Things you should keep in mind before a balance transfer

"I have some outstanding on my credit card for the last three months. I want to change the due date for payment on my card. I want to know how it will affect the interest levied on my outstanding."

Interest on credit card outstanding is charged on daily outstanding balance from the date of transaction to the statement generation date. Some banks may offer the facility of changing the statement date to customers. However, the implication on change in statement cycle in this case will be restricted to the change in the number of days for which interest is calculated (depending on whether the statement date has been brought forward or pushed back).

I want to demolish and reconstruct a property owned by my mother. She does not have any source of income. I want to take a loan to build this property. Is there a possibility of some arrangement with a bank, if my mother becomes a co-applicant?

There are many banks and housing finance institutions that would be willing to finance you. However, each institution follows its own norms on income, age, ownership of property, etc, and, depending on that, lays down conditions such as no-objection certificate (NOC) from all other legal heirs, etc.

I am looking for a small-ticket personal loan of around Rs 70,000. Of the three banks that I have accounts with, only one agreed for this small loan. Others said their minimum disbursement was much higher. However, the bank ready for the deal is quoting 25 per cent interest rate. I am ready to pay up to 18 per cent. I tried to negotiate with the direct selling agent, but it did not help. I had taken a consumer loan from this bank and my repayment history is impeccable. I also invest in mutual funds using this bank account. With such credentials, is there anyone I can approach to negotiate on the interest rate?

You may request your present bankers to consider a reduced amount of personal loan, based on your relationship with them. You may also explore the possibility of taking a loan against financial securities such as fixed deposits, RBI bonds, mutual funds, etc, for the exact amount you require, which comes at a much cheaper rate.

I feel the interest rate on my home loan is high, when I compare it with offers from other banks. Can you suggest me a few things I should keep in mind before opting for a balance transfer? How should I calculate whether it makes financial sense or not?

While considering a balance transfer to another bank or housing finance institution, please bear in mind that while your monthly outgo will come down as equated monthly installments (EMIs) are less, you will have to bear some upfront costs such as prepayment penalty to be paid to the current financial institution; processing fees, equitable mortgage (EM) creation charges and other charges, if any, to be paid to the news institution. Thus, you will gain on monthly EMIs, but will have some immediate expenses. Please analyse these based on the amount saved per month, number of EMIs to be paid in future and upfront costs incurred.

BACK TO SJR KUMAR

Moderate drinking helps heart, but don't binge

One or two alcoholic drinks a day can help healthy people-and heart patients-live longer, new research confirms.

But the two new studies-one of nearly 250,000 US adults, the other an analysis of eight previous studies of more than 16,000 people with heart disease and other problems related to clogged arteries-also show that drinkers who exceeded recommended limits for alcohol consumption saw no heart health benefits.

"No question, heavy or binge drinking can have adverse health outcomes," Dr. Simona Costanzo and colleagues from Catholic University in Campobasso, Italy, warn in their report.

However, they add, doctors should tell their patients with heart disease and other clogged artery-related problems, together known as cardiovascular disease, that moderate alcohol consumption-a drink a day for women, two for men-"should not be harmful to their health."

There is considerable evidence that moderate drinking helps reduce the risk of heart disease and death from heart-related causes, likely due to the fact that drinking alcohol is linked to higher levels of "good" cholesterol.

However, questions have been raised about how research on alcohol and health is done, Dr. Kenneth J. Mukamal of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and his team, the authors of the other study, write.

To address these issues, Mukamal and his colleagues looked at nine years' worth of data from the National Health Interview Survey from 1987 to 2000, including 245,207 people in all. Census bureau employees perform the survey in person every year, sampling a representative group of around 20,000 to 40,000 US citizens.

The researchers correlated the information on alcohol consumption with data from the National Death Index up until 2002, identifying 10,670 deaths from cardiovascular causes among survey participants.

