Gold ETFs

Trading in gold ETFs more than doubles

Khyati Dharamsi / DNA MONEY  | Thursday, 02 October , 2008, 11:58
Mumbai: Equity market uncertainties have spawned gold investors by the thousands.

Gold ETFs in limelight; collections up 14% in August

But they are not buying traditional gold jewellery — the demand for that is declining, say analysts.

Buy Gold ETFs

Instead, trade in the yellow metal sold in paper form has more than doubled since January 2008.

India gold down, but not enough for buyers

Average volumes in gold exchange traded funds (ETFs), which are mutual fund plans whose value is based on gold price and whose units can be bought or sold on the stock exchange, have increased by 111.12 per cent to 50,080 units per day in the last nine months.

How housewives can invest in gold

Globally, gold ETF demand shot up by 223 per cent during the first half of 2008 vis-à-vis first half of 2007, according to data from World Gold Council.

Since a gold ETF is in dematerialised form, one can buy as little as one gram. Data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India show all five gold ETFs trading on Indian exchanges saw inflows of Rs 57 crore in August 2008, taking the total assets held under gold ETFs to Rs 467 crore, as on August 31, 2008.

"There is an impact of awareness, as well as a fallout of the equity markets falling. Also, the number of retail investors is growing," says Sanjiv Shah, executive director of Benchmark Asset Management Company, which launched India's first gold ETF.

"Our Gold BeES Corpus has exceeded Rs 300 crore and is now worth 2 tonnes," said Shah. Benchmark's gold ETF has 35,000 investors.

Interestingly, there is a crunch of gold coins in the US because investors are rushing to pick them up. "We buy kilo bars. There used to be a crunch in August, but not anymore," Benchmark's Shah said.

Keyur Shah, associate director at World Gold Council said when the equity markets collapsed people realised that they need to have at least 10-15 per cent of their portfolio in gold.

People who didn't have gold in their portfolio wanted it as a diversifying tool, he said.

"ETFs are looked at as a pure investment option. When there is economic trouble, gold becomes the best performing asset class," Shah said.

Under license from www.3dsyndication.com

Russia Georgia War - July-August 2008

From Amnesty International website


14/8/2008
15:40

Russia and Georgia – Background to conflict
Russian tanks heading towards South Ossetia, North Ossetia border, 8 August 2008

Russian tanks heading towards South Ossetia, North Ossetia border, 8 August 2008

© APGraphicsBank

Georgian rocket launchers in Ergneti, a village in South Ossetia, 8 August 2008

Georgian rocket launchers in Ergneti, a village in South Ossetia, 8 August 2008

© APGraphicsBank

12 August 2008
After months of increased tension, and recent low-level hostilities, the conflict between Georgia and the breakaway region of South Ossetia escalated in the early morning of 8 August 2008. The fighting became the most serious confrontation since the civil war between the two was concluded through a truce in 1992.

Georgian troops launched what appears to have been a coordinated military offensive against the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, with the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili emphasizing the need "to restore constitutional order" over the region.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, pledging "to respect the life and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are", responded by sending further troops to reinforce those already stationed in South Ossetia as part of the ceasefire.

On 9 August President Saakashvili declared a 15-day ‘state of war’ to facilitate mobilization.

South Ossetia
The people of South Ossetia are a distinct ethnic group, speaking a language distantly related to Farsi.

South Ossetia, which is in Georgia, is separated from North Ossetia, which is in Russia, by the border between the two countries running high in the Caucasus. Much of the region lies more than 1000m above sea level.

South Ossetia was an autonomous province of Georgia during the Soviet era. It declared independence from Georgia in 1990 and armed conflict between South Ossetian and Georgian forces ensued in 1991 and 1992.

The conflict ended in 1992 with a ceasefire and establishment of a tripartite peacekeeping force, with Russian, Ossetian and Georgian peacekeeping battalions. South Ossetia has enjoyed de facto independence since 1992, although not recognized by any other state. Many of its ethnic Ossetian inhabitants have, however, acquired Russian passports. A third of the population is reported to be ethnically Georgian.

Tensions, never far below the surface, increased after the 2004 election of President Saakashvili, who pledged to restore Georgian territorial integrity by re-establishing control over South Ossetia and the other unrecognized region of Abkhazia, in the north-west.

Tensions have also increased between Georgia and Russia this year over Abkhazia, where Russia has troops operating as a peacekeeping force mandated by the Commonwealth of Independent States. The UN also has an observer contingent there, known as UNOMIG, established in August 1993 to verify compliance with the ceasefire agreement.

The conduct of military operations
The principles of international humanitarian law are binding on states and non-governmental armed groups.

