How rising interest rates affect currencies and gold

When a company raises its dividend, its stock becomes more attractive to investors. Its share price rises. When a bank raises interest rates on its savings accounts, people deposit more money in the bank. It's the same way in the currency markets. Rising interest rates make a currency more attractive and it rises against other currencies with stable interest rates. Central banks around the world have been cutting rates for two years, and interest rates are as low now as they've ever been.

The governor of Australia's central bank hinted there would be more interest rate rises on the way. This could be the start of a new trend of rising interest rates around the world. If this is the start of a new trend of rising world interest rates, you can expect big new trends in the currency exchange markets, too. That's because interest rates are the single most important driver of exchange rates in the currency markets.

So how do we make money from a new global trend of rising interest rates?

While other central banks are considering raising rates, the Fed has so far refused to join the party. The dollar is the worst-performing major currency in the world this year as a result.

The recent unemployment report showed that somewhere close to 6 million jobs have vanished from the American economy in the last 18 months. The employment situation hasn't been this bad. With the ongoing unemployment, rate hikes in America are unlikely until next year.

First, this gives us a great opportunity to buy the dollar right now, while it's cheap and no one is anticipating rate hikes from the Fed. By the time Bernanke announces his first rate hike next year, the dollar will have already rallied 10% or more.
Second, a trend of rising interest rates on currencies is great for people looking to buy gold at lower prices. Gold has no interest rate. So when interest rates rise on world currencies, they become more attractive – and they rise – relative to gold. This is especially true with the dollar. It's the world's reserve currency and gold is incredibly sensitive to movements in its interest and exchange rates.

As long as unemployment keeps rising, there's no way the Fed raises interest rates and gold prices will stay high. But next year is a different story. The first hint of rate increases by the Fed will send shockwaves into the gold market.

Trade between India & Malaysia to increase

"Currently the bilateral trade between the two countries is USD 10.5 billion. Around 20 per cent of trade was affected due to recession.We are hoping to see the trade grow by early next year,' Mohamed told on the sidelines of a function.

Earlier, participating as the chief guest at the 10th Anniversary celebration of Marrybrown Family Restaurant here, he said the success of Marrybrown would motivate other companies in Malaysia to venture into the Indian market.

There were around 15 Malaysian companies present in the country while 20 Indian companies were present in Malaysia.

Marrybrown Founder and Malaysian operations Managing Director Nancy Liew said the restaurant was present in 13 countries having more than 300 outlets.As part of increasing their presence, new restaurants were recently opened in Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Tanzania and Iran.

Marrybrown India Managing Director MGM Anand said 12 more outlets would be added to the existing 30 restaurants in South India.

Indian infrastructure output increases by 4 percent

India's infrastructure sector output grew 4 percent in September from a year earlier, slower than upwardly revised annual growth of 7.8 percent in August, government data showed on Wednesday.

During April-September, the first half of the 2009/10 year, output rose 5 percent compared with 3.4 percent in the same period in 2008/09.

The infrastructure sector accounts for 26.7 percent of India's industrial output.

Timeline for duty free sugar import

India has extended tax-free white sugar imports until December 2010 as the world's biggest consumer of the sweetener faces robust demand and shrinking domestic output.

India's sugar season runs from October to September. The country's sugar output in the year that ended on Sep. 30 fell to 15 million tonnes from 26.4 million, forcing it to import 5 million tonnes and lifting raw sugar futures to the highest in nearly three decades.

Problem of black economy in india

Indian economy has crossed the 1 trillion worth mark and per capita income in india has also crossed the $3000 mark THATS a very good news indeed...but indian economy is actually worth more then the 1.13 trillion worth for sure thanks to the black economy which runs in parallel along with the white economy. that is worth $ 1+ trillion worth, still majority of trading in india is done in grey market which government doesn't come to know about or may be they know it but since many of their money earning sources are part of black economy they try to pretend as they are not aware of it.. what a pity on indian economy.

the growth of black economy in india can be controlled if the currency notes and coins come with an renewal date.. yes i know it may sound a little weird or horrible but it might be very effective, one good effect would be that more black money which currently doesnot circulate in market would come in circulation and the MP's MLA's beaurocrats which are indulged heavily in corrupt practices would be most effective.

