End of the US Shutdown 2013 on October 16, 2013: Who Said What – Responses from the UK, China, Japan and Other Countries

The most talked about current topic is that of the US shutdown.  The shutdown is bad news for exporters from around the world, as exporters fear about checks being cleared by the US.  The shutdown has affected the world stock markets and world currencies.  Most economists feel global investors will gradually decline and the role of the dollar as world's leading reserve currency will be challenged due to the ongoing fiscal dysfunction along with debt crisis.  Countries all over the world had expressed Read more [...]

What is Meant by US Government Shutdown – US Shutdown of 2013 & Its Impacts

The United States Federal Government declared a nationwide shutdown on the 1st October, 2013, on account of failure to enact regular appropriations or a continuing resolution for the 2014 fiscal year.  Due to this as many as 800,000 federal employees were forced to take leave indefinitely without pay.  Approximately 1.3 million without immediate salary had to report to work.  Previously, in 1995-96 the US Government went in for shutdown.  Several questions arise in the mind of a layman.  The Read more [...]

Gold and Government of India: Impact of the Price of Gold on our Economy, Future of Gold in 2014

The year 2013 witnessed the Indian government taking a slew of measures to raise the domestic price of gold, like increasing the import duty on gold from 2% to 10%, and mandating RBI's 20:80 scheme, which states that 20% of imports have to be re-exported.  This wide difference between international and domestic gold prices has led to the legal smuggling of gold.  This in turn has led to a wide difference of about 10% in the market price of gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and their Net Asset Values Read more [...]