Asia

India Department of Post to stop gold coin sales

"Following the Centre's decision to halt the import of gold coins and bars in the country, the department of post will stop their sales from its counters from August 1. So, if you want to buy 24-carat gold coins with India Post logo, better hurry up. Otherwise, you will miss the last chance - for the time being - to buy them. The department has so far been selling gold coins from 0.5gm to 50 gm in weight. India Post had entered into a tie-up with a private sector company to sell gold Suisse which were certified by the Switzerland-based International Gold Council. The government has asked India post, banks and other financial institutions to stop the supply of gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia Department of Post to stop gold coin sales

Indian forces shoot six Kashmir protesters dead

"Indian paramilitary forces Thursday shot dead six people protesting at an incident involving the troops at an Islamic school in Kashmir, police said. The angry protesters clashed outside the BSF base on Thursday with troops who started firing, witnesses said. About a dozen rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989, either for independence or for a merger with Pakistan. The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have each administered part of Kashmir since the partition of the subcontinent after the end of British rule in 1947. Each country claims the territory in full." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian forces shoot six Kashmir protesters dead

Indians urged to recycle stashed gold

"The All India Gem & Jewellery Trade Federation, representing about 300 000 gold manufacturers and retailers, was asking members to offer incentives to lure holders to recycle their old jewellery, chairman Haresh Soni said yesterday. Using more scrap and hoarded metal may further reduce Indian imports of gold, which are forecast to tumble 22 percent in the second half. Jewellers have suspended sales of coins and bars to retail buyers until the current account deficit has stabilised. On Tuesday Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram appealed to Indians to moderate their demand for the metal, while ruling out a complete ban on imports." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndians urged to recycle stashed gold

Gold exports in June slump 70% in India

"According to Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, 'Exports declined drastically in June as there was a shortage of raw material for jewellery manufacturing. Our main demand is that we should be provided gold on easy terms.' He added that if the current situation prevailed, it would be disastrous for the entire industry and bring in large scale unemployment. According to M Ahamed of the Kerala Jewellery Federation, exporters had initially gained from the rupee depreciation in the country, as the value of their exports in rupee terms had gone up. However, that gain has now petered off, he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold exports in June slump 70% in India

Japan warns Britain to stay in the European Union

"Japan has warned that tens of thousands of British jobs with Japanese firms could be at risk if London pulls out of the European Union, a newspaper reported on Sunday. Tokyo’s submission to a British government consultation said Japanese companies liked Britain because it offered a gateway to the European market, the Sunday Times said. Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU and then hold a referendum on membership before the end of 2017 if he is still in office. Close ally the United States has also previously warned Britain against isolating itself from the EU." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan warns Britain to stay in the European Union

Fukushima Plant Admits Radioactive Water Leaked To Sea

"Japanese utility said Monday its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is likely leaking contaminated water into sea, acknowledging for the first time a problem long suspected by experts. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, also came under fire Monday for not disclosing earlier that the number of plant workers with thyroid radiation exposures exceeding threshold levels for increased cancer risks was 10 times what it said released earlier. TEPCO has been repeatedly blamed for overlooking early signs, and covering up or delaying the disclosure of problems and mishaps." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFukushima Plant Admits Radioactive Water Leaked To Sea

The Bull Within the Bear

"The reason it's important to look at the entire picture of investment demand is because an investor might draw an erroneous conclusion if they read just the headlines. For example, China and other Asian nations represent well over half of all global investment demand, while North America is just 9%. Is this bigger source of demand experiencing a lot of selling, too? Let's look at the bigger picture of investment demand for gold this year. In the following chart, we compare GLD outflows to Chinese imports through Hong Kong, as well as other sources of demand for physical metal. Here are the data through last month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Bull Within the Bear

It Isn’t All About the Benjamin (Bernanke)…

"While true that markets do at times move in tandem, that doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact, it leaves out the most important part — that not every stock in the world is tied to America’s every sniff and sniffle. And true diversification means owning exposure to the companies singing from a variety of hymnals. Conventional wisdom holds that the West is the be all and end all of the global economy. Economic fright in the West, this warped theory holds, means an economic nightmare everywhere else. While there is a modicum of truth in that … it’s overblown and an excessively Western view of what’s really happening in the rest of the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt Isn’t All About the Benjamin (Bernanke)…

No More Communism! North Korea Capitulates: Farming.

"The last hold-out is no longer holding out. North Korea now allows collective farms to lease land to peasants. The peasants pay 30% of the crop to the collective. We can be sure of this: output will rise. This is what Deng did in 1978. He freed up agriculture. The boom began within a year. The peasants will buy into this if they believe they will really get to keep 70%. They are suspicious. But if the collectives abide by the rules, Communism is finished. The experiment has failed. Celebrate. Light up a Cuban cigar. (No. Sorry. That’s illegal in the land of the free and the home of the NSA.) May the lights come back on in the North." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNo More Communism! North Korea Capitulates: Farming.

Clarification of William Kaye Regarding German / US gold in Hong Kong refineries

"Hong Kong fund manager William Kaye identifies the Hong Kong gold refiner that is recasting Western gold, including Western central bank gold, for the Asian market. Kaye remarks that this movement and recasting of gold should hardly be a sensation because it is completely consistent with everything known about the current gold market. Kaye also denounces Western exchange-traded gold funds as facilitating 'enormous potential mischief and abuse' of gold investors at the hands of the bullion banks that are exclusively authorized to put gold into and take gold out of the funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingClarification of William Kaye Regarding German / US gold in Hong Kong refineries