China May Match India as World’s Biggest Gold Consumer on ‘Amazing’ Demand
Chinese consumption of gold may climb to rival that of India, the top user, as investors buy the metal as a store of value, said GFMS Ltd. and INTL FCStone.
Demand in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, almost tripled to 580 metric tons last year from 206 tons in 2001, data from the producer-funded World Gold Council show. Use in India may slump 5 percent to 26 percent this year from 963 tons in 2010, Morgan Stanley said in a report yesterday.
Bullion soared to a record $1,444.95 an ounce on March 7 and rallied 30 percent last year for a 10th annual gain as investors sought to preserve their wealth against inflation, Middle East unrest and currency debasement. Consumer prices in China climbed 4.9 percent in February from a year ago, exceeding the government’s 4 percent goal for the full year.
“The level of interest in gold as an asset class is just amazing,” Jeffrey Rhodes, global head of precious metals with INTL FCStone in Dubai, said in an interview. “There is potential for China to Read more…
Geologists warn another earthquake could tear Tokyo in two after weakening of fault line below capital
Geologists have warned that another powerful earthquake could inflict terrible damage on Tokyo because the Size 9 monster which struck on March 11 has altered the earth’s surface.
The quake has put pressure on the fault lines near the Japanese capital and experts have suggested that a size 7.5 magnitude earthquake could hit.
The structure of the tectonic plates and fault lines around the city makes it unlikely that Tokyo, home to 13million people, would be hit by a quake anywhere near the intensity of the one 10 days ago, said Roger Musson of the British Geological Survey.
Bustling: The busy Japanese capital Tokyo has 13million people living in its centre – and it could be Read more…Libya no-fly zone cost could hit $1 bln in months
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – The no-fly zone over Libya could end up costing the Western coalition more than $1 billion if the operation drags on more than a couple of months, defense analysts say.
Zack Cooper, a senior analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said the initial cost of eliminating Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s air defenses was likely to be between $400 million and $800 million.
The expense of patrolling the no-fly zone once it is established is likely to be $30 million to $100 million a week, he said.
The U.S. military has no official cost figures yet for the operation, which has been going on less Read more…
US bars some Japan foods over radiation fears
AFP
WASHINGTON – The United States has announced it was barring some food imports from Japan due to fears of radiation and nuclear contamination in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami disaster.
The US Food and Drug Administration said it had placed an import alert on all milk, milk products, fresh vegetables and fruits from certain regions.
This means that no products of these types from the prefectures of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma can enter the United States without first being shown to be safe.
“In addition, FDA will continue to flag all entries from Japan in order to determine whether they originated from the affected area. FDA will test all food and feed shipments from the affected area,” an email statement said.
“FDA import investigators operating at ports of entry have radiation detection devices (radiation pagers) available to them for their personal safety,” the statement Read more…
Portugal’s Government May Collapse Before EU Summit
In a report published by Reuters, the Portuguese parliament is expected to reject government austerity measures on Wednesday, which could lead to the collapse of the minority Socialist administration one day before the EU summit.
The country’s Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, has declared that he will resign if the plan is defeated, due to the fact that its rejection would force debt-ridden Portugal to seek a similar international bailout to Greece and Ireland.
If Socrates stands by his word, then he appears to be heading for the exit door as all opposition parties have proposed resolutions calling for the rejection of the measures, which would look to cut the debt by reducing pensions and state spending.
The main opposition is the Social Democrats, and the party has already begun talking about a snap election. When asked if it is likely that the government will step down, Socialist bench leader in parliament Francisco Assis said that, “If all these positions that now seem irreversible are confirmed, then yes.”
“The prime minister does not want to resign, but he cannot govern against his convictions,” Assis said.
Silver, gold gain on fast-changing global events
Silver and gold prices are climbing as developing crises from Portugal’s financial problems to uprisings in the Middle East are prompting investors to buy more stable assets.
Silver for May delivery rose 2.6 percent Wednesday to settle at $37.198 an ounce. Gold settled up $10.40 at $1,438 an ounce.
Investors are nervous as they monitor fast-changing global events.
In Portugal, lawmakers are poised to vote against more austerity measures for the debt-stressed country. Meanwhile violence in the Middle East and North Africa is raising concern about oil supplies.
The uncertainty of how those events will play out is supporting both precious metals, which have the reputation of being safer assets to hold during turbulent economic times.
Energy prices were mainly higher. Bean and grain prices fell.
Powerful sunspot emerges, extreme UV radiation detected
(TheWeatherSpace.com) — A sunspot is emerging around the southeastern limb of the Sun and it is a powerful one at that.
Labeled 1176, this sunspot may have been old sunspot 1165 when it was last seen in early March on the southwestern limb of the Sun.
Since then it has rotated to the far side of the Sun and it looks as if it was busy doing so. This sunspot will have the power to generate large solar flares for the next couple weeks as it crosses the Earth facing side of the Sun.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has recorded very high levels of UV radiation from this sunspot, a clear signal to unsettled times ahead for it and the Earth should it blast a solar flare this way.
“If this puts a flare in this direction you can bet on more powerful earthquakes in the world,” TheWeatherSpace.com Senior Meteorologist Kevin Martin said. “We’ve been quiet and that is not a coincidence.”
A global energy war looms
Here’s an alarming chart to ponder. HSBC has calculated what would happen to energy consumption by 2050 given plausible forecasts for economic growth and assuming no constraint on resources, or that humans carry on using energy in the “taken for granted” way they do at the moment.
As you can see, demand in China, India and other emerging markets soars, but there is also quite considerable growth from advanced economies too. The big picture is that with an additional one billion cars on the road, demand for oil would grow 110pc to more than 190 million barrels per day. Total demand for energy would rise by a similar order of magnitude, doubling the Read more…
Japan battles crippled nuclear plant, radiation fears grow
Radiation found in sea water, milk, vegetables; IAEA: Overall situation at Fukushima plant remains serious; 21,000 dead or missing.
TOKYO – Rising temperatures around the core of one of the reactors at Japan’s quake-crippled nuclear plant sparked new concern on Tuesday and more water was needed to cool it down, the plant’s operator said.
Despite hopes of progress in the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a quarter of a century, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami that left at least 21,000 people dead or missing, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said it needed more time before it could say the reactors were stabilized.
Technicians working inside an evacuation zone around the stricken plant on Japan’s northeast Pacific coast, 250 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, have attached power cables to all six reactors and started a pump at one to cool overheating nuclear Read more…
FBI center takes on $1 billion ID project
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Clarksburg FBI complex is taking part in a $1 billion project that will enable law enforcement agencies to identify criminals and terrorists by physical characteristics more quickly and accurately, an FBI official said Monday in Charleston.
Earlier this month, the FBI center unveiled its “Next Generation Identification System,” which will slowly replace an older system that can no longer handle the volume of fingerprints sent to Clarksburg.
“It’s bigger, better, faster,” said Stephen Morris, a deputy assistant director at the FBI Center. “It increases capacity and accuracy.”
Morris spoke Monday at a Charleston Rotary Club luncheon at the Civic Center.
The NGI system, built by Lockheed Martin, allows FBI employees to Read more…
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