India's New Gold Bullion Market

India is the world’s largest consumer of gold, importing nearly 800 tonnes a year, or 20 per cent of global demand. It will be interesting to see how the new domestic gold bullion market will evolve via The National Spot Exchange, in the coming months, offering contracts ranging in size from 8g to 1kg. I also think that fair and orderly price discovery is key to gold market's trustworthiness.

Useful link:
www.nationalspotexchange.com

Ivory Tagging

According to Professor Sam Wasser, director of the University of Washington's Centre for Conservation Biology, where the DNA elephant map was developed, scientists are able to pinpoint the area of Africa where smugglers are slaughtering elephants to feed the worldwide illegal ivory trade. Ivory is now traded globally in the same illegal manner as drugs and weapons. Hats of to Professor Sam and his team!

Useful links:
http://conservationbiology.net
http://depts.washington.edu/conserv/Introduction.html

The Art Of Jeff Koons

The art of Jeff Koons creates a world beyond taste. He is a mega-artist and a business artist. He is also the sculptor of Michael Jackson and Bubbles. I don't know if there are hidden meanings in his works, but they are unique/different. Really.

Useful link:

www.jeffkoons.com

Random Thoughts

The love of money as a possession - as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life - will be recognized for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease.

- John Maynard Keynes
www.maynardkeynes.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Maynard_Keynes

Spot on.

Diamond Traders Of Hoveniersstraat

Pallavi Aiyar's post in Business Standard (June 27, 2009) on Indian diamond traders and the Antwerp diamond market was interesting. The Mehtas and Shahs, who are the 21st century high priests of Hoveniersstraat, control up to 70 per cent of Antwerp’s diamond trade today, a figure that was associated with the Jews only a few decades ago. Sign of the times, really.

Dan Graham

A practitioner of conceptual art + art critic + theorist.
www.dangraham.org
www.whitney.org

Tea Drinking

According to public health nutritionist Dr Carrie Ruxton, and colleagues at Kings College London, drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water + tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so it's got two things going for it. Just do it.

Useful links:
www.tea.co.uk
www.teausa.org
www.tea.ca

The Roskin Gem News Report

Gary Roskin, who most recently was a senior editor at JCK Magazine is launching The Roskin Gem News Report on the July 4, 2009. Check out the link www.roskingemnews.com