| Gulf Finance House to unveil its five year strategic plan at a ...
Dr. Fuad Al Omar, Chairman of Gulf Finance House (GFH), today announced that a strategic review of the investment bank's business and future prospects has been completed and a five year strategic plan is ready to be presented to the investment bank's shareholders during investor relations roadshows starting in Kuwait on 10 April. At a press conference held at the Kuwait Stock Exchange, Dr Fuad delivered an outline of the investment bank's history and future prospects: "In the relatively short period of only seven years, GFH has grown to become an acknowledged leader in Islamic investment banking generally and in the business of development infrastructure in particular. Whatever metric you use, GFH today is at the top of the performance league table of investment banks in the GCC, and is amongst the leaders in the rest of the world.
Upswing in stocks
NEW YORK (AP) "" Stocks ended higher in volatile trading Thursday as investors weighed fears about mounting tension in Iran against a report that indicated better-than-expected U.S. economic growth. The major indexes bounced around, and spent most of the session looking for direction as crude prices surged to a six-month high. Investors remain nervous about the West's response to British sailors held captive in Iran, and oil prices crossed the $66 mark. This offset the Commerce Department's final measure of fourth-quarter gross domestic product, which showed growth of 2.5 percent. That could help quell concerns the economy is slowing too quickly. At the same time, strong economic growth could make it harder for the inflation-wary Federal Reserve to cut short-term interest rates.
SIP: growing popularity among investors
With volatile swings becoming a part of life on the Indian stock markets, the systematic investment plan (SIP) is growing increasingly popular with investors. It helps to contains cost and, to an extent, insulates the investor against risk, giving him somewhat better returns as well. Indeed, in the last five years, SIP has given an annualized return of more than 40 per cent. As the awareness of SIP among investors grows , the number of those opting for it is multiplying every month.The data available shows the industry is adding one lakh SIP accounts every month for the past year, with an average size of Rs 3500 per application. Even a year ago, only around 10,000 SIP accounts were being added each month, with an average investment Rs 500-1000. There are currently more than 12 lakh SIP accounts with an estimated inflow of around Rs 300 to Rs 400 crore a month.
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