The risk of dying due to heart disease or stroke was about the same for people who had never drank, meaning they had less than 12 drinks in their lifetime; people who drank infrequently, meaning they had more than 12 drinks in their life, but never drank more than 12 drinks in a given year; and ex-drinkers, who had more than 12 drinks in their lives and had consumed more than 12 drinks per year in the past, the researchers found.

But for light drinkers, defined as men or women who had three drinks a week or less, risk was 31 percent lower than for non-drinkers.

Among moderate drinkers (women who had three to seven drinks each week and men who had three to 14 drinks a week), risk was 38 percent lower than it was for abstainers.

Heavy drinkers, meaning women who had more than seven drinks a week and men who downed more than 14 drinks weekly, had the same cardiovascular death risk as non-drinkers.

Mukamal and his team also found that people who had two drinks on days when they consumed alcohol were "consistently" at lower risk than people who had three or more drinks per drinking day.

The study's strengths include its size, the fact that it included a broad sample of the US population, and its ability to separate people who had never drank or only rarely drank from those who had drank previously but quit, Mukamal noted in an E-mail interview.

"Our results suggest that even in this well-designed study, the lower risk linked to moderate drinking remains," he told Reuters Health. "However, it also clearly confirms that the benefit is lost for excessive drinking."

People with cardiovascular disease get mixed messages on whether moderate drinking is OK. The US Food and Drug Administration advises people with heart disease who drink alcohol to quit, but guidelines from the American Heart Association say they can drink in moderation, Costanzo and her colleagues point out in their report.

To better understand the risks and potential benefits of alcohol for cardiovascular patients, the researchers identified eight studies including 16,351 patients with cardiovascular disease. They analyzed the relationship between alcohol consumption and death due to cardiovascular disease among study participants, as well as the association between drinking and overall mortality.

The Italian team found a similar benefit pattern to the one Mukamal and his colleagues identified: heart patients who drank were less likely to die than abstainers, and the maximum benefit was seen for those who consumed between 5 to 10 grams of alcohol a day. A standard drink-12 ounces of beer or 5 ounces of wine, for example-contains about 14 grams of alcohol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But people who drank more than about 25 grams of alcohol daily had overall mortality and cardiovascular death risks exceeding those of abstainers, and the more they drank, the higher the risk.

"Cardiovascular patients should be informed that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption (1 drink/day for women or up to 2 drinks/day for men) should not be harmful to their health," Costanzo and her team say. However, patients who don't drink regularly shouldn't be encouraged to start, they add, and those who drink heavily should be encouraged to quit or at least sharply reduce their alcohol intake.

"The risks of moderate drinking differ by sex, age, personal history, and family history," Dr. Arthur L. Klatsky of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, California, notes in an editorial accompanying the studies. While the case for alcohol's heart benefits is "compelling," he adds, "as is often the case in medical practice, advice about lifestyle must be based on something less than certainty."

He concludes: "What is required is a synthesis of common sense and the best available facts."

Source: Reuters

BACK TO SJR KUMAR

The issue behind IPL stand off!

Twitter has become a battleground of sorts – some smaller wars fought some bigger with far reaching implications. By now everyone knows about the bitter fight ensuing between IPL head-honcho Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor who allegedly has played a key role in bringing IPL team to Kochi / Kerala. Although Kochi Team was by a consortium called Rendezvous sports – the people behind this consortium is not known, and that’s the center of all the controversy. What is interesting is that lot of the communication have been put up on twitter and that has irked both sides equally. It really looks like the battleground.

Just hours after the franchise agreement papers were signed by Rendezvous sports the full details of the ownership group was revealed by Modi on Twitter.
"25% of Kochi team is given free to Rendezvous sports for life," wrote Modi.

