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Investing in a Volatile Market: Strategies for Navigating Uncertainty Understanding the Current Market Dynamics Since September 2024, global equity markets have exhibited heightened volatility, with a pronounced downturn in recent weeks. Investors have witnessed a substantial erosion of their portfolio gains as the markets undergo a correction. While headline indices have declined by approximately 10-15%, the broader market, particularly mid-cap and small-cap equities, has experienced disproportionately severe drawdowns. In such an environment, the fundamental question remains: How should investors respond to market turbulence? ...

2024: A Year in Review - Economic Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities As 2024 draws to a close, it’s time to take stock of the economic landscape. The global economy, as always, has been shaped by a complex interplay of domestic and international factors. For India, the vision of becoming a $5 trillion economy remains an aspiration, but significant challenges persist, particularly the elusive private sector capital expenditure (capex) that is yet to gain momentum. Meanwhile, the geopolitical and economic conditions in India’s neighborhood and beyond have added layers of complexity to the outlook. ...

Gold is Gold—Is Land Gold Too? In today’s fast-paced world, it’s worth asking: do we truly understand the best ways to invest our money? While the previous generation offers invaluable wisdom from their experiences, the context has changed dramatically. Just think—there were no mobile phones 20 years ago, and now we’re navigating the complexities of AI. The Evolution of Investment In India, a long-standing piece of advice has been to invest in real estate and gold. This philosophy was so prevalent that many Indians allocated almost all their investments to these two assets. Alongside, fixed deposits (FDs) and small savings schemes—like those from the Post Office—were the go-to options. It’s easy to assume that only a select few—Gujaratis, Marwaris, city dwellers, and high-net-worth individuals—ventured into the stock market, as its depth and breadth were limited, with volatility posing significant risks for the average investor. ...

The Middle Path: Savings vs. Consumption A famous story about the grasshopper and the ant is often told to children to extol the virtues of savings and hard work. The story goes like this: In a jungle, a grasshopper and an ant live as neighbors. The grasshopper believes in enjoying life and living in the moment, while the ant plans and prepares for the future. During the summer months, the grasshopper spends time singing, dancing, and enjoying life, while the ant works diligently to store food for the winter. Yes, WINTER IS COMING. When winter arrives, the grasshopper finds itself hungry and cold, having no food stored up. The ant, on the other hand, is well-prepared and comfortably warm because of its hard work during the summer. The grasshopper asks the ant for help, and the ant does help, but not before reminding the grasshopper of its choice to spend the summer in leisure rather than working. The fable ends with a lesson: it’s wise to plan and prepare for the future rather than relying on luck or expecting others to bail you out. ...

In the intricate dance of project management, the age-old battle between the ‘waterfall’ and ‘scrum’ models has resonated with tech enthusiasts. These models, dictating project approaches, reflect a choice between meticulous planning and the agility of rapid changes. Waterfall model means that all the requirements are gathered together, designing done and you have a long implementation till the outcome is achieved. Since you don’t change course in the waterfall approach, it’s important to get the inputs and plan right. ...

The OpenAI Saga had people glued to X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend. News came in on Friday that Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI (makers of ChatGPT), was abruptly fired by the Board. The board cited lack of “candid communication” as the reason for Altman’s firing. Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s co-founder and president, was also asked to resign shortly. Mira Murati, the CTO was asked to take command. All this had people wondering what’s going on in OpenAI. ...

Introduction This question has popped up multiple times on the internet and social conversations. Is home an asset or liability? You may have also thought about this question at some point of time. If you have read Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki mentions that an asset is something that delivers positive cash flow and hence a house is not an asset if you are living in it. If it is rented, it’s altogether a different matter. In fact, Robert Kiyosaki made most of his wealth through real estate. ...

Introduction Humans have evolved from apes. Apes are social animals. Very early in evolution, certain species decided to collaborate and cooperate to derive social benefits. A society allows for division of labour and hence enhancing the overall value derived. Imagine if you had to do everything you need today i.e. find food for yourself to eat, protect yourself from all adversity, find clothing and shelter everyday. You would not be able to do anything after this. What happens if you fall sick or are unable to find food? There is a very high probability, you may succumb to the adversities alone sooner than when you are in a society. ...

This is start of something big! Are you ready world? I know you might be thinking this is just a new fad that I am delving into. But who knows, this could actually be something big. At one point of time I used to write and debate. As they say, old habits die hard. May be, if I just give it the right push, I may be writing more on a regular basis. ...