The following are key principles of international humanitarian law:

* All parties to the conflict must protect civilians and respect the distinction between military targets and civilians objects;
* Direct attacks against civilians or civilian objects, whether in reprisal or for any other reason are prohibited;
* Neither side can use a civilian object such as a school or hospital to shield fighters or weapons;
* Indiscriminate attacks which do not attempt to distinguish between military target and civilians or civilians objects , or which use inherently indiscriminate weapons, are prohibited;
* Disproportionate attacks are prohibited too – this means attacks that, while aimed at a legitimate military target, have a disproportionate impact on civilians relative to the military objective;
* Parties must take measures to protect the civilian population from the dangers arising from military operations – this includes not locating military objectives among civilian concentrations;
* Civilians must have access to humanitarian assistance, and humanitarian agencies must be allowed access to the civilian population;
* All prisoners, the wounded and those seeking to surrender, must be treated humanely – prisoners must never be killed or held as hostages;
* Anyone responsible for grave breaches of international humanitarian law should be brought to justice in a fair trial, and reparations should be provided to the victims of such violations.

Read More
Georgia: Summary of Amnesty International's concerns (Report, 1 Aug 1998)

E-Filing Returns

31/07/2008
1:50 am

Successfully filed Renuka's return through internet after paying self assessment tax online. It was an exciting experience.

First of all got her form 16. Tax calculation was wrong. Consulted Yadav. He confirmed my doubt. Went ahead with my calculation. Generated a XML file. Created Renuka's profile on the income tax department site. Uploaded the XML file. The receipt was generated within a fraction of second. Downloaded it and printed. The process was complete. Now I will have to submit the receipt at a nearby income tax office.

My own return had some problems. Left it to Mistri. He will do the needful tomorrow.

Kerala trip May 2007

 

 

 

 

Matt Rosenberg

Goodbye Dear Atlas

By Matt Rosenberg, About.com

See More About:

• matt rosenberg
• personal essay
• geography

Sponsored Links

NG's Geography QuizzesHow much do you know about some of the world's most amazing cities?NationalGeographic.com

Atlas Motor InnFind Deals, Read Reviews from Real People. Get the Truth. Then Go.www.TripAdvisor.com

Top Job Openings in India35000+ Recruiters, 200000+ Jobs Apply Free & Fast!Naukri.com

Geography Ads

Map of Cyprus World Atlas Map The Map of the World Atlas of Europe Europe Country Map

Jul 21 2008

When I stated operating this site in 1997, the most common question I received was related to locating a place on the planet. I would receive questions about how to find a map of a place or how to simply find where a place was located. Occasionally I was asked to clarify the spelling of a place name or to provide its latitude and longitude.

Back then, the best international maps on the Internet were from the Perry-Castaneda Library; they scanned in public domain CIA maps and made them available online. It was a wonderful collection - it was an online atlas of fairly detailed maps for every country on earth.

Other sites tried to provide geographic data, too. Remember Terraserver? That was cutting-edge technology, providing satellite images for some places in the United States! (You might enjoy a blast to the past by looking at my Best of the Net Awards for 1998)

Back in 1997 I utilized my Times Atlas of the World and my well-worn Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary on a daily basis to help people find places or information about places. I received at least one inquiry a day.

Today, site like Google Maps and software like Google Earth have changed the way we find geographic information online. I can't remember the last time someone emailed me asking for help finding a place. I expect that these people today simply search for the place name themselves. Maybe they start with Google and if the place name was spelled incorrectly, Google provides them with the correct spelling. The search results provide them with a map, images, and an extensive Wikipedia article about the place in question.

If they need more information about a place, they can launch the free Google Earth software and look at the terrain and buildings of the place they're looking for and view a plethora of user-submitted content.

Today, I only use my atlas or my geographical dictionary when I'm writing a Geography Quiz. I fully admit that I also use Google, Google Maps, and sometimes Google Earth to find out about a place.

I remember that when I traveled to Eastern Europe in the late 1990s, my best source for information was still the printed guidebook published (but ordered, of course, via Amazon.com). However, When I was getting ready for my trip to Ghana last January, I browsed an incredible number of photos of Google Earth. I never even needed to so a search for the towns I was visiting because the Wikipedia article and other content I wanted to read about Ghana was hyperlinked directly from Google Earth.

But, through my online travels of Ghana before I left, I had such a good sense as to what I would be seeing when I arrived that nothing was really much of a surprise. My trip in the 90s to Eastern Europe was all new and exciting. But, when I went to Ghana and even to the village of 250 people, it was exactly what I expected from photos someone had posted online. In some respects it took some of the adventure out of my trip, knowing that others had been there before me with their digital cameras, capturing the same things I was seeing. Has the fun and novelty of travel to distant points evaporated or do I need to refrain from searching online about the place I am going to visit? Should I simply stick to the travel guide with its handful of color photos of the key tourist sites? Maybe too much information is a bad thing. I'd love to read your thoughts!

I miss using my atlas and geographical dictionary on a daily basis but I love being able to access such rich and detailed geographic information online.