"Kochi shareholders are: Rendezvous 25% free, Rendezvous 1%, Anchor 27%, Parinee 26%, Film Waves Combine 12%, Anand Shyam 8%, Vivek Venugopal 1%," he added.
"And Rendezvous free equity – held by Kisan, Shailender and Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulathi, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad, Sundip Agarwal."
Modi also said, "There are certain shareholders in the Rendezvous Company who have not been able to answer the question over stakes yet. The agreement has been signed, but we will seek clarification. It’s just a matter of time."

The disclosure brought a stern response from Rendezvous sports who threatened legal action claiming Modi had breached a confidentiality agreement by announcing the names of the people involved in the franchise.IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has landed himself in the middle of a political war of words after revealing the names of those involved in the ownership of the new Kochi franchise.Kochi franchise co-owner Vivek Venugopal responded to Modi’s claims saying all the information the IPL needed had already been given to them, he added "if there is any other specific clarification they are looking for, we are ready to provide. The agreement has been signed."
The announcement by Modi also caused a war of words with minister Shashi Tharoor who claimed Modi was trying to discredit the team and create reasons to disqualify it so that the franchise can be awarded elsewhere.
Sashi Tharoor helped Rendezvous sports during the bidding process and although he has no stake in the franchise he said the Kochi team had bid in an "open and transparent" manner. "Their unexpected success upset the plans of a lot of powerful people, who had wanted the franchise to go elsewhere".
"The unethical efforts that have been made by Mr Modi and others to thwart the Kerala franchise which has been won fair and square in a transparent bidding process are disgraceful," he added.

BACK TO SJR KUMAR

Sashi Tharoor's Official statement on the IPL allegation

Official statement on the IPL allegation

1. A consortium led by Rendezvous was set up to bid for an IPL team. They approached me for help and guidance. I steered them towards Kerala. Rendezvous includes a number of people, including many I have never met, and Sunanda Pushkar, whom I know well.

2. My role in mentoring the consortium included several conversations with Mr Lalit Modi, who guided us through the process and presented himself as a trusted friend.

3. The consortium bid successfully in an open and transparent process. Their unexpected success upset the plans of a lot of powerful people, who had wanted the franchise to go elsewhere.

4. Various attempts were made by Mr Modi and others to pressure the consortium members to abandon their bid in favour of another city in a different state. Mr Modi raised assorted objections to the bid documents but finally had no choice but to approve them.

5. His extraordinary breach of all propriety in publicly raising issues relating to the composition of the consortium and myself personally is clearly an attempt to discredit the team and create reasons to disqualify it so that the franchise can be awarded elsewhere.

6. Contemptible efforts have been made to drag in matters of my personal life which I do not intend to dignify by commenting on them.

7. However, I deny Mr Lalit Modi’s allegation that I called him during his meeting with investors in the Kochi consortium in Bangalore on Saturday night in order to press him not to question the composition of the consortium.

I called Mr Modi to ask why he was further delaying the approval of the franchise when all the legal requirements had been fulfilled.. Mr Modi had held up approval by the IPL of the franchisee agreement earlier in the day, by insisting on the reversal of a change in the document that he himself had earlier suggested. This change was made, the consortium members flew to Bangalore and met with Mr Modi after that night’s IPL game for what they had been told would be a routine exercise. Instead they were submitted to a barrage of questions which led some to suspect that Mr Modi was seeking a further excuse to delay approval. This was the reason for my intervention with Mr Modi. Had he conducted himself in good faith throughout, no call would have been necessary.

8. On the question of my interests in the franchise, I repeat that I am proud to have helped the consortium come to Kerala. I have neither invested nor received a rupee for my mentorship of the team. Whatever my personal relationships with any of the consortium members, I do not intend to benefit in any way financially from my association with the team now or at a later stage.

9. A Kerala IPL team is a dream of many young people in and from the state. It has the potential to bring great material and psychological benefits to Kerala’s economy and society. The unethical efforts that have been made by Mr Modi and others to thwart the Kerala franchise which had been won fair and square in a transparent bidding process are disgraceful. It has been clear for some time that the real motive is to assign this IPL team elsewhere than Kerala. All of us in Kerala hope that the BCCI will not permit statements and activities which seek to discredit the Kerala team before it has even had a chance to prove its worth. The public attempts by Mr Modi to besmirch the consortium in fact bring the IPL itself into disrepute.

