Zaveri Bazaar Gossip


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If you believe that there is something to be gained to by keeping your ears open to bazaar gossip,here is the on-dit in Mumbai’s wholesale gold market:

The international slowdown in gold prices has hit India in a significant way. Investors are disappointed and look to sell at the earliest opportunity.The current scenario does not make for a buyer’s market. People are waiting  for prices to drop further. The sale of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and short-selling by investors has contributed to the decline.

A correction was in order given the astronomical rise in bullion over the past few years.Its the same for silver as well. This could be good news for retail buyers with the wedding season coming up in May.

May 13 is Akshay Tritiya, which may witness a drop in sales. The prospect of a free fall in prices will prompt buyers to defer non-essential purchases until Dhanteras, when prices could be even lower at round 22000-23000 Rupees per 10 grams.

Certainly,going by the subdued responses to the Siddhivinayak Mandir‘s gold auction for drought relief on the 11th i.e, Gudi Padwa, there is reason to be cautious.Small buyers were on a strict budget and the devotees who regularly make the big purchases were uninterested and absent.

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The Real Rate Of Interest On Deposits


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Small wonder that gold prices shot up and gold  investment became popular between 2008-2011,huh?Ditto for real estate.

More About Bullion India


wealthymatters.comThis post is a follow up to the exceedingly popular one here:Link .I hope the information here answers a great many questions in reader’s minds.

1.The G-units can be redeemed in 1 gm, 5 gm and 10 gm bars and S-units in 10 gm, 20 gm, 50 gm and 100 gm ones.

2.They deliver all over India and the charges are the same for all locations.So the more remote your location,the greater your advantage.The details of delivery charges are as follows: Read more of this post

Returns From Gold


Gold prices do not always head north Link .Also inflation adjusted returns of gold if you adopt a buy and hold for decades strategy is likely to be underwhelming Link.But keeping aside inflation, what sort of returns can you expect from gold?Here are the graphs:

4 yrs Gold Price difference (absolute return)

4 yrs Gold Price difference (absolute return)

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How Well Would You Have Done if You Had All Your Savings In Gold?


wealthymatters.comToday financial planners and daily wage earners speak of ” investing” in gold.In fact,given the dream run of gold in the last decade,most people can’t see past gold.Never mind that between last Diwali and this one there was no substantial increase in the price of the metal and that there was a fall in price in between and then it struggled to rise for a while.

There is no denying that in the dark days after the stock crash of 2008 and the poor economy thereafter, gold provided good comfort for all of us who worried about our financial health.And the fact that gold price rose fantastically in uncertain times was the icing on the cake.

Also gold has helped us hedge against inflation.Here is the link to an older post.

Gold also does superbly well when the equity markets and debt markets are giving negative real returns.

So should you just have all your savings and investments in gold?Far from it!Aside from the wealth tax you might be forced to pay every year on an asset that will give no returns till it is sold, at which point it might attract capital gains tax,keeping your money in gold over the last three decades wouldn’t have given you stellar returns.Check out the chart here:Long Term Returns from Gold Vs SENSEX While gold keeps up with inflation,just buying and holding it for long is unlikely to make you rich any time soon.So be certain to enjoy the touch and feel and beauty of your gold.

Losing Money On Gold


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The price of gold has tripled in the last six years, giving investors an annual compounded return of nearly 20%. Compared to bank deposit returns of 8% a year and a volatile equity market, it is hard to argue with proselytizers of gold. But gold hasn’t always appreciated year-on-year. In the four years between 1988 and 1992, the price of gold fell every year. Again, between 1994 and 2001, gold prices declined year-on-year. Indeed, in the quarter century between 1980 and 2005, investors in gold lost 11.74% of their capital. The present rise in gold prices, which took off after the Lehman Brothers’ collapse in 2008, may reverse. These are the facts to remember,as you try to decide whether to keep your gold or sell.

Bullion India


wealthymatters.comHere is my new discovery for today:Bullion India.I tried it out today and found the sign up easy and customer service good.I find it an excellent way to buy gold and silver at good rates.Given the tiny units in which you can buy the gold,it is the place to go to make token purchases on auspicious occasions when the prices of precious metals generally rise.Also this site is an excellent way to accumulate precious metals a little at a time as there are no storage costs and commissions.

Savitri Jindal’s Assets


wealthymatters.comHave you ever wondered about the assets of the really wealthy?Personally I have always been interested in knowing just where wealthy people have their money.My take is that wealthy people didn’t get that way or don’t stay that way without knowing a thing or two about keeping and growing their money safely.That is why I was interested when I came across her statement, given before the returning officer, while filing her nomination papers in 2009 for the Haryana Legislative Assembly elections.

Savitri Jindal is India’s richest woman. She is the widow of the late O.P.Jindal.In her statement given before the returning officer,Savitri Jindal states that she has moveable property worth Rs 17.75 crore and immovable property worth Rs 25.94 crore.I think it’s interesting to see how much of her money she has in a liquid form.Compare this to our asset allocation.Most of us are bound to have most of our money stuck in our houses.A house is a necessity, but it makes sense to acquire one’s fortune and then splurge on fancy houses rather than try to become wealthy by sinking money in our homes.

Savitri Jindal does not own a car.I think this lady shows us women a way out of owning a depreciating asset-claim you don’t drive.Having a car at one’s disposal is good but owning it might not be so wise wealth-wise.Keep the luxury car purchases for after you reach the stage of acquiring luxury homes. Read more of this post

Gold To Preserve Wealth


Gold is generally believed to be a hedge against inflation.However there has been a spate of articles disputing this belief.I found this nice article here that analysis the relevant data for India http://sachasingh.blogspot.in/2010/01/is-gold-good-hedge.html . The graphs and table below are  extracts from this post.

The graph below shows the movement in WPI and average prices of 10 gms gold in Mumbai from 1970-71 to 2008-09.

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Indian Gold Coins


wealthymatters.comThe world’s first coins were Greek, made in Lydia about 640 BC. The earliest Indian coins were silver, and it was not until about 100 AD that the Kushan emperor Vima Kadaphises introduced the first Indian gold coin, which was a gold dinar bearing the image of Shiva. So India’s history of issuing gold coins dates back almost 2,000 years.Over this length of time India has produced many different denominations of gold coins, which include Dinars, Staters, Kahavanus, Pagodas, Tankas, Ashrafis, Mohurs, Gadyanas, Bhairava Gadyanas, Varahas, Fanams, Koris, Xerafims, and Tolas.

Many Indians make it a point to own gold, if for no other reason than to use it in weddings.Indian brides traditionally have a dowry of gold. This is usually in the form of high caratage gold made into jewellery, often incorporating gold coins. Wedding guests also gift gold coins as lucky wedding gifts. So over the centuries, many ancient , rare and ultimately valuable gold coins have been melted and made into jewellery.Even today there are not many collectors of Indian coins in general or Indian gold coins in particular.So there are many interesting and very affordable rare Indian gold coins even now in danger of being melted down. Collecting such coins which are currently unpopular or unfashionable might be a good idea,especially if a person is not averse to a bit of speculation and /or has an interest in numismatics. Firstly because the collector can obtain interesting, unusual and rare coins at a fraction of the price of coins from a popular series. Secondly if and when interest increases, prices are certain to increase accordingly. Thirdly, it will help to stop rare coins being lost for ever by being melted down. Read more of this post

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