The World This Week - 12th March to 16th March, 2012

View more documents from Karvy Private Wealth.

Cafe Mutual

Cafe mutual

View more documents from Karvy Private Wealth.

High net Indians invest in alternate assets

High net indians invest inalternate assets the sunday guardian, delhli, december 2011 -

View more documents from Karvy Private Wealth.

7 simple ways to avoid credit card money theft

1. Keep your credit cards safe.
Keep your credit cards in a purse or wallet close to your body where it can't easily be snatched away. Carry only the one or two credit and debit cards you'll be using that day. Leave all your other credit cards at home. Thieves can take pictures of your credit card with a camera or cell phone, so don't leave your credit card exposed any longer than necessary.

2. Shred anything with your credit card number on it.
Rather than toss your credit card billing statements directly into the trash, shred them to keep dumpster divers from getting their hands on your credit card number. The same thing applies to old credit cards that have expired or been cancelled. You might even put the shredded pieces in different trash bags to thwart clever thieves who can put shredded pages back together.

3. Don't sign blank credit card receipts.
To avoid credit card fraud, always verify the amount on your credit card receipt before signing it. If you get a credit card receipt that has blank spaces in it, write $0 in those spaces or draw through them before putting your signature on the card.

4. Avoid giving out your credit card information.
Only give out your credit card number or other sensitive information on calls you initiate to customer service using the number on the back of your credit card. Credit card thieves have been known to pose as credit card issuers and other businesses to trick you into giving out your credit card number.

5. Be safe with your credit card online.
Don't click on email links from anyone pretending to be your bank, credit card company, or other business who uses your personal information, even if the email looks legitimate. To be sure a website is secure, look for a lock in the lower right corner of your internet browser.

6. Report lost or stolen credit cards immediately.
The sooner you report a missing credit card the less likely it is that you'll have to pay for any fraudulent charges made on your credit card. Write down your credit card companies' customer service number now so you'll have it if your credit card is ever missing.

7. Review your billing statements each month.
Unauthorized charges on your credit card are the first indicator of credit card fraud. If you notice a charge you didn't make, no matter how small, report the charge to your credit card issuer immediately.


Source: www.credit.about.com
Follow us on: www.facebook.com/KarvyWealth
www.twitter.com/KarvyWealth

INDIA’S HNW WEALTH GROWS FASTER THAN GLOBAL WEALTH

The amount of wealth held by high net worth individuals in India has increased faster than that held by rich people globally.

That is according to the India Wealth Report, released by Indian wealth management firm Karvy Private Wealth. It found that while the fortunes of HNW individuals internationally grew by around 9% during the year, money held by Indian rich increased by more than 11%.

This made India one of the fastest-growing HNW populations in the world, accounting for 1.2% of global wealth, said the report.

It is also likely to increase further, with the research suggesting that collective wealth held by Indian HNW individuals will triple to Rs 249 lakh crore (€3.51 trillion) by 2016, up from the current Rs 86.5 lakh crore.

Much of the wealth was thanks to the increase in investment in fixed deposits and bonds, said the report. Fixed deposits, held in banks that offer high interest rates, accounted for more than 30% of individual wealth.

Second in demand was investing in high-risk, high-return assets, including direct equity. Around 29% of money, or €422 billion, was held by the rich in direct equity, said the report.

Karvy Private Wealth also touched upon the rising demand for gold, estimating that Indians hold more than 18,000 tonnes of the metal, which at today’s price levels, is worth nearly €710 billion.

While demand for gold has risen by 13% on average over the past 10 years, said the research, it will likely increase by 30% next year.


Source: http://www.campdenfo.com (RASHMI KUMAR)
Follow us on: www.facebook.com/KarvyWealth
www.twitter.com/KarvyWealth

The Debate over FDI in Retail

Owing to the unrelenting stand of its allies and the impasse it had reached with its political opponents, the government has been compelled to put on hold FDI in retail. If the objective of this policy initiative was to restore people's confidence in the government's commitment to economic reforms and earn back its political authority, the end result is far removed from the desired goal.

