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Gold Demand Rises In India As Rupee’s Strength Curbs Price Increase

Gold demand in India, the biggest consumer of bullion in the world, emerged again at the beginning of this year, as consumers in the nation began purchasing the metal for weddings, at a time when prices of the yellow metal are falling in the country’s local market due to the strength of the rupee. Harvesting [...]

Jamaicans Among The Most Entrepreneurial People In The World

Data sets and entrepreneur-related surveys from recent years indicate that the Caribbean country of Jamaica has now become one top nations in the world for entrepreneurial activity. Data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for the years from 2005 to 2008 shows that Jamaicans are amongst the most entrepreneurial people in the world, and that [...]

UK-Based Beauty Salons Get Hit By Groupon Mix Up

The owner of a salon in England is furious after customers were sold discount coupons for her shop, for an offer that was actually for a beauty parlour around 100 miles away. Perfection Hair and Beauty salon, based in Hale near Manchester, has been flooded with calls from customers that have been asking for cut-price [...]

UK-Based Beauty Salons Gets Hit By Groupon Mix Up

American Economy Creates 243,000 New Jobs During January

Official figures have revealed that the US economy created 243,000 new jobs during January – the highest total for nine months. The increase was far greater than analysts had expected – they had predicted a rise of around 150,000 jobs. The rate of unemployment also fell to a level of 8.3%, falling from a revised [...]

Small British Company Lost Thousands Of Pounds Due To Groupon Voucher Deal

A small business based in Sussex in the UK is having to save cash by moving its operations to smaller premises, after it lost thousands of pounds due to a cut-price deal with the US firm Groupon (Public, NASDAQ:GRPN). The small firm, Veg Box UK which is based in the town of Hove, signed up [...]

Gold Demand Rises In India As Rupee’s Strength Curbs Price Increase

Posted by Jaspal on February 8th, 2012

Gold demand in India, the biggest consumer of bullion in the world, emerged again at the beginning of this year, as consumers in the nation began purchasing the metal for weddings, at a time when prices of the yellow metal are falling in the country’s local market due to the strength of the rupee.

Harvesting festival in India also began on the 15^th of January this year. At this time, demand in rural areas for the precious metal, which contributes to 70% of imports, goes up. Weddings are also particularly common during this period, and have of course contributed considerably to demand for gold.

On the 17^th of January this year however, the Indian government put up import duty on gold bullion to 2% on its value from the old flat rate, which was 300 rupees per 10 grams. It also put up import duty on silver to 6% on value from 1,500 rupees per kilo. These changes had pushed the prices up for both the metals.

But the overall strength of the rupee is still keeping prices at a reasonable level for buyers, keeping both gold and silver demand high in the nation. Some metal dealers however believe that if the gold price rises to 30,000 rupees, then demand will fall back.

On the worldwide stage meanwhile, gold demand is expected to continue as investors may still see it as necessary to put their money in it at a time when economic uncertainty, particularly in the eurozone, is still expected to continue.

Image: Dreamstime

Gold Demand Rises In India As Rupee's Strength Curbs Price Increase

Jamaicans Among The Most Entrepreneurial People In The World

Posted by Jaspal on February 7th, 2012

Data sets and entrepreneur-related surveys from recent years indicate that the Caribbean country of Jamaica has now become one top nations in the world for entrepreneurial activity.

Data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for the years from 2005 to 2008 shows that Jamaicans are amongst the most entrepreneurial people in the world, and that the level of local entrepreneurship in Jamaica is even higher than in the major economies of the US and China.

However, the survey also found that necessity-driven entrepreneurship in Jamaica is now more common than opportunity entrepreneurship. This means that many business owners are in positions where they can’t afford to see their companies fail, because they are highly dependent on the revenue which they generate.

But despite this, many analysts are impressed with entrepreneurial progress in the island nation. More recent GEM data also shows that Jamaica was one of only a few countries which saw equal participation in entrepreneurship by men and women in 2011.

The country has already produced a number of different entrepreneurs of both genders. One example is Jerome Campbell, who recently launched a Blackberry (Public, TSE:RIM) Messenger Application in Jamaica named Shop PING! The App is designed to make it easier for people to view and post classified ads on their smart phones.

Other entrepreneurial successes may well follow, particularly since the opening of a new entrepreneurship centre last year – The Sir Richard Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – which aims to help budding entrepreneurs develop and achieve their business goals.

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jamaicans Among The Most Entrepreneurial People In The World

UK-Based Beauty Salons Get Hit By Groupon Mix Up

Posted by Jaspal on February 7th, 2012

The owner of a salon in England is furious after customers were sold discount coupons for her shop, for an offer that was actually for a beauty parlour around 100 miles away. Perfection Hair and Beauty salon, based in Hale near Manchester, has been flooded with calls from customers that have been asking for cut-price hair and beauty services.

