More curbs if gold imports don't shrink

20th March 2012,Tuesday

If Indians continue to buy gold the way they have done, the government may think of more drastic measures than the taxes imposed in the budget, such as restrictions on imports.

India's import of gold rose 54% in April-December this year from a year ago to $45.5 billion, contributing to the record trade deficit in the current year, pegged at $160 billion in the first eleven months.

"If CAD (current account deficit) crosses 3.5% (of GDP) we will have to think of cutting down some imports," Finance Secretary RS Gujaral said in Delhi on Monday, hinting at gold. Increase in tax on gold in the budget is essentially aimed at narrowing the current account deficit, he said.

India was largest consumer of gold in 2011 with total demand of 933.4 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council, down only moderately from 1,000 tonnes in 2010 despite record high prices. The high inflation has also prompted many investors to switch to gold from financial savings.

The share of financial savings in the overall savings of households has dropped to 44% in 2010-11 from 52% in 2007-08. The budget has doubled the basic customs duty on gold bars, the second increase in the last two months, in an attempt to moderate the demand.

"One of the primary drivers of the current account deficit has been the growth of almost 50% in imports of gold and other precious metals in the first three quarters of this year," finance minister said in his budget speech justifying the levy.

The budget has also imposed a tax at source on purchase of jewellery in excess of Rs 2 lakh in cash. The C Rangarajan-headed prime minister's economic advisory council (PMEAC) has in its review of the economy also called for measures to discourage gold consumption and shift people to financial savings.

India is expected to end the year with a current account deficit of 3.6% of GDP, which has put pressure on the rupee and raised concern among foreign investors.

AMAZING CARS

20th March 2012,Tuesday


AMAZING CARS

Bentley EXP 9F Luxury SUV

Price: $250,000

Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on January 18, 1919, by Walter Owen Bentley.

Purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931, when production was moved from London to Derby and later to Crewe, this business has been owned by the Volkswagen Group of Germany since 1998.

Porsche Boxter S

Price: $70,000

The Porsche Boxster is a mid-engined roadster built by Porsche. The Boxster is Porsche's first road vehicle to be originally designed as a roadster since the 550 Spyder.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Price: $519,400

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is an endurance racing concept car made by Aston Martin in collaboration with Zagato to celebrate a 50 year partnership since the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato.

Sleeping for a living in five-star hotels

20th March 2012,Tuesday

A woman in China has been hired to stay in five-star hotels and rate the services offered by the staff.

She was selected out of 7,800 candidates and has stayed in more than 200 hotels until now.

Zhuang sleeps on the bed as she shows a part of her job as a Hotel Test Sleeper at a boutique hotel in central Beijing.

Zhuang was selected as one of three final winners out of 7,800 candidates and started working for Qunar as a Professional Hotel Test Sleeper in March 2010.

Zhuang checks a tea cup at a business chain hotel, in Beijing. At present, she has slept at more than 200 hotels.

"My job is to role-play travellers of different types, different ages and genders at different scenarios, and see how each hotel fits their particular needs." Zhuang says.

Zhuang checks the bed of a Beijing traditional hotel with courtyard houses, known as "Siheyuan" in Chinese, in central Beijing.

Her reviews help travellers make smart hotel picks and bring them a more pleasant experience on the road. Qunar, a Chinese online travel platform, started to recruit Professional Hotel Test Sleepers in 2010.

Zhuang checks the texture of the toilet paper at a business chain hotel, in Beijing. The requirement for this new profession is to sleep at selected hotels without disclosing their real job and write expert reviews about the facilities, location, dining, services and prices of the hotels, in order to provide an independent third-party evaluation and an authoritative guide to travellers, according to the company. 

Zhuang looks back at an entrance of a Beijing traditional hotel with courtyard houses, known as "Siheyuan" in Chinese, in central Beijing. 

Sri Lanka-Bangladesh match to determine India's fate

20th March 2012,Tuesday

Millions of Indian cricket fans will be praying for a Sri Lankan victory when the islanders take on hosts Bangladesh in Mirpur on Tuesday in their last league match, the result of which will determine India's fate in the Asia Cup.

The Indians recorded their highest run-chase ever to pull off an extra-ordinary victory over arch rivals Pakistan on Sunday, riding on Virat Kohli blistering 183 off 148 balls to keep themselves in the hunt for a place in the final. 

But the win alone is not enough for the defending champions to seal their place for Thursday's summit clash as India's fate now entirely depends on how Sri Lanka perform. 

India, whose Asia Cup campaign was thrown into disarray after their upset five-wicket loss to minnows Bangladesh, will now have to wait for the result of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh match.

If Sri Lanka win, India will go into the final but a defeat for the islanders will ensure that Bangladesh take on Pakistan in the title clash on Thursday. 

As per the rules of the tournament, if two teams are tied on points, head-to-head record will be considered, so Bangladesh will go into the final as they had beaten India in their league match. 

Going by the form of both the teams, Bangladesh would back themselves to register another upset win in the tournament. 

After giving Pakistan a scare in the tournament-opener, Bangladesh sprung a surprise by chasing down India's challenging 289-run target with five wickets in hand and four balls to spare.

The Bangladesh team has so far showed in the continental event that they are quite a handful in front of adoring home fans. 

Tamim Iqbal, Jahurul Islam, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan and captain Mushfiqur Rahim all batted brilliantly against India the other day to set up the brilliant run chase. 

