HERE we go again. Financial markets don’t much like uncertainty. Thanks to Italy’s politicians, in recent days they have had plenty. By May 30th some calm had returned: it seemed possible that a pair of populist parties, the Five Star Movement and the Northern League, would form a government after all (see article). Markets had been in turmoil for two days, unsettled by a farcical back-and-forth between the populists and the country’s president, who had rejected the parties’ choice of a Eurosceptic economist as finance minister. The politicians may have done the markets a service, by shaking them out of complacency. Investors may have returned the favour, by shaking some sense into the politicians—at least for now.

Italy is perennially slow-growing and groans under public debt of around €2.3trn ($2.7trn), or 132% of GDP. The drama...Continue reading
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The gold market has been continuously booming over the past few years. The demand of gold has been significantly increasing and can be traced back hundreds of years. Nowadays, the demand is going higher and higher in tandem with the price. Understanding the price of gold saves you from losing money and increases your chance of profit. Buying gold isn’t as easy as eating a piece of cake. There are a lot of things to be considered despite the benefit that it brings. Looking back at everything, how much gold is bought and sold really in a month?

 

The amount of gold that is bought and sold every month cannot exactly be predicted as some people want to keep their purchases private, but there are estimations available based on evidences presented. The estimated monthly volume of gold transaction is somewhere over 6 billion dollars. The amount is likely to go higher form one month to another especially when the stock market is unpredictable. The price of gold sold is based on the current spot amount which is constantly changing since gold is viewed as the one of the most precious metals because of its properties.

 

People have a mindset that owning good is a representation of how wealthy they are, thus they purchase gold from time to time which increases the amount of gold being sold and bought. It’s capable of protecting investors against inflation and financial turmoil. The purchasing power of gold stays relatively constant as people encounter it almost every day, and as long as the dollar depreciates, the price of gold will likely go higher and gold transactions will likely rise as well.

 

The price of gold is constantly changing, and as it changes, the amount of gold being bought and sold fluctuates as well. Despite the speculations surrounding it, gold keeps its place as the most popular investment among all precious metals. It has been a symbol of value of wealth for the past centuries and the tag will not change over the coming years.

First published here: http://j.mp/2JhR7AB

ARE you on America’s newest airport-security watch list? You could be, but you would never know. That is because the list is secret, and no one quite understands what it takes to land on it. News of the list emerged earlier this month, when the New York Times obtained a five-page internal directive from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the government agency that oversees airport security in America. It revealed that the TSA could place flyers on the watch list, which it created in February, if they engaged in behaviour that the agency found problematic. That includes violent altercations with TSA agents. But, more problematically, it appears to extend well beyond physical assaults.

“An intent to injure or cause physical pain is not required, nor is an actual physical injury,” the memo states. People can be...Continue reading
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OF THE €57.7bn ($68.2bn) of loans that Piraeus Bank, one of Greece’s four dominant lenders, had on its books at the end of March, €20.5bn were more than 90 days overdue. A further €11.7bn were also deemed unlikely to be repaid. In all, at the end of 2017 Greek banks carried €95.7bn of such non-performing exposures (NPEs)—at 43.1% of loans, the heaviest burden in Europe. Still, the pile was €13bn smaller than at its peak in March 2016. The banks plan to reduce it by €30bn this year and next.

Dealing with bad loans to business—around 60% of NPEs, mostly to small firms—is the most daunting part of this monumental job. It means resetting the balance-sheet of much of Greece’s economy, from restaurants to manufacturing. But a new phase of this task is under way, with the first sale of secured commercial loans. On May 29th Piraeus said it had agreed to sell Amoeba, a €1.45bn bundle of loans to around 180 borrowers, to Bain Capital Credit, which has previously bought bad...Continue reading
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Gold plays a very important role as it is known as the safe haven when things get volatile. Investors mostly run into gold when the economy in on the edge of fluctuation, and they store it as an investment too. The supply of gold circulating in the market is limited, but what is the exact amount?

