INDIA

Bharatbook has added a new report on Gems and Jewellery Market in India 2010. It is a consumer goods series. It gives export and the import structure of the Gems and Jewellery market in India.

The big, fat Indian wedding is the biggest bet for gold now. With gold prices soaring to over Rs 18,000 per 10 gm in India and global markets witnessing a huge surge, demand for gold jewellery had witnessed a fall in India. But, weddings are the saving grace now. With India witnessing thousands of weddings this marriage season, gold jewellery sales are set to go up in India.

Asia is one of the more interesting gas markets in the world. Places like Thailand and its southeast Asian neighbors have seen phenomenal demand growth over the last several years. Total has said they're in Thailand for gas. (Part of the reason I believe Thai shale gas may become an interesting play over the coming years.)

France's Renault SA and India's top utility vehicle maker Mahindra are in the running to buy troubled South Korean SUV maker Ssangyong Motor, sources said on Friday, in a deal worth up to $500 million.

General Motors will develop electric car technology for the Indian market in its home town of Detroit, after ending a partnership with Indian firm Reva, the head of its operations in the country said.

India's wholesale price based food inflation eased to 16.23 per cent for the week ended May 15. According to official figure, Inflation declined by 0.26 percentage point from 16.49 per cent in the previous week mainly on price drops of masur, fruits and vegetables.

H.J. Heinz Co forecast a 7 percent to 10 percent increase in earnings as it continues to speed up growth in emerging markets and invest in new products and promotions.

Indians gave the biggest boost to gold this week with the demand rising in the country following the onset of wedding season across the country. Breaking all previous records, gold prices zoomed past Rs 18,800 per 10 gm level on Thursday in New Delhi while Mumbai witnessed Rs 18,600 level. This jump in India, which is the biggest consumer of the metal in the world, and the rise in demand have delivered the much needed push to the gold market globally.

Josephine Jimenez has a chunk of money to invest and she is hunting for opportunities in the usual places -- Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, among others. Jimenez is a specialist in so-called frontier markets. She stacked up a million air miles long ago.

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said there are concerns that a debt crisis in the euro zone will not be restricted to the region.

The global economy is recovering faster than expected from recession with Asia leading the way, but it is at risk from huge debts in developed countries and possible overheating in countries such as China, the OECD said on Wednesday.

A few months ago most analysts were skeptical about $1500 an ounce for gold by end of 2010, however, the recent rally in gold coupled with economic uncertainties have forced those who earlier disputed the bullish forecasts to jump on the bandwagon, according to Jeffrey Nichols, Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital and Managing Director of American Precious Metals Advisors

In an attempt to bypass the dangerous routes in Pakistan, India and Iran are discussing building a gas pipeline between the two countries along the bed of the Arabian Sea. According to South Asia Gas Enterprise Private Ltd (SAGE), The carrying capacity of the gas pipeline's first leg will total 31 billion cu m annually, with the cost of construction estimated at $4 billion

Most of Prudential's investors are comfortable with its bid for AIG's Asian life unit AIA, its chairman said, moving to dispel fears shareholders may baulk at the $35.5 billion cost of the deal.

Prudential Plc shares fell on their Asia debut on Tuesday, hit by a global sell-off and concerns over shareholder support for the British insurer's planned purchase of AIA, the industry's biggest acquisition.

As the United States edges closer to issuing a fresh round of sanctions against Iran, foreign investors so far unmoved by international pressure will end up doing business with a Revolutionary Guard that makes even local firms nervous, an analyst warns.

Oil snapped three straight sessions of declines and rose more than 1 percent toward $71 a barrel on Monday, but analysts said sentiment remains fragile and prices could again be hit by macroeconomic pessimism.

World oil prices advanced above $70 a barrel in Asian trade Monday but remained highly volatile, analysts said. Light sweet crude for July delivery was seen trading at $70.35 a barrel at 11.00 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude eased to $71.21 a barrel at the same time in London.

The IMF said Sunday it expects to record a profit of $ 5.1 billion from the sale of gold in the financial year ended April 30, 2010. In a statement, the International Monetary Fund, which sold gold to member countries including India last year, said gold sales is a part of the multilateral lending agency's new income model, mainly aimed at increasing its resources to lend to low-income countries.

Globally, commodity prices have stabilized after a week of declines although Reuters-Jefferies CRB commodities index dropped 2.3% on the week and 9% so far this month, Financial Times (FT) reported. The report quoting Adam Sieminski, energy economist at Deutsche Bank in Washington said that a combination of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, credit tightening in China and a cluster of worrisome economic indicators in the US has revived concerns about a W-Shaped recovery.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc shares rose as much as 5.4 percent on Friday on rumors of a possible settlement with regulators and a feeling that the stock could be oversold.