market and optimize your site for the search engines to help you get traffic. So don't expect a lot from them in terms of helping you market your site.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. I had to learn how to build this site on my own and it wasn't very difficult.
I bought Microsoft FrontPage and in about a day or two my site was up and running. So if you don't mind learning, it's definitely doable. In fact, most people use the Do It Yourself Method to build their websites. The 2nd method below is fairly new in comparison.
Creating your pages is as simple as entering text into form fields and using the user-friendly editor to add text, create links, and add pictures and more. Some Designing and Development software’s are needed to be installed before you being on your own. You simply select a template you want to use and your site is built in seconds...literally.
What's even better is that you will have access to tons of free guides that show you how to optimize your site for the popular search engines so you can get as much free traffic as possible.
2. Hire Professionals to design your website

This is very easy and best way to get your website ready. We hired professionals to design our site and now it earns decent income every month within a year of launching it. Our Earlier Site took nearly two years to get stable income from old site. It took me over 2 years to earn that kind of AdSense income with this site using the do-it-yourself method.
Today, the site continues to earn money from AdSense yet I have no products to sell. I'm simply offering information on a topic I know a about and our professional designers showed me how to rank high in the search engines for various keyword phrases. Over 90% of traffic comes from the free search engines.
The reason this method is more recommended from the other do-it-yourself hosts is that first it provides you all the web page building and marketing help all in one place. Your domain registration, web hosting and marketing help come with the reasonable price.
Remember, without traffic, you won't make any money with AdSense. That's why having a professional designer is so important. Keep in mind, a regular Do It Yourself host does NOT help you with search engine rankings and traffic.
I highly recommend hiring a professional designer especially if you plan on building a site specifically to earn money from AdSense. It is the kind of host that stands for everything AdSense is about -- rewarding website owners for building an abundance of useful content.
Be sure to also take a peek at all the successful websites created by mostly beginners who have never created a site before.

How Much Can I Earn With Google AdSense?

2007-09-29T06:56:00.004-07:00

Google does not disclose exactly how much you'll earn per ad that is clicked. The commission you receive per click depends on how much advertisers are paying Google for the particular ad. You will earn a share of that amount. I've heard of earnings anywhere from 2 cents to $15 per click.
So it is logical to believe that keyword phrases like debt free, employment, make money, mp3, sex, etc. will earn you more per click since these are highly competitive keywords that are searched for quite a bit on the web. Advertisers generally pay more for popular terms because they are searched for more.
Even though Google will not reveal how much you are earning for each ad that is clicked from your site, you can still login to your account at any time and see the total amount of revenue you've generated that day, week, month, year, etc.
For example, if you see that you've made $12.60 today from 9 clicks then you can calculate that your average click-thru commission was $1.40 per click. That's as detailed as their stats will get. Also remember, that's only an average. You won't know how much each specific ad brought in.
The amount you'll earn also depends largely on the amount of targeted traffic you receive to your own site, how well the ads match your audience's interests, the placement of the ads on your pages, and of course the amount you receive per click.
Ideally, you should create a site on a topic you know a lot about. That way you'll have a much easier time creating a generous amount of content on that subject.

Discover how to make regular income every month from Google Adsense

2007-09-29T06:56:00.003-07:00

Do you Know Google Is Not Only a Search Engine. It’s a Money Making Machine So if you are one of those people that like the idea of earning a few extra bucks, this is an excellent way to earn your money.
Even if you earned as little as $10 in a month, it would be more than likely cover some or all of the costs for your web site. Perhaps you are simply looking for ways to add additional revenue to your website, and then it's perfect for that situation too.
This program is getting so popular that people are creating websites just to display the ads and profit from Google's AdSense alone.
There is no such thing as “easy money" because you still have to create your own website and bring in traffic to your website in order to make good money with this program.
I certainly don't want to make it sound like you get something for doing absolutely nothing. There's no such thing. However, I've got to say that AdSense is probably the closest you'll ever come to fast money on the Internet -- especially if you already have a website that gets a good amount of traffic.
What's even better...the program is completely free. You can also use it on multiple websites and there is no limit to the amount you can earn. I know what you're probably thinking..."Is Google Crazy?" and "What's the catch here? Why would Google just give away money advertisers are paying them?"
The answer... Because Google is very smart. Now that you understand how AdSense works, I can see that it's a win-win situation for everyone involved, and the bottom line benefits Google. Let me explain...
Since the advertiser's ads are now being displayed on more web sites all over the internet (instead of just Google's site), they are getting much more exposure. More exposure means more clicks and even more traffic for their site over a shorter period of time.
This is good news for Google because the more traffic the advertisers receive, the faster their advertising funds are used up.
Remember, they get charged every time their site gets a visit; and of course, it is Google's hope that they'll continue to keep funneling more money into their account for more ad exposure.
What an ingenious way for Google to increase the amount of money they earn from advertisers while building loyalty with website owners (like us) who are now getting paid to help them advertise.
Of course, I'd expect nothing less from the most popular search engine on the web.

Google Adsense

2007-09-29T06:56:00.002-07:00

What is Google Adsense?
Google earns most of its revenue by allowing website owners to advertise on Google’s search result pages. When you search anything in Google.com you mostly find Sponsored Links at the top of the page and on the right side of the search results. These are nothing but paid advertisements of Website owners whose products / services match your search query. All this is managed through a program they call AdWords. Advertisers pay Google for showing these ads along with your search results. When you click on any of the sponsored link, advertiser is charged for a certain amount of money. This is also known as Pay-Per-Click Advertising. To advertise your website with Google Click Here.

