Finance Questions

Capitalism is an economic system followed by a country or a society which is characterized by Privately owned businesses, a market economy and profits.

Capitalism is defined as "production for exchange" driven by the desire for personal accumulation of money receipts in such exchanges, mediated by free markets. The markets themselves are driven by the needs and wants of consumers and those of society as a whole in the form of the bourgeois state.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a relatively new phenomenon and are gaining popularity rapidly. This post outlines the key features of an ETF.

ETFs are like mutual funds because they hold an underlying asset like stocks, debt, commodities future contracts etc. If you are new to the concept of an ETF, think of it as a mutual fund, and build your understanding from thereon. An example of an ETF is the SBI Gold ETF, which holds physical gold as its underlying asset.

Personal financial planning is the process of creating and achieving financial goals.

True statements regarding personal financial planning:

As we age, the number and complexity of the financial decisions that we make increases.

There are two means for achieving financial goals—you either need to increase your savings or reduce spending.

A family's resources are limited.

It is statement of balances of all the accounts in the ledger prepared to prove the arithmetical accuracy of the books of accounts.

A trial Balance is a list of Debit and Credit or a list of Debit & Credit Balance of all the ledger accounts prepared on any particular date

Hedging is a tool to minimize the risks. It is thus like an 'insurance' where one pays a premium but gets an assured amount in case of some uncertain event to the extent of the loss actually suffered on an equally opposite position for which the hedge was done. Thus, hedger is different from arbitrageur and speculators, as the intention here is not to maximize the profit but to minimize the loss.

E.g. In Capital Markets, suppose an investor has an equity portfolio of Rs. 2 lacs and the portfolio consists of all the major stocks of NIFTY. He thinks the market will improve in the long run but might go on a downside in the shortrun. NIFTY today stands at 4300. To minimize the risk of downfall, he enters into an option contract by buying NIFTY-PUT of strike 4300 at a premium of, say, Rs. 100. Thus, the actual amount paid is Rs. 5,000(lot size of NIFTY is 50). Also, the number of NIFTY-PUTs to be bought will vary on the beta of the portfolio so as to completely hedge the positon. 

The main difference lies in the motive of the two parties. The main motive of the hedger is to hedge(minimize) the risk from the occurence of some events. 

The motive of the speculator is to gamble in the market in order to make the profit by buying/selling the derivative products.

There are two payment types that will help you stick to your budget.

1. Cash
2. Debit Card

The amount in the debit card is the only amount you can spend to stay within budget.

These method work because once you spend your money, you are done. You don’t have anything else to spend.

Credit cards, payday loans, and cash advances are all loans on future income. When you use a credit card, there is always just a little bit more you can spend. These types do not help you budget properly. In fact, these types encourage you to spend beyond your means and be out of budget.

Bull market is that market where stock value are expected rise and people will have tendency to sell their stock so as to earn profit out of it. Thus sudden push from the suppliers will gradually niutalise the market.