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A sharp decline in gold prices in 2013 of 19% by October 2013 as central banks in developing economies cut back on holdings of gold. Emerging market economies such as Russia diversified their foreign exchange holdings by buying gold in the period following 2009. With depreciating currencies, efforts to intervene in currency markets and need for foreign exchange as growth slows, central banks in developing economies have cut back on gold purchases. In 2013 central banks are expected to reduce goldbuying by 34%, according to Thomson Reuters GFMS. Private investors fearing rising inflation as the U.S. Federal Reserve loosened monetary policy also increased purchases of gold in this period. With inflation remaining low in 2013 the interest in gold is declining, especially as it does not offer any return and alternative invesments are becoming more attractive.

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Difficulty attracting foreign investors to India's bond market. After adjusting for consumer inflation India's three month Treasury bill pays a negative 2.3%, according to Citi. Official foreign funds data for India shows as of Dec. 16, 2013, that foreigners used up only 32% of the quotas assigned to them in the bond market. If they were to use up the entire quota this would be $81 billion compared to the deficit for the year ending March of $50 billion. Foreign investors also have to deal with the risk that the currency could depreciate as in the summer of 2013, for which they need higher interest rates. The RBI increased interest rates twice since Rajan's taking office in September 2013. During 5 months of 2013 foreigners made a net withdrawal of $12.9 billion.

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Western R&D labs in India and China and hiring of Indian and Chinese engineers working for American and European companies doing research in Bangalore or Beijing. R&D as an international exercize using the knowledge from different countries and combining it in new ways to come up with new things and products and new knowledge. The globalization of R&D just as manufacturing has globalized.

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Is the market in S. Korea reflecting the bursting of the housing bubble in the USA, or is it simply a result of the Roh government's new taxes and rules for real estate such as the capital gains taxes of a shigh as 60% and the restriction on loan size so that monthly payments do not exceed 40% of monthly income. If its the new rules then it must be true that the crisis in the USA must have made the pause from the Roh measures give the market time to reflect. One factor is the oversupply from the building boom especially since the new housing had become increasingly unaffordable to average South Koreans at 100 time average income a 3 bedroom apartment cost $2 million in Seoul. A real estate Professor at Konkuk University estimates that about 1 million units will come onto the market by 2013. 2013 thats because the construction has continued even as sales have come to a near halt. Apartment prices have gone up 3% in 2008 compared to 93% in the last 5 years according to Kookmin Bank. What does this mean for the other Asian markets such as China, India and other Asia. Its not just speculation thats disappearing, but is there a sense that the market for Asian goods in the USA, especially for export powerhouses in Asia such as South Korea, is taking a hit from the credit and housing crisis in the USA. And if thats the case what does this mean for other Asian housing markets in bubble mode, consider this a Early Warning Link. See the link to the South Korean election where even corruption charges against the favored candidate are not affecting his popularity because he is seen as a candidate to who could help S. Korea overcome fears about the economic future. Comments that the current crisis is tougher for real estate and construction than the one during the Korean financial crisis of the 1990's suggest that this is something serious. ...

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Brazil's debt at 57% of GDP which is not likely to decline in 2014, is a concern for analysts at Moody's. Heavy spending and lower tax revenues with high interest rates will increase the deficit to 3.7% in 2014 from 2.48% in 2012, according to central bank estimates. Inflation is about 5.98%. Trade surplus is lower at about $2.6 billion for 2013. Brazil's foreign reserves are much higher than Argentina at $359 billion, ten times short term debt, Argentina at 109% of short term debt and Turkey at 84% of short term debt- which protects Brazil compared to its reserves in the 1997 financial crisis.

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Revenue is stagnant but IBM is increasing earnings per share by increasing margins and profits in its services and software business. The software business alone generates 43% of the company's profits. Services business accounts for 57% of its revenue. IBM also continues to expand in emerging markets making it possible for IBM to reduce the effects of cyclical swings in the economy. IBM shares are up 25% in the year to March 2012.

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Toyota's market share in China is about 5-6%, lagging behind GM and VW. After a "willful pause" since 2012 when Toyota ran into quality issues following an aggressive expansion in manufacturing, Toyota is beginning to make investments in new assembly plants. New assembly plants will be built in Mexico and China with a $1.25 billion investment.

