Safe re-openings of five GIA Laboratories

Modified schedules; appropriate

Precautions for safe re-openings

 As GIA continues to closely monitor the Covid-19 pandemic, the Institute has reopened laboratories in Antwerp, Carlsbad, Gaborone, Johannesburg and Tokyo with modified schedules and limited capacity. For details, updates and information regarding GIA locations visit GIA website.

Rs 20.9trillion Self-Reliant India measures!

In her opening remarks during the 5th part of stimulus package to fight Covid-19 under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, the Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman referred to the vision laid out by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his address to the Nation on 12th May 2020. All together FM announced total Rs 20.9trillion for the shaping up of Self-Reliant India!  

Quoting the Prime Minister, Sitharaman said that as a Nation, we stand at a very crucial juncture. Covid-19 Pandemic has brought a message and an opportunity. We need now to build an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. Announcing the 5th and last Tranche of measures towards Government Reforms and Enablers, Sitharaman detailed seven measures for providing employment, support to businesses, Ease of Doing Business, and State Governments as well sectors such as Education and Health.

To leverage Blessing in Disguise!

Nitin Gadkari calls for exploring rating and effective implementation of Fund of Funds announced for MSMEs! At the end of concluding all those 5 tranche Union Minister for MSME Nitin Gadkari has said that the relief package announced by the Union Government for different stakeholders/sectors including MSME, labour, agriculture etc and the new definition of MSMEs will give huge boost to industry.

He called for exploring the rating of MSMEs and asked the participants to give suggestions for effective implementation of Fund of Funds announced as part of the package for MSMEs. Gadkari said this today while addressing meetings with the representatives of Business Network International and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications via video conferencing on “Impact of Covid-19 on MSMEs” and “Future of Indian Industry after 20 lakh crore package” respectively.

This is the time to plan for the future!

Recently IDMA's Weekly Internet News Collection featured Vasant Mehta. Vasant Mehta inks, the most proper and simple word to describe the past seven odd weeks would be the word, different.

The current experience is different from any upheavals that we have experienced at any time in our lives! There is a general sense of uncertainty in all of our lives. There is uncertainty, if not frustration, regarding the failure to find ways to overcome the virus.

Leibish admire most Warren Buffet

Leibish Polnauer of Leibish & Co inks about the person I admire most. He says he is not in Hollywood but in Omaha, Nebraska. He reminds me of Clint Eastwood, he never loses his cool. It’s Warren Buffet the eighty-nine year old American investor, business tycoon, philanthropist and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.

We need leadership with vision and he has it. Last year, Buffett was sitting in an empty arena with twelve people instead of forty thousand and delivered a lecture over four hours long after reporting a $54 billion loss in the past quarter. He dumped all his airline stocks yet kept his $73 billion stocks in Apple. He looked calmly into the future with his eighty-nine years of life experience.

Christie’s offices reopen in the world

In Asia, most of Christie’s offices are open and fully operational. Our upcoming sales in Hong Kong are going ahead as scheduled on 8–13 July. We are also excited to be planning an historic collaboration in China in September, partnering with China Guardian auction house to stage a series of sales and exhibitions around a theme of positivity: 2020+

In continental Europe, most of our offices have now reopened, or will reopen shortly. In Paris in particular, preparations are underway for our live sales to resume at our Avenue Matignon galleries from 26 May, beginning with The Collector: Le Goût Français. In these locations, our clients can visit our offices by appointment, to meet one of our specialists, view a work or complete a transaction.

Sale of Honoring Weir Farm coin today

According to U.S. Mint America, The Mint will accept orders for the 2020 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin honoring Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut beginning on May 18 at noon Eastern Daylight Time.

Priced at $178.25, this coin’s reverse design portrays an artist, wearing a painter’s smock, painting outside Julian Alden Weir’s studio at Weir Farm. It is inspired by various images of the studio and Weir’s paintings created on the property, as well as descriptions of Weir and his fellow artist’s creative inspiration from the rural environment.

FM announces economic measures-3 of 1tn

Finance Minister announces measures to strengthen Agriculture Infrastructure Logistics, Capacity Building, Governance and Administrative Reforms for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Processing Sectors of Rs01lakh crore. These measures are for Governance and Administrative Reforms for Agriculture Sector, to enable better price realisation for farmers, to provide marketing choices to farmers & to assure about their Produce Price and Quality.

This exercise is to make self-reliant every district economy and State economy under the आत्मनिर्भर भारत अभियान or Self-Reliant India Movement. Nirmala Sitharaman said that out of these 11 measures, 8 measures are for improving agricultural infrastructure and 3 measures are for administrative and governance reforms, including removing restrictions on sale and stock limits of farm produce.

Eurozone recession rises!

By Aline Schuiling & Nick Kounis, Senior Economist ABN Amro inks, Euro macro scenario. Here we are focussing upon Europe macro scenario.

Changes to our eurozone growth and inflation forecasts – We have lowered our outlook for growth and inflation in 2020 and 2021 in the eurozone. This has been motivated by a number of factors. In the first place, Eurostat’s flash estimate of GDP in Q1 (-3.8% QoQ) was weaker than we had estimated originally, indicating that the impact of the lockdowns – that started in most countries around the middle of March – was bigger than we had thought.

One caveat is that some large eurozone economies have not yet published a first estimate for Q1 GDP (Germany and the Netherlands will publish on Friday) and that national statistical offices have warned that the preliminary Q1 numbers are surrounded by a lot more uncertainty than normal and will probably be revised significantly at a later stage.

2020 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey

Recently World Gold Council has published, 2020 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey. Here are the key insights into central banks’ thinking towards gold.

Financial and economic stress has refocused attention on gold: Central bankers have rated gold’s performance in crises, diversification benefits, and lack of default risk as significantly more relevant this year than last year, meaning that continued financial uncertainty is drawing their attention to gold.