Friday, November 21, 2008

Goldman Sachs denies buying Citigroup Inc



Goldman Sachs Group Inc have denied buying Citigroup Inc which has run into deep cash crunch of late and has been on a constant dip for 15 years straightaway. Even the financial support being offered by US government wasn't sufficient to induce an interest in Goldman Sachs Inc in buying hard-hit Citigroup Inc.
Citigroup shares tumbled for a fifth straight day, closing Friday at a 14-year low and in process lowering the market value of once number 1 bank of U.S. to just $21 billion.
The plunging stock price of Citigroup of late has made people speculate that the bank would be forced to find a buyer quickly or sell businesses to remain in market. Citigroup's board met friday to consider these and other options, though the bank ruled out a sale of brokerage unit Smith Barney
Still Goldman sachs whose market value now is at par with Citigroup after its stock rose 2.5% friday has been on a firm stand of not entertaining any deal to buy Citi's shares and business quoting that their strategy and culture would be disrupted and moreover it could go on to make the Company vulnerable to big losses from some of Citi's assets, as said by some insiders.
Even the U.S. government offering financial support has not been enough to compel Goldman chief Executive Lioyd Blankfein to call Citi CEO Vikram Pandit

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Types of Mutual Funds

There are different kinds of Mutual funds in the market which can be availed by the public. some of them are following as listed below-:

1) Open Ended Mutual Fund- Open ended mutual funds also called open ended funds are the most common and prevalent type of mutual fund available in the financial market. They are evaluated by the mutual fund company and also by external evaluating agents. The investment of the funds are evaluated as per "fair market" price which is the final or the closing valuation in the market of the public listed securities. assets of open ended funds are kept aside as securities in the money market as well as short term investment. This way the open ended fund is made available for repurchase. Most of the open ended funds are invested in the liquid securities which can generate cash by disposing off the securities almost equivalent to a value used for evaluations.

2) Closed Ended Funds - Close Ended mutual funds also known as Close ended funds are referred to as financial securities which are pooled in the stock market.Close ended funds makes available to the public fixed numbers of shares in the IPO also called initial public offering. These shares are traded on the stock exchange. Prices of the shares are determined by the demand of the individuals investing. Share prices are not ascertained by NAV(Net Asset Value). One cannot buy close ended funds by posting a check. The close ended funds are required to be bought from the open market similar to the stocks. The best time to purchase close ended funds is promptly after the close ended funds are issued in the market. When there is abrupt fall in the prices of the share it gets sold at discounts. Close ended funds have the advantage that the quality stocks can be bought at discount prices on the other hand they have disadvantage that they change and fall abruptly.

3) Equity Based Funds- Equity based funds can be referred to as the share that an indivisual owns in a particular corporate house by aquiring some of its shares. Equity based funds can contain several selectively chosed stocks. An equity based funds manager takes care of the stocks whoose main aim is to choose those stocks which have the capability of achieving the equity based funds objectives that can be capital appreciation, return as a whole, growth for a long term. Equity based funds are diversified and offers a variety of stocks. The equity based funds are volatile, the price of their shares fluctuates on daily basis with even a slightest change in economy of functioning of a company. They provide rewards on a long term basis.

4) Bond Funds- Bond funds are for those indivisuals who opt for security as well as earning on their investment. Bond funds enables a person to earn more than from any other sources of earning like fixed deposits etc. There are different kind of Bond funds depending upon the issuer of the bond.
* A Goverment bond is the one which is issued by the treasury of the goverment and are regarded as quality bonds as they are backed by the goverment and so it's more or less ensured gauranteed payment in the event of maturity yet they yield the least.
* A Corporate bond is the one which is issued by different corporate houses for the purpose of expansion and fulfilling and funding the different activities of the corporate houses. Agenicies like CRSIL, CARE & ICRA determine the degree of safety which is determined by the ability to pay back.
* The bond funds issued by the State goverment are known as municipal bond funds on which the municipal body does not levy taxes.

5) Hedge Funds- The Hedge Fund includes those securities that are traded in the popular exchanges. The investors interested in investing in the Hedge Fund do need to follow the terms and conditions that have been set by the hedge fund company that is constructing the index.
The Hedge Fund is constructed by a hedge fund company through the adoption of certain strategies and specialized instruments those act as reflector of the whole hedge fund. These funds are structured in such a way that the tracking of the specific fund is done with minimum possibility of error.

6) Exchange Traded Funds( ETF)- An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment vehicle, much like a mutual fund, through which an investor can own an assortment of companies. An ETF contains a basket of funds or securities, often of the same investment category, such as energy and gold. The most distinguishing factor between a mutual fund and an ETF is that the latter can be traded on exchanges throughout the day like stocks. unlike mutual funds, ETFs are open to price fluctuations during the entire trading period. Since ETFs are traded on the stock market through brokers, minimal interaction with fund houses is required. Fees associated with ETFs are also lower that the mutual fund fees. Additionally, ETFs afford greater tax efficiency than mutual funds. While these benefits do exist, the one driving the popularity of ETFs is liquidity.

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Mutual Funds

Mutual Funds are money-managing institutions which invest the money collected from public. These schemes are managed by Asset Managed Companies(AMC), which are patronized by different financial institutions or companies.