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This Times editorial questions whether Mayor Bloomberg did the right thing in the manner in which he ousted protestors from Zucotti park in the financial district of New York city. Now that the protestors have been forcibly removed from the park, it is the responsibility of the Mayor to keep his promise to let the demonstrators continue their protest against income inequality, says the editorial. The concern is that the end of the protests at Zucotti park could end up quashing the entire protest movement, which serves to draw attention to serious issues in a democracy.

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This article clearly shows that Russia is turning the corner for full scale use of western technology to tap oil and gas fields in the North. Note the efforts to bring in western expertise include- 1. Efforts to hire Donald Evans, former U.S. Commerce Secretary, to be Chairman of Rosneft. Evans turned down the offer. The hiring of Peter O'Brien a former Morgan Stanley investment banker as chief financial advser.2. With China National Petroleum as a strategic partner. 2. The financial backing and expertise of state run oil companies around the world now give them the ability to contract directly with Schlumberger or Baker Hughes or other oil field technology suppliers. This changes the whole playing field with less need to negotiate with the major oil companies and the ability to do it themselves at their own pace and strategic advantage and execute their own oil policy. Previously negotiating with the oil companies meant giving up some of the ownership of the oil fields to the oil companies in return for the technology. The oil services companies sell the technologies on a fee basis. 3. The pressure to move ahead aggressively with new technology. Estimates from IEA in Paris by Chief Economist Fatih Birol, show that increasing oil production by one and half million barrels a day to level of ten and half million barrels a a day requires Russia to invest $900 billion dollars by 2030 or about 40 billion a year. The only way to generate this kind of investment is to grow its oil development capabilities, keep prices high but stable, invest in the latest technology and bring some of it inhouse....

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The US economy expected to grow 1.5% in 2008 down 0.3% from estimate in October 2007 World Economic Outlook after taking into account a recent update in the model that lowered all forecasts 2005-2008 by half a point. Of this about 0.2 or 0.3% may be the impact of the stimulus package which is included in the estimate. Is this a bit on the high side? Its expectation of growth suggests it does not expect a recession or that it will periodically revise its estimate downward based on new information and the extent of consumption, housing and investment deterioration it sees unfolding in the months ahead. For the European economy it has taken its earlier estimate of 2.1% down to 1.6%. This suggests that it sees the US crisis having an impact in Europe. China's rate of growth will be 10% down 1.4% from 2008 and the Middle East growth about 6% unchanged from 2007, Latin American growth 4.3% down from 5.4% in 2007. This suggests global growth outside USA will remain healthy. However its not clear what would happen if the idea of a recession in the US becomes likely with new information in coming months, and if this is introduced into the model how much would growth in China and the Middle East and India come down in that event. This is the kind of scenario that should also be available from the IMF to know the downside and whether the global growth would sustain till the US recovers from the housing and credit crises in years beyond 2009, given that it would take some time for the excesses there to correct themselves....

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Bill Gates describes the successful work of 2 million volunteers and millions of children and parents in India's poorest rural areas to get all the children in India vaccinated for polio. This includes the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. He decribes his visits to India and realizing over time how bringing vaccinations, healthcare, improvement in agricultural development would enable hundreds of millions of India's children to participate and contribute to bringing out India's full potential. Harnessing their full potential is the next big challenge in India's development and modernization.

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Chancellor Merkel's now widely quoted words were made in Munich on May 27, 2017, after a NATO summit meeting in Brussels and a Group of 7 meeting in Italy, in which she was disconcerted by U.S. president Trump's positions on NATO, Russia, climate change, and trade. These words "the times in which we could rely fully on others - they are somewhat over." Merkel added "This is what I experienced in the last few days." After the election of Emmanuel Macron in France, Merkel expressed great relief at the outcome of the French election with Macron winning about two thirds of the vote, setting the stage for the election in Germany after several months of difficult watching and waiting. Now there is new confidence in Germany shaping its own future, with France and the rest of the European Union without Britain. Merkel says she "experienced this" meaning that she had undergone a transformation in these few months, and visibly in the last few days. She was also sending a message to Germans and people of the European Union - "we have to know that we must fight for our future on our own, for our destiny as Europeans." This also complements tactically to form the approach of Germany and France at the leadership of the EU, as French president Macron said at the end of the Group of 7 conference that multilateralism was intact, and the U.S. and EU shared many common goals.   ...