Halfway through January 2012, the government unexpectedly announced a change in the structure of gold's import duties. In the midst of one of...

The markets this year could be described as a battleground as commodities continued to collapse, the Euro zone crisis remained in the woods as yield soared at accelerated levels and the Euro plummeted, along with unease among the people. Historically, gold tends to thrive in such uncertain times. To the contrary, we saw a sharp fall in gold prices.

As 2011 ends, two things are certain - a quick rewind of the main events that ruled 2011 and an outlook of what we can expect in the New Year.

No other ship has captured the world's attention, quite like the Titanic. Tragically though, the unsinkable Titanic sank to the bottom of the ocean floor on its maiden voyage itself.

The approach at the policy making level towards the economic turbulence, reflects a high degree of irrationality. The critical attitude issues have led to the crisis and aggravated the problem.

In the month of August 2011, America lost its pristine AAA credit rating. The ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA status to an AA+ rating marking the first instance when the U.S. has not held the..

The U.S. debt ceiling debate has dominated the headlines over the past month. It brought with it a number of disagreements and issues regarding the debt, since August 2nd 2011 is considered the deadline for raising the debt ceiling and creating a bill, forgoing which, the United States government is expected to begin a process of default.

Two tragic incidents struck us recently. While one was a sudden form of destruction by means of the serial bomb blasts that shook Mumbai, the other is akin to a ticking time bomb that is waiting to explode - the Quantitative Easing policy expressed by Ben Bernake, the U.S Federal reserve chairman, to add more stimuli in the US economy by creating further money through unconventional methods.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", so says a common adage. Now, we all have taken our playtime seriously as we grew up - skinned our knees and flaunted the bruises......

Now most of you must be aware of our "Path to Profit" meets - forums where we have very interesting discussions with audiences who wish to know about the simple route to investing...

I recently got a SMS that said, "What does the future hold for you? SMS your zodiac sign to know what lies ahead..." Isn't it interesting how horoscopes, tarot cards and crystal ball gazing instantly grab your attention? Well, it's all about knowing what the future has in store. And, nothing wrong with that, because it only helps you better plan your present.

Consider this; you go to your jeweller to sell some old jewellery and are pretty sure that the ornament will fetch you a decent price. But, your jeweller offers you a price that has a huge discount factored in, giving you even lesser than the price you had paid much earlier while purchasing the jewellery. Shocked, you ask "Why?..." and are told that your old jewellery is not all gold, it lacks in purity.

So, we're now a part of history, just by witnessing it - India won the Cricket World Cup once again after 28 years!! Nostalgia, Pride, Joy!

We're happy! Growing awareness about Gold ETFs as a convenient means of investing in gold, has led to a surge in demand for the product. Great!

If you have been with us through the first part of this series, you would already know why we think it very likely that the Finance Minister will hike the customs duty on gold.

With the Union Budget - 2011, just around the corner, there is a lot of speculation about the announcements that will be made by the Finance Minister. Although during the previous budget, the government went vocal with its intent to curb inflation, it has received flak for its inability to control prices. Let's have a look at whether gold will glitter through this year's budget or not.

Would the great Pharaohs have ever thought that the Land of the Nile would one day see such despair? That the land of plenty would someday be plagued with such misery? Now while they lie stone cold and mummified in their monuments of sand and gold, their precious Misr erupts in disparity.

For those of us who followed Obama's presidential campaign, here was an orator who invoked mass emotion through one fundamental theme - CHANGE!

Have you noticed how the start of every New Year brings in astrological predictions for the coming year that clutter your inbox, hijack your TV shows and crowd your tabloids?

"China has a problem on its hands. It's called Saina Nehwal" reported a leading daily. The Indian badminton ace went on to win the Hong Kong Open defeating China’s Shixian Wang - now that’s a nice note to end the year on, wouldn’t you say?