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6 smartphones costing less than Rs 12,000 for heavy users

If you are a heavy smartphone user and are looking for a smartphone that offers higher battery power but are running a tight budget for such a spend, then here are six options that will solve your problem. These fall in the below Rs 12,ooo price range.




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Office realty leasing rises 30%, on track to beat last year high

Mumbai: Robust demand for office spaces has pushed commercial property leasing in the first three quarters of 2019 by 30% from a year ago, taking it closer to entire 2018’s performance and making sure that this year surpasses the peak touched last year.Driven by tech corporates — accounting for about a third of the leasing activity — office space take-up touched 47 million sq ft in the first nine months against entire 2018’s performance of 48.9 million sq ft, showed data from CBRE South Asia. With this, office leasing activity is now expected to touch its highest level ever, estimated to be over 60 million sq ft in 2019.Leasing activity stood at about 15.4 million sq ft during the quarter ended September, rising by nearly 23% on an annual basis. This was dominated by small- to medium-sized transactions. Small-sized transactions of less than 10,000 sq ft accounted for over 40% of the transaction activity in the quarter. 71641558 “With office leasing scaling a historic high in 2019, we expect further strengthening of occupier sentiment in the medium to long term, backed by corporates looking to expand or consolidate their operations. Favourable government initiatives, transparency in the real estate sector and the right reforms will improve investor sentiment greatly in the coming quarters,” said Anshuman Magazine, CEO, India, South-east Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE.Like last year, he expects occupiers would put in greater efforts to incorporate flexibility in their portfolios due to changes in the business environment. Occupiers continued to futureproof their portfolios and hedge against future rental escalations by pre-leasing space across various cities.Bengaluru, followed by Hyderabad, dominated large-sized deal closures, while a few large deals were also reported in the NCR and Pune as well. Large-scale deal closures were mostly dominated by tech firms and flexible space operators. Firms belonging to sectors such as research, consulting & analytics, banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI), and engineering & manufacturing also closed large-sized deals.Tech corporates led the office space take-up, followed by research, consulting & analytics companies (19%) and flexible space operators (15%). The rise in the share of flexible space operators (10% in the second quarter of 2019) was primarily a result of their continued expansion across almost all cities.“The share of the tech sector rose from 31% to 40% annually during 2019 year-to-date, which implies that a rise in technology alternatives, insourcing / job preservation in the US and a global slowdown have not had any specific impact on India’s position as a preferred outsourcing destination for both high-skilled and low-skilled tech services, research and development,” said Ram Chandnani, managing director, advisory & transaction services, India, CBRE South Asia.Supply addition rose by more than 80% in 2019 YTD on an annual basis, with about 43.5 million sq. ft. of development completions reported.Four cities — Hyderabad, Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbai — accounted for almost 80% of this supply addition.Compared to the first three quarters in 2018, the share of SEZs in supply dipped from 40% to 27% during 2019 YTD. Supply addition in the quarter also rose by about 6% on a quarterly basis, touching about 15 million sq. ft. More than 70% of this supply was driven by Hyderabad and NCR, followed by Bengaluru.




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EPFO eases norms for changing date of birth in records, linking UAN with Aadhaar

As per the circular, EPF members can now correct the date of birth up to plus or minus three years instead of one year earlier. This would make the linking of Universal Account Number (UAN) with Aadhaar easier.




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Investors can move these financial transactions online to deal with coronavirus impact

As the country is staying at home to fight against the coronavirus, investors are adapting themselves to the online way of working with their finances.




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How to use ICICI Bank's voice banking services on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant

To get the benefit of the voice banking offering, customers need to download the Alexa / Google Assistant and link their ICICI Bank account through a secure two-factor authentication process.




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Ash and Essence

Instead of using traditional fire-and-wick ceremonial lamps, the priests use muslin bags filled with ashes to worship the ritually decorated icon.




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Family finance: Kumars need to stagger some of their money goals till income increases

His goals include building an emergency corpus, saving for his children’s (including another child in future) education and weddings, and retirement.




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Use Excel's binomial distribution to assess chance of success of your investments

Applying this to financial markets helps investors to determine their chances of success in a fixed number of attempts (or trials). Another application of binomial distribution is to find out the probability of a company reporting positive growth in the EPS.




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Coronavirus & your money: Saving is crucial, so are these 5 expenses

The looming uncertainty caused by coronavirus without a doubt requires cutting down on expenses. You need to start exercising monetary prudence and caution. However, don’t try to cut corners in these five expenses even at such a time.




