What is happening these days in the financial markets is by no means new or unheard of. It has happened before and is likely to repeat itself again in another few decades. Yet, the world and every adult individual in it, is appalled at the sheer ease with which the world’s financial house of cards is crumbling. At a speed.

But what exactly is happening? Everyone knows banks are falling down, deposits are no longer ‘safe’ as banks holding them go down themselves, high-flying professionals are scared of losing jobs, companies are cutting spends in anticipation of a drop in business, asset classes across the board are jumping up and down giving ‘volatility’ a new meaning. But what exactly has happened? Not many people understand. But many wish to understand how this has come about, and whether it is likely to repeat itself by sheer logic of cyclicity

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The terms IT, ITES, BPO and Software are used so flippantly these days that it is easy to mistake one type of company for the other or treat IT as a big jump from where one can choose careers. In the January issue, we saw the different positions that one can expect in an IT company as an MBA. This time around, let’s take a walk around the various flavours of technology companies that are available  - and there are many of these.

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For various people the word ‘Oil’ evokes different feelings. For some it evokes a pinch in the pocket at the thought of the petrol they fill in their cars. For some, it means the rising cost of vegetable in the street owing to rising cost of transport of the same. For others, it brings up the word ‘cartel’ and ‘OPEC’ in the same sentence. And for some, it simply implies Arabs in turbans living in lavish oil-money-funded palaces.

Every few days we read something or the other related to Oil and it affects us in some or the other way. Some times we blame the government, which in turn blames the Middle East, who in turn blame America! All in all, the average reader is more often than not confused as to what exactly goes on in the world of OIL and how it all pans out and ends up affecting all our lives in so many ways. This article will hopefully set some fundamentals straight and help everyone understand the basics.

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For beginners, a Mutual Fund is an organisation where individual investors pool in their savings and channel them directly into the financial markets. As simple as this may seem, it yields a variety of investment options, ranging from government bonds to technology stocks.  Investing in the stock markets is not an easy task, especially if you don’t have the time to go about identifying, researching and monitoring investments. Investors with limited investment means need to look out for professional help and advice. This is exactly where mutual funds come in.  A mutual fund is like a place where investors with similar financial goals pool in their money, hire a professional manager to invest that money and monitor the investments...

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