Hip Hip Hurray!!!
A mutual fund investment will no longer be such a heavy cross to bear. A small investor’s campaign to keep bonus units and reinvestments free of any charge has borne fruit after three years. The investor, VT Gokhale, told ET that the Securities and Exchange Board of India has written to him saying entry and exit loads should not be charged for units given as bonus or against reinvested dividends. This means only original investments can attract a levy, and all further gains will accrue to the investor — without any cuts
“It’s a major victory for investors who have been helplessly losing a part of their legitimate earnings for no reason,” Mr Gokhale said. SEBI had, a few days back, communicated to Mr Gokhale a decision taken by Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), not to charge entry/exit load on dividends. “SEBI has accepted the AMFI recommendation,” says the communiqué from the market regulator, a copy of which is with ET
SEBI recently proposed that investments done directly — that is, without an agent — shall not attract an entry load, typically about 2% of the proposed investment. That, coupled with the latest communication, should make mutual funds cheaper for investors
An entry load is a charge an investor pays for buying mutual fund units and the exit load is what he pays for selling them. Having entered a scheme once, investors earn dividends that they can take in cash or put back into the scheme to get more units. Occasionally, the fund manager converts earnings from the scheme into units and distributes them to the investor proportionately. Mr Gokhale pointed out that a bonus or dividend would amount to gains from such investments and not a further purchase
Currently, some fund houses charge exit loads on these reward units as well, if redeemed before a certain period. In effect, the fund is charging an exit load on an investor’s initial investment as well as the reward units. “This is highly unethical,” Mr Gokhale said
He took up the matter with SEBI in April 2005. His case related to UTI’s children career plan that had charged him an exit load of Rs 1,198.22 on additional units. After his protest, the fund house refunded him the amount, but didn’t address the issue. Currently, all open ended funds charge an exit load if the investments are redeemed before a certain period — usually six months. This is done to discourage the investor from rapidly churning his investments in the fund, as it could affect the fund’s stability
Source: Economic Times
Boom Crash Bang!
And now, life has come a full circle for her, as ‘Virgin Comics’ has created a new superhero character after Priyanka, which will be furthered to comic books, animation and games. Priyanka said that since she loves cartoons and animations, being able to create her own original superhero with Virgin’s amazing group of artists and storytellers was ‘a dream come true’! The superhero will be an adopted girl who discovers that she is the latest in the line of princesses with great mystical powers and a sworn duty to take down evil wherever it lurks. The so-far untitled story is expected to have a 2008 launch, which will be further taken into animation games and even a theatrical live-action film! What remains to be seen is if this beauty will succeed in her animated duty. A day after President Pervez Musharraf declared an emergency in Pakistan, hundreds of political and rights activists were arrested across the country on Sunday while 75 Pakistani judges refused allegiance to the military leader, even as world leaders condemned the proclamation and called for early return to democracy.
Justifying the emergency, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said it would continue “as long as necessary”.
“No decision has been taken on the (general) election (that was to have been held in January,” he told a crowded press conference here.
Although the media was gagged and even the Internet was not spared, feisty editorials took Musharraf head-on, with one newspaper saying that “all the gains over the years have gone down the drain” and that the people had been “cheated”.
Throughout the country, anger was visible on the faces of common citizens but most refrained from commenting publicly, fearing a backlash from the security forces.
Prominent among those arrested on Sunday were former spy chief Hamid Gul, a staunch critic of Musharraf’s support to the US-led war against terror; Pakistan Human Rights Commission head Asma Jehangir; Javed Hashmi, president of the Pakistan Muslim League aligned to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif; and newly-elected Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan.
The Jamaat-e-Islami religious party said that many of its leaders were put under house arrest while some were sent to police lockups and others to jail.
“This has been done without serving any notices,” Jamaat leader Liaqat Baloch said.
Musharraf had on Saturday night kept the constitution in abeyance, suspended fundamental rights, brought in a new Supreme Court chief justice and promulgated a Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) enabling him to amend the statute at will.
Fifteen Supreme Court judges and more than 60 of the four high courts refused to take the new oath as required under the PCO.
According to the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), six judges of the Supreme Court, including the new Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, were administered the oath on Saturday night.
The judges who did not take the oath included former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was sacked hours after the emergency was declared.
Chaudhry was restored in August, four months after Musharraf suspended him. Justice Rana Bhagwandas, the only Hindu judge to reach the second highest position in Pakistan’s judiciary, also did not take the oath.
Undaunted by the crackdown on media and a large number of arrests, lawyers, human rights activists and opposition parties in Pakistan are planning protest demonstrations against Musharraf. Lawyers have called for a countrywide strike on Monday.
“We will launch our struggle tomorrow (Monday) and lawyers will hold rallies throughout the country,” Hamid Ali Khan, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said.
