| Tax rules that leave a queasy feeling
Yours truly attended a KPMG presentation on the new investment tax rules last week. The lunch before the presentation wasn't the source of the indigestion rather the discussion on the tax rules and their practical implication was the cause of the curdling just above the belt line. The new rules the change to the fair dividend rate (FDR) for overseas investments and the new portfolio investment entity (PIE) regime have been put in place with the best of intentions. But then, the road to hell is also paved with good intentions. The logic appears to be that by getting rid of the "grey" list an overseas investor would no longer restrict investments to the seven grey list countries, thus there should be no difference between investing in British stocks or those trading on the Jamaican or Iraqi stock exchanges from a tax perspective.
Claymore Launches Seven New ETFs
LISLE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Claymore Securities, Inc. today announced that it has launched seven new ETFs on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX); expanding its U.S.-listed ETF family to 18 funds. Included in this most recent launch are the first growth & income index ETF, the first consensus research index ETF and the first patent-value growth index ETF: Claymore/BIR Leaders 50 ETF (AMEX:BST) The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before the Fund's fees and expenses, of an index called the BIR Leaders 50 Index. The Index is comprised of 50 stocks selected from a universe of common stocks and ADRs listed on U.S. exchanges and covered by Best Independent Research, LLC, a consortium of the following five independent research companies: Ativo Research, Channel Trend Inc., Columbine Capital Services, Ford Equity Research, and Thomas White International.
Forget salary, count on your bonus
MUMBAI: The deal-makers are ensuring that they get the best deal after all. Asset management companies (AMCs) and brokerages are two areas where employees are expected to get fat year-end paychecks. Some HR consultants say this could be twice the salary. Take for example HSBC. Sources close to HSBC securities say this year the number could even go to three times. The firm refused to comment when contacted. Stock analysts and fund managers are the prime candidates for huge bonuses — riding the highs of the equity markets. Throughout the year the equity markets have seen an uptrend and till recently the stock index has given returns to the extent of 30% over the last one year, before the markets crashed, after the budget. "Bonus in private equity and investment banking could be anywhere from 100-200 % of the fixed salary, depending on the deals.
The follies of marketing timing
Many investors try to "time" the market by "buying low and selling high." In theory, that's a great idea, but it's almost impossible to put into practice. If you try to outguess the market, you run the substantial risk of guessing wrong – of buying stocks too soon, before they get even cheaper, or of selling stocks too late, after they've fallen from their highs. But these are only the most obvious of the problems that can result from market timing. Here are some others to consider: You could lose your investment discipline. The best investors are the disciplined investors. They choose quality stocks and hold them for the long term, through good and bad markets. In fact, they have conditioned themselves to ignore short-term price swings in either direction, based on their belief that their patience eventually will be rewarded.
Before the bell 4-5-07: BKS, AAPL, DELL, TM, GOOG, NOK ...
Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) online subsidiary will take a $10 million charge related to an investigation of stock option granting practices after the company found numerous instances of improperly dated stock option grants between 1996 and 2006. Meanwhile, rival Borders Group Inc. (NYSE: BGP) will review its proposed offering of $250 million of convertible senior notes based on shareholder feedback instead of proceeding with the offering as planned.Yesterday, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) said it would start carrying Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) computers in 200 stores after it tested selling the brand successfully earlier this year in 50 stores. According to Apple officials, about half of those who buy Macs at Apple's retail stores are first time Macintosh buyers.Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) yesterday said it would delay filing its annual 10-K financial report due to an ongoing accounting investigation, but still told the Securities and Exchange Commission what it expects to report.
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