• Budget speech completed. Finance Bill-II 2009 introduced.
• Customs duty on bio-diesel reduced.
• Gold and Silver to cost more.
• Excise duty on branded articles of jewellery to be reduced from 2% to Nil.
• Tax to be levied on Law Firms.
• Textile units to receive tax holiday.
• LCD TVs to cost less. Custom duty on LCD TVs cut from 10% to 5%.
• Set-Top Boxes to cost more. Customs duty of 5% on set-top boxes.

Interest rates have been constantly in the news over last seven months. Actually, do you know how they impact economy and our personal finances? And why do interest rates change frequently? This article is a simplified guide which talks about loans and interest rates in detail and how they affect your personal finances.

Are you in need of a loan? Get it now! Seemingly, there are enough indications for borrowers to celebrate the festive season as lenders have been coming out with discounted loan schemes. A sharp drop in interest rates comes as a relief for millions of borrowers. Be it a home loan, corporate loan, auto loan or education loan, this is the perfect time to go in for any. Recently, RBI has cut down key interest rates for the sixth time in last seven months.

Have the stock markets turned around? The markets are appealing again. Both the benchmark indices - Sensex and Nifty have managed to get back to the previous prestigious levels; Sensex has touched 10000 mark and Nifty, 3200 mark.

The on-going rally prompts many questions. The foremost being - what are the reasons for the recent rally and how long will the recovery sustain? What are the indications of this rally? Has the bear phase has ended and is this the beginning of bulls phase again? Can small investors get back into the stock markets and trade in a big way?

Since last one year, there have been innumerable predictions about market conditions and economy. From the time Sensex has gone above 10000 points level recently, we have been quite skeptical whether this level sustains or not. We predict things in order to plan. There is every possibility that any of our predictions might turn upside down anytime. Nothing is perfectly predictable.

You must be conscious that the financial year is coming to an end and you need to consolidate on your income for the financial year. Indian financial year starts from 1 April and ends by 31 March. Accordingly, the Income-Tax return is to be prepared and filed for the relevant financial year.

Are you a salaried employee and in a hurry to do tax-planning as the season is coming to an end? Don’t end up paying more taxes than you are obligated to. If you are unaware of different incentives, allowances and rebates under Income Tax Act, here is the information useful to you. Salaried people should put in sufficient time and effort to the tax-planning. You should be aware of the various benefits that you can avail of.

The word “pledging” is buzzing in the industry. Do you know what is meant by pledging? The concept is not new to India, but the concept has caught attention of the players of the industry very recently after the Satyam debacle. PagalMoney guides you through the concept:

Yes, you are getting it right! It’s possible. Losses can also be advantageous sometimes. Usually, losses make investors feel lost. But, thanks for the initiatives taken by the Government. It has made various provisions in tax laws which prove helpful for investors who have ended up with losses while selling or transferring any asset they own, say houses, land, gold, shares, bonds, debentures or mutual fund units.

People splurging money on unnecessary things was a very common scene till recent past. It was more obvious with the young in their early twenties and initial stages of their career graphs. They don't do much with the salary credited to their accounts other than spending it. Certainly, times have changed. The recent financial crisis has taught us good lessons. Many were hit by the upshots of the catastrophe. Many have lost their jobs. They would not have expected the situations they are in. We never know how times would turn.