Euro Notes and Euro Commercial Paper

Euro Notes Euro Notes are like promissory notes issued by companies for obtaining short term  funds. They emerged in early 1980s with growing securitization in the international financial  market. They are denominated in any currency other than the currency of the country where  they are issued. They represent low cost funding route. Documentation facilities are the  minimum. They can be easily tailored to suit the requirements of different kinds of  borrowers. Investors too prefer them in view of short maturity. When the issuer plans to issue Euro notes, it hires the services of facility agents or the  lead arranger. On the advice of the lead arranger, it issues the notes, gets them underwritten  and sells them through the placement agents. After the selling period is over the underwriter  buys the unsold issues. The Euro notes carry three main cost components: Underwriting fee; One time  management fee for structuring, pricing and Continue reading

Introduction to Investments – Meaning, Objectives and Elements

Concept of Investment Investment is the employment of funds with the aim of getting return on it. In general terms, investment means the use of money in the hope of making more money. In finance, investment means the purchase of a financial product or other item of value with an expectation of favorable future returns. Investment of hard earned money is a crucial activity of every human being. Investment is the commitment of funds which have been saved from current consumption with the hope that some benefits will be received in future. Thus, it is a reward for waiting for money. Savings of the people are invested in assets depending on their risk and return demands. Investment refers to the concept of deferred consumption, which involves purchasing an asset, giving a loan or keeping funds in a bank account with the aim of generating future returns. Various investment options are Continue reading

Case Study: The Story of Warren Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett, born August 30, 1930 is a U.S. investor, and philanthropist. He is one of the most eminent investors in chronicle, the basic shareholder and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway and in 2008 was ordered by Forbes as the 2nd most robust person in the world on an approximated net worth of around $62 billion. Buffett is often called the “Oracle of Omaha” or the “Sage of Omaha’ and is noted for his adhesiveness to the value investing philosophy and for his own frugalness in spite of his huge riches. Buffett is also a famed altruist, having engaged to impart 85 percentage of his fate to the Gates cornerstone. He as well assists as a appendage of the board of trustees at Grinnell College. In 1999, Buffett personified described as the greatest money manager of the twentieth century in a survey by the Carson Group, leading Peter Continue reading

What is Euromarket?

Euro is the currency used by the European Union (EU) countries, so, the market the Euro is used for, can be named Euromarket. It has in view all the transactions done by the banks in Euro currencies, Euro notes, Euro commercial papers, Euro bonds. It is a market that has developed itself in Europe. The market deals with US dollars as well and it can be named Euro dollar market. Currency is borrowed and lent by institutions located in different countries, there is a capital flow which seems to be uncontrolled. Theoretically, it cannot be a national control over this market. From the practical point of view, the market forces dictate the lending rates;   the rates do not diverge from the domestic lending ones, it happens only for short interval of time. The international banks are the main operators; financial institutions are also allowed to enter the market. The Continue reading

Reasons Behind the Financial Crisis of 2008

Financial crisis is a bubble created by excessive investor inclination towards a particular market. It shadows the valuations and when the bubble bursts, the investors want to exit and therefore rapidly start selling their stake. Too much of capital led to lower interest rates and this in return forced the investors to look for creative investment platforms where the yield was high. This requirement led to an unprecedented growth in the securitization market as the inclination towards such derivative instruments was high. Investors were willing to take higher risks as compared to the returns they would receive for their investments. Greed for higher returns, excessive leverage and low volatility led to the financial crisis of 2008. This low volatility which was a result of shadowed valuations led the borrowers to borrow over and above what their asset base allowed notwithstanding the criteria of credibility. 1. Low Volatility and High Leverage: Continue reading

Emerging Markets for International Capital Investments

Of late emerging markets have become a buzzword among the  international investors for reaping greatest potential rewards which would be  impossible if they stayed put in their affluent hinterlands. The term emerging  markets (EMs) is a collective reference to the stock markets of the developing  nations.  A question, which overpowers a discerning mind, is why the  international investors are looking towards emerging markets for investing  their funds instead of established markets like US? Three reasons can be  given to answer this question. First, the average total return of emerging  markets  has outstripped those of  developed markets. Investments total return index computed by the IFC (International Finance Corporation)  which  measures the total return for each country based on those stock available to  foreign investors shows that return on investment in IFC composite of EMs is  61.64 per cent higher than the return on investment in US market over the  years. The Continue reading