Suggested Reading

Waterproof Shoes in L.A.You Can't Send Soap to ParaguayGeography 101

History of Geography

• Ferdinand Magellan
• Alexander von Humboldt
• Amerigo Vespucci
• Captain James Cook
• Carl Ritter

Guide since 1997

Matt Rosenberg
Geography Guide

• Sign up for my Newsletter
• My Blog
• My Forum

Rajdeep Sardesai’s blog and Google services

Saw a blog maintained by Rajdeep Sardesai - he started it in 2005 after launching CNN-IBN his new channel. He has regularly contributed since then - two or three articles a month. All articles have received 400 plus comments. This indicates that the series is well read by the public. I got a clearcut idea of maintaining a blog.

 

Google has many facilities on their site. Once you open an account you get an email address, start a blog at the blogger, commence a group or participate in an existing group, maintain a schedule with the help of a calendar, save and edit documents, others can be invited to edit simultaneously, have the picasa software to process your images, uploading and downloading images in various pixels and formats has become easy, one can also post photos online. The pack has some cool gadgets to use on your desktop. The reader (RSS reader) provides you with news updates besides the separate Google news service. Recently I discovered that they also provide you with a web site building facility that too without any advertisement. I had earlier tried Geocities by Yahoo and Tripod. They provide free web hosting service but the space is less as compared to Google's 100 mb and the site or page is always cluttered by advertisings. On the contrary Google's website building facility is superb, you ie the owner can easily attach files to be downloaded by other collaborators or viewers. Pages can be added and a database can be maintained - all this is free and working and that too in the capitalist world of fierce competition.

Some interesting quotes

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable - Martin Luther King 

You can analyse the past but you have to design the future - If you do not design the future someone or something else will design it for you - Edward de Bono

Definition of Politics and Basic features of Indian constitution

1/7/2008

FYBA

The study of politics:

Definitions and nature

What is politics?

• process of decision making
  
• limited means and unlimited wants
  
• conflict is inevitable
  
• Violence is the only option
  
• Civilised societies – man is a social animal
  
• Groups – tribes – families – marriage – social – economic- political institutions- democratic politics-monarchies-dictators-military rule etc.
  
• Study of state
  

What is a state?

• Four essential elements – Territory, Population, Government, Sovereignty
  
• State has the ultimate powers – State is most powerful
  

What is a government?

• Government – to govern – three organs – legislature executive judiciary
  
• Functional division – to make, implement and interprete law
  
• Different types and forms of government
  

The input-output-feedback model

 

Scope

All inclusive

1. State
   
2. Political parties
   
3. Government
   
4. Pressure groups
   
5. Institutions
   
6. International relations
   
7. Political thought
   
8. Theory
   
9. Comparative governments
   
10. Political economy
    
11. Political Sociology
    
12. Political Geography
    

Approaches – Normative and Empirical

What is a social science?

• Study of society – human beings and their interrelationship – History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology etc.
  

What is a society?

• A web of relationship between individuals, groups, institutions
  

Normative approach

• Before 1950
  
• Eurocentric
  
• Influenced by Philosophy, History
  
• Influenced by values, ideals
  
• Formal
  

Empirical approach

1. After 1950 – dominated by US political scientists – behavioural - वर्तनवाद
   
2. World wide studies – particularly third world studies
   
3. Interdisciplinary approach – Statistics (psephology), Economics, Sociology
   
4. Emphasis on research methodology, data collection
   
5. Value free
   
6. Informal – emphasis on process rather than structure
   

SYBA

INDIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

Indian Constitution

Basic features

1. Longest written constitution in the world
   
2. Borrowed constitution
   
3. Parliamentary system
   
4. Federalism – quasi federal system
   
5. Secularism
   
6. Independent judiciary
   
7. Fundamental rights and duties
   
8. Directive principles
   
9. Amendment procedure
   
10. Preamble
    

 

    
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Major issues in contemporary politics – first lecture

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Historical Background

1. The Nation state system
   
   1. The cold war
      
      1. The Afghan conflict – Invasion of USSR – Rise of Taliban – Withdrawal of USSR- End of cold war and the end of Soviet regime. War against USA – The Taliban regime – The Afghan war
         
      2. Defence goods produced in private sector in USA
         
   2. Bipolar-Unipolar and Multipolar world
      
      1. The Communist Vs the Capitalist World
         
      2. The strength of USA – What's USA
         
      3. Multipolar world – Rising powers – India, China, Brazil, European Union, Russia
         
   3. Meaning of nation and state
      
2. Greek city state
   
3. Roman empire
   
4. Feudal state
   
5. The role of the Church
   
6. Renaissance
   
7. National Monarchies
   
8. Liberal Democratic state
   

Chile

South American country

Andes to the east

Pacific to the west

Capital – Santiago

Currency – Peso

Official language – Spanish

Independence – 1810 from Spain

Now a democratic republic

Atacama desert in the northern region

Fertile region in the middle

Volcanoes and lakes in the South

Peru to north, Argentina to west

One of the two countries in south America which do not have a border with Brazil.

Population centered in middle part of the country

World Political Science Congress

Next Congress will be held in Santiago, Chile in July 2009