World stock indexes all on one page

For people who invest in equities, stocks, and currencies on a global scale, there is an urgent need to have a page or software that is able to display the indices of many stock exchanges the world over. Some of these are the Down Jones, NASDAQ, French CAC, German DAX, UK FTSE, Nikkei 225, and many others.
Well, there is an easy and free way to get these. Just head over to this page (link) and you will get all of these (plus currency rates, more exchanges, and so on).

Indian Finance: Mistakes commonly made by equity investors

Everybody makes mistakes in the equity market, so one cannot blame retail investors for making many mistakes. Even acclaimed mutual fund and hedge fund investors have made mistakes over the years, but that does not excuse the retail investors from trying to learn about the mistakes that they keep on making so that they reduce the number of mistakes they make in the future. At the minimum, investors should learn about these mistakes so that they can try and learn from these mistakes. Some of these mistakes are:
1. Investors typically join the herd. So, when the stock market crashes, people run to liquidate their holdings, even at a loss. For example, when the market was really down in October, companies that were fundamentally sound were picked up by people who believed in the long term.
2. People look at tips, and even do investment based on tips even if they know nothing about the company or stock.
3. People do not read about the fundamentals of the companies that they are investing in. Typically, company valuations follow the projections of the sectors that these companies belong to, and after that, the company performance also plays a role. However, people do not bother finding out these facts.
4. People invest and forget. There are a number of people who invest in companies or mutual funds and do not re-evaluate the nature of their investments and the performance over a regular period, say every 6 months or every year
5. Diversify your portfolio: Do not invest everything you have in the stock market. Invest in mutual funds, some in debt funds, some in PPF, some in realty, and so on. Make sure that you are properly diversifying your investments, at the same time, make sure that you invest only where are you comfortable in your level of knowledge. Even consider things such as investments in gold and art.
6. Don't get caught up in greed. When people lost out in January 2008 after markets had climbed to record highs, people were not willing to consider that the market could go down. People were not willing to take some of their investments out of the market, and lock that money in safer investments.
7. Invest for the long term. Don't get scared by short term movements. Even while tracking them, make sure that if you have invested based on fundamentals, and for the long term, you don't lose patience.
8. Don't get tricked by other people. You will always hear people say that they made incredible amounts of money in investing in the stock market, and there is a feeling of being left behind. Remember, you only hear the stories that are positive, and you should never let such stories guide your actions.

Joke: Understanding Investments

STOCK: A magical piece of paper that is worth $33.75 until the
moment you buy it. It will then be worth $8.50.

BOND: What you had with your spouse until you pawned his/her
golf clubs to invest in Amazon.com.

BROKER: The person you trust to help you make major financial
decisions. Please note the first five letters of this word
spell "Broke".

BEAR: What your trade account and wallet will be when you take
a flyer on that hot stock tip your secretary gave you.

BULL: What your broker uses to explain why your mutual funds
tanked during the last quarter.

MARGIN: Where you scribble the latest quotes when you're supposed
to be listening to your manager's presentation.

SHORT POSITION: A type of trade where, in theory, a person sells
stocks he doesn't actually own. Since this also only ever works
in theory, a short position is what a person usually ends up being
in (i.e. "The rent, sir? Hahaha, well, I'm a little short this
month.").

COMMISSION: The only reliable way to make money on the stock
market, which is why your broker charges you one.

YAK: What you do into a pail when you discover your stocks have
plunged and your broker is making a margin call.

Quotes from Warren Buffet

1. If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.
2. In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.
3. It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.
4. 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.
5. It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.
6. Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.
7. Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.
8. 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.
9. Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.
10. 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.
11. Why not invest your assets in the companies you really like? As Mae West said, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful".
12. Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.
13. 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.
14. You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.
15. Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it's not going to get the business.
16. Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.
17. Our favorite holding period is forever.
18. Our favourite holding period is forever.
19. Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.
20. Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.
21. Risk is a part of God's game, alike for men and nations.
22. Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1
23. 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.
24. The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective. The first rule is not to lose. The second rule is not to forget the first rule.
25. The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth.
26. The only time to buy these is on a day with no "y" in it.
27. 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.
28. Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.
29. Value is what you get.
30. 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.'
31. We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds.
32. We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.
33. 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.
34. A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.
35. Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.
36. I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute.
37. 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.
38. I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.
39. I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.
40. 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.
41. If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.

What's the difference between TOPLINE & BOTTOMLINE Growth?

Topline = Sales, Revenue or Turnover

Bottomline = EPS, PAT, Net-Income

Growth of either numbers is a comparison to previous quarter numbers, previous year numbers or previous half numbers to the current equivalent comparisons......

Q1 Topline vs Q1 Topline (prev fy year)