Now you can earn a share of the revenue that Google earns from AdWords by placing these same text ads on to your own your site. In other words, you're helping Google advertise and they pay you a percentage of what they earn. This program is called AdSense.
Anyone who has a website can sign up for Google Adsense. It's just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Even if your site is just for information purposes, you can still participate and make decent money with AdSense or at least enough to fund your website.
In other words, AdSense is Google's program for website owners of all sizes to display relevant Google ads on their website's content pages and earn money. Adsense is one of the newest and most profitable ways of making money on the internet. You can literally earn an income without selling, or doing anything aside from bringing visitors to your website. If your visitor sees a text link that he or she is interested in and clicks - you will earn money from the click. The amount earned varies, and at any time can range from $.05, to over $10.00. It all depends on the ad being shown at the time.
From your website, your visitors will be able to read free related articles. Each page contains highly targeted Adsense banners, aimed at turning visitors into clicks. Each banner has been tested and strategically placed in the highest converting areas.
Also, the banners have been customized to blend seamlessly into the website - to keep the design flowing. In other words, the banners are not "out of place," or unattractive. If you've ever wanted to make money on the internet, but have been turned off by the amount of selling, order responses, and customer service required, then this website is perfect for you.
Earn from Google AdSense by showing relevant ads on your own website. Be part of the Google Adsense network that is free & easy to setup. Google AdSense offers more ways for you to earn money while making your site more useful for visitors.
Along with targeted advertising for your content web pages, you can add a Google search box to your web site and show targeted ads on search results pages. When visitors click on these ads, Google pays you. The easiest way to get the advertisements on your website is to get registered with Google AdSense.Google Adsense is providing pay per click advertisement to put it on your web site.

Work from home IDEAS

2007-09-29T06:56:00.001-07:00

Work from Home ads has been around for years in magazines and newspapers. Now they've moved to the Internet. They promise easy work from home ideas, unlimited opportunities and high pay.
Unfortunately they usually promised more than they delivered, and the buyer was disappointed once again. There are real business opportunities though. It just takes personal discipline to determine which the best business is for you. An honest and thoughtful analysis of your skills, abilities knowledge and resources is the first steps to choosing an easy work from home idea.
You know you are ready to work at home, and you know you have the desire and motivation to make it work, but you have no idea where to begin?
It isn't easy, and if you've spent any time sifting through millions of home-based business related websites, you probably wonder if there even is such a thing as a perfect home based business out there at all.
There is truly a very fine line between many home-based jobs and home-based businesses, and sometimes you are doing both at the same time.
While it might be difficult for you to choose a business that will work for you, think about your skills and interests, and be open to the idea of doing several closely related things.
Don't pass up an opportunity to use your talents, education, skills, and create multiple streams of income!
When choosing your new home based venture, make sure you don't base your decision solely on the potential income. Instead, choose ideas that you would enjoy doing, or have a strong interest in learning and doing, because you'll be spending a lot of time doing them. Of course, income potential should be considered, but definitely should not be the sole reason for choosing a type of home business.
List of Work at Home Jobs & Business Ideas is very large… you can search of any business idea that you feel you will be comfortable with and you are confident you can successes in it.

Business ideas are listed here for your reference.
Accounting Business
Answering Service
Auctions: Sell on eBay and Other Online Auctions
Bridal and Wedding Consulting Service
Cake Decorator and Custom Cake Design Service
Candle Making
Candy Making
Candy Wrappers
Catering Business
Child Day Care Service
Cleaning Service
Craft Making
Create Custom Gift Baskets
Crochet
Dance Instructor
Desktop Publishing
Dog Trainer
Event Planner
Face Painting
Family History and Genealogy
Florist
Freelance Photographer
Fundraising
Garden and Lawn maintenance
Home Daycare
Professional Alterations and Seamstress Service
House Cleaning
Internet Research Service
Jewelry Making
Life Coach
Makeup Artist
Marketing Consultant
Massage therapist
Medical Billing
Medical Transcription
Newsletter Service
Online Tutoring Service
Personal Trainer
Pet Treatment
Pet-Sitting Business
Photography business
Professional organizer
Professional Pet Grooming Service
Proofreading Service
Real Estate Agent
Recruiter
Resume Writing Service
Romance Writer
Scrapbooking Business
Search Engine Optimization and Submission Services
Selling Your Arts and Crafts
Soap-Making
Teach Guitar
Telecommuting
Travel agent from home
Tutoring Business
Virtual assistant
Virtual Assistant Secretarial Service
Web Design Service
Web Hosting Reseller
Wedding Planner
Window cleaning
Write a Children's Book
Write a novel
Write an ebook
Writing freelance
Yoga Teacher

Earn from Affiliate programes

2007-09-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

An affiliate program, also known as "referral", "associate" or "partner" program, allows web site owners to earn commissions from their web site by referring people to products and services. If you don't have a product of your own to sell, you can join affiliate programs to bring in additional revenue to your site.
Let's say your site is about home improvement and you offer tips on various household projects, tools, etc. You would join affiliate programs from hardware companies and refer your visitors to their products from your own website.
How Do Affiliate Programs Work?
Most affiliate programs are free to join and easy to setup. The company will usually provide you with a special link to use that contain a tracking code inside it. Any time you send your visitors to the company's web site, you'll send them via the link so all your orders can be tracked and identified.
For example, let's say Home Depot has an affiliate program. Once you join, they may instruct you to send your visitors to a link that looks something like this: http://www.homebasedonlinejobs.com
The "ID5004" is the part that is tracked by Home Depot. Any time someone goes to their site via this particular link and places an order, it is tracked back to you. Then you earn commission for that sale.

