Indians Shift Gold

In a nation whose love for gold is legendary, financial adviser Biju Daniel is one of scores of Indians who are rethinking how they amass riches through the precious metal.

Daniel's wife owns at least a kilogram of jewellery and he sports a gold watch. But he is also shrewd enough to realise that the world's biggest gold consumers are falling out of love with wearing their wealth, preferring to stock up on coins, bars and bullion-based investment funds as they look for returns safe from the ravages of inflation and the dictates of fashion.
"The current generation is not serious about gold. They have bangles but they don't wear them," Daniel, of Shreyas Investment Services, told Reuters in his basement office, after wrapping up an offer to clients of the SBI Gold Fund as an investment.
"Look at college campuses, Indian girls there are not interested in gold jewellery. My wife has about one kilo of gold jewellery but my daughters are not interested."
Demand for gold bars, coins and other pure investments in India, Asia's third largest economy, soared 83 percent in 2010 from the year earlier to 349 tonnes, according to GFMS, a precious metals consultancy that is part of Thomson Reuters.
The amount of gold used in making jewellery in 2010 rose 36 percent to 685 tonnes -- giving investment demand 34 percent of total buying, up from 28 percent in 2009.
"Gold has come a long way from being a jewellery item to an alternative currency," said Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, a director with Commtrendz Research.
"Investment demand could surpass jewellery demand in the next two to three years," he said.
For graphics on India's gold imports, click http://link.reuters.com/xaf72s
SOLID INVESTMENT
Indians' passion for gold dates back centuries and the country is home to one of the world's oldest -- albeit now largely defunct -- mines.
Gold, the ultimate status symbol, is also the gift of choice at celebrations, and jewellery stores across the country heave with customers in the run-up to festivals and the traditional wedding season in a country where brides are often weighed down with the wealth their parents give them.
Overall, gold buying in India jumped 38 percent in the second quarter compared with a year ago, as soaring prices simply fuelled perceptions it was a smart investment as worries about the global economy deepen.
Global gold prices have risen 29 percent in 2011 and hit a record $1,920.30 per ounce on Tuesday. India's domestic gold prices have climbed 33 percent and touched a high of 28,744 rupees per 10 grams on Tuesday.
With India's inflation nudging 10 percent and the central bank's key lending rate at 8 percent, domestic deposits and fixed-income investments are looking especially vulnerable, and the Bombay stock market has fallen 16.5 percent this year.
"If you look at interest rates, in real terms they are still negative so investors will definitely look at gold," said Gargi Shah, metals analyst with GFMS.
"Investment demand has literally exploded."
BISCUITS VS BANGLES
World Gold Council data for the second quarter of 2011 shows Indian investment demand rose 78 percent on a year ago to 108.5 million tonnes while jewellery demand rose 17 percent to 139.8 million tonnes.
In China, the biggest gold consumer after India, jewellery demand rose a comparable 16 percent in the quarter and investment demand grew by 44 percent.
Unlike jewellery, investment gold retains its value better because fabrication costs are significantly less and buyers don't have to worry about their pieces becoming dated, making them harder to sell.
R.C. Joneja, the white-haired manager of a jewellery shop in New Delhi's central Janpath district, says it costs about 1,000 rupees ($21) to make a 10 gram "biscuit" -- a bar about the size of a credit card -- while manufacturing a jewellery piece of similar weight would cost three times as much.
"Customers prefer to buy these if it's only for investment," he said, displaying a coin and a biscuit.
"But if someone wants to buy jewellery, they will definitely still buy jewellery."
PAPER GOLD
While owning physical gold may now have become harder at such high prices, Indians are snapping up "paper gold", funds like those that financial adviser Daniel sells for a minimum monthly payment of 100 rupees (about $2).
Such small requirements are another attraction for paper gold investments in a country where 42 percent of the population have barely enough to eat and 15,000 rupees a month makes you middle class -- while a simple signet ring costs 20,000 rupees.
"Investing in gold has become affordable," says a flyer for the SBI Gold Fund, which closed its offering on Monday.
Reliance Capital's gold exchange traded fund (ETF), India's third-biggest gold fund, has more than trebled the number of its investors since March, and people are investing in it through online routes as well as in person.
Despite prices already higher than they have ever been, gold is still proving a worthwhile investment.
Funds that invest in gold were the top performers in August in India with gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) garnering returns of 15.2 percent, data from tracker Lipper, a ThomsonReuters company, showed.
"Absolutely, you will see this kind of trend continuing," GFMS consultant Shah said of the investment appeal of gold over jewellery.
"We won't see the reverse unless there's a change in the gold price trend."
At Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, a warren of jewellery stores that is also the hub of India's bulk gold trade, businessman Sanjay Darji is betting on gold remaining a sound investment as he stocks up on coins.
"I bought one, two and eight gram coins for investment purposes. The thing about coins is quality is assured, unlike jewellery," Darji said.
"It's better than keeping idle money at home."

