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Showing posts from June, 2012

What is a DVR Share?

A DVR or Differential Voting Rights share is just like an ordinary equity share, but with voting fewer rights. For example, while a normal Tata Motors shareholder can vote as many times as the number of company shares he/she holds, those who hold DVR shares will need to hold 100 DVR shares to cast one vote. World over many famous companies such as Google , trade shares with different voting rights (DVR). In India it was Jagatjit Industries that was the first to do a DVR. Companies issue DVR shares to prevention any hostile takeover and dilution of voting rights. This also helps strategic investors who are looking at a big investment in a company, but with fewer voting rights. Some of the companies who have issued DVRs, which are traded in NSE, include Tata Motors, Pantaloons, Jain Irrigation systems and Gujarat NRE Coke. Is it suitable for retail investors to invest in DVR shares? These are good instruments for long-term investors, typically small investors, who seek higher dividend an

Protecting Your Finances: How to Prevent Identity Theft

I absolutely loathe getting calls from private, unknown, or 1-800's numbers. Nothing ever good comes from these calls—bill collectors, scammers probing for my background, and exes. Typically I don't even answer my cell when these numbers come up, but for some strange reason, something felt particularly "wrong" when I received a 1-800 call a few weeks ago. My intuition was right. "Hi yes," said the woman on the other end, "I'm calling from Chase Bank and we've noticed some unusual purchasing activity on your account." At first I thought it was a scam, some criminal trying to swindle me for my account number. "Did you spend $2,000 at Ralph Lauren and Bebe's clothing and apparel on May 1?" she continued. Of course I didn't spend nearly an entire pay check on two frou-frou luxury clothing stores that I don't even dare walking into because I know I can't afford anything in there. I took a moment to excuse myself as I lo