How Much Can I Earn?
How much you earn per sale depends on the company's affiliate program model. Many programs pay a percentage of the total sale. Some will offer a fixed dollar amount ($50 per sale, for example).
The Big Myth!
Unfortunately, many people believe since many affiliate programs are free and that they are given a website, it will be much easier to make money than it would if they had to market their own product.
Not true at all.
Even if you are involved in an affiliate program, it's very important that you develop your OWN site with a clear and solid theme. Then integrate related affiliate programs into your site. So if your site is about gardening, you would find companies that sell products related to what your visitors are interested in: gardening tools and furniture, lawn care, etc.
It's important to make sure your own site is not just pages full of links to the company you're affiliated with. You should have your own unique and well-organized content throughout your site. Aim for at least 20 pages of ORIGINAL content and prepare to keep building.
Staying with the Home Depot example, you could register the domain name, HouseHoldMistakes.com and develop a guide for common mistakes made when repairing household items.
Throughout that site you could make recommendations for various Home Depot products and earn commissions. The key is to join programs and recommend products and services that naturally compliment the theme of your web site.
Something to Remember
One thing you should keep in mind is that you should only join affiliate programs that relate to your website. If your site is about home employment, it makes no sense to advertise jewelry on it. People are coming to your site to look for jobs, not diamonds.
Although it's tempting to join any and every affiliate program that sounds lucrative, more is not always better. You could do quite well simply promoting one or two programs if they are a good fit for your site's audience and you present the products/services well.
Plastering banner ads all over your site is not a good way to earn money. Recommendations through useful editorial content are the best way to get the sale.
Another Example . . .
Let's say you have a web site about child safety and you're writing an article about burglar alarms. You belong to an affiliate program that pays you $100 for every burglar alarm you sell. At the end of the article, you could include a recommendation for a burglar alarm system, and it's important to note that the recommendation shouldn't sound like an advertisement. It would just be a logical statement that flows with the rest of the article. For example: One of the premiere burglar systems on the market is Burglar Alarm XYZ. We use it in our home and it has always given us top-notch performance. Click here for more information.
And of course when the visitor "clicks here" they're taken to the company site via your unique affiliate web site address so you receive the commission if that person orders a product.
See how the recommendation just wraps up the article? It's not a blatant advertisement that yells for the visitor to BUY NOW!!!!! Notice also that the recommendation includes a personal testimonial. That's a great touch. If you can tell your visitors that you've used a product and can provide feedback about it, which will add to your credibility.
First the article provides general, useful information about burglar alarms and then ends with a solid recommendation for a particular product that the web site owner endorses. Build a Site With Lots of Content Web sites that do the best with affiliate programs contain lots and lots of useful content that's updated often and has its own developed theme with a targeted audience.
Don't ever waste your time joining a couple of affiliate programs and then building a one or two-page web site to promote the products. Build a web site with a clear, concise theme that is supported by tons of articles and information on your topic.
You need to build credibility to encourage people to respect your recommendations. It's difficult to do that with a small site. One good way to build this credibility is by providing useful articles and helpful resources that gives your visitors confidence that you know what you're talking about.
You want them to feel comfortable taking your advice. Remember they can't see or talk to you so all they have to go on is the information you provide on your site -- so make it good!
Also remember, there is no such thing as too much information. The more knowledge you can fill them with, the greater chance they'll keep coming back to your site again and again.
This is another reason you should always choose a topic you are truly interested in. The more you know about a subject, the easier it will be to add content and keep your site updated.
Most people will not buy on the first exposure. They need to see the product more than once. If your site is lacking content, what reason would your visitors have to return again?
Updated, quality content encourages visitors to keep coming back for more. The more they're exposed to what you have to offer, the greater the chance they'll decide to purchase something based upon your recommendation.
Only Promote High Quality Products. Don’t hurt your web reputation by referring less-than-satisfying products and services. There are plenty of good products out there for you to offer. Don’t waste your time on the junk.
If you’re looking for long-term success out here, start off on the right foot and only refer high quality products to your visitors. If you do this, chances are they'll return to your site and respect your recommendations.

Need Help Finding Affiliate Programs?
Commission Junction is an affiliate network that you can join and it will give you instant access to hundreds of free affiliate programs in one place. Simply search through the network and find affiliate programs that fit your site's theme and apply to the ones you want.
Let's say your site is about music and you want to find programs that pay you to refer people to buy CD's. Simply search the CJ network and join the music affiliate programs that interest you. CJ provides all the banners and links to help you promote the specific program. They also track sales and traffic for each program right from their online control panel.
At any given time you can login to CJ.com and check your traffic and earnings for the day, month or year. You can even break down the report by affiliate program so you can see which programs are performing the best for your site. Commission Junction keeps track of all your earnings and sends you a payment once a month for any commissions you've earned. Join the Commission Junction network today.
The key to finding success with affiliate programs is to build a website on a specific niche. It can be a topic you know a lot about, hobby or even a pastime. Create at least 20 pages of unique content on your niche and always look to expand your site. The more information the better. Once you start building that content, begin searching for affiliate programs that match your site's theme. Then work on getting traffic to your site via the search engines, especially Google. If done effectively, you could earn enough income to drastically change your life. I've done it, and so can you.

Pipelines-Have You Seen The Future?

2007-09-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

STEEL PIPES: THE FUTURE HAS JUST BEGUN
What do PSL, Jindal Saw, Maharashtra Seamless, Pratibha Industries, Ratnamani Metals & Welspun Gujarat have in common? All of them service the growing Oil and Gas segment in the country.

During past three years, there has been a change in the mindset of India’s entrepreneurs. A change in thinking is result of the confidence that India is at par with the world. The word multinational no more means a foreign company, infact there are sizable Indian multinationals now, and this number is growing. The change of confidence is visible as even larger amounts are being invested in ventures globally located.

Piping Industry is no exception to this change. There is a huge potential demand for Pipes and Tubes manufactured in India, or manufactured by Indian entrepreneurs in plants located outside India. There would be ample opportunities and the key to unlock those would be the competitiveness and servicing of the customers requirements.

The two major Industry segments in which Steel Pipes are of significant importance are the Oil & Gas and Power segments.

Oil & Gas Industry uses the pipes for a variety of applications in:

On shore and Offshore drilling platforms, for transporting crude oil/gas to refineries and user industries, including cross country pipelines, Refineries themselves have various piping applications, similarly down stream petrochemical projects use pipelines.

The majority of the applications need SAW pipes. These could be LSAW, HSAW, Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel pipes.

According to Simdex (May 2007 update) there are 511 pipeline projects in various stages of completion and planning, totalling upto a combined length of 246,473 kms worldwide. Of these, 90 projects for 81736 kms are being planned in Asia.

India is considered to have low penetration of the pipelines at 15,000 km or 25 % of the required volume. Against this, World average is 75 %. According to an estimate by CRIS INFAC, project for 23,643 km of pipes lines have been planned till 2010.

Such expansion in the pipe lines both by Public as well as private sector companies would generate sizable demand for the entire segment that comprises pipe manufacturing.

GAS: Today, Gas is considered the cleanest form of energy. The transportation of gas through pipelines is a standard mean of transport world over as it is the cheapest mode of transportation.

Currently India country is in the process of laying down trunk lines as a part of the National grid. Also in select cities the gas is now being distributed through pipe lines. This penetration is going to be increasing in the coming days. While larger dia SAW pipes are used for trunk transportation, it is the ERW pipes which are being used for the purpose intra city distribution to the end consumers. There will ultimately be a sizable market both locally as well as globally for this product.

