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.

Indian-American NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has advised Indian students stranded in the US due to the coronavirus-linked global travel restrictions to use the occasion to think how they could be a productive and positive addition to the society.

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.

​​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.

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.

Investors will receive whatever amount the fund house is able to recover by liquidating the underlying investments in proportion of their holdings in the respective schemes.

Events such as losses, layoffs, unpaid leaves and salary cuts also affect us mentally, particularly in case of business shutdown. Layoffs or unpaid leaves for a long time can leave us extremely demotivated. This is where our self-belief matters the most; our belief in our self, our attitude and our capabilities.

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

The current slump in the stock market presents an opportunity to accumulate more mutual fund units.

It is important that your correct bank account with IFSC is linked to your Universal Account Number (UAN) to receive the credit of EPF funds timely.

The global economy is already in recession. Travel and tourism, restaurants, movie theatres and scores of other businesses have suddenly come to a standstill.

Investors and advisors alike have been very unkind to this Thirteen Lakh Crore category of Mutual Funds, because of one of its sub categories: Credit Risk Funds, managed by Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund.

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.

If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook. We will get it answered by our panel of experts.

The PFRDA, in a circular dated April 9, 2020, has declared coronavirus infection as a critical illness that is life-threatening in nature. Accordingly, partial withdrawal from NPS has been allowed for covering expenses related to the treatment of COVID-19.

Credit risk funds have always been vulnerable to its investments of up to 65% (and more) in the lower-rated instruments. To earn higher returns than the rest of the debt categories, the fund manager buys high-yielding, low credit quality bonds.

Knowing and following the fundamentals takes much of the risk out of investing.

The Kohli and Kumble partnership has played a crucial role in team’s recent success. But to become India’s best captain-coach combo ever, they need to pass tougher tests.

From buying mobile phones to placing orders for grocery items Indians are getting hooked on online shopping in a big way.

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.

For complete protection from rising medical costs, one needs both indemnity as well as defined-benefit type of health plans.

Take a marathon for instance; while one runner may have a calculative approach, another might count on his unmatched stamina to run for miles together without stopping - but both could be champions in the same sport, just that their approach is different.

Each scheme has a specific investment objective that tells investors what the scheme aims to achieve - it can be capital appreciation, regular income, liquidity etc.

To talk about investments in parlance with football; an investment without a goal is like a game of football with one - it'll basically have no meaning.

Olympic Games typically end with the marathon run. It is considered to be a very important event that tests the resolve of the athletes.

Trampoline competitors go through stringent training to attempt complex maneuvers which, if not done with a strategy in place, could lead to accidents and falls.

The two primary forms of growth of a mutual fund scheme is either the growth of the Net Asset Value (NAV) or if the fund regularly declares dividends.

Gymnastics is a great combination of strength, balance, flexibility and grace.

If you're wondering what could be common between a game of relay and a cyclical mutual fund, there are quite a few to state.

Equities are true blue wealth creators in the long term - this is probably the most preached mantra, but seldom practiced!

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan gave data according to which as many as 13,665 complaints were received in 2019 (till October 31), while 17,379 complaints were received in 2018.

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.

Kuwait has announced an amnesty till April 30 for those who do not have valid residency permits in the country. The initiative allows such people to leave the country without paying any fines.

Millions of foreigners work in the United Arab Emirates and across the other wealthy Gulf nations, providing the backbone of the workforce in hospitals and banks, as well as on construction sites and in factories.

"It is informed that the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India, Dubai, have started a database to register Indians wishing to travel back to India under COVID-19 situation. The details can be entered through the website of the Embassy by following the link 'Register in Database of Indians to Travel Back to India under COVID-19 situation'," India in Dubai tweeted.

Within minutes, the site faced technical issues, prompting the missions to delete the tweet about it and repost it hours later. In a tweet posted in the wee hours of Thursday, the Indian Consulate asked applicants "to bear with it if it takes time for the page to load due to high traffic.

The Indian nationals cleared by the UAE health authorities and found to be asymptomatic will only be allowed to fly back home in one of India's biggest ever repatriation exercises, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi has said ahead of the first set of flights on Thursday.

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.

"To support customers during this time where their car/bike will not be in use, Acko General Insurance has decided to not charge insurance for one month and has announced an industry-first initiative that gives a one-month insurance extension to car and bike owners," Acko General said.

Where unit-linked policies mature and fund value is to be paid in lumpsum, Life Insurers may offer staggered settlement option to policyholders. This onetime option is regardless of whether such option exists or not in the specific product.

This coronavirus insurance policy is priced at just Rs 156 with an insurance cover of Rs 50,000 for a person aged under 55 years and the cover is applicable at any hospital offering Coronavirus treatment.

Generally, every year in March the health insurance industry witnesses a higher growth in the sale of health insurance policies. This is because people normally rush to buy policies before the end of the financial year to save tax.

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.

The policy does not stay in force unless renewed. This means any claim filed during the grace period is not considered by the insurer for the settlement. It is advisable to renew the policy before the renewal date is missed or the grace period starts

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued norms for general and health insurers for quick settlement of claims filed by policyholders for coronavirus (COVID-19) disease/infection.

An individual looking to buy health insurance cover has to make two decisions. The first is whether the entire family needs insurance and the second is about the type of health policy to buy.

Medical insurance should be typically taken for at least one year to cater to any health issue which could commence during the lockdown but extend beyond. However, insurers can also tailor health policies to suit the budgets of small enterprises.

You may now get the option from your insurer to pay your health insurance premiums on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis in addition to the current option of paying premiums on an annual basis amid coronavirus outbreak.

The latest circular by the regulator will help enable the policy purchase and KYC fulfillment process in a distance mode where customers can do it from the comfort of their houses just with the click of a button.

Due to the prevailing COVID 19 outbreak, the need for prolonged hospitalisation of almost 2 weeks pushes the claims costs. These factors are likely to influence the pricing of health insurance in the coming years.