Do it yourself

The latest report of the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) highlights that the funding deficit for the developing economies to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is rising. As per the report, the gap is now about US$4trn, up from US$2.5trn in 2015 when the SDGs were adopted. The amount of global foreign direct investment (FDI) has been on decline since peaking at US$2.05trn in 2015. In fact, a percentage of world GDP, FDI peaked at 4% of global GDP in the year 2000 and has been on decline since then. In the year 2023, global FDI fell to US$1.3trn or 1.27% of global GDP.   As per a recent Moody’s report, “Global foreign direct investment flows have shrunk in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic, supply-chain chaos, surging inflation, and tighter funding conditions have taken a toll on global FDI. Investment flows are also being reshaped by economic fragmentation, trade and geopolitical tensions, industrial policies, and supply-chain diversification...

The recent RBI bulletin ( April 2024 ) contains an interesting article on the current state of the economy. The article is written by officers of RBI and does not represent the official views of RBI. The authors find most macroeconomic parameters positive and growth-supportive. The two areas of concern are climate and geopolitics. Overall, the global economy, and particularly the Indian economy, is stable and oriented towards resilient growth in 2024. Some of the noteworthy points in the article could be listed as follows: Global economy Growth: Global growth remains resilient despite geopolitical challenges and extreme weather event risks. In its latest world economic outlook (WEO April 2024), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised the global growth forecast for 2024 to 3.2%, 10 bps higher than its January 2024 Update, and expected the global economy to grow at the same pace in 2025 in also. Advance Economies (AEs) are now expected to grow by 1.7% in 2024 against the f...

 Before I say anything, I would like to make it clear that I use the terms “investor”, “trader” and “punter” in the context of equity investments, very judiciously. To me an investor is a person who thoughtfully invests his money in a business to participate in the future growth of that business. A trader is person who is trying to optimize his return on capital by choosing from the best instruments available at any given point in time. It may be bond, fixed deposit, equity stock, gold, crypto currency, foreign exchange, other commodities etc. or a mix of these. Traders do not invest with the objective of “wealth creation”. Their focus is usually earning more than the risk free return while maintaining liquidity of his money. Punters buy financial assets or commodities just like lottery tickets. They get kicked by the prospects of hitting a jackpot someday and do not mind losing their entire capital in the process. Here we are talking about investors only. In summer of 2007, ...