Similarly Ratnamani which manufactures both versions of Steel Pipes at its Anjar, Kutch and Chatral plants especially Carbon Steel products would find adequate market from increased demand due to investment lined up spanning over 10 years in Gas and Oil exploration, Oil and Gas transportation, etc. The Company’s increased capacity would be handily available to take advantage of the increased demand.

The Stainless Steel products would also have global opportunities from Refineries, Power Plants and other Industrial sectors like Paper, Pharmaceuticals etc.

POWER:

The other important sector is power. Ratnamani's products find application in all types of power plants be it Thermal, Hydel or Nuclear. It is expected that during the 11th plan period (2007-12) there is going to be additions of 66,643 MW as under:

A tentative capacity addition of 66,643 MW is planned comprising of 17,189 MW of hydro, 46,114 MW of thermal (44,000 MW coal/lignite, 2,114 MW gas/LNG) and 3,200 MW of nuclear capacity.

This addition coupled with a potential of approx. 58000 MW from renewable energy sector, mainly wind energy would also be opening sizable demand for the ERW products. (Source: Central Electricity Authority/InWEA) .

With Gas pipelines costing close to Rs 3 crore per running kilometre, the overall investment and thus say overall demand for the Steel Pipes segment would be closer to Rs 71,000 crore spread over the period 2007-2011.

Could this segment be then considered a sun rise sector?

ICICI Holdings-The Power and Value of a Holding Company

2007-09-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

ICICI Holdings - The future financial services behemoth
When it comes to scale, innovation and leadership, no bank has come close to ICICI Bank, India’s second largest bank.

It has caught the fancy of its customers, competitors, media and investors in its transformation from a Financial Institution to a retail focused ‘Universal Bank’. It is seen as one of the best proxies on India’s surging economy.

ICICI Bank has taken two major decisions recently which could have a bearing on its valuations.

It is forming a new subsidiary, ICICI Holdings which will be listed by end-2007, and transfer its investments at book value in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co., ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Prudential ICICI Asset Management Co. and Prudential ICICI Trust.

The subsidiary could be valued at Rs. 40,000 crores, out of which 70% is from the life insurance business. The bank is planning to raise Rs. 2,000 crores by divesting its 5% stake to foreign investors.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is the market leader in private sector life insurance, having 29% share amongst private players while ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has a market share of 33% among private sector general insurance companies and overall market share of about 12%.

The asset management business is among the top 2 players in India with assets under management of over Rs 37,900 crores and net profit of Rs 48 crores. These subsidiaries are valued at around Rs. 200 per share.

ICICI Bank had earlier this year successfully concluded a Rs. 20,000 crore equity issue, biggest in India so far, by June/July 2007. Out of this Rs. 5200 crore was subscribed by domestic investors (since the FDI/FII cap is at 74%).

The motives for creating a separate company and raising funds are to create structure to generate capital, avoid regulatory roadblocks with the current holding structure and have better value through market-priced holding.

Also the revised RBI Basel II guidelines notifying that all banks have to maintain a minimum of Tier I capital of 6% and cannot take any benefits arising from lowering of risk weighting on the credit risk side prompted the move. With this ICICI Bank would be able to fulfill strong corporate and retail demand, and fund loan growth for upto 5 years.

Tata Coffee-Can You Smell The Brew?

2007-09-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Could 2008 turn out to be the year of Tata Coffee? It could.

The largest private sector producer of Coffee, Black Pepper, White Pepper and Cardamom, Tata Coffee owns thousands of acres of rich, mountainous farmland in Coorg, India.

With 5000 tonnes of Coffee exports per annum, Tata Coffee is also the largest-grower exporter of Coffee in the country with tie-ups that include the up-country Starbucks.

Post Acquisition of the 8 "O" Clock Chain in the US, Tata Coffee is well equipped to satisfy the taste buds of the Americans. 7 out of 10 Americans are believed to be Coffee drinkers making the nation the largest Coffee drinking market in the World.

Investors would do well to realise that the next boom in Real Estate will feature agricultural communes and concerns like Tata Coffee with farmland and resorts in Coorg could be key beneficiaries.

The Federal Reserve cut both its federal funds rate and the discount window rate a generous half percentage point last Tuesday, in an effort to prop up a cratering U.S. real estate market, and to prevent the economy from slipping into recession.

At the same time, the Fed noted that, "Some inflation risks remain, and it will continue to monitor inflation developments carefully."

Heck, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke doesn't need to look farther than his morning cup of coffee to see inflation at work. Prices are on the launch pad, up more than 6% just this past Monday!

In fact, just about everything in your morning breakfast is only going to get more expensive, as agricultural commodities, led by wheat and soybeans, get swept up in a rip-roaring bull market.

The good news is there are ways you can play the coming move that will perk up your portfolio with potential profits. I'll get to those in a bit. First …

What's Brewing Behind the
Scene in Coffee Beans?

Last week, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) upwardly revised its forecast of 2007-2008 global coffee consumption to at least 122 million bags, a rise of 1.4% from 120.3 million bags in 2006.

The ICO projected that coffee production would rise at the same time. However, that forecast depended on Brazil, the world's biggest producer, having a bumper crop.

On Monday, Brazil dropped a bombshell: It said its main coffee-growing region is suffering a severe drought, one that will likely hurt the harvest.

As a result, Brazil will reap 2.2 million metric tonnes of coffee this calendar year, down from 2.59 million in 2006, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.

Brazil's coffee crop has gotten punished by uncooperative weather. Brazil produces both arabica and robusta coffee beans.

About two-thirds of the world's coffee is arabica, which is preferred by coffeehouse operators including Seattle-based Starbucks.

Robusta beans are used in instant coffee, espresso and low-cost blends.

To make matters worse, Vietnam, another big coffee producer, should see its harvest of robusta beans fall by about 3.2% to 18 million bags in the 2007-2008 crop year.

Add it all up, and you can see why coffee prices took off like a rocket on Monday.

Coffee isn't the only commodity that's roaring higher. Indeed, over the last month, it's only the ninth-best performing commodity!