An offer that was advertised on the promotional deals website Groupon (Public, NASDAQ:GRPN) said that customers could get £95 treatments at the Hale salon for £35 – several people claimed the offer. But the deal from Groupon was actually for an unrelated beauty salon named Perfection Beauty, which is located over 100 miles away from Hale in Rugby in Warwickshire.

The owner of Perfection Hair and Beauty, Emma Johnson, told the website menmedia.co.uk that a number of customers have been disappointed. She also said that she would actually lose money if she were to fulfill the offer that was advertised on Groupon’s site.

It was also reported on menmedia.co.uk that a spokeswoman from Groupon has apologised for the error, and has expressed regret at any inconvenience caused to customers, and Perfection Hair and Beauty.

The daily deals website has been involved in several advertising controversies in the last year. In 2011, The UK’s Office of Fair Trading announced plans to launch an investigation into Groupon after it broke UK advertising regulations over 50 times in less than one year.

Image: Dreamstime

UK-Based Beauty Salons Get Hit By Groupon Mix Up

American Economy Creates 243,000 New Jobs During January

Posted by Jaspal on February 6th, 2012

Official figures have revealed that the US economy created 243,000 new jobs during January – the highest total for nine months. The increase was far greater than analysts had expected – they had predicted a rise of around 150,000 jobs.

The rate of unemployment also fell to a level of 8.3%, falling from a revised rate of 8.5% for December – January’s unemployment rate is the lowest rate in around three years. The good news for the job market, which came last week, resulted in shares soaring.

The Dow Jones rose by 156 points to hit 12,862, its highest point since May 2008, while the Nasdaq index soared to its highest point for over 11 years – it hit a new peak since December 2000 by Friday’s close of trading.

In Europe’s markets meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index reached its best point since July 2011, as it went up by 1.8% through Friday, while Germany’s Dax closed last week up 1.6%, and France’s Cac 40 closed 1.5% higher.

Last week’s data from the Labor Department indicated that job growth had been widespread, with significant gains in several sectors. The leisure and hospitality industry added 44,000 jobs in January, and the professional and business services industry added 70,000. Retailers gained a further 11,000 employees.

While the job situation is looking encouraging at present, there has been some negative news for the US labour market recently. A report released last Wednesday, by the US Congressional Budget Office, forecast that unemployment would come close to 9% towards the end of the year.

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

American Economy Creates 243,000 New Jobs During January

Small British Company Lost Thousands Of Pounds Due To Groupon Voucher Deal

Posted by Jaspal on February 6th, 2012

A small business based in Sussex in the UK is having to save cash by moving its operations to smaller premises, after it lost thousands of pounds due to a cut-price deal with the US firm Groupon (Public, NASDAQ:GRPN).

The small firm, Veg Box UK which is based in the town of Hove, signed up to an agreement with the discount provider which offers deals to help businesses draw in customers, and takes a cut of money earned by companies who advertise with it.

Veg Box UK gave away boxes of fruit and vegetables worth £45 for only £18 on the Groupon website – but half of the earnings from this voucher price go to Groupon. Veg Box was not able to meet demand and therefore had to offer some customers refunds.

The small business also offered customers a discount of 70% on a box of fruit and veg delivered to their houses. Around 700 people claimed this offer, but the big discount against the percentage share that Veg Box received back from Groupon meant that it couldn’t afford to deliver its produce to the number of people who purchased the vouchers.

The BBC news website reported that a spokesman from Groupon said, in response to the issue, that businesses must know what they can do. While some small companies have had similar troubles when dealing with deals websites, a number have also benefited from their involvement with them.

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Small British Company Lost Thousands Of Pounds Due To Groupon Voucher Deal

Gold Forecasted To Peak At $2,000 During The Next Year

Posted by Mary on February 3rd, 2012

Gold is predicted to hit a new record level above the $2,000 mark during this year, or early next year. But the new peak is expected to come as the precious metal comes towards the end of a decade-long bull run, according to gold experts.

The metals consultancy GFMS believes gold is likely to break through its previous record of $1,920 an ounce, which it reached in September 2011, in the last quarter of 2012 or the opening quarter of 2013.

The consultancy has stated that this will happen “probably some time next year”. It also forecasts that the price of gold will continue to weaken, as the international financial landscape normalises during the next few years.

But the precious metal is still likely to be a good option if the need arises for investors to find a ‘safe haven’ from the global economic crisis. Concerns regarding debt problems in several countries have helped the metal go up by more than 600% during the last decade; while investors seeking refuge from economic turmoil in 2011 saw the worldwide value of gold transactions reach a record of around $80bn.

