Commodity Futures – Meaning, Objectives and Benefits

What is “Commodity” and “Commodity Exchange”? Any product that can be used for commerce or an article of commerce which is traded on an authorized commodity exchange is known as commodity. The article should be movable of value, something which is bought or sold and which is produced or used as the subject or barter or sale. In short commodity includes all kinds of goods. Indian Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1952 defines “goods” as “every kind of movable property other than actionable claims, money and securities”. A commodity exchange is an association or a company or any other body corporate organizing futures trading in commodities for which license has been granted by regulating authority. In current situation, all goods and products of agricultural (including plantation), mineral and fossil origin are allowed for commodity trading recognized under the FCRA. The national commodity exchanges, recognized by the Central Government, permits commodities Continue reading

Mutual Fund Performance Benchmarks

Benchmarks are independent portfolios and a representation of behavior of returns from the market. Benchmarks are not managed by fund managers. In simple words, a standard for evaluating the performance of mutual fund investments. To better understand the concept of benchmark it is very important to know the job of a mutual fund. For example, the S&P CNX Nifty is a portfolio of 50 securities traded on the National Stock Exchange. The BSE Sensitive index is a portfolio of 30 securities traded on Bombay Stock Exchange. The movement of these indices represents the movement in prices and returns on the stock traded in the equity market. Suppose an investor invests in an index fund -he will compare the return from index fund with the return from the equity market. If the fund manager is managing an equity portfolio, which invests only in equity but is not an index fund, investors Continue reading

Principles of Effective Leadership

Leadership is often the key to the success or failure of organization in all contexts whether business, religious groups, Military, academic institutions etc. People everywhere are starving for leadership… starving to connect with leaders who are believable, trustworthy, and capable of actualizing constructive changes, who can transform the character of organizations and curtail the exploitation of people and natural resources, inequalities of educational and economic access, and stress from an impossible pursuit of happiness through unlimited desires and acquisitiveness In order to be a successful manager, one has to be an effective leader. The difference between a manager and a leader is that the manager stays at the back and pushes people into the system, while a leader stands in the front and pulls the people along with him. The manager administrates and maintains, while a leader innovates and develops. The manager relies on system and counts on control while Continue reading

Statutory Meeting of a Company

Statutory Meeting  is the first meeting of the shareholders of a public company. It must be held within a period  of not less than one month nor more than 6 months from the date at which the company is entitled to  commence business. It is held only once in the lifetime of a company. A private company and a  company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital need not hold such a meeting. The purpose of the statutory meeting with its statutory report is to put the shareholders of the company in  possession of all the important facts relating to the new company, what shares have been taken up, what  moneys received etc. This also provides an opportunity to the shareholders of meeting to discuss the  whole situation, the management and prospects of the company. The Board of Directors must, atleast 21 days before the day on which Continue reading

Trade Protectionism in International Business

Trade Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between nations,  through methods such as high tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and  anti-dumping laws in an attempt to protect domestic industries in a particular  nation from foreign take-over or competition. This contrasts with free trade,  where no artificial barriers to entry are instituted. Trade Protectionism has frequently been associated with economic theories such as  mercantilism, the belief that it is beneficial to maintain a positive trade balance,  and import substitution. There are two main variants of trade protectionism,  depending on whether the tariff is intended to be collected (traditional  protectionism) or not (modern protectionism). Modern protectionism:  In the modern trade arena many other initiatives besides tariffs have been called  protectionist. For example some economists see  developed countries’ efforts in imposing their own labor or environmental  standards as protectionism. Also, the imposition of restrictive certification  procedures on imports are seen Continue reading

Article on Indian Banking Sector- “Survival is the mother of innovation”

“Banks can provide innovation products and services to their corporate and retail customers only when creative people are in place along with latest technology. Such people might provide innovative ideas to customers and banks. By converting there acceptable ideas into reality, banks can get an edge to compete effectively in the global village. Indian banking is also changing its shape rapidly by adopting innovative technology, products and services.” Innovation is the key to success for any activity. Innovation banking is therefore not an exception. Innovation banking is possible only when we have innovative people in banking. Moreover, innovative ideas of such people have to be heard at the right time by the right people. Only then the needed encouragement and support is given to convert such innovative ideas in reality. In the past, a generation gap is considered to be with a span of at least 10 years. Whereas with Continue reading