Of course, there's one country I haven't mentioned yet …

China: Epicenter of an Economic Earthquake
That Is Reshaping Global Markets

China has seen its harvest hammered by drought. At the same time, its citizens are becoming more affluent and can afford to eat more and better food.

That's why, in just the first half of this year, food prices in China rose by an average of 7.6%, led by a 70% jump in the price of pork. Beef jumped 49% … fresh vegetables sprouted 22.5% higher … and eggs rose a sizzling 27.9%.

This isn't a one-month trend. This is a fundamental shift in global markets!

We're used to food prices being cheap, but now we're in competition with China, India and other emerging markets for the food on our tables. They have more and more of our money every day, and they will bid up the price of just about everything at the supermarket.

When you add in other NEW sources of demand — such as ethanol and other biofuels — you can see why prices could go much, much higher for a long time.

The smart money is starting to get interested. Commodity guru Jim Rogers has said that soft commodities are where the biggest gains will be made over the next five to 10 years.

And even Rogers could be playing it conservatively. Christopher Wyke, from fund manager Schroders, was recently quoted as saying …
"After coming out of a quarter-century bear market in agricultural and soft commodity prices, we are now at year one of a 20-year bull market."
How to Perk Up Your Own Profit Potential

With coffee prices percolating higher, you might want to buy one of the companies that will be brewing up profits.

Starbucks is the big daddy of coffee, of course, and with 13,000 coffee shops in more than 35 countries, the sun never sets on its revenue stream.

It will probably be able to pass along price hikes despite griping from consumers, because millions of its customers need their daily fix. And by some metrics, this king of the coffee shops still looks cheap.

Another taster's choice would be Green Mountain Roasters. It roasts about 100 varieties of arabica coffee, which it sells to more than 8,000 wholesale customers including supermarkets, convenience stores, and office coffee services.

And Finally it has to be Tata Coffee-the owners of the 8 "O" Clock chain in the US and a key ally of Starbucks.

Philip Kotler's Marketing book!!!

2007-09-26T06:56:00.002-07:00

Get the book on Principles of Marketing by Marketing Guru,Philip Kotler free directly from the link below:

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All books of Warren Buffett

2007-09-26T06:56:00.001-07:00

Get huge collection of e-books on Warren Buffett free including books like:

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Basics of Investment E-books

2007-09-26T06:55:00.002-07:00

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Finance and Valuation E-books!!!

2007-09-26T06:55:00.001-07:00

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2007-09-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

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A Cut in US Interest Rates will lead to a Weak Dollar

2007-09-18T06:48:00.001-07:00

Last week, Former Fed Chairman Greenspan declared that the ongoing credit crunch is "identical" to the crisis of 1998 — when Russia defaulted on its debt and the giant hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management came to the brink of collapse.

I disagree. It's actually a lot worse.

The primary source of today's crisis — the mortgage meltdown in the U.S. — is far larger than the source of the crisis in 1998.
The number of hedge funds and other institutions involved is hundreds of times greater.

Most important, in my view, the borrowing of low-interest Japanese yen to buy high-risk investments (the "yen carry trade") is many times larger.

And now, it seems U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson shares my view. Indeed, this week Paulson warned that:

We have a severe crisis of confidence in credit markets.

It is likely to last longer than previous financial shocks of the past two decades.

It could even last longer than the turmoil that followed the 1998 crisis or Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s!
Good. At least someone besides us realizes this isn't an isolated pain that a couple aspirin can alleviate. And fortunately, your portfolio doesn't have to just lie there suffering. There are plenty of profits to be made as long as you know where to look.

One of my favorite vehicles: Japan's currency, the yen. Let me explain why …

Dust Off Your "De Lore-Yen,"
We're Going Back in Time!

Let's step back in time to 1997-1998, focusing on the Asian Financial Crisis.

That's sparked one of the greatest and sharpest rises of any major currency in modern history — the yen was up 20% in just one month, and much more as the year progressed.

I showed you this chart in Money and Markets two weeks ago … and I don't want you to forget it.

Reason: I have a feeling we could see a move of similar (or even greater) proportions very soon.

What was the big force behind the yen's powerful surge back then?

It wasn't economic growth — the Japanese economy was still suffering from an on-again-off- again recession that began earlier in the decade.

And it certainly wasn't the attraction of high interest rates, in as much as the Bank of Japan had been pushing rates sharply lower, maintaining a zero-interest rate policy.

Rather, the yen surged during the Asian Financial Crisis because of a surging worldwide aversion to RISK!

Let me explain.

In the 1990s, Japan slashed its interest rates practically to zero. So investors in the U.S. and elsewhere got the brilliant idea that they could …

Borrow Japanese yen at lower interest rates …

Convert them into dollars or other currencies …

Invest in higher-yielding, higher-risk instruments, and …

Make a fortune!
That's the "yen carry trade" — using borrowed yen to finance your investments in dollars and other currencies. And back in 1998, close to $140 billion was involved in this transaction.
But as soon as the crisis hit, investors scrambled to reverse the transaction:

They started losing a fortune on their higher-risk investments in the U.S. and elsewhere.

They rushed to sell them …

They bought Japanese yen to pay back the money they had borrowed from Japan, and …

They drove the value of the Japanese yen through the roof!
That's why the yen surged 20% in just one month. That's the powerful force that created one of the greatest moves in currency of all time.

Back to the Present

Now, I expect the same thing to happen again this time around, and possibly on a much larger scale.

Not only is the credit crunch bigger and longer lasting, as Treasury Secretary Paulson himself said this week. But the amount of money involved in the yen carry trade — estimated at $1 trillion or more — is about seven times greater.

Plus, there's another side of the story no one seems to be telling:

Japanese Investors Themselves Are Getting Scared, So
Many Are Repatriating Their Money Invested Overseas

U.S. and other international investors aren't the only ones who have hopped on the carry-trade bandwagon. Domestic investors in Japan are also a big part of this phenomenon: They've been just as quick as anyone else to borrow yen and invest it outside the Japanese archipelago.

Few analysts have paid much attention to this side of the story, perhaps because Japanese investors have typically been slower to run from their overseas investments. But that could be changing very quickly.

A catalyst: Just this week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned after his Liberal Democratic party was defeated in elections for the Upper House.

