Owing to uncertainties on higher inflation and muted growth in the United States (US), coupled with concerns around America's rising debt and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, the world's largest economy has become the epicentre of an unabated record rally in prices of precious metals.
The trigger for international gold prices rising to $3,000 per ounce was Germany's upcoming heavy government borrowing.
Since the last nine years, gold investors have made money each year, while gains in silver have been consistent only in the last five years.
The cryptocurrency exchanges in India have got a fresh lease of life following the bull run in Bitcoin, which briefly hit a new all-time high of more than $69,000. Siddharth Sogani, managing director of CREBACO, expects the price to cross $1,00,000 by the end of the year. This will see a sharp reversal in the Indian market, which has largely been dormant since the new tax regime was implemented in 2023.
The new Samvat 2080 is viewed as a year of hope for industrial and precious metals. A key reason is the expectation of US interest rates peaking, followed by a reduction in the coming months. Regarding crude oil, its trajectory depends more on how the situation unfolds in West Asia.
Only 21 tonnes of gold have been mobilised in the last eight years under the gold monetisation scheme (GMS) which was announced by the Government of India in November 2015. This could be considered as a failure as the scheme has undergone several changes with a revamped GMS announced in April 2021 to improve collections. This figure was released by the World Gold Council (WGC) on Wednesday in its report titled 'Gold Investment Market and Financialisation, in India gold market series'.
'These companies hired in high numbers last year and are balancing that out this year by recruiting fewer freshers.'
Gold, the safest haven amid the ongoing uncertainty, also emerged as one of the most lucrative investment options in financial year 2022-23 with an impressive return of 16.1 per cent in rupee terms, and 2.3 per cent returns in dollars. And, had it not been for the very high inflow of smuggled gold and the huge discount prevailing in the market due to high prices, the returns in gold would have been much higher, analysts said. The precious metal has consistently been delivering positive returns in India since 2016.
The demand for gold is expected to take a hit if the price of the yellow metal - which has been hovering around Rs 60,000, a level never seen before - remains elevated. Due to a sharp increase in price in a very short time and the flow of smuggled gold continuing, gold price in Mumbai is quoted at around Rs 59,000 per 10 gram. Typically, overall demand in the January-March and July-September quarters is moderate-to-dull, which is the case in the ongoing period.
Of the 18,000 medical students who returned to India last year, 5,000-7,000 have either shifted to universities in Georgia, Russia, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Moldova or are in the process of seeking a transfer to those.
'If the FYUP is making the child employable, then we will have to ensure that learning on the job is integrated.' 'And also ensure that by the time they end FYUP they are completely employable.'
Gold import from the UAE at a lower rate of duty -- in terms of an agreement -- has posed a survival challenge for the Indian refining industry while hurting the price discovery of the metal, with the India International Bullion Exchange starting operations at GIFT City. The problem has arisen after the government signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE. Under it, Indian jewellery manufacturers have been allowed to import gold at a concessional rate of 14 per cent against 15 per cent, which is normal.
It is the season of cooking and baking, but with Amul Butter in short supply, consumers aren't like the cat that got the cream. A shortage only means market shelves without butter on them. "There is a supply-side deficit. "We are now able to procure only two packs of butter a day, as opposed to three packs (each containing 30 packets of butter) in a day," says a salesman at Modern Bazaar, a departmental store in New Delhi's Greater Kailash.
...followed by financial services, IT, and sales and marketing.
Several exchanges are facing a cash crunch with committed investment not coming from venture capital funds and trading activity seeing a sharp decline, reports Rajesh Bhayani.
'When the gold price rises rapidly, India's physical gold market remains on standby.'
Many top B-schools attach more value now to academic record, bachelor's degree marks, work experience, performance in the personal interview, as well as gender and academic diversity -- resulting in a decline of the weighting to the CAT score.
Double-digits salary hikes are making a post-pandemic comeback on the back of a buoyant business outlook in 2023, according to global professional services firm Aon. Aon's latest "Salary Increase Survey in India" has not only projected a 10.4 per cent average hike across sectors for 2023, but also identified actual hikes in 2022 at 10.6 per cent as against its previous projection of 9.9 per cent in February. The figure of 10.6 per cent is the highest since 2012, whereas the 10.4 per cent levels projected for 2023 were last seen in 2015.
Thanks to an ambiguous law on the import of platinum alloys, some bullion importers are making big profits. A handful of them are importing refined gold cloaked as platinum alloy. Gold attracts 15 per cent import duty, as opposed to platinum alloy that invites a duty of 10.75 per cent. Industry sources say this is a case of mis-declaration and duty violation.
The dairy major is transforming into a full-fledged F&B and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) player, reports Vinay Umarji.
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