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Covid stress test: How easily can you liquidate your financial assets should the need arise?

Stores of value are worthwhile only if they can step up and be useful when we need them. Not if they also lose value, freeze up, or get locked when you must access them. In other words, you should be able to liquidate your assets without difficulty should the need arise.




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Conserving cash to dealing with debt: 6 ways you can fight the covid money crisis

Liquidating assets to pay off debts is recommended only if you find it difficult to pay EMIs.




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Family finance: Salaried Pendse has enough time to reach financial goals

His goals include building an emergency corpus, saving for his spouse’s business, child’s education and wedding, taking a vacation, and retirement.




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Family finance: Why Sharma will reach his financial goals with ease

Financial Planner Pankaaj Maalde suggests that Sharma build an emergency fund of Rs 5.1 lakh, which is equal to six months’ expenses, and a medical buffer of Rs 10 lakh for his mother. Here's what his financial goals include.




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Why you should keep financial assets organised and listed while you are alive

We can do a lot without spending money, and money well spent can do a lot. Let your money help you and those around you live better. Rather than lying meaninglessly in expired bonds, unaccessed PPF accounts, unused vases and unworn dresses.




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Four ways to review and modify asset allocation in mutual funds

As the financial markets scenario is changing, it is important to review and modify (if needed) the existing asset allocation. However, before going ahead, you should consult your financial advisor.




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9 more NRI police stations being set up in Punjab

Punjab Minister for NRI Affairs Bikram Singh Majithia said they were being set up keeping in view the demand for more such police stations by the NRI community.




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New customs form for passengers coming to India from tomorrow

All passengers coming to India will have to fill in a new detailed customs form on their arrival from tomorrow.




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NRI body seeks rehabilitation package for returnees

The meeting also decided to explore possibilities of setting up an industrial complex in Maharashtra to rehabilitate returnees, Pallykandi said.




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Paytm Payments Bank crosses Rs 600 crore in fixed deposits

"During this period of volatility in other asset classes, a large number of PPB bank account holders are moving their savings into fixed deposits during the ongoing lockdown," stated Paytm Payments Bank.




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Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund apologises unconditionally to Sebi

The fund house claimed that media outlets quoted its CEO Jenny Johnson out of context.




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PMSes thrilled rich investors in April with up to 26% returns

Almost all the 147 PMSes delivered positive returns to investors during the month.




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10-year benchmark bond yields fall 14 bps more this week to hit levels last seen in 2009

A hike in taxes on fuels, which will add to government’s revenue, helped lift sentiment.




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​Debt, hybrid mutual funds see large outflows in April; advisors blame Franklin fiasco

The Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund fiasco seems to have hit the debt mutual fund space very hard. The data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India or Amfi reveals that most debt mutual fund categories have witnessed outflows in the last month.




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Young working professionals to cut down expenses as post-Covid world brings uncertainty, job loss

Categories like essentials, at-home entertainment, health and insurance continue to show greater resiliency.




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Managing data sets

Global enterprises will be able to use big data sets to generate business hypotheses around innovation and new value creation.




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Indian-American Ro Khanna appointed to White House COVID-19 advisory council

Khanna, 43, is the only Indian-American lawmaker to be named to the White House's Opening Up America Again Congressional Group which comprises Congressmen from both the Republican and the Democratic parties.




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Indian-American lawyer Seema Nanda to step down as CEO of Democratic Party

Seema Nanda has announced her decision to step down as the CEO of the Democratic National Committee, the top administrative position in the main Opposition party, ahead of the presidential elections in November.




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BR Shetty: The staggering rise and incredible fall of a billionaire

BR Shetty landed in Abu Dhabi with $8 in 1973 and turned his sweat into a personal fortune worth billions.




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Indians at greater risk from COVID-19 in UK's health sector: Report

"Indian men are 150 per cent more likely to work in health or social care roles than their white British counterparts," according to the report.




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Donald Trump taps Indian-American lawyer as US representative to World Bank's lending arm IBRD

Ashok Michael Pinto, who has worked as a Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to former president George W Bush, was on Monday nominated as US Alternate Executive Director of IBRD for a term of two years.




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COVID-19: Indian-American Senator appointed member of committee to address Washington's eco recovery

The committee will consist of four Democrat and three Republican senators. Democratic senators include David Frockt, Manka Dhingra, Christine Rolfes and Rebecca Saldana and Republicans include senators Randi Becker, Tim Sheldon, while one member is yet to be named.