That leaves Japanese investors wondering if their government will now have trouble supporting the economy. Enough of a shock to alter the risk-appetite among investors in Japan? You bet!

In fact, that trend may have already been under way well before Abe's resignation. According to data from Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japanese residents sold more foreign equities than they purchased — to the tune of 273.3 billion yen — this past July. Then, in August, sales of foreign bonds outpaced purchases by more than 690 billion yen.

Year to date, Japanese residents are also net sellers when it comes to transactions in international securities, quite a departure from the prior two years when the Japanese were largely net purchasers.

And remember: When the Japanese (or anyone else) are investing in foreign securities with yen, they have to sell their yen to convert into a foreign currency, driving its price down. So all their overseas investing in recent years contributed to yen weakness.

Conversely, now it's the opposite: When they unload their foreign investments, they have to buy yen to bring their money back home, driving the yen's value up. And all this money repatriation by the Japanese is another big factor that should contribute to yen strength.

There's a pattern emerging: As risk continues to find its way back into global financial markets, we could see the floodgates open and a tidal wave of investors all over the world rush to buy yen.

The net result: Don't be surprised to see a yen surge that rivals — or exceeds — its massive rise of 1998.

A Dollar decline will be positive for Third World Stocks

2007-09-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

In the last few years, many U.S. investors have begun pouring money into global mutual funds, and they think they're getting great diversification.

However, many of the funds receiving the biggest inflows are about as authentically foreign as an Italian meal at the Olive Garden!

Here's why:

A lot of so-called "global" mutual funds have only 30% or 40% of their portfolios in foreign investments. Plus, many "emerging market" funds are heavily concentrated in mega-cap multinational companies that have huge U.S. businesses.

So these funds could suffer grievously when the U.S. economy sputters.

I'd like to take this a step further …

The typical U.S. investor considers foreign stocks and bonds to be extremely risky. So they allocate perhaps 5% or 10% of their holdings to international investments. In contrast, my colleagues and I believe the vast majority of investment risks are currently found in the U.S.

As a result, we recommend investors allocate at least 90% of their portfolios to non-dollar-denomina ted assets!

If you've been steeped in the rhetoric of Washington and Wall Street, that might sound extreme. But when you consider the current realities of the global economy, then I think you'll agree that our suggested approach is not at all risky, extreme, or as some would even argue, unpatriotic.

The Typical Foreign Stock Has Better
Fundamentals, a Superior Yield, and a
Lower Valuation than its Domestic Counterpart.
Plus It Protects You Against a Declining Dollar.

We believe that the growing imbalances in the U.S. … its twin budget and current account deficits … its lack of domestic savings … and the erosion of its industrial base … have now reached a tipping point.

In our view, the dollar will have to decline substantially in value, perhaps as much as 50% or 75%. The principal factor that has prevented this from happening already is the unprecedented currency intervention of foreign central banks.

When this crutch is removed, and one day it will be, the dollar will fall hard. We do not celebrate this trend, but we do recognize it as an intractable force.

Some assume that a declining dollar is only a problem for those Americans who vacation abroad. What they don't realize is that a weakening greenback will also raise the cost of living right here in the U.S.

A falling dollar will not only limit the amount of goods flowing into the U.S., but also increase the share of U.S.-produced goods and services flowing overseas (as foreigners outbid Americans). The drop in supply means that prices will rise in real terms.

Buying foreign shares can help you prepare for that scenario, because you'll be setting yourself up for higher current income.

Moreover, we believe this rise in income will occur precisely at a time when income from other sources, such as wages, stock price appreciation, and home equity extractions becomes increasingly hard to come by.

We are not alone in our view that the greenback will fall, either. Former Fed Chairman Paul Volker, PIMCO Bond specialist Bill Gross, and legendary investor Warren Buffett have all sounded the same warning.

In fact, Buffett is positioning his own portfolio for that day. His holding firm, Berkshire Hathaway, recently paid $4 billion to purchase Israeli metalworking firm Iscar.

Mr. Buffet expressly stated that he made the purchase because Iscar had a low valuation, generous cash flow, and generated almost all of its income from non-dollar sources!

So, how can you practice what Mr. Buffett preaches?
In short, we think a non-dollar-denomina ted investment portfolio will be the deciding factor in maintaining your current lifestyle.

Safe Harbor Statement:

Some forward looking statements on projections, estimates, expectations & outlook are included to enable a better comprehension of the Company prospects. Actual results may, however, differ materially from those stated on account of factors such as changes in government regulations, tax regimes, economic developments within India and the countries within which the Company conducts its business, exchange rate and interest rate movements, impact of competing products and their pricing, product demand and supply constraints.

Earn From Your Website or Blog

2007-09-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

Do you have a website or do you plan to build one and do not know how you can make money from it ? Well Google has introduced a really great opportunity for small, medium and large web sites to earn quite a lot of money. Just go through the rest of this site to know what this opportunity means for you.

What is Adsense ?
Adsense is a break through idea from Google, that allows the owners of small, medium websites to earn money from there websites without worrying about finding advertisers and all. If you decide to participate in adsense then google puts some ads on your page and every time a user clicks on the ad you get paid.
Simple ?? Yeah it is really simple.

So How Does it work ?
When you go to Google and do any search then you can see some ads on the right hand side. These are paid ads i.e. the advertiser pays to google for that ad. Now with adsense even you can show those ads on your page and get paid by google a fraction of what it gets.

How Much Can I Earn ?
No one knows for sure and it depends upon a lot of things. Like how much traffic your site gets. How much the advertisers pay google for the advertisements and so on. Anyway it is reported that some people earn as much as 0.5$ per click. Great ??

What Will I Have To Spend
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING !!!!!!!!. Google does not charge anything for the service and there are a lot of free hosts out there where you can put up your site. However it is essential that you confirm to Google's rules to be accepted. This site is built to help you achieve that only.
That Is Too Good To Be True !

Yes it is too good but it is true. Look at this site for example. Every time you click on any of these ads I earn. Every time you do a search in the google search boxes and click an ad, I earn. And I earn a lot, else I will not spend such a lot of time maintaining this site.
Good Luck And Start Earning

Peter Lynch Investment Strategies

2007-09-07T07:17:00.006-07:00

Peter Lynch is one of the best fund managers in the world and presented are some of the key learnings from his investment style and ideas.