FDI investments in retail were subject to stringent stipulations including permission only to enter cities that have a population of above one million, a minimum investment of $100 million, of which 50% is to be used on back-end infrastructure and the requirement that 30% of the goods must be sourced from small-scale industry.

Voices of dissent, both within the UPA and from the Opposition, were heard right after the announcement. Confusion also arose on what constituted back-end infrastructure and whether sourcing from small-scale industry needed to be done domestically or could be from anywhere. And, over the next few days, there was turmoil in Parliament.

Compelled to take corrective action, the government tried to run a campaign on the benefits of FDI in retail: new manufacturing activities; new jobs, lower prices of products; benefits for the farmers et al. But none of this cut any ice with the mass opposition to FDI in retail. By this time, it was reported that perhaps even the government and the Congress party were not on the same page.

Eventually, the government was forced to announce that the decision has been put on hold till a consensus on the matter is reached. A threadbare analysis of the sequence of events is important to examine whether coalition politics can alone be blamed for the government's recent predicament.

Source: Economic times
Follow us on: www.facebook.com/KarvyWealth
www.twitter.com/Karvywealth

India’s economic growth expected to grow in FY12.

The global economy is expected to continue to grow at sub-par levels over the next few years due to the uncertainty over the US recovery, sovereign debt crisis in Europe and fragile recovery in Japan. These three economies comprise nearly 50% of the global GDP.

In the backdrop of the global economic situation, it is believed that India’s economic growth will still be a respectable 7.50% for FY12.

In fact, the GDP growth differential between the developed economies and India will widen mainly because of the ring-fencing of the Indian economy from global economic turmoil to a large extent as domestic consumption constitutes more than 60% of our GDP while exports contribute only around 20% of GDP.

It is believed that in the backdrop of a weak global economic outlook, commodity prices should also soften, which could have a favorable impact on the Indian economy.

Source: Multiple
Follow us on: www.facebook.com/KarvyWealth
www.twitter.com/KarvyWealth

The Indian Mutual funds in the coming years.

The Indian mutual fund industry has grown at a breathtaking pace in the last five years. Not only have its assets under management (AUM) grown from Rs 3 lakh crore in September 2006 to Rs 7 lakh crore in September 2011, more than 1,150 schemes are on offer today compared to 600 in 2006. Assets have increased by nearly 60 per cent over the past one year. Further, investors have got access to new products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fund of funds and international funds.

India’s buoyant asset management industry, set to continue expanding at a breathtaking pace, is attracting several new players, both international and domestic. Over a score of funds are awaiting approval, and about a dozen are expected to start operations over the next one year. So far, the Indian mutual fund industry has been product-led and offers many products that are not relevant to investors' needs. Investors will start demanding more solution-based products. Products that cater to specific life-stage needs such as education, marriage and housing may become popular. Child plans, for instance, can invest more in equity as investors can afford to take more risk given the long time frame to achieve the goal. Over the next five years, we could also see mutual funds take over the management of pension funds. We are also likely to see the launch of many new AMCs.

Mutual funds play a significant role in addressing these requirements. Mutual fund, in its essential detail, is a pass-through vehicle through which a person can invest in professionally managed portfolios of disparate asset classes like domestic equities, gilt, corporate bonds, money market instruments, gold, overseas equities, etc. The potential for growth for the Indian mutual fund industry is indeed enormous. There’s a huge generational shift in investment habits and patterns, especially among the young. Not content with plain old vanilla bank deposits, a growing number of Indians are seeking out more exciting and lucrative products. And fund houses are whetting their appetite through attractive schemes.

Source: Multiple
Follow us on: www.facebook.com/KarvyWealth

10 Smartphones to Gift this Season.

With Christmas and New Year approaching, it is once again time to make endless trips to shopping malls to select the best gifts for the holiday season. To make the painful experience, well, less painful, here are the 10 best smartphones to give this year.

1. iPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc.
It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator.
It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range of improved hardware specifications and software updates compared to the previous model.
Integrated software and hardware changes support the introduction of new user interface and functions by Apple.
Highlights include a voice recognizing and talking assistant called Siri, personal computer independence, cloud-sourced data (iCloud) and an improved camera system.
A selection of the device's functions can be controlled by voice.

2. Samsung Galaxy Nexus
The Galaxy Nexus is a touchscreen slate Android smartphone developed by a partnership between Samsung and Google.
The phone and operating system were developed collaboratively by engineers from both companies.
It is the third-generation successor to Google's previous flagship phones, the Nexus One and Nexus S.
It has a curved HD (1280 720 pixels) Super AMOLED display, an improved camera system, and Google's new version of its Android operating system, version 4.0, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich.

3. Samsung Galaxy S II
The Samsung Galaxy S II is a smartphone running under the Android operating system that was announced by Samsung on February 13, 2011, at the Mobile World Congress.
It is the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S, with a different appearance and significantly improved hardware.
The Galaxy S II was one of the slimmest smartphones of the time, mostly 8.49 mm thick, except for two small bulges which take the total thickness of the phone to 9.91 mm.

4. HTC Rezound
The HTC Rezound is the company's first smartphone showing off its partnership with Beats Audio.
The phone has improved sound quality thanks to the Beats tech and even ships with a pair of Beats Audio ear buds.
The Rezound also has a 4.3-inch 720p display, which will be great for watching videos.

5. Motorola Droid Razr
The Motorola Droid Razr is an Android-based, 4G LTE-capable smartphone designed by Motorola.
The Droid Razr is the thinnest smartphone in the world at only 7.1 mm thick at its thinnest point (it does, however, have a 'bump' on top that's 11.1 mm thick) and includes a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Advanced display, covered in a Gorilla glass screen and a Kevlar back plate.
It is powered by an OMAP 4430 SoC with dual 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor cores.
Its 8 megapixel rear facing camera can record 1080p HD videos. It comes with 1 GB of RAM and runs version 2.3.5 of the Android OS.

6. Motorola Droid Bionic
If the Razr doesn't do it for you, you may want to check out the Motorola Droid bionic instead.
The Bionic began as one of the most talked about smartphones when it debuted at CES in January 2011.
But months of delays caused Motorola to go back to the drawing board and redesign the phone from the ground up.
The result was pretty good. The Bionic has a 4.3-inch qHD display, Verizon LTE, and a solid 8 MP camera that shoots 1080p HD video.

7. Samsung Focus S
The Samsung Focus S is a slate smartphone which runs Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 Mango operating system.
Focus S is very similar to the new Galaxy S II Android phones, but runs the latest version of Windows Phone, version 7.5 Mango.
The Super AMOLED display pops, just like it does on the Galaxy phones and the OS is snappy and responsive. If you're looking for a strong alternative to Android or iOS, this is your phone.

8. HTC Sensation
The HTC Sensation is a smartphone designed and manufactured by HTC Corporation that runs the Android 2.3 Gingerbread software stack.
Officially announced by HTC on April 12, 2011, the HTC Sensation was launched by Vodafone in key European markets including the United Kingdom on May 19, 2011 and by T-Mobile in the United States on June 12, 2011 (marketed as the HTC Sensation 4G).
It was the first official HTC phone to sport the HTC Sense 3.0 user interface.

9. Motorola Atrix 2
The phone features many of the same specs as the first Atrix, but this time Motorola is marketing it towards the average user, not just those looking for a superphone.
It's number one pick if you're looking for an Android phone on a budget.

10. Motorola Photon.
The Photon runs a customized interface similar to the standard Android interface with several additions.
Motorola provides custom widgets to toggle settings for airplane mode, bluetooth, wireless 4G access (WiMAX 2.5 GHz), and WiFi access as well as resizable widgets for functions such as the calendar, social networking, a world clock and more.
The Photon's customized interface has seven home screens and four main onscreen buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Of the bottom buttons the left three buttons may be customized to run a programme of the user's choosing, while the right-most button opens the app drawer.


Source: www.rediff.com
Follow us on: www.facebook.com/KarvyWealth