chrome hearts glasses

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Gold Demand Surges In Q As Prices Rise

ï»¿Gold Demand Surges In Q2 As Prices Rise China and India continue to pace buying to near record levels. Gold saw demand soar to its second highest quarterly level in the second quarter, as China and India led purchases totaling $45.5 billion for the three months, according to the World Gold Council. The Gold Demand Trends report for Q2 2011 showed gold hit $1,552.50 per oz and averaged $1,506.10 during the quarter a 26% increase year on year and 19% up from the first quarter of 2011. These high prices boosted the dollar demand numbers for gold to its second highest quarter in history $44.5 billion, right behind Q4 2010. For gold bulls, the good news is that this demand spike came from the usual suspects, not unknown new entrants. Once again, the countries to watch are India and China, which not only account for 55% of jewelry demand and 52% of bar and coin demand this time around, but are also are the fastest growing markets. The global growth rate for gold demand was 7% between Q2 2010 and Q2 2011 but India saw a 38% growth rate year on year and China clocked in at 25%. Let take a look at demand sector by sector to see how it breaks down. Jewelry Demand Forty six percent of total global gold demand was in the form of gold jewelry and the sector saw demand rise 6% year on year to 442.5 tonnes. Only five areas India, China, Hong Kong, Turkey and Vietnam showed increases in demand year on year. India cornered a full 32% of global jewelry demand, up 17% year on year though the WGC notes that the second quarter of 2010 had weak historical jewelry demand. However, the WGC noted increased Indian buying that began around the Akshaya Tritiya festival in May and that continued beyond the festival buying, suggesting the country appetite for gold jewelry is high even apart from the expected seasonal holidays and festivals. China usually has a quiet second quarters too, but the country accounted for 102.9 tonnes of gold jewelry 16% more than this time last year. On a dollar basis, the value of gold jewelry consumed in the second quarter rose 40% compared with Q2 2010. Given that the Chinese economy is doing comparatively well, increasing prosperity seems to be driving jewelry demand. Hong Kong, which the WGC treats as separate from the rest of China, saw jewelry gold demand rise 38% in physical terms, to 6.8 tonnes, primarily from mainland tourists taking advantage of different designs available in Hong Kong, along with tax advantages on purchases. In Vietnam, gold jewelry demand was primarily fueled by rumors that gold bar production and sale would be banned, resulting in a 6% increase to 3.3 tonnes. Elsewhere around the world, gold jewelry demand was down. Investment On a year on year basis, investment demand looks dismal down 37%. This decrease is primarily because of the difference in investment in ETFs and similar products. Q2 2010 was a huge quarter for ETFs and related products, with inflows of 291 tonnes the highest on record. Compared with that, Q2 2011 net inflow of 51.7 tonnes looks anemic. But it is much better than the net outflow of 62 tonnes we saw in the first quarter of this year. In fact, if you drop the records seen in Q1 09 and Q2 10, the second quarter demand is comfortably above the average of 41.4 tonnes seen between the second quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of this year. But all was not bad news in the investment sector. Investment in bars and coins the bastion of the truly paranoid gold bug was up 9% year on year for the quarter, to 307.7 tonnes, with the value up 37% to $14.9 billion. What really impressive is the year on year growth rates for certain countries: Turkey saw investment in bars and coins grow 90%, India grew 78% and China had a growth rate of 44%. Turkey growth rate mainly benefited from weak demand in Q2 2010, though the WGC reports that investors are becoming more aware of wealth preservation attributes, and that small gold bars are becoming increasingly popular. In India, demand was concentrated around the Akshaya Tritiya festival and was helped by price dips below $1500/oz. The WGC reports that Indian investors continue to expect further price increases as evidenced by increased buying activity on price dips and a relative lack of recycling activity during the quarter. High inflation and a sluggish domestic stock market in China continue to drive gold investment. The Gold Accumulation Plan continues to grow, with 1.71 million accounts, holding 22 tonnes of gold, as of June 2011. Technology Demand Demand for gold in technology is always relatively small compared with jewelry and investment demand, and this quarter saw minor changes to that, with demand up just 2% to 117.9 tonnes. The electronics sector accounts for 83.8 tonnes of that demand and is up 4% year on year driven by demand for today modern necessities like smartphones, tablets and e readers. Additionally, the global semiconductor industry is expected to grow 7% in 2011, which means demand in this sector will remain strong. Something to watch out for the second quarter saw the first commercial production of automotive catalytic converters containing gold rather than platinum or palladium. Demand for these is now small, but it a new, actual functional use for gold that has not existed previously and those don come around very often. Supply: The Other Side Of The Equation While current gold prices seems to be fairly uncoupled from supply pressures or perhaps the lack of supply pressures it is still prudent to keep an eye on where gold is coming from. The total supply of gold in the second quarter was 1058.7 tonnes, down 4% year on year. The decrease comes even though mine production is up 7% due to a number of new startups and better output from existing operations. Declining recycling and net buying from central banks was enough to outweigh the increased production. Recycling has slowed, even though prices have remained high as consumers are acclimating to rising prices and are bullish on price prospects. Why sell grandma ring if you think gold headed to $3,000 an ounce? And if you thought today prices were catastrophic, you would have already gone to the market with your antique bracelets. Last but not least, it turns out that central banks were net buyers again, removing gold supply from the market by buying 69.4 tonnes the second highest quarter since the official sector began buying again two years ago. Given what been happening in the world of gold prices, it will be interesting to see what the demand trends look like for Q3 will consumers stop buying jewelry as prices climb? Fundamental economics would suggest that there must be some point of elasticity in gold. Will there be renewed inflows to ETFs and other products? Will prices at these higher levels push up supply with increased recycling? Tune in next quarter to find out.

