Mutual Fund

SENSEX     14450.35 48.86
NIFTY       4335.35 7.90
DJIA          11628.06 197.85
NASDAQ   2414.71 34.33
RS/$         43.38 0.34

The past few months have been an amazing rollercoaster ride. Tears and heartbreaks spared none. Both big and small investors felt the pinch. The fall was across sectors. For sometime, some companies would see unexplainable investor interest, spiking the Sensex.

But within hours, selling followed, pulling the Sensex down to newer troughs. The promising markets that were on a constant uphill climb, suddenly betrayed the investors. The fall was predicted by none. It came as a shock. Volatility continues to rule the markets.

The stock markets are considered volatile avenues. Hence, investors are warned of its risks before they take a plunge. What is volatility? It is a statistical measure of the behavior of the market to rise or fall sharply within a time span.

Volatility is either measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. The greater the volatility, the greater the fluctuations. This amounts to greater risk. In such a scenario what is the option left out for a small retail investor?

Everything was going good for Rajesh till a few months ago. Around 40 percent of Rajesh’s salary is spent on home loan repayments. Another 40 percent goes towards monthly expenses and contingencies. Rajesh judiciously invested the remaining 20 percent in the stock markets. He was excited when he realised that he had almost doubled his investments.

But the recent crash and ensuing volatility, has made him extra cautious. He does not want to enter the markets, at least for now. The 20 percent of his salary that he used to invest every month is now idling in his bank account. He is seriously contemplating increasing the repayments towards his home loan instead of buying stocks.

Some investors find this an opportune time to fish for good stocks that they were unable to purchase when the Sensex was soaring. If the company fundamentals are good, and if the stocks have fallen to attractive low prices, adding them to your basket may be a good idea.

The dark clouds of volatility haven’t passed by yet. So the novice needs to tread with extreme caution. Those who aren’t market experts are better off not investing directly in the stock markets. Using the mutual fund route is the ideal option for small investors.

When an investor puts his money in mutual funds, the decision to buy/sell and juggling the portfolio in line with latest developments, is the job of fund managers. Fund managers are pure professionals who know how to act when markets aren’t behaving favourably.

Investors, who panic at every market slide, must keep away from the markets in volatile times. Systematic investment plans offered by most fund houses, are a good means to beat the market volatility. Here, the investor invests a small fixed amount every month, for say three years.

There may be market ups and downs. But the impact of volatility will be less and returns attractive over the long term. So, for those investors who are wondering what next, mutual funds are the way to go

Celebraties Babies

Angelina’s twin children :

Ricky Martin Welcomes Twin Sons :

Ricky Martin is a dad! The popstar has welcomed twin boys via gestational surrogate, his representative announced Wednesday. The boys were born “a few weeks ago,” and no further information will be released. A statement from the “Livin’ la Vida Loca” singer, 36, revealed that, “The children are healthy and already under Ricky’s full-time care.”

Ricky is elated to begin this new chapter in his life as a parent and will be spending the remainder of the year out of the public spotlight in order to spend time with his children.

Matt Damon and Wife Welcome Daughter Gia Zavala :

Actor Matt Damon and his wife Luciana, 32, welcomed another daughter today, Wednesday, August 20th, in Miami, Fla. Gia Zavala joins big sisters Isabella, 2, and Alexia, 10, Luciana’s child from her previous marriage. Matt’s rep shared that “everyone’s doing great,” adding that “she is a healthy baby girl.”

The pregnancy was announced in March, with Matt, 37, revealing in July that the baby would be another girl, lamenting, “I’m so outnumbered!” Luciana’s due date was August 16th.

Jake Hitches a Ride with Courtney Thorne-Smith :

Actress and author Courtney Thorne-Smith and a friend (not pictured) took their infant sons shopping in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. Son Jacob ‘Jake’ Emerson, 7 months, stay strapped to mom’s chest in a Baby Bjorn while they peeked in various shops.

Courtney, 40, and husband Roger Fishman welcomed their son back in January.

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale Welcome Second Son, Zuma Nesta Rock :

Musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale are parents again! Son Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale was delivered by c-section at 12:46 p.m. PST on Thursday, August 21st, at Cedars Sinai, Gwen’s rep confirms. He weighed in at 8.5 lbs, and the middle name of Nesta is in reference to Bob Marley. A statement from the couple says,

Mother, baby and family are all happy and healthy.

News of the pregnancy leaked in January, although Gwen and Gavin, 42, didn’t publicly comment on it until March — maybe because Gwen, 38, had been quite ill. Baby Zuma joins 2-year-old Kingston James McGregor at home.

Spice Girl Mel C. Expecting First Child :

Despite past reports that her life doesn’t include babies in the near future, Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, aka Mel C., is pregnant with her and longtime boyfriend Thomas Starr’s first child, she has confirmed. Writing on her website on Friday, Melanie, 34, shared,

Some happy news! Well, I can announce that Tom and I are expecting a baby and we are very happy. As I am sure you’ll understand, we needed time to wait for results and tell our families. Thank you for all you kindness, good wishes and support (even if it was based on speculation!).

The baby is believed to be due in late winter. Melanie’s slight belly at a performance last week had sparked rumors that she was possibly expecting.

This will be the eighth child in the Spice Girl family! Victoria Beckham has Brooklyn Joseph, 9, Romeo James, 5 ½, and Cruz David, 3 ½, Melanie Brown has Phoenix Chi, 9 ½, and Angel Iris, 16 months, Geri Halliwell has daughter Bluebell Madonna, 2, and Emma Bunton has Beau Lee,1.

Abhinav Bhindra

At last we have got our individual gold.The greatest moment for any indian.Thanks to Abhinav Bhindra for giving us this moment.

Abhinav Bindra won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men’s 10 metres air rifle event.

Bindra was fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and even hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last visit to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who dropped to bronze with a poor final shot of 9.7.

That allowed China’s Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to pass him on his final shot and win the silver medal.

“It’s just great,” Bindra said just before climbing on to the podium.

Zhu suffered a late lapse in concentration in the qualification earlier on Monday morning when he had to rush his final shots to make the time limit, thus dropping to second place behind Hakkinen ahead of the final.

He was close to tears and said: “I was under tremendous pressure and at times I felt really agitated. But I tried my best.”

India’s last Olympic gold medal was from hockey at the 1980 Moscow Olympics . Bindra’s feat betters the silver medal effort of double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at the Athens Games in 2004.

Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and former shooter who was present at the range, was stricken with nerves as the competition reached its climax.

“I haven’t prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he shot a 10.8. It couldn’t have got better,” he said.

Bindra won the 2006 World championships and finished seventh in Athens four years ago.

Abhinav Bindra is an Indian shooter specializing in the 10 m Air Rifle event. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and first gold medal since 1980 for India by winning the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event.

Abhinav Bindra was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games. He won six gold medals at various international meets in 2001. In the 10 m Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he broke the Olympic record but failed to win a medal. He is a recipient of the Arjuna award in 2001 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 2001-2002. Abhinav Bindra’s potential talent was first spotted by his first coach Lt. Col. J.S. Dhillon.

Apart from being a shooter, Abhinav Bindra holds an M.B.A. (Masters in Business Administration). He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, a PC games peripherals distributor based in Chandigarh