Small Market capitalized companies -
Lynch loved small emerging businesses with strong balance sheets,. His extraordinary returns in La Quinta Inns came at a time when the company was in the initial years of development He argued "Big companies don't have big stock moves you’ll get your biggest moves in smaller companies."
Fast growers
- Among Lynch's favorites are companies whose sales and earnings are expanding 20% to 30% a year. He cautions investors from looking at companies that grow more then 30% every year. Companies growing at 50% to 100% are bound to falter and crack. It is therefore imperative to view very high growth ideas with a sense of suspicion.
Dull names, dull products, dead industry
- Lynch loved good managements in simple mundane, colorless businesses. His arguments were that nobody creates excess capacity in dull boring industries and when you can find a winner there it makes sense to jump in.
Lynch was the proponent of the PEG theory. As long as the PE of a company was lower then the growth rate that it expected to generate Lynch would have advocated a buy on the stock.

Peter Lynch Investment Strategies

2007-09-07T07:17:00.005-07:00

Key Srategies of Warren Buffett

2007-09-07T07:17:00.003-07:00

Be focused and buy concentrated portfolios – they perform better. Buying two stocks in every sector will help you create a zoo not a portfolio. A person who diversifies is the one who is unsure of his investments. Buffet once put about half of his wealth in a single stock “American Express” when he believed that the company was into a one off problem.

Buy what you see and understand. Buffet never bought a single technology company in spite of being a very good friend of Bill Gates.

Buy businesses not stocks. Buffet advocates investors to be and think like passive a owner of that business.

Understand the Margin of Safety and the Circle of competence.
These are Buffet's favourite words. Do not be a jack-of-all-trades buy stocks of businesses that you understand.

Investment Guru-Warren Buffett

2007-09-07T07:17:00.002-07:00

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second
richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very
interesting aspects :
1)He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he
started too late!
2)He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering
newspapers.
3)He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha,that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a
fence.
4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or
security people around him.
5)He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6)His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for
the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.
7) He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
8)He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.
9) Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates
met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
10)Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.
11)His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.

Investment Guru-Warren Buffett

2007-09-07T07:17:00.001-07:00

Mutual funds for your child

2007-09-05T09:42:00.002-07:00

Rarely have we seen a time when parents were overwhelmed with so many investment options to help them plan for their children's future. It is equally true that often parents find themselves so preoccupied that they can't seem to find time to manage their own commitments, let alone plan for their children's education and marriage among other events. That is why it is important that they get some professional help. This is where mutual funds come in.

Put simply, mutual funds hire the services of a professional money manager to invest on behalf of a group of individuals. The individuals pool in their savings and leave it to the fund manager to manage their money in an optimal manner. Individuals can go about their work as usual, content in the knowledge that there is professional help at hand.

Mutual funds have much to offer to parents. Consider this - you have office work to complete, household work to do, children's homework to help with and whole lot of other social and personal commitments to take care of. In the middle of all this, where is the time to invest for your child's education or marriage or business?

Say hello to child plans/funds. We mentioned that mutual funds invest on behalf of individuals to achieve a pre-determined objective. For many investors, this objective is planning for a house, retirement, an overseas trip, parking surplus money. For parents, this objective can be 'planning for child's education or marriage or seed capital for his/her business'.

Parents must note some peculiar feature of child funds. These features tell parents exactly what makes these funds tick. It gives them a reason to consider these plans for building a corpus for their children's future.

Investment objective
The good news for parents is that there is common ground between their objectives and the objectives of child funds. Child funds are launched with the explicit objective of helping parents build a corpus. Sample this - Principal Child Benefit's investment objective reads - 'To generate regular returns and/or capital appreciation/accretion with the aim of giving lumpsum capital growth at the end of the chosen target period or otherwise to the Beneficiary (child).'

Even more explicit is UTI Children Career Plan's investment objective - 'to provide children after they attain the age of 18 years a means to receive scholarship to meet the cost of higher education and/or to help them in setting up a profession, practice or business or enabling them to set up a home or finance the cost of other social obligation.'

Asset allocation
Although most child funds take on a degree of risk by investing in stock markets, they are relatively less risky compared to diversified equity funds that can invest upto 100% of their assets in equities. They are relatively less risky because fund houses have taken adequate measures to ensure that child funds are managed conservatively.

The most important measure adopted by fund houses is to cap the equity investments at a reasonable level. Most of them have capped the equity weightage of the portfolio at varying levels, usually not exceeding 70 per cent of the net assets.

These funds have the flexibility to invest in equity and debt markets depending on the fund manager's view on these markets. These funds work like asset allocation plans allowing the fund manager to shift across asset classes so as to maximise returns for the investor.

For instance, in an equity fund, the fund manager is usually compelled to remain completely invested in equities even when stock markets appear overvalued and therefore poised for a correction. But a child fund with a cap on the equity component can always shift a portion of its assets in debt when the going gets rough.

On the same lines when equity markets are overvalued, the fund manager can shift a portion of his assets to debt so as to capture gains. When equity markets decline, he can add to the equity component. By smartly allocating assets across debt and equities, he can ensure that he enters low and exits high, the cornerstone of a successful investment strategy

Lock-in
We mentioned that fund houses make provisions to ensure that the risk associated with child funds is controlled. One way to lower the risk of equities is to make long-term investments. Over the short-term equities are the riskiest assets; over the long-term, if you tread wisely, they can generate the best risk adjusted returns for you. That is just what fund houses do; they give the fund manager the time and flexibility to make really long-term investments in the child fund. For that, they have what is commonly referred to as a lock-in period.

If you are an investor in public provident fund and National Savings Certificate then you already know what a lock-in period means. In fact, fixed deposit investors are equally aware of this term. Only difference is that child funds have an equity flavour, while NSC, PPF and FDs are debt instruments.

Reason why it makes imminent sense for equities to have a lock-in is because they demonstrate their potential over the long-term (at least 3 years in our view). When the fund manager is certain that he can invest the money for a longer period of time without being concerned about the investor standing outside his office demanding his money, he can make more prudent investments that stand a good chance of making money over the long-term.

