Dr M Khalid's global village blog

Analysts  believe  China bought as much as 490 tons of gold in 2011, double the estimated 245 tons in 2010.  “The thing that’s caught people’s minds is the massive increase in Chinese buying,” remarked Ross Norman of Sharps Pixley, a London gold brokerage, this month. So who in China is buying all this gold? The People’s  Bank of China , the central bank, has been hinting that it is purchasing.  “No asset is safe now,”  said  the PBOC’s Zhang Jianhua at the end of last month.  “The only choice to hedge risks is to hold hard currency—gold.”  He also said it was smart strategy to buy on market dips.  Analysts naturally jumped on his comment as proof that China, the world’s fifth-largest holder of the metal, is in the market for more. From:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2012/01/29/why-are-the-chinese-buying-record-quantities-of-gold/2/ Ref: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/columns/casey-research/3417/zero-hedge-mocks-cftcs-supposed-concern-about-gold-and-silver-ma

Gold is the real money and its posession by countries is the lifeblood against which Loans and debts are steered by central banks. As you can see in the info below. To prevent the world economy from going up in flames, the Central Banks of the world forced a ceiling on selling of Gold by countries That is called the  Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA)  whose first version was signed on 26 September 1999.  CBGA is similar to control on extraction of sap from a rubber tree. Only limited cuts are made so as to prevent major damage to the tree to enable regular tapping of sap for producing rubber. The agreement has remained in controversy. As we can see in this post in 2011: Despite sales in the region (Europe) drying up, it’s widely expected the agreement is here to stay. It provides a controlled and coordinated approach for central banks in the gold market in Europe, and gives industry participants at least some broad certainty that tons of gold–especially amid

Why France could become the biggest danger to Europe’s single currency THE threat of the euro’s collapse has abated for the moment, but putting the single currency right will involve years of pain. The pressure for reform and budget cuts is fiercest in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy, which all saw mass strikes and clashes with police this week (see  article ). But ahead looms a bigger problem that could dwarf any of these: France. The business climate in France has also worsened. French firms are burdened by overly rigid labour- and product-market regulation, exceptionally high taxes and the euro zone’s heaviest social charges on payrolls. Not surprisingly, new companies are rare. France has fewer small and medium-sized enterprises, today’s engines of job growth, than Germany, Italy or Britain. The economy is stagnant, may tip into recession this quarter and will barely grow next year. Over 10% of the workforce, and over 25% of the young, are jobless. The external current

Who should you trust - the Federal Reserve or all of the half-crazed bloggers out there that are warning about the " serious doom " that is coming. Well, come back to this article in a year or two and compare how accurate the predictions were. In the end, time will tell who is telling lies and who is not. If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. For example, let's take a quick look at Ben Bernanke's track record over the past several years. The following are statements that Bernanke  actually made to the public .... #1  (July, 2005) "We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit. I don’t think it’s gonna drive the economy too far from its full employment path, though." #2  (October 20, 2005) "House prices have risen by nearly 25 percent over the past two years. Although specu

According to recent Department of Labor statics, the average tenure of an employee in the U.S. is now only 1.5 years. What do these numbers mean? Are managers doing that bad of a job engaging and retaining their people. Is this churn and burn dynamic the new norm? Wherever the macro trends are headed, the ability to engage and retain talented employees is a critical skill for managers. Here are six reasons good employees quit you and how to keep them – none of which involves throwing a pile of money around: 1) No Vision Most employees don’t get out of bed each morning trying to hit a profit number. In the majority of companies there are only a handful of people that truly care about it or, in some cases, even understand exactly what it means to hit that number. As a manager, don’t confuse your financial objectives with vision. Vision feeds financials and not the other way around. For example,  Walt Disney   DIS   -0.89%  was the master of painting a compelling vision of the f

Retail investors could be in for a shock when they open their quarter-end mutual fund reports next week - and find out how much money they've lost on corporate bonds in the last month. The sell-off was sparked by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on May 22, when he began talking about ending the Fed's stimulus plan and immediately turned a red-hot market sour. Corporate bonds, which till then had gained 0.72% for the year based on the Barclays investment-grade index, have now lost 3.74% in 2013 - a staggering 450bp U-turn in just four weeks. ( Read More :  Cramer: Bernanke's Fed Has Lost Control of Bond Market ) Spread-based products - investments whose value is tied to the interest rates on US Treasuries - have been pummeled as yields have spiked since Bernanke's remarks. And while that may partly be good news for large institutional investors who see opportunities to buy as prices have plunged, even they will be watching to see how retail buyers rea

1. Welcome Criticism:  We all have blind spots, but successful people acknowledge them and actively search for meaningful feedback.  Gabe Lozano , co-founder and CEO of the fast-growing sports social media platform  LockerDome , embodies this mentality. He is constantly seeking feedback, which is a big component of his success.  2. Authentically Give:  Some call it karma, but life has a way of rewarding those who authentically give without an expectation of reciprocity.  Mark Suster  recently wrote  this  describing  Brad Feld  as “the ultimate giver,” something I, too, have experienced. Brad, and his awesomely thoughtful wife  Amy , work tirelessly to help build startup communities and further causes in which they believe. They’ve even recently authored a fantastic book, “ Startup Life ,” to help entrepreneurial couples survive and thrive. 3. Specialize:  The temptation is to be all things to all people, but profits flow from value, and value comes from deep expertise. Becomi

“Tell me about yourself.”  While this isn’t exactly a question, answering this the wrong way could really hurt your chances of getting a job, Teach says. “I was once told by an HR executive that this can actually be a trick question. Hiring managers can’t ask you certain questions legally but if you go off on a tangent when answering, you may tell them some things about you that are better left unsaid.” The worst way to approach this request is to tell them your life story, which is something they’re definitely not interested in. The best way to approach this is to only discuss what your interests are relating to the job and why your background makes you a great candidate. “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”  It’s easy to talk about your strengths; you’re detail oriented, hard working, a team player, etc.–but it’s also easy to get tripped up when discussing your weaknesses, Teach says. Never talk about a real weakness unless it’s something you’ve defeated. “Many hiring manage