Glittering Sunday...NSE, BSE to trade Gold ETF on May 16

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) will hold a special session on Sunday, May 16, 2010 to trade Gold ETF on account of Akshaya Tritiya.

As Akshaya Tritiya is considered an auspicious day for the buying and wearing of gold. The National Stock Exchange has decided to hold a glittering session of trade on Sunday May 16, 2010 from 9:00am to 3:30pm (IST).

Globally, the Exchange traded funds (ETF) market is an important vehicle through which retail investors gain access to a broad range of assets. The ETF market in India is poised for strong growth driven by two critical growth drivers - new products and new investors. Compared to other geographies where ETFs are popular, India is unique in the sense that the ETF market till date has been driven by gold ETFs, both in terms of number of instruments and AUM (assets under management). Given the economic and cultural importance of gold to the average Indian family, gold ETFs will continue to serve as the catalyst to attract more retail investors to the ETF segment.

World Gold Council is all geared up for the most auspicious day in the Hindu calendar, ‘Akshaya Tritiya’ which falls on May 16th 2010 this year. The festival is all about prosperity and it is believed that buying and wearing new gold jewellery on Akshaya Tritiya brings luck and success to an individual and his family. As Akshaya Tritiya is considered an auspicious day for the buying and wearing of gold, there will be several promotions and offers around the festival time at leading jewellery retailers across the county

3G Auction...All-India price at Rs113.27bn

The Government is all set to pocket a cool Rs500bn from the auction of third-generation (3G) mobile spectrum if one includes the matching bids from state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL). At Thursday's close, the Centre is expected to garner about Rs456.90bn from 3G auction alone as against projection of Rs350bn from the combined 3G-BWA auction. So, quite clearly, the final figure from the 3G-BWA auction process could well be somewhere around Rs600bn. "The revenue from 3G auction alone may cross Rs400bn. Revenues from 3G and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum put together may touch Rs500-550bn," Telecom Minister A Raja was quoted as saying last week.

Meanwhile, bids for one set of pan-India 3G mobile licences reached Rs113.27bn, more than double the base price of Rs35bn, on the 23rd day of the auction. As per the details given by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), four more Clock Rounds were completed on Thursday. With this, the total number of Clock Rounds completed to date has come to 132. The 3G auction started on April 9. BWA bidding will start two days after the 3G auction concludes.

Proceeds from the two auctions would help the Government bridge the fiscal deficit. India's fiscal deficit may come down to 5.2% of GDP from the estimated 5.5% of GDP. The Government has pegged the fiscal deficit at Rs3.81 lakh crores for FY11. Mumbai and Delhi continued to be among the most sought-after circles with highest bids of Rs19.87bn and Rs19.20bn, respectively. The reserve price for both the Mega Metro circles is Rs3.2bn. Maharashtra's bid stood at Rs10.62bn while that for Andhra Pradesh was at Rs9.79bn, and Gujarat at Rs9.45bn.

According to the DoT, the bidding activity requirement was set at 100% on Thursday. The 3G auction would continue till the available number of slots is equal to number of bidders in all 22 circles simultaneously. Out of a total of 22 circles for the 3G spectrum, 17 have three slots, while in rest of the five circles, four blocks of spectrum are available. The successful bidders would be allotted air waves in September after the spectrum is vacated by the defence forces. The BWA auction is also expected to be equally competitive, as 11 players are in the fray for just two slots for each circle, while the reserve price for pan-India licence is Rs17.5bn.