The currency note which has met with exppiry date cannot be used until they are renewed by some government authorized agencies which should be independent of government and should be controlled directly by Reserve bank of india (RBI).

The other important plus point about this type of renewal based economy is that the Indian money which is deposited in Swiss banks and is unknown to the indian government would also be required for renewal which would be a major instrument in ending the black economy, we all know that the politicians have huge assets in their swiss bank accounts , renewal based economy would also help in improved circulation of economy in market.

RBI should maintain a database for all such renewal activities and it should further distribute such economy date renewal to state levels and then to district levels with a centralised system, thus we would also come to know about the Indian economy status in individual states. but one thing is sure that indian politicians and major business houses including some of the biggest indian businesses would be against such renewal based economy as their black money based assests would become public when they show them for renewal.

the Idea looked very interesting to me as it would really help in bringing money deposited in swiss banks, in unauthorised bank accounts in india, black money belonging to business houses and belonging to individuals too would be brought in notice of RBI.

I was talking to one of my relative about this type of currency which comes with a renewal date, so thought of posting it on my blog to get to know what the other fellow indians think about it.

So what do you think about such move so that the black economy would end

World Bank approves $4.2 billion loan for India

The World Bank approved more loans equalling to $4.2 billion to India for three projects.

The loan amount will be divided in following manner - $2 billion for state-run banks, with IIFC receiving $1.195 billion to fund infrastructure projects, and PowerGrid Corp getting $1 billion to upgrade India's power transmission system. so we'll get less power cuts this time

Recession finally easing as forex reserves increase :)

Just came across news that indian forex reserves increased for the week which might be indication that foreign investors are betting on india again and thats the reason US $ reached 47.0 levels so thats a sigh of relief for the sectors which are hit by recession. so the forex reserves on october 2nd week aere at 280 billion US$.
The Fossil Fuel free economy

Govt collects 3.69 percent more direct taxes in september

The Indian Finance ministry has collected 3.10 per cent more in direct taxes in September at Rs 64,737 crores compared to the same period last year.

The growth in government's corporate tax collection for the fist half of this fiscal was more pronounced at 5.55 per cent over last year's. In the first six months, Rs 1,00,572 was collected in corporate taxes compared to Rs 95,283 crore last year, the Central Board of Direct taxes in a statement

However, Personal Income Tax collection for the first half at Rs 51,897 crore saw only a marginal rise of 0.38 per cent over last fiscal. The figures include Securities Transaction Tax and residual Fringe Benefit Tax and Banking Cash Transaction Tax.

IMF predicts Indian economy to grow 5.4% in 2009

The International Monetary Fund projected Indian economic growth at 5.4 per cent in 2009, implying a slower growth in the second half of this calendar year.

In its twice-yearly World Economic Outlook released in Istanbul, the Fund lowered the projection for the next year by 0.1 per cent to 6.4 per cent.

The Indian economy grew by 5.8 per cent in the first quarter and 6.1 per cent in the second quarter of this calendar year.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman have expressed doubts whether the economy will grow at the rate of 6.1 per cent in the third and fourth quarters of 2009 due to an weak monsoon.

The economy grew by 7.3 per cent in 2008 and 9.4 per cent in 2007. If the IMF projections prove correct, it would grow at the least rate in recent years due to the global financial crisis and drought.

source PTI

Indian Exports still in red as world economy still under recession

India's merchandise exports fellh in August, with the value of shipments falling 19.4 per cent to $14.29 billion from $17.72 billion in the like month of last year.