Musharraf’s move drew condemnation from around the world, from the US, to Britain, to Canada, to Australia.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice summed up the feeling in most world capitals when she described the emergency as “regrettable” but hoped it would lead to early elections.
Officials of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), backed by the police, raided the offices of the most vocal private TV Channel, AAJ, late on Saturday night and seized its equipment.
“They did it without any notice or information,” an official of the channel said.
PEMRA did not even spare private radio channels. Islamabad-based FM-99 that was broadcasting hourly news bulletins for the last six months suddenly went off air after the emergency was announced.
“Our equipment has been confiscated by the police on instructions from the PEMRA without serving any notice,” FM-99 CEO Wasim Ahmed said.
Several Internet service providers were also asked to stop their service until further orders.
Musharraf promulgated two separate ordinances imposing curbs on the print and the electronic media.
Under the ordinances that amend the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance, 2002, and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, 2002, the print and electronic media have been barred from printing and broadcasting “anything which defames or brings into ridicule the head of state, or members of the armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organ of the state”.
Non-compliance with the new curbs can lead to discontinuation of a newspaper’s publication for up to 30 days. In the case of TV channels, the punishment is up to three years in jail or a fine of Rs 10 million rupees or both.
“It looks like we have moved back into the 20th Century,” said a homemaker, adding that she had become so addicted to watching private TV channels that she now felt she was in a vacuum.
“Though fundamental rights are suspended due to the emergency, the right to information is a key right and should not be suspended,” Adnan Rehmat, country director for Internews agency, said.
A PTV journalist had his own take on the media gag. “Well, this is what we can give and this is what we have been allowed to give,” the journalist said, alluding that “someone” was sitting in the newsroom and giving instructions as to what was to be reported.
Not surprisingly, the media reacted with anger over the declaration of emergency.
“So we are back to square one. Back to Oct 12, 1999. All the gains over the years have gone down the drain,” Dawn said in an editorial headlined “Another move towards absolutism”.
According to The News, November 3 “will go down as another dark day in Pakistan’s political and constitutional history”.
“Where do we go from here?” wondered Daily Times editor Najam Sethi in a news analysis on Saturday’s developments.
“We should expect the lawyers, civil society groups and most, but not all, the opposition parties to launch a spirited protest on the streets and boycott the courts,” Sethi wrote.
“We should also expect a surge in terrorist activities and bomb blasts by Taliban and Al Qaeda elements to take advantage of the situation,” he said.
“Our equipment has been confiscated by the police on instructions from the PEMRA without serving any notice,” FM-99 CEO Wasim Ahmed told IANS.
“Despite resistance by our staff, the police led by PEMRA officials entered our offices and studios and took away most of our equipment,” he added.
Several Internet service providers were also asked to stop their service until further orders.
“We were told at 6.30 p.m. yesterday (Saturday) to stop our service. We did stop it but started at around midnight and are still providing Internet access to our clients,” a spokesman for a leading service provider said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
After the emergency was imposed on Saturday evening, all private channels and radio stations were yanked off the air and cable operators were barred from relaying any news channel – national or international.
Musharraf promulgated two separate ordinances imposing curbs on the print and the electronic media.
Under the ordinances that amend the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance, 2002, and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, 2002, the print and electronic media have been barred from printing and broadcasting “anything which defames or brings into ridicule the head of state, or members of the armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organ of the state”.
Non-compliance with the new curbs can lead to discontinuation of a newspaper’s publication for up to 30 days. In the case of TV channels, the punishment is up to three years in jail or a fine of Rs.10 million rupees or both.
“It looks like we have moved back into the 20th Century,” said a homemaker, adding that she had become so addicted to watching private TV channels that she now felt she was in a vacuum.
“November 3 will be remembered as a black day in the history of the media in Pakistan,” said Yasin, a young executive, while glancing through the dailies at a roadside newspaper stand.
“The (private) channels are off air, radio is not giving any news, even international channels are not available and the Internet is also not available,” Yasin added.
Pakistani media persons and common citizens have decried the ban on private TV channels, saying this would only serve to create more confusion about the situation in the country.
“Though fundamental rights are suspended due to the emergency, the right to information is a key right and should not be suspended,” Adnan Rehmat, country director for Internews agency, told IANS.
According to him, the very government that had given unprecedented freedom to the media was now gagging it.
“This is a huge backward step. Right now, only one channel is giving news and that is (state-run) Pakistan Television (PTV), which gives very limited information,” Rehmat added, demanding restoration of private news channels.
“Well, this what we can give and this is what we have been allowed to give,” a PTV journalist told IANS, alluding that “someone” was sitting in the newsroom and giving instructions as to what was to be reported.
Journalist Aurangzeb Khan spoke in similar vein as Rehmat. “It is strange that Musharraf has gone back on steps he himself took. I can’t believe it,” he said.