Each unit of the mutual funds reflects the share of investor in the respective fund and its appreciation is judged by taking in consideration the Net Asset Value(NAV) of the scheme. The NAV is directly influenced by the bullish or bearish trends of the markets because the collected money is invested either in equity shares or in debentures or treasury bills. Mutual Funds holds up ample potential of generating decent returns if the money is invested thoughtfully and carefully with proper resarch and insight of the present market trends.

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Citigroup facing the risk of breaking up


Citigroup is facing a serious problem of breaking up as all the measure to rebuild investor confidence has failed to halt the credit crunch of the institution to a 15-year low. Citigroup Inc's board meets today to discuss the bank's options although the bank already seems to have run out of them.

The board , led by chairman Win Bischoff and independent director Richard Parsons, will meet at Citigroup's headquarters in New York. The panel could be deciding to sell some of the shares or may be entire, as reported by Wall Street Journal. The New York Times in its article said that management isn't actively considering a sale or split up of the bank.

"Investors right now aren't convinced that we're done seeing dead bodies on the Citigroup balance sheet," said William Fitzpatrick, an equity analyst at Optique Capital Management Inc. in Milwaukee, which oversees about $1 billion and doesn't own Citigroup shares. "That's what the sell-off is, concern over more and more losses over the next couple of quarters."

Citigroup, once the biggest U.S. bank, with a stock market value of $274 billion at the end of 2006, dropped yesterday to about $26 billion, slipping to No. 5 after Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp.

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State Bank to Joint Venture with SocGen


State Bank of India , said on Thursday that it has got RBI's go ahead for the proposed joint venture with a unit of French bank Societe Generale.
In a statement issued by it, State Bank of India said that a joint venture with Societe Generale Securities Services to offer custody and related services is expected to start operations by the first quarter of 2009.
SBI also added that it would hold 65% in the venture.

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Syndicate Bank Going to Reduce Interest Rate on Fixed Deposits


Syndicate Bank has decided to reduce the interest rate on fixed deposits with maturity period of one year and above by half per cent from 1st Dec this year, the interest rate will be reduced to 50 basis points from Dec one, Chairman and Managing director George Joseph said.
The bank had already lowered lending rates from Nov 4 on housing, automobiles and educational loans. The bank's net profit has showed an increase of 15% for the quarter ending Sept. this year with Rs. 262 crore as against Rs. 228 crore recorded for the quarter ending Sept last year.The gross NPA( Non Performing Asset) stood at 2.55% as against 3.07% and the net NPA decreased to 0.92% as against 0.95% in september 2007.

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Different Types of Loans

In this fast world of uncertainity we don't know when a need arrises for money which is beyond our capability or when we lack the desired amount. It is these moments when one thinks of loans. It could be a need well planned like starting a business, building a home , purchasing a vehicle, marriage loan or securing a bright future for one's children by providing them best education through good colleges by student loans apart from these it could also be an emergency caused loan.

Here are few types of loans which are very prevalent among people :

Emergency Loans- Every now and then we have a situation when we are in acute need of money but we are low on savings or have very low income to meet the situation,in such scenarios Loan comes to our aids. In such cases people often opt for short term loan which they mean to pay back in a very short period, like within days, weeks or couple of monthsat maximum. These are emergency loans which can be had at any financial institutions.

Home Loans-Banks are the best places to go when you are thinking of building or buying a home for yourself. People usually apply in banks for large sum of loans for purpose of home in haste without even taking few things in consideration. One must look for a bank which offers loans on lower interest rates and witha good range of years of repayment schedule.

Car Loans/ Auto Loans-One of those needs which has become the most important reasons for the people of India to seek loans these days. With the fall in automobile prices and many low budget cars flooding the Indian market, the Indian masses are considering it imperative for themselves to have a vehicle. This type of loan is offered irrespective of what type of car one needs to purchase. The amount of loan that you want to borrow and the interest rates will heavily depend on your credit, your monthly income and your age. If you have a poor employment history then that will also have a negative effect on the total amount and the interest rate associated with the loan.

Student Loans- One can apply for a student loans if he/she is going to a college or a trade school. One must get in touch with government or private banking institutions or money lending institutions to borrow student loans. What one must keep in mind while seeking these loans is that he/she must negotiate a deal with the money lending organisation for the interest on the amount to be as low as possible. In this respect a person going to a trade school is bound to be asked less interest than the one going to a college.In trade schools , as soon as you complete your graduation or the course your loan repayment schedule begins.

Personal Loans- People need loans for varied reasons and sometimes these reasons have nothing to do with any basic necessities of like medical, car or home loans like for example personal needs like traveling during holidays , cosmetic surgeries, wedding and many such other needs comes under the category of personal loans. Usually personal loans carry a higher interest because these suffice the personal needs of people. Before seeking personal loans one must go for some personal research in regard with personal loans through internet.

Credit Cards- Credit Cards have become a current rage among the people all around the globe. It still has to catch up with the middle-classed Indians but its already famous among the affluent society of India. In fact many people presume that life becomes very easy when one has credit card. But the fact is that the credit card makes one's life easy by allowing one to buy things at one's will with no worry at that moment but one has to pay very high interest on them. Infact the credit cards are the biggest loan industry in the world.

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