Oil falls below $85

Oil prices fell to below $85 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors tried to make sense of a week of sharp zigzags in the equity and commodities markets.

Benchmark oil for September delivery was down $1.01 to $84.71 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose $2.83, or 3.4 percent, to settle at $85.72 on Thursday.
In London, Brent crude was down 54 cents to $107.48 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Crude has dropped from $100 last month and near $115 in May as concerns about the European debt crisis and weakening U.S. economic growth undermined investor confidence. Oil has rebounded from as low as $75 earlier this week, whipped around by surges and plunges in global stock markets and quick changes in investor sentiment.
"As the interpretation of eurozone conditions ebbs and flows, risk appetite will continue to fluctuate wildly on a day to day basis," energy analyst Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report. "Growing eurozone debt problems will remain regardless of short-term fixes."
Oil is now the same price as in February, before violence in Libya shut down almost all crude production from the OPEC nation.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits fell last week below 400,000 for the first time in four months, a sign that the job market may be improving. Traders will be closely watching the latest data on U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment later Friday.
"We anticipate a renewed turn back to the downside that could evolve into fresh lows as early as next week," Ritterbusch said. "Our longer term outlook remains bearish as we still see an eventual crude price decline to the $73 1/2 area."
In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil fell 1.2 cents to $2.89 a gallon while gasoline dropped 0.7 cent at $2.82 a gallon. Natural gas futures advanced 0.2 cents at $4.11 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Top US Commander In Pak to Defuse Bilateral Tension

The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) Commander, General James N. Mattis, is in Pakistan in an apparent move to defuse tension with the close ally over the suspension of military aid. General Mattis met Pakistan Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Khalid Shameem Wynne at the Joint Staff Headquarters in Chaklala and discussed matters related to the regional security situation with special emphasis on the war on terror, a Pakistan Army statement said. The statement did not give any further details of the meeting, but it is believed that tension over aid suspension prominently figured in the talks, The Nation reports. General Mattis is the first top US commander to visit Pakistan after the US suspended military aid to Pakistan, which analysts believe may harm ties between the two armies - close allies in war against Al-Qaeda and Taliban. The Obama administration has suspended some 800 million dollars in military assistance to Pakistan in a show of displeasure over its cutback on US trainers, limits on visas for US personnel and other rubs. The May 2 secret US military raid in Abbottabad, which killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, had also caused new strains in bilateral ties.