 

It has been said that the above ground amount of gold all over the world ranges from 120,000 to 140,000 tons. Of which, the US Reserve owns 6 percent or 8,000 tons of the total amount of gold. A total of 25 percent of above earth gold is publicly owned. They can be found in paper based international bond markets and central bank vaults.

Obviously, 75 percent of the total amount of gold is privately owned. They are on the hand of investors or not in the form of jewelry, bullion or coin.

 

The amount of privately owned gold is three times the amount of publicly owned gold. It can be clearly seen how powerful gold is as an investment against market volatility. They have been purchased from time to time no matter how high the price is as it serves as a great commodity in times of economic trouble.

 

Although it has been said that the supply of gold is limited, gold is continuously mined and refined every year no matter how difficult and risky the process is, thus the overall supply of gold is still increasing. The increase may not be as high as the demand, but the addition to the supply has a big impact on the gold industry.

 

Nobody can give the precise amount of gold in the world. The only possible thing to do is to give approximation based on presented data and evidences, but one thing is very clear – the price of gold will continue to increase regardless of how much is publicly owned and how much is privately owned.

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WHEN the dream of a smooth flight turns into the nightmare of an airliner crash, understanding what went wrong is sometimes straightforward. That was the case with a Malaysia Airlines flight which crashed in the summer of 2014, killing 298. This week Dutch and Australian investigators conclusively showed that it was shot down by a missile fired by Russian armed forces. But in other cases it is much harder to apportion blame. Such is the complexity of civil aviation that air-crash investigators spend years sifting through wreckage, recordings and data logs to work out what went wrong. Often technological, human and environmental faults are the main culprits. But another factor can be argued to have caused many of the world’s deadliest air disasters so far this year: economic sanctions.

The crash of a Cuban airliner on May 18th, which killed 112 people, is one example. America’s trade embargo on the island hurts civil aviation as much as it affects the rest of the economy. Cubana, the flag-carrier, is allowed to request American export licences...Continue reading
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As they say, timing is everything. This applies in almost everything especially in investing. Although the prices of precious metals are likely to remain stable, analyzing it for a longer time table is very important before taking further action. This year has been claimed as the golden year for precious metals. The increasing incomes will likely pull up the demand of precious metals too. As the law of supply and demand states, the limited supply and high demand of precious metals will likely push the prices of precious metals higher.

 

Gold Price for the Next Three Months

June – For the month of June, the predicted price of gold at the beginning is $1,266/oz with $1,301/oz as the highest price and $1,177/oz as the lowest price. When calculated, the average price is $1,246 dollars per ounce.

 

July – For July 2018, the expected price of gold at the beginning of the month is $1,239/oz. The average price is $1,226/oz since the highest price is $1,282/oz and the lowest possible price is $1,160/oz. The price of gold at the end of the month could hit up to $1,221/oz.

 

August – $1,221/oz is the estimated beginning price of gold for the month of August while $1,215/oz is the predicted price at the end of the month. The price of gold for the month is averaging at $1,217/oz with $1,276/oz as the highest price and $1,154/oz as the lowest price.  Prices get harder to estimate the further out you project, so the actual values could be very different than shown.  Unforeseen events, storms, political turmoil, etc. can impact the prices greatly.

 

The above data shows a decrease in the price of gold, nonetheless it is expected that it will change any time soon as the demand for it keeps on growing as months go by and the value that it holds never fades no matter how long the time is.

 

On the other hand, the price of silver will likely maintain its value and an increase is expected due to the demand of silver in different industries. It is predicted that the lowest price for silver could be $16/oz and the highest is $21.30/oz. This is due to the limited supply of silver, but the demand is amazingly high leading its price to likely increase within the next three months. Silver remains as an attractive and versatile option for people who cannot afford the prices of buying gold.

Like any other asset, the prices of gold and silver can sharply change from time to time, yet their importance will never go out of the way. Their importance will never change no matter what the price is in as much as their uses will never be wasted no matter what the form is.

