Auctions, particularly those held by government authorities, are often manipulated to suit vested interests.

I, 23, am working for the last eight months. I earn Rs 22,000 a month and have saved Rs 60,000. Our HR executive says I need to show investments worth another Rs 15,000 to avail tax benefits.

The ruling sentiment everywhere right now is that of gloom. The stock markets have been skidding for over a year now (lost 25 per cent) and the negative returns are hurting investors big time.

In the past two years, gold has emerged a strong contender for an investor's portfolio, especially since the markets have not done so well. In debt, though the returns are decent, these turn low when adjusted against inflation.

My son took an education loan two and a half years ago. I stood as guarantor for it. Its moratorium period ended last month and my son has started servicing it.

I had put some money in one of the initial public offerings (IPO) currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The share price of the company has fallen a lot since its listing.

In the past two years, gold has emerged as a strong contender for an investor’s portfolio. Especially, since markets have not done so well. And debt, while giving decent returns, is giving low inflation-adjusted returns (if any).

Love thy neighbour is a common adage, but most people extend it to include financial decisions as well. For instance, a sustained rise or a sudden fall in the stock market is often observed due to frenzied buying in bubbles and selling in crashes.

When opting for actively managed funds, go for the ones that have delivered an occasional outperformance.

Your strategy should be tweaked for different market conditions and different stocks.

Even though Nikhil Murali’s total stock portfolio has eroded by close to 15%; but there are a few scrips in his kitty that have given him considerable gains in 2011. He is lucky stocks like Bata and Jubilant Foodworks (among others) have helped him