U.S. Senate Deplores China's Use Of Force At Sea

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution on Monday that deplored China's use of force against Vietnamese and Philippine ships in the South China Sea. China has shown increasing assertiveness in its claim to the entire South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas. In its nonbinding resolution, the U.S. Senate urged all parties to refrain from using force to assert territorial claims. "The Senate ... deplores the use of force by naval and maritime security vessels from China in the South China Sea," the resolution said. Senator Jim Webb, chair of an east Asian and Pacific affairs subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that "a growing number of nations around the South China Sea are now voicing serious concerns about China's pattern of intimidation." Chinese vessels have harassed Vietnamese oil exploration ships and the Philippines has also complained that one of its ships has been rammed, according to the Senate resolution. On Sunday, China and Vietnam pledged to resolve their maritime dispute through peaceful negotiations, a sign of possibly easing tension. The dispute was one of several subjects discussed in the first set of talks in Hawaii between the United States and China over the weekend.

Agra Activists Join Ramdev's Fast

Scores of activists and supporters of yoga guru's campaign against corruption Saturday started a fast here.
A large number of them were Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, including MP Ram Shankar Katheria. Women activists too joined the fast which began at the Shahid Smarak in Sanjay Place commercial complex.
'Baba Ramdev has stirred the conscience of the people and this battle will not stop till the black money stashed away in foreign banks is brought back to India and the guilty punished,' said young activist Rakesh.
Ramdev began a fast Saturday morning at the Delhi's Ramlila Ground. He has been demanding that the government take urgent steps to bring back black money stashed abroad by Indians and also take effective measures to curb rampant corruption.

Heads Must roll Over Karachi Attack

Heads must roll over the terror attack at a key Karachi military base, said a Pakistani daily, declaring that the 'trust in the hitherto unquestioned competence of our armed forces' had been lost. Heavily armed terrorists stormed the naval base Sunday night and targeted two surveillance aircraft. Fourteen people, including four terrorists, were killed in the 16-hour siege that ended Monday afternoon. An editorial in the Daily Times Wednesday said: 'The attack on PNS Mehran in Karachi has shaken the people of Pakistan. When the country's most powerful institution, the armed forces, is not safe from such a brutal attack, how can the common man feel safe?' On navy chief Admiral Noman Bashir's statement that the attack was not due to any security breach, it said: 'If losing 10 soldiers, two Orion aircraft and being under siege for 16 hours does not constitute a security failure, then our guardians must share their 'wisdom' with the rest of the nation and let us know what they consider 'failure'.' 'Admiral Bashir's response is typical of all high officials... They never accept their mistakes. But this culture of impunity, particularly where the armed forces are concerned, must be changed.' The editorial bluntly said that 'heads must roll and the terrorists who got away should be found and prosecuted'. It added that this is not just a security breach but 'also an intelligence failure of the highest order. We lost our soldiers, we lost millions of dollars worth of aircraft and we also lost our trust in the hitherto unquestioned competence of our armed forces'. 'All this is a result of the decline in professionalism in the military.' Criticising the country's armed forces, the editorial said: 'Pakistan's military is busy meddling in politics, keeping tabs on civilians and making money. Instead of wasting time on things that are not central to their concerns, the military should go back to the barracks in letter and spirit.' 'Pakistan has suffered immense damage because of the military's decline in professionalism. In these trying times when the terrorists make it seem so easy to attack any place at will, we need our soldiers to concentrate on the fight against the scourge of terrorism.

Osama Plotted Attacks

Al Qaeda was planning attacks on key US cities and railways timed to significant dates, a treasure trove of material taken from Osama bin Laden's hideout deep inside Pakistan indicates.