In particular, Tamim has been solid upfront while Shakib and Mushfiqur have been providing the impetus towards the end. If batting is turning out to be their strength in this tournament, Bangladesh's bowling has been unimpressive. 

To add to their woes, Shafiul Islam is uncertain for Tuesday's match after hurting his shoulder against India and in such a scenario the pressure would be high on experienced Mashrafe Mortaza to deliver the goods up front. 

What has hurt Bangladesh most is the below-par performance of its spin quartet of Shakib, Abdur Razzak, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain.

But all said and done, it won't be easy for Bangladesh as in Sri Lanka, they will be up against a wounded team which is already out of the tournament after two consecutive defeats against Pakistan and India and would be desperately seeking a win before heading home. 

Sri Lanka have looked a jaded side in this event following their long tri-series campaign in Australia.  The absence of their two attacking all-rounders -- Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera -- both of whom are out injured, has hurt Sri Lanka badly in this event. 

Sri Lanka also have major issues to deal with in both their batting as well as bowling department. 

While skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have been among runs, explosive opener Tillakaratne Dilshan's lean patch is hurting the team most. 

Barring Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekera, the islanders' bowling attack looks ordinary and they also lack a quality spinner at their disposal on the placid Sher-e-Bangla pitch.

Teams:

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain; wk), Abdur Razzak, Anamul Haque, Elias Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam,  Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Nasir Hossain, Nazimuddin, Nazmul Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal. 

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachithra Senanayake, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne.

Kingfisher in Trouble

20th March 2012,Tuesday

The aviation regulator on Monday summoned Vijay Mallya, the billionaire owner of debt-laden Kingfisher airline, to seek an explanation on why his carrier can't stick to its revised schedule. Sources familiar with the regulator's thinking said there was a real possibility that Kingfisher's licence could be suspended if it was not able to get its act together.

The meeting could happen either on Tuesday or later this week. Sources said that the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had sent a show-cause notice to Kingfisher Airlines late February, asking why the airline should not be shut down.

"The DGCA had given the airline 15 days to respond, but now it is well over that time and the airline has not responded. To be able to take a final view of the situation, the regulator wants Mallya to explain the situation before deciding on a course of action," a government source said, requesting anonymity.

The civil aviation ministry and the DGCA are trying to come to a consensus on the issue as the regulator is of the opinion that harsh ssteps such as suspension of licence may become inevitable, said the government source.

"Delay in salary payment, lack of schedule integrity, passenger inconvenience and failure to stick to the recovery plan are some of the various grounds on which the licence could be suspended," the official said.

Morning Financial News

20th March 2012,Tuesday

The dollar fell on Tuesday as easing fears about the threat posed to the euro zone by Greece diminished the U.S. currency's safe-haven appeal, while Asian shares crept higher following a rally on Wall Street.

The euro sat near its highest level in a week after an orderly auction of Greek default insurance prompted traders to scale back their bets against the single currency.

"There has been an unwinding of short euro positions because the reasons for holding those positions have not materialised," said Douglas Borthwick, managing director of FX broker Faros Trading in Stamford, Connecticut.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan inched 0.1 percent higher, led by a 0.4 percent gain for South Korean stocks as shares in Samsung Electronics touched an all-time high.

The Asian tech sector was boosted by Apple Inc's announcement of a $10 billion annual dividend and share buy-back, a move that lifted the S&P 500 to within 10 percent of its all-time closing high.

A steady stream of data pointing to a recovery in the U.S. economy and massive liquidity injections from major central banks have combined to drive a rally in share markets since late last year. The S&P 500 has risen nearly 12 percent so far in 2012 and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan is up more than 13 percent.

That, in turn, has stemmed the flow of money seeking safety in assets such as U.S. Treasuries and the dollar.

The U.S. currency was down 0.4 percent on Tuesday against a basket of major peers, while the euro held steady around $1.3235. Tokyo markets were closed for a holiday.

The detrended price oscillator (DPO)

19th March 2012,Monday

The detrended price oscillator (DPO) is an indicator in technical analysis that attempts to eliminate the long-term trends in prices. Leaving short-term trends, the indicator allows immediate overbought and oversold levels to be found more effectively.

The detrended price oscillator is clearly a form of price oscillator, and is related to the "percentage price oscillator" (PPO) and the "absolute price oscillator" (APO). The APO is an essentially equivalent to the well-known MACD indicator. A PPO is an improved alternative to the APO or the MACD for use when a stock's price change has been large, or when comparing the oscillator behavior for different stocks which have significantly different prices.

Although these are not so commonly used with the DPO, for the other price oscillators, as for the MACD, a signal line is frequently generated for the price oscillators by taking an exponential moving average (EMA) of the price oscillator values and plotting the two lines together. A histogram can also be generated for the price oscillators, if desired, just as is done for the MACD indicator.

The DPO is calculated by subtracting the simple moving average over an "n" day period and shifted n/2+1 days back from the price.

To calculate the detrended price oscillator:

Decide on the time frame that you wish to analyze. Set "n" as half of that cycle period.

Calculate a simple moving average for n periods.

Calculate (n / 2 + 1)

Subtract the moving average, from (n / 2 + 1) days ago, from the closing price:

DPO = Close - Simple moving average [from (n / 2 + 1) days ago