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Precious metals have become an integral part in man’s day to day living. Aside from being a commodity for market volatility and economic disturbances, precious metals are used in different industries to make different products that are widely used for the advancement and comfort of living. From electronic devices to medical and beauty products, precious metals are widely used. What other major areas are precious metals used?

 

1. Aircraft Engine
   Precious metals are some of the main components that are used in the aviation industry in order to manufacture aircraft engines. Commonly, precious metals are used in well over 20 parts of the aircraft engine including the blades, heat exchangers, vanes, etc.

 

2. Household Devices
   Most household devices, like the refrigerator, mobile phones and computers contain precious metals. Sadly, the precious metals contained in these devices are disposable because once the device gets destroyed, recovery of the precious metal is almost impossible. The salvage and recovery industry is growing around disposing of old computer and phones, and then recovering the precious metals from the parts containing them. Also, catalytic convertors in automibiles.

 

3. Medical/ Pharmaceutical Advancement
   The use of precious metals in the medical and pharmaceutical field can be clearly noticed in the past few years. This is because of the strong antibacterial properties which is extremely needed and useful especially in the medical field. They are used in a wide variety of medical and pharmaceutical products found in hospitals with the like of catheters, endotracheal tubes and hygienic coatings.

 

4. Beauty Industry
   Surprisingly, the demand of precious metals used in the beauty industry is unwavering. Beauty products are embedded with precious metals, specifically gold because of its beautifying properties. Even makeups contain gold as the trend of glittering makeup is on the spot nowadays.

 

5. Food Industry
   You read it right, there are foods that contain gold because of its healthy benefit. A restaurant in New York sells chicken coated in gold at a jaw dropping price, yet customers are still flocking into the store to have a taste of it.

 

6. Movie and Television Industry
   Most costumes that are used in movies and televisions contain some level of precious metals. An example of this is the film Harry Potter wherein almost all costumes used greatly relied on precious metals.

 

Truly, precious metals are valuable assets in almost every walk of life. Their unending lists of uses is very evident especially in manufacturing and industry. It is not surprising that precious metals would continue to dominate the world be it as an asset or an investment. The use of precious metals in manufacturing processes and products has increased the sophistication and comforts of man’s living, thus the demand of precious metals will likely continue to increase.

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EVEN as rich countries seek to rid workplaces of subtle gender bias, in many developing ones discrimination remains overt. According to the World Bank, women are barred from certain jobs in 104 countries (see map).

“Gender equality in labour law is associated with more women working and earning more relative to men,” says Sarah Iqbal of the Bank. Yet some countries publish lists of jobs deemed too dangerous for women (Russia’s 456 include driving a train or steering a ship). Others stop women from working in entire sectors, at night or in “morally inappropriate” jobs (in Kazakhstan women cannot bleed or stun cattle, pigs or small ruminants). In four countries women cannot register a business. In 18 a husband can stop his wife working.

The aim is often to protect the “weaker sex”. Some laws put women in the same category as children; they concern jobs seen as physically tough, such as mining, construction and manufacturing. Others relate to broader safety fears. In Mumbai, for...Continue reading
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IN THE early 1970s, leftist guerrillas in Argentina discovered a lucrative new way to make money: kidnap millionaires. Panicking firms would agree to huge ransoms, more concerned with freeing their executives than driving down the fee. That was not just bad for businesses. It also became a textbook case of how poor negotiating can send future ransoms rocketing and attract new entrants to the kidnapping trade. In Argentina, this culminated in the payment of an undisclosed ransom in 1975 for the release of Juan Born, followed by a $60m ransom for his brother, Jorge. The latter figure, $275m in today’s money, is the highest ransom known in modern times.

One reason it marked a high point is the spread of kidnapping-and-ransom (K&R) insurance. This is involved in a minority of the $0.5bn-1.5bn thought to be paid out in ransoms each year, but the share is growing. Around three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies pay to cover some employees. Insurers reimburse the ransom and, at least as...Continue reading
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