Material recovered from the raid on Osama's Abbottabad hideout indicated that in February 2010, Al Qaeda members discussed a plan to derail trains in the US on the 10th anniversary of the Sep 11, 2001 attacks by placing obstructions on tracks, media reports said.
Other material gathered from the sprawling mansion where Osama was hiding also suggests that Al Qaeda was particularly interested in striking Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the CNN said.
US authorities have found that Al Qaeda appears especially interested in striking on significant dates like America's July 4 Independence Day, Christmas and the opening day of the UN.
As a precaution, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Thursday sent out an alert advising federal, state and local agencies about the new evidence of a possible rail plot.
'As one option, Al Qaeda was looking into trying to tip a train by tampering with the rails so that the train would fall off the track at either a valley or a bridge,' said the DHS advisory.
After reviewing computer files and seized documents, American intelligence analysts have concluded that Osama played a direct role for years in plotting terror attacks from his Abbottabad hideout, The New York Times said citing US officials.
The materials, along with others reviewed in the intelligence cache, have given intelligence officials a much richer picture of the Al Qaeda founder's leadership of the network as he tried to elude a global dragnet, it said.
'He wasn't just a figurehead,' the Times cited one American official as saying. 'He continued to plot and plan, to come up with ideas about targets, and to communicate those ideas to other senior Qaeda leaders.'
The fact that Osama was found not in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas but on the outskirts of an affluent town less than an hour's drive from the capital, Islamabad, has prompted a rethinking of the widespread notion that he had little control over the rest of Al Qaeda, the daily said.
Other gleanings from the roughly 100 pieces of computer gear seized Sunday included possible leads on the whereabouts of other senior Al Qaeda leaders, the Washington Post reported.
While intelligence officials declined to comment on specific tips, a key congressional leader briefed on the findings suggested that the search for Al Qaeda's No.2 leader was in a newly active phase, it said.
The task of identifying and exploiting intelligence tips has been assigned extraordinary urgency, since the raid likely alerted top Al Qaeda figures that their safe houses and plans may have been compromised, the Post said citing a US official.

Mahindra Company

Mahindra Satyam moves to settle US suit, to pay USD

Mahindra Satyam, formerly known as Satyam Computer Services, today said it has agreed to pay USD 125 million to settle a putative class action suit filed against the company in a United States District Court.
The litigation relates to the 2009 accounting fraud at Satyam Computer, which was later taken over by Tech Mahindra and renamed.
Furthermore, the company will also pay the lead plaintiffs 25 per cent of any net recovery that it may obtain in future from PricewaterhouseCoopers-related entities that helped Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju perpetrate the fraud.
"The company has agreed to pay to the class members as consideration, USD 125 million, subject to the approval of the RBI and the determination of the authority for advance ruling and 25 per cent of any net recovery that the company may in the future obtain against any of the PwC-related entities," Mahindra Satyam said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The settlement amount includes taxes, compliance costs, attorney''s fees and expenses, the filing added.
If the settlement is approved by the court, the claims against Satyam would be released by the lead plaintiffs, it said.
The filing also noted that the settlement is exclusively for and on behalf of the company and does not affect the other defendants to the class action litigation.
Bolstered by the development, shares of Mahindra Satyam jumped by 6.14 per cent to an early high of Rs 66.50 a piece on the BSE.

Won't Quit Early

President Hosni Mubarak ruled out resigning immediately to end a violent confrontation over his 30-year-rule, arguing this would bring chaos to Egypt, but the New York Times said the Obama administration was in talks with Egyptian officials for him to quit now.
Speaking in an interview with ABC on Thursday, after bloodshed in Cairo that killed 10 people, the 82-year-old leader said he believed his country still needed him.
"If I resign today, there will be chaos," he said. Asked to comment on calls for him to resign, he said: "I don't care what people say about me. Right now I care about my country."
The New York Times said on Friday the administration of President Barack Obama was discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for Mubarak to resign immediately.
Under the proposal, Mubarak would turn power over to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, the newspaper said, citing administration officials and Arab diplomats.
Facing an unprecedented challenge to his rule from Egyptians angered by political repression, Mubarak has promised to stand down in September, appointed Suleiman a former intelligence chief as vice-president, and offered talks on reforms.
But that has failed to satisfy protesters who are hoping to rally thousands of Egyptians on Friday for a fresh demonstration to try to force Mubarak to quit now.
With the confrontation turning increasingly violent -- protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square were attacked by Mubarak supporters on Wednesday -- the United States has increased pressure on Mubarak to begin the transition of power now.
Protesters in Tahrir (Liberation) Square -- which has become the hub of pro-democracy demonstrations -- were hoping to be joined by thousands more for a big demonstration they are calling the "Friday of Departure".
Organisers called on people to march from wherever they were towards the square, the state television building and the parliament building -- all within around a mile of one another in the heart of the city.
The U.S. State Department said it expected confrontation in what would be the 11th day of protests.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Washington believed elements close to the government or Mubarak's ruling party were responsible for the violence which erupted on Wednesday. The Interior Ministry has denied it ordered its agents or officers to attack anti-Mubarak protesters.