Imports during August were valued at $22.66 billion, showing a drop of 32.4 per cent, while the cumulative figure for the five-month period was down 33.4 per cent at $102.3 billion, showed the data released by the commerce ministry.

also read -
Welcome the future of world economy

"Although the downtrend in our exports continued in August, it is worth noting the rate of decline has come down to below 20 per cent compared to 28-33 per cent in each of the preceding four months," said the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

"It would be a formidable challenge even to maintain the level of exports reached last year. This would mean we have to achieve a robust growth of over 32 per cent in the remaining seven months of 2009-10 to touch the $182 billion mark of in 2008-09."

The country's oil import bill also fell 47.4 per cent during the five-month period ended Aug 31 to $28.28 billion, from $53.74 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal. In August, oil imports fell 45.5 per cent to $6.28 billion from $11.52 billion.
Welcome the future of world economy
Accordingly, the country's trade deficit during April-August was estimated at $38.17 billion, which was lower than the deficit of $60.73 billion during the like period last year.

Future World Economy - The fossil fuel free economy

greetings from himanshu to all the readers of the blog - so here i start -

we all must be thinking that world economic recession has ended...but wait a minute and rethink it again ! fuel prices are hovering at $72 per barrel in market and set to reach the $ 100+ per dollar mark in near future so the future looks dark again :(


The world economy should now start shifting from fossil fuel based economy to fossil fuel free economy which it is slowly starting to do.. but wait When the ongoing global recession will be completly over that is when the production in USA reaches the same level (before the recession) when all the factories start working again in full flow , when the asian countries start exporting goods to US at same rate , when the jobless claims in USA becomes nil and there are more job openings in there.. Have anybody thought what can happen then??

Well the crude oil prices would skyrocket and could well go beyond the $ 200 mark this time and a double dip recession will again haunt the global economy because presently the global economy is fossil fuel based economy and i think that the pace of shifting the global economy from crude oil based economy to crude oil free economy should increase considerably if we want that no recession should prevale any more in future, actually this is a very big task "SHIFTING OF GLOBAL ECONOMY FROM FOSSIL FUEL BASED ECONOMY TO FOSSIL FUEL FREE ECONOMY" presently in the world every thing is governed or in other words is dependent on prices of fossil fuels as everything uses fossil fuels.

and we all know that fossil fuels are limited and the middle east countries would never increase the production from present levels (for decreasing the prices) because if they do this now their own future would be very very dark. i think that was one reason that US attacked Iraq some years back to get hold of the key oil assets present in Iraq (kudos to Bush for such a shrewd thinking..) . the shift should be now gradually to the battery powered energy, nuclear energy, solar enregy(which i think would be biggest energy source in future .. in the same way as fossil fuels are today)

For protecting the double dip recession we should now shift our thinking from conventional sources of energy to renewable sources of energy like the sun, and wind i talked about few lines back. Solar energy would play a very important part in future for providing power to industrial units, cars, houses, transport, communication rather then fossil fuels, and world would become much safer place to live in. becauses there would be no threat of recession anymore once we shift from a fossil fuel based world economy to fossil fuel free economy in future.

probably in coming 20 years there would be gradual shift from the way we fulfill our energy demands today, middle east countries would be dependent on others (in contrast with today).. they would have very few sources of income in future for sure once the fossil fuels are only available in museums in future. so i can see that the world economy has to now shift to fossil fuel free economy as soon as possible .

India's top 10 business houses/groups list

Following is the list of top 10 business houses of india when we see market capitalisation and net yearly turnover, the list is in descending order starting from biggest business house Reliance industries ltd



Rank 1 - Reliance Group led by Mukesh Ambani

net worth : 1,60,992 crores

Rank 2 - Tata Group led by ratan Naval tata

net worth : 1,23,176 crores

Rank 3 - ADAG Group led by Anil D Ambani

net worth : 89, 129 crores

Rank 4 - Bharti Group led by Sunil Bharti Mittal

net worth - 74, 500 crores

Rank 5 - Wipro group led by Azim Premji

net worth : 65,731 crores

Rank 6 - Sterlite Industries

net worth : 61,584 crores

Rank 7 - Delhi Land Finance (DLF Group)

net worth : 56,027 crores

Rank 8 - Om Prakash Jindal Group (JSW)

net worth : 41,487 crores

Rank 9 - ADANI Group

net worth : 27,015 crores

Rank 10 - Aditya Birla Group led by Kumar Mangalam Birla

net worth : 22,129 crores

Get ready to the world of fossil fuel free economies

Seven months ago, President Obama threw $787 billion of your hard-earned cash at a raging economic inferno -- but that's nothing compared to the $10 TRILLION that will go up in flames as the next economic crisis bears down on us.