Gold Demand Surges In Q As Prices Rise

Monday, June 23, 2014

Free Silver Jewelry

ï»¿Free Silver Jewelry We are taught to always beware of something free. There is always a catch. You get that email about a free iPod, and you end up having to refer one million friends and make a couple hundred dollars in purchases, and then you might get your iPod. So when I saw a website advertising free silver jewelry, I was more than a bit skeptical. I asked her if she tried it and she assured me that she did in fact receive the jewelry and that it was of excellent quality. So Im still waiting for a catch. Did they sell her information? Did she suddenly start receiving a ton of email and snail mail? Surprising, no. While you do have to pay for shipping, it is a mere $5.99. Not bad for a piece of silver jewelry with genuine or in some cases, simulated gemstones delivered to your door. I had to try this. Being interested in jewelry and being a bargain hunter, I had to see what I had been missing out on. I ordered one peridot ring and was very impressed with it. I proceeded to order more pieces, expecting something to go wrong. I was shocked at what you could get for only paying shipping. While some department stores have gemstone and silver rings on sale for $10 to $20 frequently, I found that the gemstones in these pieces were of higher quality. Overall, I was extremely impressed. While it would have been nice to be able to just look through a catalog and order many pieces, I found their format fun and addicting. Only four items are shown on the screen at one time. Every 5 minutes, one item leaves the screen and one new item appears. This gives each item 20 minutes of time to be shown, provided that stock doesnt run out. I quickly began watching this site while doing other things, checking the site every 20 minutes, and in general, becoming addicted to this format. I think it is rather fun and entertaining. The site claims to be up for the purpose of introducing products to the public. At various time intervals, products change and new products are offered. Once I think I have seen everything, something new always shows up. The ordering process is very simple. You have the option of paying by Paypal or credit card, which I found very convenient. They will notify you when your jewelry is shipped. You receive great jewelry by mail generally in approximately one week. The jewelry is great and you are hardly paying anything for what you are receiving. But as with all things, free or otherwise, there are a few downsides. If you do not live in the United States, you will not be able to order free jewelry. You cannot cancel an order, correct a shipping address, or pay by mail. You may also find that you see many rings you would like, but most will not be in your size. This is because each style of ring is only made in one size. Also, if you happen to miss ordering an item because you either just checked the website too late or you did not make up your mind quickly enough, you will have to wait for the item to come back on at a later time. Orders also can not be combined to save on shipping, although, this shouldnt present much of a problem as the shipping is so inexpensive. Despite the few minor drawbacks, I found this site to provide a fun and enjoyable shopping experience, along with quality products. And the best part, you only pay shipping and handling on anything you want. So start shopping for silver for free! I believe that you too will enjoy this experience. Published by Valerie Hansen I enjoy a variety of hobbies from playing the harmonica to creating polymer clay creations. I also volunteer my time with both marine mammals and guinea pigs. I guess you could say I have a very wide varie.

