Obama Fires Back After China Slates Fed’s QE2

US President Barack Obama defended the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing dollars on Monday during a trip to India, after Chinese officials stepped up criticism ahead of this week’s Group of 20 meeting.

India Blocks Harvesting Of GM Crops

Critics of genetically modified (GM) crops have secured a victory in India, where the environment minister has indefinitely blocked the approval of any further GM varieties.

A Spy UnSettles US-India Ties

News that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had reached a plea bargain with David Coleman Headley, who played a key role in the planning of the terrorist strike in Mumbai in November 2008 in which 166 people were killed, has caused an uproar in India.

Gold Breaks $1200/oz Barrier

Gold just capped off its best month in a year — up 14% in November and 34% so far in 2009.

Helping drive the latest gains was the news out of the China Gold Association that the country’s gold demand is on pace this year to exceed 450 metric tonnes, a 14% increase over the 395.6 tonnes in 2008. (In contrast to India, jewelry sales are up double-digits in China so far this year.)

Gold $1180/oz India/IMF At It Again

 November 25, 2009 will be counted as another flying colors day for gold, the hottest commodity traded in global markets these days. Gold prices hit a historic record of $1180 per ounce, again on news reports that India is buying more gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Early this month, India’s central bank—the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)—bought 200 tonnes out of IMF’s saleable 403 tonnes of gold for a price of $1045 per ounce. Since then, gold prices have jumped more than $135 per ounce, may be the biggest rise for gold in the history of bullion trading.

Why is it that the mere news of India or for that any country in the world buying some gold from IMF driving up gold prices to unimaginable levels? Is a gold market hysteria on?

IMF Gold Sale Spikes Price

The price of gold leapt to a record peak of $1,095.40 an ounce in trading here on Wednesday in the wake of the International Monetary Fund’s massive sale of the precious metal to India.

Gold had already reached a record high of $1,087.80 on Tuesday as the IMF said it had sold 200 tons of gold to India’s central bank over a two-week period last month for $6.7 billion to bolster its finances.

After spiking to a new high Wednesday, gold pulled back to $1,091.75 in London.

Skin Whiteners Label Racist In Asia

Cosmetic advertisements in Asia are targeting men with blunt campaigns aimed at skin color that one lawmaker labels racist.

In one TV commercial, two men, one with dark skin, the other with light skin; stand on a balcony overlooking a neighborhood. The dark skin guy turns to his friend and says in Hindi, “I am unlucky because of my face.” His light skin friend replies, “Not because of your face, because of the color of your face.”

Suddenly the light skin guy throws his friend a cream. It’s a whitening cream.

Hindu Fanatics Killing Campaign Against Christians Causes Them To Take Up Arms

Following a month  long reign of terror in the Indian state of Orissa, Christians there are not a happy bunch.

The Christians have been the subject of murders and gang rape, whilst their  homes and buildings were torched.  They decided it was time to defend themselves with arms. Even so as many as 50,000 are still forced to hide out in the jungle away from their tormentors.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, a throwback to the days of the Crusades where  persons where forced to convert to Catholicism with a sword held to their necks or forfeit their lives, Christians in Orissa are also forced to convert to Hinduism while axes are held to their throats.

FULL STORY

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• Website Allows Christians To Email Friends After Rapture 

France Pushing For Worldwide Decriminalising Of Homosexuality

As if holding Jamaica to ransom is not good enough because of its position not to repeal anti-gay laws, France is set on submitting an initiative to the United Nations to push for homosexuality to be decriminalised around the world when it takes over the rotating 6 month presidency in July.

Their excuse is the never ending stubbornness of countries worldwide where homosexuality remains a crime on the statue books. Like India for example where I am yet to hear Egale Canada bringing that country to its knees by calling for an international boycott of its goods and tourism as well but feels justified in going after a small island.

Instead of addressing the problem head on, the thought of forcing countries to decriminalised homosexuality may seem the likely choice to stop gay violence but fail to addressed the other side of the coin.

Meet The World Cheapest Car

This car called the Tata Nano was unveiled in January this year. Made by Tata Motors in Mumbai it is a 5 door 4 passenger car. Now the company is looking at promising markets  after being on the domestic market for a couple months.

I came across it following a story of a Cuban trade delegation to India.

 What makes this car so cheap?. Well according to BBC News, it has no air conditioning, no power steering, no power windows, no air bag and the bodywork is made of sheet metal – which is basically aluminium - and plastic. The trunk is in the front and the engine in the rear according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Besides it has to be cheap in order for the average Indian family to own one. With oil prices skyrocketing over the $135 mark, the trend now in the automobile industry is producing smaller cars that are efficient and affordable yet with safety and quality in mind.

Great for the Indian car makers. I would have to pass on this one though. A bit too claustrophobic for me.

BBC Video – Tata Nano

 

 

 

Africa And India Team Up To Ensure Food Security

India and Africa vowed yesterday to strive together for food security and called on the western world to rethink diverting huge food stocks for bio fuel, creating shortages and driving up prices in poorer countries.

Rising food and oil prices threaten many African economies and are a headache for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government, which faces national elections next year.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned yesterday that high food prices and shortages would continue in the short term, making some poorer countries vulnerable to food riots.

While the move to turn food into bio fuel has benefited a handful of grain-surplus African countries such as Uganda, speakers at the {2 day }summit {in New Delhi India} blamed the tactic for skyrocketing prices and shortages.

“It is a challenge in the sense that there is this problem of shortage of food in a number of countries and there is a problem of high prices,” Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Tanzanian president and head of the African Union, said.

“These days the farms have been put to bio fuel production creating a shortage of food and therefore creating a problem of high prices.” He said Africa just needed to solve its agricultural production problems to produce enough that could not only feed the continent, but also provide for the world.

{Adapted from International Press Reports}