We're on a collision course with financial disaster. Yet, a handful of the world's most savvy investors -- including Microsoft founder Bill Gates -- are quietly positioning themselves to secure massive profits. You can join them -- if you take advantage of the 3 opportunities revealed just ahead...

Dear Fellow Investor,


According to The Economist, "a fundamental change is coming" -- and sooner than any of us ever imagined.

You probably know all about it. The buzz has been building slowly for years -- and now it's deafening.

It's all over the nightly news and the pages of The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and Time.

President Obama has made it a top priority for his administration... It took center stage at the Olympics... Now even the mayor of New York and the queen of England are preparing for it.

Yet you may not realize just how soon -- or how much -- it's going to impact our lives.

And I can almost guarantee you that nobody out there has explained the very best way for YOU to lay claim to your fair share of the profits that will come out of this inevitable crisis.

The world's foremost experts say $300 BILLION
will be generated -- in the next 5 years alone

That's why everyone from General Electric to Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan to British Petroleum, The Blackstone Group to Shell Energy -- and even billionaires like Bill Gates -- are racing to get invested.

It's also why I urge you to take the next few minutes to read this report in its entirety...

At the very least, you'll get the full story -- so you can decide for yourself if you'll be front and center when the big money starts rolling in.

Plus you'll get all the details on three immediately actionable investment opportunities that can help you cash in on this coming change -- and build the kind of wealth and financial security we all secretly dream about...

And I'll even show you how you can secure returns far greater than any of the legendary investment houses, companies, or innovators I just mentioned.

Shrewd investors just like you have already used this often-overlooked investment strategy to grow their portfolios by 2,941%, 6,771%, and even 21,201% -- in just the last 10 years alone!

I'll give you all the details in just a moment, but first let's discuss what many experts are calling...

"The Greatest Transfer of Wealth in the History of Mankind"

Right now -- while the rest of our nation struggles with a brutal recession -- a handful of sleepy, wind-swept West Texas towns are absolutely booming.

Not since the first railroad tracks were laid in 1881 have these backwater towns experienced such prosperity...

In places like Sweetwater, Texas, abandoned buildings are being renovated and restored. New shops, hotels, and restaurants are opening left and right. Schools are going up, and highways are being built.

You might be picturing old-money oil tycoons like J.R. Ewing sitting in their mansions, sipping bourbon, and relaxing as their oil rigs pump all day and night...

But here's the real shocker... these towns aren't booming because of oil -- they're booming in spite of it.

You see, they're at the epicenter of a $300 billion movement that holds the key to keeping the U.S. economy from hemorrhaging TENS OF TRILLIONS of dollars over the next few decades.

"The simple truth is that cheap and easy oil is gone.
This is one emergency we can't drill our way out of."
-- Billionaire oilman, T. Boone Pickens

Whether or not you believe that "peak oil" is a geologic reality, the economic reality is that this year alone we will buy $700 billion worth of oil from countries that, as Pickens puts it, "don't like us very much."

That's four times the annual cost of the Iraq war -- and roughly equal to the amount that was picked out of taxpayers' pockets in order to "bail out" Wall Street. Projected out over the next 10 years our tab for foreign oil will come to a staggering $10 TRILLION!

That's a gut-wrenching amount of money to just throw away -- especially when our economy is in such turmoil. And from the looks of it, things are only going to get worse.

In 1970, we imported 24% of our oil. Today it's nearly 70% -- and growing.

And although we represent a mere 4% of the world's population, we use nearly 25% of its oil.

The unfortunate truth is that we are hopelessly addicted to oil. And the readily available supply of that oil is coming into serious question...