For parents, who want to build a corpus for their children over the long-term, a lock-in must be seen as an ally for two reasons. One, it enables the fund manager to make investments that are in the investor's long-term interests. Second, it acts as a deterrent for the parent from making premature withdrawals.

As parents will appreciate, child funds have a lot of features working for them. Even if some of these features appear restrictive in nature (cap on equity investments, lock-in period) remember over the long-term they work to the parent's benefit. They instill discipline and have the potential to generate a corpus for the child, and in the final analysis that is all that matters.

Dairies: On the Cusp of a Milk Revolution

2007-09-05T09:42:00.001-07:00

Large retail companies, the likes of Reliance and Bharti Wal-Mart are likely to drive the next round of changes in the Rs 2,27,340-crore Indian dairy industry. We see the beginning of a new phase of consolidation and knowledge upgradation in the sector. It is possible that in the initial phase retailers may target farmers, who already supply to cooperatives, for sourcing tie-ups.

However, in the long run the real benefit, of organised retail’s entry into dairying, should flow to those small and marginal dairy farmers who are outside the ambit of the cooperative movement. Of the 70 million farmers engaged in dairy farming across 5 lakh villages, the cooperative network covers only 12 million farmers in 1.15 lakh villages.

Indeed, the organised sector handles and processes only 18% of the milk produced in the country. This is one reason why the average productivity of the animals is abysmally low. The average daily production of milk in India is 1.5 litres per animal. In comparison, the average daily animal yield in areas covered by Operation Flood — largely the area under cooperative movement — is 6.4 litres for a cross-bred cow, 1.9 litres for an indigenous cow and 4.2 litres for a buffalo.

Clearly, the scope for intervention, if only to raise productivity, is immense. For instance, crossbreeding of cows over the past four decades has enhanced the yield of indigenous cattlestock. Supplementing crop residue and other fodder, too, has raised per animal milk output.

The private sector retailers, with their financial strength and organisational skills, should look beyond the existing cooperatives. The effort should be to organise a large proportion of the 58 million dairy farmers who are outside the cooperative movement into a formal network.

This would require the companies to set up collection and processing centres in the hinterlands. In addition, they would need to work with the farmers on crossbreeding, cattle health and nutrition to ensure milk productivity rises. More importantly, farmers need to be adequately compensated to make dairy farming a sound proposition.

Safe Harbor Statement:
Some forward looking statements on projections, estimates, expectations & outlook are included to enable a better comprehension of the Company prospects. Actual results may, however, differ materially from those stated on account of factors such as changes in government regulations, tax regimes, economic developments within India and the countries within which the Company conducts its business, exchange rate and interest rate movements, impact of competing products and their pricing, product demand and supply constraints.

Is India's Basic industry under-valued?

2007-09-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

For the past 3 years a number of Real Estate Developers have hit the capital market with their land bank theory and future development plans. However, strange as it may sound, the Indian Industry mainly the auto sector has been sitting upon massive Real Estate for close to 5 decades. Can it be argued that the Real Estate banks of the Indian Industry ought to be valued at similar levels as Real Estate Developers and consequently the Basic manufacturing industry stocks are under-valued?

It is very interesting to see that the market cap of the top 5 Indian Companies is equal to the market cap of one Indian real estate company, that apart, the land bank of the top 5 Indian Auto companies is almost same as the land bank of One Indian Real Estate Company.

The top 5 Indian Auto companies have been manufacturing different auto vehicles for at least 3 decades and more and the Indian real estate company has been in business also for more than two decades but this real estate company made its stock exchange debut only couple of months ago, where as all the auto companies have been at some point of time been the darling of the investor over the last 3 decades or more.

What does this mean? Is DLF over valued or are the top 5 Indian Auto companies undervalued?
With auto financing rates between 12-15% in India , the auto companies have seen a slowdown in their monthly sales numbers. However, the consensus that is emerging in India is that, interest rates have peaked for the immediate future and therefore the financing rates should not go up from these levels. Saying this TATA motors has corrected more than 25%, Bajaj Auto has corrected around 15%, M&M has corrected around 30%, MUL has corrected around 15% and HH has corrected around 15% YTD respectively.

On comparing the top 5 Indian Auto Companies with one Indian Real Estate
Company, a very interesting story emerges:

Auto Companies Land Bank (approx) Market Cap

TATA Motors (TTMT) 3500 acres US$ 6 bn

Bajaj Auto (BJA) 1500 acres US$6 bn

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) 3000 acres US$ 4 bn

Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) 1000 acres US$5 bn

Hero Honda (HH) 1000 acres US$3 bn

Total 10000 acres US$25 bn

Real Estate Company

DLF Ltd 10800 acres US$25 bn

Safe Harbor Statement:
Some forward looking statements on projections, estimates, expectations & outlook are included to enable a better comprehension of the Company prospects. Actual results may, however, differ materially from those stated on account of factors such as changes in government regulations, tax regimes, economic developments within India and the countries within which the Company conducts its business, exchange rate and interest rate movements, impact of competing products and their pricing, product demand and supply constraints.

Insurance as an investment.............

2007-09-04T06:59:00.002-07:00

Agreed, insurance may not be the best place to invest your hard-earned money. But there are sufficient reasons for one to believe that it can be a highly lucrative avenue to facilitate savings. People often talk about yield on investment and tend to compare their values with those available on various insurance schemes. This is particularly typical within the Indian sub-continent where one conveniently forgets the element of risk covered by life insurance.

It is extremely unfair to compare the performance of insurance against other investments without considering the core features of insurance. The very essence of insurance is to protect your family from the uncertainty of your life. Hence it proves very logical to evaluate the costs involved towards this feature. Ask yourself this question

When you pay insurance premium for your car, do you get anything if fortunately no mishap happens? This means that you spent the amount to secure a valuable property.
Hence you must accept that out of the total amount paid by you for your life insurance, a certain amount is used for providing the risk cover and only the balance can be utilised as savings.

In other words, the total premium you pay minus the amount evaluated as the cost of insurance must be considered as the amount invested to get the maturity amount. If you calculate the yield from returns, you will be in for a surprise.

Now how do you compare the yield in such a situation? Is it 100 % or 1000 % or more?