GOVERNMENT OFFERS TALKS

In a move to try to calm the disorder, Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Thursday the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most organised opposition movement, had been invited to meet with the new government as part of a national dialogue with all parties.
An offer to talk to the banned group would have been unthinkable before protests erupted on Jan. 25, indicating progress made by the reformist movement since then. However, the opposition has refused talks until Mubarak goes.
The United States, which supplies the Egyptian army -- Mubarak's power base -- with about $1.3 billion in aid annually -- is struggling to find a solution to the crisis which does not exacerbate instability in the Arab world's most populous nation.
The White House said on Thursday Washington was discussing with Egyptians a "variety of different ways" of moving toward a peaceful transition in Egypt.
Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said President Barack Obama has said now is the time to begin "a peaceful, orderly and meaningful transition, with credible, inclusive negotiations."
The New York Times said the U.S. proposal called for a transitional government to invite members from a broad range of opposition groups, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, to begin work to open up the country's electoral system in an effort to bring about free and fair elections in September.
Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East. Mubarak had also justified his use of emergency rule as needed to curb Islamist militancy in a country where al Qaeda had its ideological roots.
Mubarak described Obama as a very good man, but when asked by ABC if he felt that the United States had betrayed him, he said he told the U.S. president: "You don't understand the Egyptian culture and what would happen if I step down now."
An estimated 150 people have died in the protests, which were inspired by events in Tunisia, where its leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee last month.
Oil prices have climbed on fears the unrest could spread to affect oil giant Saudi Arabia or interfere with oil supplies from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.

Public Seminar

Successful Sales Out Of Doing A Public Seminar

Seminars are one of the common ways for people gifted with good public speaking to make a profitable living. They are usually used as a platform in selling their products and to make connections with other businessmen and make business deals with them. There is a reasonable quantity of salesmanship around these seminars, but this is really a good way for someone to generate sales especially when the speakers know how to convince the audience well. Seminars usually differ in usefulness and price. Here are tips to generate good sales and a successful public seminar:

Use A Title Addressing Your Interest And Agenda
Just as the headline of an ad catches peoples attention, the title of the seminar should be that important. As part of inviting people to come and listen to your seminar, create a title that addresses your interest and agenda. Your seminars title should provide a door for people to get a glimpse of what the seminar is all about. The more people attend, the more sales you generate. Additionally, you can provide people with a list of the main points you will be discussing.

Introduce The Main Speakers Effectively
One of the reasons people listen to seminars is because of the main speaker who will discuss the whole point of the seminar. Note that a seminar is not all about conveying information to an audience. Provide a picture and a short biography of your main speaker or you might want to include the others too. One of your goals is to provide the people with the introduction of the main speaker prior to the seminar itself. If they like your speaker, naturally, they will listen to what he has to say.

Provide Incentives For The Attendees
Closing for appointments is an important part of increasing your sales. You may provide attendees with incentives after the seminar so they will have another reason to wait until the presentation is over. After the seminar, you might want to give these attendees you calling card. If any of these individuals want you to organize a seminar, guarantee that they'll have a successful seminar with a discounted price.

Give Your Main Focus To The Seminar Itself
Last but most importantly, focus on the seminar. Attendees come to your seminar not only because they want to hear from the speaker but for the incentives you provide them or the catered lunches you have arranged. These people are likely to learn what the speakers say and perhaps they too can apply them for their own success.