The CEO of Total SA, one of the world's largest oil companies, recently confessed that the world can't increase oil output beyond current levels.
The Wall Street Journal reports that output from the world's existing oil fields is dropping about 4.5% per year and by up to 18% per year at some of the biggest oil fields in the North Sea, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The New York Times reports that many of the world's top oil exporters may have to begin importing oil within a decade to keep up with rising energy demands inside their borders.
Of course, the Saudis claim they have plenty -- some 260 billion barrels in reserve. Yet they refuse to let outsiders audit their reserves or confirm these claims.

And even if they do have all that oil, you can bet they have only one motive: to get top dollar for it.

In fact, more than 75% of the world's oil supply is in the hands of state-owned oil companies who are worried only about their own bottom lines.

To make matters worse, population booms in places like India and China have caused demand to skyrocket -- putting an even bigger strain on this ever-diminishing supply.

Last year we saw just how quickly the price of oil and gasoline can spike -- and how much havoc this can wreak on our economy and our way of life.

The good news is that there now is a solution that is both feasible and profitable...

"Plans for the end of the fossil-fuel
economy are now being laid."
-- The Economist

20 years ago, wind energy was nothing more than a coffee-shop conversation between tree-huggers and hippies.

But since then, technologies have improved immensely... designs have become exponentially more efficient... and America's energy crisis has reached an urgent breaking point...

Meaning that wind energy has gone from something that we ought to pursue to something we absolutely must pursue.

Luckily for us, wind is now a viable -- and profitable -- way to wean ourselves off foreign oil. But don't take my word for it...

Researchers at Stanford University concluded that wind power can satisfy global energy demand 7 times over -- even if only 20% of available wind can be harvested.

Green Chip Review estimates, "By 2020, wind capacity in the United States will have grown 360%."

And the Department of Energy recently confirmed that up to 20% of America's electricity can come from wind by 2030 -- maybe even sooner.

When you consider that number currently stands at just 1%, you can begin to see why in-the-know investors are so excited right now...

The wind industry is about to explode 20-FOLD in the U.S. alone.

from the motley fool

India's top earning business czars - latest list

Indian businesses are growing globally as they are venturing into new lands and deals, so the CEO's , promoters of such indian companies need extravagant salaries (which are still less when compared to their business strategies) so here is the list of top 10 earners of indian companies :

Rank 1 - Anil D. Ambani (chairman of ADAG group) - with salary of over 30 crore per annum..cheers for Anil Ambani

Rank 2 - Malvinder Mohan Singh of RANBAXY with net yearly compensation of 24 crores

Rank 3 - Sunil Mittal (Chairman of Bharti Group) - with net yearly compensation of 23 crores

Rank 4 - Markhand Bhatt (Torrent Power) got a whopping 200 percent rise in salary at 15 crore per year

Rank 6 - Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan (of Housing development & Infrastructure HDIL)

Rank 7 - Dr Y K Hamied (CMD of CIPLA)

Rank 8 - M K Hamied (joint MD of CIPLA)

Rank 9 - Sajjan Jindal, Vice chairman & MD of JSW Steel was comfortably placed at 9th position

Rank 10 - Sarang Wadhawan (promoter and MD of HDIL)

Recession easing - Govt expecting rise in corporate tax

(posted under Corporate tax updates) - i was just surfing on net about the economic updates and one thing is sure that recession has almost dimnished but earlier the news about a double dip recession were prevelant , but as the exports have increased and inflation has moved upwards again after a four months dip so the government particularly finance ministry has become optimistic and have already predicted that there would be marginal increase in corporate tax for coming quarter as banking and automobile sector has performed exceptionally well.


The finance ministry expects corporate tax receipts at 2.57 trillion rupees in 2009/10. Corporate tax receipts were at 493.39 billion rupees during April-August. "We are expecting a marginal improvement in corporate advance tax payments this quarter. The finance ministry had revised upwards its direct tax receipts target to 4 trillion rupees from 3.7 trillion estimated in the July budget.