Food inflation eases for 3rd straight week

India’ food inflation dropped for a third consecutive week, giving some relief to consumers amid mounting concerns that spiraling prices could prompt the RBI to hike interest rates. The index for 'Food Articles' group declined by 1.1% to 282.6. Inflation in Food Articles group slipped to 16.30% in the week ended March 6 from 17.81% in the previous week and 17.87% in the week ended February 20. Inflation in Food Articles space was at 7.57% only last year. Primary Articles inflation also slipped to 14.16% in the week under review as compared to 15.08% in the previous week. It stood at 5.06% in the week ended March 7, 2009. The WPI for Primary Articles group declined by 0.9% to 282.1. Inflation in the Non-Food Articles group rose to 13.99% from 13.60% in the previous week. Inflation in the Fuel & Power group rose to 12.68% in the week ended March 6 as against 11.38% in the previous week. Inflation in this group was at -5.95% in the corresponding period of last year. Inflation in the Electricity group shot up to 4.72% in the week under review from 1.95% in the week ended February 27.

Jim Rogers :I guarantee by 2012 next recession

Last night in London, Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, was interviewed by CNBC after US Fed announced its decision of leaving the rates alone. Rogers is very critical to the Fed whose solution to the crisis has been “printing money”, a strategy that he does not see sustainable, “there will be no trees left” if the Fed keep on printing money. Rogers’s contempt to the US Fed is obvious, to a point that he stated that he isn’t paying attention to them at all. He thinks investors are better served to read and think and come up with their our opinions. “Sometimes I got it wrong, sometimes Igot it right” he said. Commenting on the US Housing market, Rogers thinks that the market will stay low for many years to come to work out the inventories. I found his answer to the recession question evasive at the best, for the CNBC anchor was looking for a “Yes” or “No” for an imminent double-dip recession. “We’re going to have another recession, I guarantee you… By 2012 say, it’s time for another recession.” – anybody could have said that, for recession comes and goes. But, “The next time it’s going to be worse because we’ve shot all of our bullets,” he warned us. Rogers has been advocating investing in commodities.

15 Facts About China That Will Blow Your Mind

1. 2025, China will build TEN New York-sized cities.
2. By 2030, China will add more new city-dwellers than the entire U.S. population.
3. already consumes twice as much steel as the US, Europe and Japan combined.
4. If the Chinese, one day, use as much oil per person as Americans, then the world will need seven more Saudi Arabia’s to meet their demand.
5. There are already more Christians in China than Italy, and China is on track to become the largest center of Christianity in the world.
6. Chinese are far more likely to believe in evolution than Americans.
7. Chinese internet users are five times as likely to have blogs as Americans.
8. China has 150% more soldiers than America does, plus a high tech ‘Kill Weapon’ the U.S. can’t deal with.
9. China still hasn’t rid itself of Europe’s medieval plague.
10. 40% of Chinese small businesses went bust or almost went bust during the world financial crisis.
11. China executes three times as many people as the rest of the world COMBINED… and uses mobile execution vans for efficiency.
12. China averages 274 protests PER DAY.
13. When you buy Chinese stocks, you are basically financing the Chinese government. Eight of Shanghai’s top ten stocks are state-controlled arms of the government.
14. 50% of counterfeit goods come from China.
15. The majority of Chinese drink polluted water.

LyondellBasell Board Said to Reject Reliance Bid

March 1 (Bloomberg) — The board of bankrupt LyondellBasell Industries AF rejected a bid from Reliance Industries Ltd., owner of the world’s largest oil-refining complex, two people briefed on the matter said today.

Reliance, based in Mumbai, had raised its offer for a controlling stake in Lyondell to $14.5 billion, two people with knowledge of the offer said Feb. 22. Lyondell is based in Rotterdam.

Buying LyondellBasell would create a company with more than $80 billion in revenue and give Reliance chemical plants and two oil refineries in the U.S. and Europe. The chemicals maker had rejected a revised Reliance bid that valued it at $13.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 8.

Lyondell was formed in a 2007 deal financed with $22 billion in debt in which it was bought by Basell AF, a unit of Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries Holdings LLC. Creditors have said the buyout crippled one of the world’s largest polymers, petrochemicals, and fuel companies, causing it to seek bankruptcy.

Lyondell spokesman David Harpole declined to comment.