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Analysis of 5 largest debt mutual funds across categories to see if investors should be worried

​​ET Wealth studies the quality of papers held by the five largest schemes of different debt fund categories to see if investors should be worried.




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How to use Value at Risk tool to manage a stock’s downside risk

The unabated volatility is intensifying downside risks in investments. Under these conditions, it is worth looking at statistics that can predict the potential loss a stock or a portfolio can suffer.




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Lockdown forcing you to stop SIP in mutual funds? Try the pause option first

You should explore the `pause your SIP’ option offered by mutual funds before finalising to stop your mutual fund investments through SIPs.




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Should I invest in these debt mutual fund schemes?

While investing a debt mutual fund, one should make sure the category suits your time frame.




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Which mutual fund should you choose to invest your surplus money?

Many individuals have become extremely careful about their personal finance in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and mounting concerns about possible job and pay cuts. Many of them have suddenly turned enthusiastic investors.




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5 lesser known facts about tax benefits of health insurance

Premium paid towards health insurance for self, family and parents not only provides financial help in case of medical emergencies but also reduces tax liability.




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The Great Escape: 9 exploited in Yemen steal boat, set sail for India

Nine Indian fishermen who were allegedly harassed and not paid by their employer in Yemen for nearly a year have escaped that country by stealing their employer's boat and sailing for Kochi, a peril-filled voyage of than 3,000 km of open sea, according to the families of two of the fishermen.




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Force majeure clause won't apply to coronavirus death claims in life insurance policies

The Council also confirmed that the clause of ‘Force Majeure’ will not apply in case of COVID-19 death claims. This step was taken to reassure customers who had reached out to individual life insurance companies seeking clarity on this clause.




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Should you buy a coronavirus-specific insurance policy? Here's a comparison of those available

Spurred by the insurance regulator to come up with Covid-specific products, several such plans have flooded the market in the past month or so from players such as Star Health & Allied Insurance, Bharti AXA Health Insurance, etc.




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How to choose health insurance in times of coronavirus pandemic

Times may seem bleak, but this too shall pass, and when it does, we will need to get ready for life to return to normalcy. Part of this normalcy will be finances, and for life to move on, it's crucial to make sure savings have not been eaten away through avoidable medical expenses.




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Important that US continues to get access to talent critical to recovery phase: Nasscom

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order pausing immigration for 60 days to protect the jobs of Americans laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ​​Nasscom noted that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided an excellent roadmap for any subsequent potential recommendation for non-immigrant and other visa categories.




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Over 2,00,000 H-1B workers could lose legal status by June

H-1B visa recipients can remain in the country legally for 60 days without being paid.




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Most H-1B employers use programme to pay migrant workers well below market wages: Report

"Among the top 30 H-1B employers are major US firms including Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Google, Apple and Facebook. All of them take advantage of program rules in order to legally pay many of their H-1B workers below the local median wage for the jobs they fill," said the report released by the Economic Policy Institute.




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US senators ask Donald Trump to suspend H-1B for engineers; ease rules for doctors, nurses to fight coronavirus

They have also asked for the suspension of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme which lets foreign students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) work in the United States for up to three years after graduating. In 2019, over 223,000 people had their OPTs approved or extended.




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FM Nirmala Sitharaman sets Rs 15 lakh income cap to tax NRIs

Govt has decided to tax only the income generated by NRIs from the biz in India, leaving their global incomes.




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COVID-19 thwarts tax planning for several rich individuals and promoters

Virus could hit the way Indian revenue authorities tax their individual, foreign income.




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Chinese ZTE cuts down 30% jobs in India

The headcount has now come down from more than 1,000 employees a year ago, with the majority of job cuts in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak that forced shutdowns in the February-April period. The headcount comprises staff on the company’s rolls as well as those on contract and outsourced manpower.




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Coronavirus lockdown: What's the future of your company? Use this time to up career skills

The ongoing all-India lockdown could be lifted after 21 days or get extended. If the latter happens, the economy will get worse and firms may have to shut shop. Here's how you can achieve career growth even in a lockdown, as you preprare for things to swing either way.




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From pay cuts to job security, answers to six questions you have about covid and your career

If the company is planning lay-offs, start circulating your resume and talking to people in the industry without discussing it with colleagues. It is also a good idea to build a contingency fund to help you sail through in case you don’t find a job immediately.