US stocks fall on fresh jobs fears

New York, April 1 (DPA) US stocks declined Wednesday after a private survey suggested that March was a worse than expected month for the struggling US labour market.

ADP Employer Services predicted that US firms shed 23,000 jobs over the month, dealing a blow to the hopes of economists that the labour market would finally begin emerging from a prolonged slump.

Economists have predicted that 40,000 jobs were added in March, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The government's official monthly tally will be released Friday.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 50.79 points, or 0.47 percent, to 10,856.63. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index fell 3.84 points, to 1,169.43. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was down 12.73 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,397.96.

Wednesday marked a disappointing end to an otherwise strong first quarter. The Dow has climbed 4.11 percent, the S&P jumped 4.87 percent, and the Nasdaq gained 5.68 percent since the start of the year.

The US currency dropped Wednesday against the euro to 74.02 euro cents from 74.56 euro cents Tuesday. The dollar climbed against the Japanese currency to 93.45 yen from 92.8 yen a day earlier.

Personal Finance Planner

Personal Finance Planner

The LivingBalanceSheet.com, a Personal Finance Planner, provides financial planning system and financial management software. The system aggregates information about assets and liabilities into one place and conducts complex analysis on them for better decision making.

Personal Finance Planning

A key component of personal finance is financial planning, a dynamic process that requires regular monitoring and reevaluation. In general, it has five steps:

1. Assessment: One's personal financial situation can be assessed by compiling simplified versions of financial balance sheets and income statements. A personal balance sheet lists the values of personalassets (e.g., car, house, clothes, stocks, bank account), along with personal liabilities (e.g., credit card debt, bank loan, mortgage). A personal income statement lists personal income and expenses.
2. Setting goals: Two examples are "retire at age 65 with a personal net worth of $1,000,000" and "buy a house in 3 years paying a monthly mortgage servicing cost that is no more than 25% of my gross income". It is not uncommon to have several goals, some short term and some long term. Setting financial goals helps direct financial planning.
3. Creating a plan: The financial plan details how to accomplish your goals. It could include, for example, reducing unnecessary expenses, increasing one's employment income, or investing in the stock market.
4. Execution: Execution of one's personal financial plan often requires discipline and perseverance. Many people obtain assistance from professionals such as accountants, financial planners, investment advisers, and lawyers.
5. Monitoring and reassessment: As time passes, one's personal financial plan must be monitored for possible adjustments or reassessments.

ICICI Advantage Deposit – Product Review

Written by Gopal Gidwani

Ramesh is a risk averse investor. Over the last many years he has been investing in traditional investment products like Bank Fixed Deposits and Government sponsored schemes like Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC) and various Postal Office Schemes etc. He was happy with the returns on fixed income securities. So he never gave a serious thought on investing in equity markets. Previously investments in fixed income securities like PPF and NSC used to earn him a return of 12%. But over the last few years the Government has brought down the interest rates on these products from 12% to 8%. Ramesh is not happy with the interest rates coming down from 12% to 8%. But at the same time in the lure to earn high returns Ramesh is sceptical about investing in equity markets as he is not willing to take risk as he has seen some of his friends lose even a portion of their capital because of investments in stock markets. So what is the solution for people like Ramesh who don’t want to risk their capital and at the same time have some exposure to capital markets so that they can earn superior returns as compared to returns given by fixed income securities.

Personal finance is the application of the principles of finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit. It addresses the ways in which individuals or families obtain, budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events. Components of personal finance might include checking and savings accounts, credit cards and consumer loans, investments in thestock market, retirement plans, social security benefits, insurance policies, and income tax management.