This statement is issued by me in a personal capacity to respond to the allegations made against me personally.

Dr Shashi Tharoor

BACK to SJR KUMAR

Mumbai apartment sells for a record Rs 33 crore

Tue, Apr 6 11:46 AM

It's one of the most expensive deals ever to take place in India - a sea-facing duplex flat in a prime locations of South Mumbai near Haji Ali was sold in an open auction for Rs 90,600 per sq ft totalling a whopping Rs 33 crore.

The duplex flat, belonging to ABN Amro Bank, at Samudra Mahal, measures around 3,640 sq ft and is situated on the 19th and 20th floors of the building. Several high profile celebrity residents are believed to be staying at Samudra Mahal. According to Pranay Vakil, chairman, Knight Frank, a global property consultancy firm, who was present at the auction, the flat has a very small percentage of loading. "Most of the area is at carpet price and faces the sea. The flat comes along with two covered car parks," he said. He added that there were a number of bidders for the duplex but an unknown party managed to bag the auction deal at Rs 33 crore making it one of the most expensive deals in the city.

Vakil added that the rate at which the flat was sold was utter madness. "The government needs to do something about the supply situation in the city. If things continue like this, a common man cannot even dream of buying a flat in the city," he said. He added that as the flat has just around seven to ten per cent of loading area, the rate per area comes to around Rs 90,600 per sq ft. Vakil believes it is very difficult to determine if this would be the costliest deal in the city. "There are places, which have around 30 per cent loading area. If the same flat was in some other area, it would have been marketed as a 5,000 sq ft built-up area flat. So the per sq ft rate would work out to Rs 60,000. It would be difficult to determine the actual cost per sq ft," he said.

Yashwant Dalal, president of the Estate Agents Association of India, says the properties in the area do command such exorbitant rates. "Firstly, duplex flats do command that kind of premium rate. Secondly, the height at which the flat is situated also commands a premium. And factors like sea-facing view and celebrities living there also determine the rate of the flat," he said.

Dalal added that tainted stock broker late Harshad Mehta's property, which is next to Samudra Mahal and measures around 17,500 sq ft, was sold for just Rs 32 crore by the state government to recover its dues. "The flat was sold at one fourth the original value of the property at an open sale, which was getting no takers," he added.

On November 21, 2007, a four bedroom flat was sold for Rs 34 crore. At nearly Rs 97,000 per sq ft, it was the highest price ever paid in India at the Apsara Co-operative Housing Society - the NCPA apartments in South Mumbai.

Also, a deal at El Plazzo at Malabar Hills, South Mumbai made big news last year after a reported deal between actor Vinod Khanna and a firm took place for Rs 1.20 lakh per sq ft. But the buyer backed off at the last minute.

amit.shanbaug@ mailtoday.in

FLAT'TERED

BUILDING NAME: Samudra Mahal

BELONGS TO: ABN Amro Bank

FLAT SIZE: Around 3,640 sq ft

FLOORS: 19th and 20th

PRICE FACTOR: Sea-facing view and celebrity residents

TOP DEAL SO FAR : A four bedroom flat at the Apsara Society in South Mumbai sold for Rs 34 cr at nearly Rs 97K/ sq ft on Nov 21, 2007
<<< Back to sjrkumar

Sania - Shoaib wedding!!!

Will Sania Mirza be able to marry Shoaib on April 15?

