Navtej Kohli Business Blog

Navtej Kohli business blog brings what’s up and coming in the global business arena. China is soon to excel South Africa and the United States in Gold production says Navtej Kohli.

China is all set to become the world’s leading gold producer in 2008, with output reaching 300 tonnes, the China Gold Association (CGA) said Tuesday.

“Recent years have seen a continuous drop in gold output in South Africa and the United States, traditionally big gold producers, while China maintains an annual growth rate of five percent,” said Hou Huimin, vice president of the association.

the recent CGA statistics reveal that the gold output of South Africa, which has led gold output since 1905, was 272 tonnes in 2007, while that of China was about 270.5 tonnes, 1.5 tonnes less than the former.

China has proven gold reserve of more than 650 tonnes in 2006, while another five gold deposits were discovered since the beginning of 2007, said Hou.

“With the improvement of exploration level and technology in processing ores, the output of gold will continue to increase,” he said.

Gold production increased in China, where the output stood at 4.5 tonnes in 1949 and 100 tonnes in 1995 today stands at whooping 300 tonnes.

China had been the fourth largest gold producer from 2000 to 2006.

Navtej Kohli business blog is a platform for new business entrepreneurs to know the latest buzz around business sector. Navtej Kohli is visiting Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference, are you?

If you’re attending Small Business Marketing Unleashed Conference to be held on 21st April ’08 in Houston (Texas), then we might stumble upon each other there.

Take my words, it’s going to be a great learning experience where you can clear up all your doubts about online marketing. This two-day long event is specially designed for small business owners, who otherwise can’t afford to employ the marketing techniques most likely to be disclosed here.
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Now, if you outsource it doesn’t kill the need of attending such conferences. And if you think so, you might need to reconsider a few facts. Take me for an example. Today, I have a flourishing business, all by god’s grace and on many occasions I have worked with some of the veteran marketers in the industry. With time I have realized that all-around knowledge is imperative for actual business success. Especially if you have just forayed into online marketing arena, to be well-informed is a must. This saves you from those prolonged brain storming sessions with the providers, eventually saving both your time and money. Moreover, I can get the work done, in exactly the way I want to. Being equipped means quick execution of strategies and high-quality results.

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This conference will touch upon almost all specialties of Online Marketing like Keywords and content, Link building, Local search, Social Media Marketing, Web analytics, Blogging for business, Building a community, Paid Search Advertising, Conversions and Usability, Viral Marketing, Site Clinic and much much more…
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The way Americans go bust has changed fundamentally, and the implications for financial markets are both important and negative.

In the more innocent days before the debt bubble popped, vulnerable borrowers tended to do everything they could to hang on to their houses. The result was that they’d stop paying off their credit cards first, the car loan second and only last would they default on their mortgage.

But for many Americans in the credit bust, especially an overburdened minority, that set of priorities has been turned upside down.

“It’s the American way of deleveraging,” said Jochen Felsenheimer, credit strategist at Unicredit in Munich.

“First you sell your house, second you sell your car and in the end you also sell your TV set.”

The numbers bear him out. Subprime house loans started to go bad first, followed with a lag by subprime auto loans and now credit cards. Federal Reserve data show credit card debt more than 30 days delinquent increased sharply in the second half of 2007, by about 14 percent to 4.55 percent, the most since 2003.

In contrast, in the mid 1990s and during the slowdown in the early part of this decade credit card delinquencies rose before mortgage arrears, according to Federal Reserve data.

There are, of course, some crucial differences between then and now. Deteriorating lending standards allowed a group of less creditworthy borrowers to buy houses, and the amount people were obliged to make as a down payment fell. That meant that borrowers had less incentive to stick with their loans, as house prices went south and they found themselves owing more than the place was worth.

But the preference for car and TV set — or as it may be for car and groceries — over bricks and mortar suggests another disturbing possibility. A lot of people were living above their means and financing the shortfall through debt extracted from housing, credit card and auto lenders. While they had jobs, the jobs didn’t pay enough to actually retire the debt, just to keep current with the interest.

When housing started to fall, the natural thing to do was to preserve the car, which allows you to get to work, and especially the credit card, without which modern life is very difficult.

The implication is clear: credit card debt should continue to deteriorate as we’ve see mortgage debt do. This is bad for the people who make credit card loans, the already creaky and heavily hit financial sector.

Source: reuters.com

Navtej Kohli tracks news from The Indian Railways which are on the technology upgradation drive.

After a long spell, The Indian Railways finally are on the track for technology upgradation and it has been decided that The Railways will depend on technology to make improvements in operational efficiency, bring transparency in working and provide better services to passengers.

In addition, the railways are trying to bring about radical changes in railway technology systems and processes. The railways will focus on information technology application in freight service management, passenger service management and general management.

For getting maximum benefit in the coming years, the mantra for present and future IT applications would be seamless integration. The railways nationwide communication infrastructure will provide the foundation for a common delivery network and platform. Modern technologies like GIS, GPS and RFID will be applied progressively.

Do you wish to know if the economy is falling apart or not? According to Fed there are mixed signals to indicate a crisis in home finance, unemployement report, strong productivity numbers and an expectation (from analysts) of a 15% gain in corporate profits for 2008.

The good news is that due to the collateral damage and decline in consumer spendings, shares of reputed companies has become more affordable. The S&P 500 index is down 6.9% so far this year, which puts it at 17 times estimated 2007 earnings. If earnings growth meets expectations, you’re paying 15 times 2008 earnings. That ratio is right in the middle of the historical range.

-Navtej Kohli

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday provided its projection for economic growth this year. They said that there will be a lot of damage from the hazards of housing slump and credit crunch. It also forecasted higher unemployment and inflation.

This updated forecast came by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke stating that the U.S. economy could continue to weaken, affecting the whole global economy.“With no signs of stabilization in the housing sector and with financial conditions not yet stabilized, the committee agreed that downside risks to growth would remain even after this action,” minutes of the Fed’s Jan. 29-30 closed door meeting showed. Due to slowing economic growth, the Fed projected that the national jobless rate will rise to 5.2 percent to 5.3 percent this year. That is higher than the central bank’s old forecast for the rate to climb to as high as 4.9 percent. Last year, the unemployment rate averaged 4.6 percent.

With energy prices shooting upward, the Fed also raised its projection for inflation. The Fed now expects inflation to be between 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent this year. That’s higher than its old forecast for inflation, which was estimated to come in at around 1.8 percent to 2.1 percent.

- Navtej Kohli