A stock market strategy

While investing in stocks or mutual funds, investors use several strategies. Aggressive selling on a downturn, buying on hints of an upward movement and even investing on hot tips from friends are some of them. However, a very successful approach that a lot of people seldom use is inaction. This method, if effectively used, can cure a lot of financial headaches.
Basically, when you take a call on selling or buying an investment product, you are giving the signal that this product has completed its shelf-life or will add value to your portfolio. Holding an investment for long periods of time indicates that this investment product is good for your portfolio. There are several situations in which you can use this strategy.
Lack of options: There could be time periods when you do not have a worthy option. Any investment decision is based on expectations about the future performance of the asset class. If there are no such products, then it is best to sit tight with the existing investments.
In such a situation, though it may appear that you are not taking any action, the inaction, itself will help you prevent erosion of wealth. For example, if you believe that all the asset classes such as equities, real estate and commodities are overvalued, then not churning your portfolio at this stage may be a great idea.
Cash in hand: Sometimes, you could have an investible surplus but no opportunities. During such times, it might not make great sense to immediately deploy the funds because the present conditions may not help you to earn good returns.
Yes, keeping idle cash is not a great idea. But then, investment products capable of giving good returns should be available as well. If the expectation is that the investment avenue is good but the time is not right to invest, then some waiting helps. This also implies that there are expectations of a possible fall in the value of that asset. A good example of this situation is when an equity investor has cash and is waiting for the market to stabilise before deploying it.
Short-term volatility: As all investment advisors will say, it is always important to be in the equities market for the long-term for good returns. However, it is noticed that investors exit the market in panic or enter when the market has already peaked. It is important that when you are in it for the long-term, you ignore short-term movements.
Obviously, this means having more patience, a firm belief in your choices and not getting ulcers when the market moves against you. This especially applies when you are following a systematic approach towards investment such as a systematic investment plan (SIP) in mutual funds. A tanking market could really unnerve you. But it is best to just quietly and keep investing.
Remember, falling prices of shares mean more units of the fund. And all those units count in the long run. Also, there could be times when you have particular financial goals and disciplined investment is the only way to achieve them. In such a situation, irrespective of the market conditions, you will need to keep on investing. Following a plan is absolutely necessary to achieve your goals. Inaction, in reality, could actually mean affirmative action in such cases

Points for small investors - How retail investors lose money

How retail investors lose money

The reason is simple - a retail investor is driven by greed or fear. Never logic.
• Retail investors are always the last to enter a bull run
• "Smart money" enters markets long time back when markets are at its bottoms, there is frustration all around and no one wants to discuss markets
• When markets start booming and indices make new peaks, the retail investor "wakes" up. At this stage, he is still not sure and is a fence sitter.
• Lastly, there is optimism all around. Every one is bullish and talking markets. Stocks which were never traded in a year, suddenly start moving and start reaching "new highs"
• At this time, the retail investor starts buying as he does not want to miss out the "action"
• The retail investor will display a marked preference for "low priced" stocks because these are "cheap". He will stay clear of index stocks as these are "expensive"
• This is also the time when "smart money" starts moving out
• When a correction happens, it is usually quite severe
• The retail investor does one of two things. He either decides to wait (the optimism is still there) or he starts "averaging" his costs. Averaging is nothing but trying to " catch a falling knife"
• At some time or the other, panic sets in. The retail investor will then sell off all holdings as a distress sale.
• Sometimes the retail investor will do nothing but wait for the markets to rise
• When the markets do rise, he will sell off all his holdings at the first available opportunity and thus miss out on the new bull run

Other facts
• In a bull run, the retail investor is usually the first to sell off his holding. This investor seldom waits for the bull run to continue
• Those who have never participated when the rally started will invariably jump in towards the end of the bull run
• Retail investors rarely follow stoplosses. Circumstances eventually force them to take a bigger loss
• Lastly, retail investors spend an insignificant amount of time researching an investment as compared to buying a mobile or fridge.

Stock Market Technical Analysis - Relative Strength Indicator (RSI)

The Relative Strength Indicator (RSI) was developed by J. Welles Wilder in 1978. This indicator is one of a family of indicators called oscillators because it varies (oscillates) between fixed upper and lower bounds. This particular indicator is supposed to track price momentum.

Wilder's relative strength indicator is based on the observation that a stock which is advancing will tend to close nearer to the high of the day than the low. The reverse is true for declining stocks.

It's easy to confuse Wilder's relative strength indicator with other relative strength figures that are published. Wilder's indicator compares the price performance of a stock to that of itself and might be more appropriately called an "internal strength index". Othersimilarly named indicators compare a stock's price to some stock market index or to another stock.

This indicator has evolved into several forms, but Wilder's RSI is generally regarded as the most useful. The oscillator is indexed from 0 to 100, and like all oscillators it indicates overbought and oversold readings. The RSI oscillator is most useful in a trading channel, especially those with deeply pronounced crests and troughs. Trending prices tend to distort overbought and oversold signals because indicator readings will be skewed off-center from a neutral reading of "50".

*Very basically, "buy" signals are considered to be readings of 30 or less (the security is considered oversold) and "sell" signals are considered to be RSI values of 70 or greater (the security is considered overbought). Depending on the technician and price volatility, there are various other qualifiers and nuances that can be incorporated into a signal. For example, in very volatile markets, the bounds of 20 and 80 might be used to judge oversold and overbought conditions.

What are sub-prime mortgages ?

In the US subprime Lending is primarily advanced to cusomter who
typically have low credit scores and histories of payment defaults or
bankruptcies. According to S&P subprime originations totaled $421
billion in 2006. Due to a big plunge in the housing market from the
last 18 months subprime lenders felt the heat as most of the customers
failed to meet the payments ending in foreclosures.

How is subprime connected to Financial Companies,Hedge Funds and
Investment Bankers?

Majority of the Top notch Investment Bankers, Hedge funds and
Financial Companies in the US, Austrailia, Europe and even Chinese
Banks(unconfirmed reports say Bank of China might take the hit) as
part of their diversification strategies invest in subprime mortgage
based companies either directly or indirectly. The extent of
investments are completely left to the individual companies. The
downturn has indeed affected every one in the industry. While the
biggies are likely to absorb the hit the small and medium sized
companies with greater exposure to subprime are likely to collapse.