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza’s plans to wed Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik has run into deuce with neither of the doubles partners Sania or Shoaib being able to score a winning point.
The big question being asked is will Sania be able to get married to Shoaib on April 15 with all the police cases slapped on the Pakistani cricketer and the Hyderabadi resident Ayesha Maha Siddiqui, who claims to the first wife of Shoaib, occupying the `centre court'.
But there are some unanswered questions in the drama. Here are 10 crucial questions:
1. If Shoaib claims that he was cheated as Ayesha had sent him photographs of some other girl, why is the Pakistani cricketer not releasing the pictures? Is he afraid that Ayesha my release more damaging pictures of their wedding?
2. Shoaib says that the marriage was not valid as he had signed 'nikahnama' believing that he was marrying the girl whose photographs were sent to him by Ayesha but who turned out to be someone else. Again where are the photographs? And why did he stay with Ayesha in a hotel as husband and wife.
3. In one of the matches in played in Hyderabad, Shoaib was on record claiming that he was happy to have scored a century in his `wife's city'. So, was he already married to Ayesha then even without having met her?
4. Shoaib says neither he nor his brother-in-law could ever meet Ayesha during their visits to Hyderabad. But there are records to prove that Ayesha and Shoaib had checked into a hotel as wife and husband. What is his take on this? Was he just having a fling? It has now emerged that former Indian cricket captain and presently Congress party MP Mohd Azaruddin had spotted the couple in the hotel.
5. Why is Shoaib not ready to offer a divorce to Ayesha in public? Is there more to the story if he offers a divorce and an apology? Shoaib's stand is that no 'nikah' (marriage) took place with Ayesha and hence there was no need for him to divorce her before marrying Sania. Then what about the hotel stay and his statement before the TV of his `wife's city'.
6. Ayesha now claims that she had a miscarriage, presumably out of the wedlock with Shoaib. Why is it that she is not releasing proof of this?
7. Why are the Siddiquis - the parents of Ayesha - fighting such a bitter public battle? Should they have not settled the matter in private? Do they have anything against Sania's family? Ayesha told a television channel that she was determined to see him punished for cheating her.
8. Why did Sania's family not do a proper background check on Shoaib before announcing plans of the wedding? Or did Shoaib hide things from Sania's family?
9. With non-bailable cheating cases now slapped on Shoaib by the Hyderabad police, can the Pakistani cricketer get married to Sania on April 15? Hyderabad Police Commissioner A.K. Khan has said that Shoaib would not be allowed to leave India without police permission. "We have alerted all immigration gateways not to allow Shoaib to leave," he said.
10. The cases that Shoaib faces are: sections 498 A (harassment), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. Without clearing these cases will he be able to marryMeanwhile, Pakistan has stepped into the scene assuring an embattled Shoaib of all legal help.
Sources in Islamabad said that the Law Ministry in Paksitan is keenly following the case.
Earlier, in Hyderbaad Shoaib claimed that Ayesha had starting making phone calls to him in 2001 when he was in Sharjah with the Pakistani team.
"Naturally I wanted to meet her. Every time I brought up the topic of meeting, she would send me a bunch of photographs," the statement said.
The cricketer claimed that he was made to believe that he was speaking to the girl in the photograph. "The truth is that I have, to this day, not met the girl in the photograph," he said.
Shoaib said in 2002, Ayesha forced him into marriage over telephone saying people in Hyderabad had started talking about their relationship and this had put her parents in an embarrassing position.
"We accidentally ran into the truth about who Ayesha was," he said.
"It happened in August 2005. My brother-in-law got a photograph of a teacher in Saudi Arabia who was telling people around her that Shoaib was married to her. I was aghast when he showed me the photograph of the teacher. The woman in the photograph was the woman I called Maha Apa."
A nervous-looking Shoaib told reporters that the marriage with Sania would take place in Hyderabad on April 15. "I have come here for my wedding with Sania Mirza and we are happy," he said. Shoaib said Sania knew the truth and she had been supportive of him.
To a query about Sania's tennis career, he said she would play as long as she wished to play. "She has been representing India and will continue to represent India," he said to another query.
Source: India Syndicate with agency inputs
...BACK