2019: Fourth Quarter Year End Wrap
Starting with the U.S. - The Goldilocks Year... Our 2018 year-end macro wrap hinted at the U.S. entering a “Goldilocks period for equities” i.e. an environment of low inflation and low interest rates. U.S. equities did not disappoint – if anything, 2019 was a year of stellar performance. Consumers account for 70% of U.S. GDP and were the key driver for the economy in 2019. The U.S. unemployment rate is at a 50-year low of...
Read more2019: Third Quarter Wrap
It has been 3 months since our “2019: Second Quarter Wrap”. Now that the 3rd Quarter is over, let’s see where we are: Starting with the U.S.: The yield curve may not be the best predictor of a recession... The Fed’s trillion-dollar balance sheet has put downward pressure on the long end of the yield curve (research estimates the 10-year treasury yield by as much as 0.7% percentage point in 2019). Further, $16 trillion in...
Read more2019: Second Quarter Wrap
It has been 3 months since our “Welcome 2019: First Quarter Wrap”. Now that the 2nd Quarter is over, let’s see where we are: Starting with the U.S.: A mix bag of economic and corporate data Research indicates that the U.S. economy will grow 2.7% this year (1.7% to 20% in 2020). Dividend increase follows earnings growth and it is for this reason that the S&P 500 has posted a staggering year to date return...
Read moreWelcome 2019: First Quarter Wrap
It has been 3 months since our year end macro wrap and 2019 outlook “Farewell 2018: Welcome 2019”. So, let’s see where we are: Starting with the US: The 2018 fourth-quarter GDP report (which was delayed due to the partial government shutdown) was released by the Commerce Department. GDP growth came in at 2.6%, better than forecasts of 2.2%. Full year 2018 GDP now stands at 3.1% (higher than the 2.9% in our year end...
Read moreReduce your tax on Debt investments by over 70%!
It's the time of the year when our C.A. starts chasing us for “tax planning”. Where have you done the investments and what deductions can you get? This should have ideally been raised in December, but then that is rarely the case. Some of the short term fixes available to investors include (i) PPF – where the investment is eligible for savings under section 80C; (ii) NPS – eligible for tax deduction under 80CCD; (iii)...
Read moreFinancial Management…as much for women as for men
Warwick Business School did an interesting study – Are women better investors than men? An analysis of 2,800 investors found that not only did the female investors outperform the FTSE 100 over the three year study period, but they also outshone their male counterparts. While annual returns on investments for men were on average a marginal 0.14 per cent above the performance of the FTSE 100, annual returns on the investment portfolios held by women were...
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