Buying an asset is not always the only expense involved in holding it. The owner may also pay interest, storage charges, insurance or other costs until the asset is sold. Together, these expenses are known as the Cost of Carry. The concept is especially useful for understanding why the futures price of an asset may […]

Imagine wanting to make your first investment. You have the money, you know what you want to buy, but then comes the paperwork: forms, signatures, KYC documents and a visit to the bank. For many first-time investors, opening a Demat account can seem like the most complicated part of getting started. Today, however, this process […]

A bond usually pays interest and returns the principal on maturity. But some bonds can change their form when the issuing bank runs into financial trouble. Contingent Convertible Bonds, commonly called CoCo bonds, are built for such situations. They can absorb losses by converting into shares or by reducing the amount owed to investors. Key […]

A company may know that it will need a loan three months from now. What it may not know is the interest rate available on that date. A Forward rate agreement helps manage this uncertainty. It allows two parties to decide an interest rate today for a borrowing or lending period that begins later. Key […]

A security may display two prices at the same time. One shows what a buyer is ready to pay, while the other shows what a seller expects to receive. The gap between these prices is called the Bid-Ask spread. It may look small, but it affects trading cost, liquidity and the price at which a […]

When Meera cleared out her father’s cupboard last year, she found a folder of share certificates from the 1980s. Two of them spelled his name differently. Back then, fixing that had taken him months of affidavits and trips to a registrar’s office in another city. Meera bought her first corporate bond in June. It appeared […]

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) conducted its monetary policy meeting from August 3 to August 5, 2026. On the basis of an assessment of the evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) made the following announcements: Part A: RBI’s Policy Decision Rationale: 1.       Inflation Headline CPI inflation rose to 4.4% in June 2026, […]

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) conducted its monetary policy meeting from June 3 to June 5, 2026. On the basis of an assessment of the evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) made the following announcements: – The MPC unanimously decided to maintain the repo rate at 5.25%. Consequently, the SDF rate is […]

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) conducted its monetary policy meeting from April 6 to April 8, 2026. On the basis of an assessment of the evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) made the following announcements: Part A: RBI’s Policy Decision Rationale: 1. Inflation In January-February, headline inflation continued to remain below target […]

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) conducted its monetary policy meeting from February 4 to February 6, 2026. On the basis of an assessment of the evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) made the following announcements: Part A: RBI’s Policy Decision Rationale: 1. Inflation Headline CPI inflation remained low in Nov’25 and Dec’25 even […]

Fiscal Deficit The government has achieved its budgeted fiscal deficit target for FY25-26 at 4.4% of GDP, thereby meeting the fiscal consolidation objective set in FY20-21 to reduce the deficit below 4.5% by FY25-26. For FY26–27, the government has set a fiscal deficit target of 4.3% of GDP, exceeding market expectations Deficit Statistics   2024-2025 […]

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) conducted its monetary policy meeting from December 3 to December 5, 2025. On the basis of an assessment of the evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) made the following announcements: Part A: RBI’s Policy decision Rationale: Inflation The headline inflation has declined sharply since the Oct’25 policy, […]

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