Free Silver Jewelry

Saturday, June 21, 2014

FEMME FATALE

ï»¿FEMME FATALE After expending his energies on a pair of generic, effects laden studio thrill rides MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and MISSION TO MARS and an only slightly more effective suspense thriller SNAKE EYES in recent years, Brian De Palma was long overdue to return to what may be considered his main dialogue with moviegoers: the twisted tales of obsession, deceit and death hes woven so memorably in efforts such as SISTERS, DRESSED TO KILL, BLOW OUT and BODY DOUBLE. The film that brings De Palma back to his storytelling center is FEMME FATALE, a moody, gleefully stylish noir thriller of the type he can craft better than just about any modern director. The result is a flawed, credibility straining piece of big screen eye candy and a hell of a lot of fun. Model turned X MEN villainess Rebecca Romijn Stamos plays the venomous, wonderfully unpredictable title character, Laure Ash, whose ability to alter her shape in shifting situations puts the mutant Mystique to shame. De Palma personally scripting one of his films for the first time since 1992s RAISING CAIN tells us everything we need to know about his antiheroine in the bravura opening section, which has Laure go from studying Barbara Stanwyck in DOUBLE INDEMNITY to staging a daring jewelry heist at the Cannes International Film Festival to pulling a fast one on her male cohorts, all without once losing her icy blonde cool. Alas, things dont proceed quite so smoothly for Laure from there on out, and shes soon on the run from said cohorts especially Eriq Ebouaneys fearsome main baddie, who doesnt take kindly to her attempting to make off with the loot. Laure solves this problem the way anyone would: She replaces a suicidal brunette dead ringer for herself also Romijn Stamos whose life happens to intersect with hers at exactly the right moment. Without giving too much away, lets just say that even this neat trick doesnt permanently end her troubles, and her reinvented character eventually faces dangers from multiple fronts, including the threat of exposure posed by a well meaning photographer Antonio Banderas hired to snap a shot of her. In the end, Fanboys rejoice: Rebecca Romijn Stamos is Brian De Palmas FEMME FATALE. 2002 Warner Bros. a moviegoer actually attempting to take the films largely nonsensical plot seriously is simply on the wrong track. The only real story logic at work here is De Palmas desire to surprise us with endless head spinning reversals as his protagonist goes from villainess to heroine and back again, from sympathetic victim to coldhearted predator, from an American badly faking a French accent to a convincingly French sounding Frenchwoman faking. well, its all a little bit confusing to get it straight in one viewing. It all adds up to the juiciest of breakthrough roles for the stunning Romijn Stamos, whose first coup was simply winning such a complex part on the strength of a big screen resume limited to some body painted action work in X MEN and Russian accented biker badassing in the much maligned remake of ROLLERBALL. Her more than respectable work in what amounts to a series of very different character bits suggests Hollywood may have found the Holy Grail at last a supermodel who can carry a lead role! Shes particularly good when bouncing off the ever affable Banderas, whose very secondary co lead is no more than framing material for her all dominating character or characters. And what can possibly be said about the steamy moment when she ravishes Victorias Secret model Rie Rasmussen in a Cannes ladys room as part of the scheme to steal the serpent shaped piece of jewelry that makes up most of the latters costume? Teenage boys of America, start warming up your DVD players. As usual with De Palma, a visual stylist and technician almost without peer among American directors, FEMME FATALEs main problems are script issues in particular, the sense that this rather slick, superficial film means less and less the further one gets into it. Give the man a script like CARRIE, THE UNTOUCHABLES or CASUALTIES OF WAR, and there simply isnt anybody who can give it more impact on screen. Even his widely thrashed 90s MISSIONs had a couple of brilliant, visual driven sequences each, and the first half hour of SNAKE EYES has to rank among his most impressive tours de force even if the picture fell apart not long after. FEMME FATALE gets further than most of De Palmas recent efforts by avoiding the whole linear storytelling thing altogether for the most part, though the naughty nightmare that results is almost certainly a couple of notches too arty for the mainstream cineplex crowd. Viewers will certainly be divided about a major last act curveball that changes the meaning of the entire film the reviewer found it to be a cop out your mileage may differ, but darn it if De Palma doesnt save the ending at the very last second with a powerful final shot that manages to fit the fragmented storyline into a strange kind of order. Leave it to Hitchcocks most faithful heir to leave us with a picture of pictures that comments on the essence of picture making. The Master himself would have loved it.