Sunday, September 18, 2005
8000 and rising......
Going by its behavior in the recent past, the Sensex should be dubbed as the 'Sensational' Index. The BSE-Sensex soaring past the 8000 mark made media headlines in the country. Views and concerns expressed about the Sensex gaining more than 3000 points in a span of a mere one and half years dominated the editorials of many a newspaper and magazine. The message seemed loud and clear - the economy is flourishing, India Inc. is all set to take on the world.
Honestly, I have no clue as to how all this translates into economic growth or trickles down to development in villages etc. Hell, I don't even know how it affects me. Apart from a certain amount of investment parked in a few equity funds and Unit linked plans, I see no monetary gain in this booming stock exchange. IPO's came, IPO's went, none seemed to affect me in anyway. I somehow seem to shy away from the entire concept of investing directly in stocks and shares, let alone being a market player.
Its not that I am totally dumb (I am quite close, but not yet there) and wouldn't understand anything about the market. Is it then a lack of interest? I am not sure. I don't mind knowing for the sake of general knowledge atleast, some eco and fin principles, such as the ones pertaining to Interest Rates, Oil prices, Dipping Dollar etc. I wouldn't go and look for books or material on these, but if it came my way I wouldn't be averse to reading it. But somehow when it comes to investments and managing personal finances, I don't seem too keen on gaining any knowledge.
Many a time, I have tried convincing myself that monitoring market investments requires a lot of time. I have seen colleagues spending office time, logging on and tracking the markets through IndiaBulls, ShareKhan and other such similar sites . I felt it was in some manner unprofessional and I shouldn't emulate them. Well I soon realized that my argument has no basis unless I first stopped activities such as surfing soccernet, reading others blogs, checking personal mails etc during office hours.
Or is it simply because I feel good by taking on the moral high ground of not being overly attached with money, I wonder. It feels good, but is such an attitude even remotely practical? My friend always states a Seinfeld quote in such discussions - 'I don't want my money to work for me, I'd rather work for my money'. A cool attitude to have I guess, if you happen to rake in a million or more (like Seinfeld) every week.:-)
Honestly, I have no clue as to how all this translates into economic growth or trickles down to development in villages etc. Hell, I don't even know how it affects me. Apart from a certain amount of investment parked in a few equity funds and Unit linked plans, I see no monetary gain in this booming stock exchange. IPO's came, IPO's went, none seemed to affect me in anyway. I somehow seem to shy away from the entire concept of investing directly in stocks and shares, let alone being a market player.
Its not that I am totally dumb (I am quite close, but not yet there) and wouldn't understand anything about the market. Is it then a lack of interest? I am not sure. I don't mind knowing for the sake of general knowledge atleast, some eco and fin principles, such as the ones pertaining to Interest Rates, Oil prices, Dipping Dollar etc. I wouldn't go and look for books or material on these, but if it came my way I wouldn't be averse to reading it. But somehow when it comes to investments and managing personal finances, I don't seem too keen on gaining any knowledge.
Many a time, I have tried convincing myself that monitoring market investments requires a lot of time. I have seen colleagues spending office time, logging on and tracking the markets through IndiaBulls, ShareKhan and other such similar sites . I felt it was in some manner unprofessional and I shouldn't emulate them. Well I soon realized that my argument has no basis unless I first stopped activities such as surfing soccernet, reading others blogs, checking personal mails etc during office hours.
Or is it simply because I feel good by taking on the moral high ground of not being overly attached with money, I wonder. It feels good, but is such an attitude even remotely practical? My friend always states a Seinfeld quote in such discussions - 'I don't want my money to work for me, I'd rather work for my money'. A cool attitude to have I guess, if you happen to rake in a million or more (like Seinfeld) every week.:-)
# posted by Akshai @ 12:14 AM 