GMFS’s recent analysis of the future gold price comes shortly after another recent survey of gold miners, by the accountants Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), which discovered that miners think gold will hit the $2,000 an ounce mark this year.

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Gold Forecasted To Peak At $2,000 During The Next Year

Online Retailer Rue La La Steps Away From Daily Deals Business

Posted by Hannah on February 3rd, 2012

Rue La La, an Internet-based retailer, has moved its focus away from its Rue Local daily deal business. The company is one of a number that has recently moved away from the industry.

Rue Local, which provided daily deals each day for people in US cities including New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, is outsourcing its sales team to another firm, a spokeswoman for the company told Reuters. The spokeswoman has not identified the company which it will be outsourcing to.

Another business which Rue La La runs, Smartbargains.com, will also see changes – it will be consolidated Rue La La’s main business, according to the spokesperson. She also said that the changes have resulted in an 11% reduction in the amount of jobs atRue La La.

The firm is one of a few which has cut down on its efforts to compete in the daily deals market over the last few months. Facebook ended its attempts to compete in the industry in 2011, while Internet giant Google (Public, NASDAQ:GOOG) outsourced its development of a deals website to other daily deal businesses.

According to some commentators, one of the key troubles which new discount providers face is the high costs of hiring large sales forces to negotiate discounts. One which does not have this problem is That Free Thing – the new deals business saves money by not employing big sales teams for negotiations, which helps it to pay higher sums of cash to vendors.

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Online Retailer Rue La La Steps Away From Daily Deals Business

Recent Signs Indicate That Small Business Lending In The US Is Rising

Posted by Rose on February 2nd, 2012

There have been indications recently that more US banks might be loosening the purse strings for smaller and medium-sized companies, as conditions for business are improving and borrowers are becoming more able and willing to take on new debt.

One indication comes from the fact that small-business lending in America reached a four-year high during November 2011 – this is according to the Thomson Reuters (Public, TSE:TRI-B)/PayNet lending index.

A fewer number of small companies are also falling behind with their loan repayments according to the November reading of the index, with delinquencies of 30 days or more falling from the previous reading by five basis points to 1.5%, and “severe delinquencies” of greater than 90 days dropping by 1 basis point to 0.39%.

Some analysts and small-business lending brokers meanwhile have noticed that demand for loans from medium-sized and small businesses is picking up, as their sales are getting better and their creditworthiness is improving.

But some commentators say signs of increased lending are very small, and many small firms still have large barriers to credit. Research from one group for example, is at odds somewhat with the Thomson Reuters/PayNet lending index’s November reading.

The National Federation of Independent Business, a small business lobby group that is based in Washington D.C., has found that most small firms in the US have either given up trying to earn capital from banks after being rejected many times, or have not even looked for bank finance because they have weak growth prospects.

Image: vichie81 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Recent Signs Indicate That Small Business Lending In The US Is Rising

Facebook Reveals Plans For Stock Market Flotation

Posted by Erin on February 2nd, 2012

The US-based social networking website Facebook has revealed that it is planning to float on the stock market, with a valuation that is expected to be around $100 billion. The business is set join a number of other large American technology companies on the market.

Facebook has said that it is seeking to raise around $5bn (3.8bn euros, £3.16bn) through going public. This figure is however around half the level of cash which many commentators said they would expect the company to raise through flotation.

Nonetheless, analysts of stock markets, and analysts of the social media industry, are still expecting Facebook’s initial pulic offering (IPO) to be the largest sale of shares to date by any organisation that is primarily based on the Internet.

The social media giant has already achieved huge amounts of success in its currently short existence, and will be expected to prosper a great deal more by a number of analysts once it enters the market.

The business, which was set up 8 years ago by students at Harvard University, is the largest social networking website in the world, and now has approximately 845 million users worldwide. Facebook has also reported high profit figures for its latest financial year – the company recorded a profit figure of $1bn in 2011.

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Facebook Reveals Plans For Stock Market Flotation

UK Government Wins Vote To Cap Household Benefits

Posted by Julia on February 1st, 2012

Members of Parliament in the UK have backed the coalition government’s plans for a £26,000 annual cap on overall household benefits, overturning a key defeat in the House of Lords. It was agreed by MPs that child benefits should be included as part of the cap.

MPs have now overturned five out of seven defeats which peers in the House of Lords have inflicted on the Bill. A group of bishops had tabled an amendment to it, which would have meant that child benefits would not be capped if it had been approved by MPs. However, they voted 334 to 251 to overturn the amendment.

The limit on benefits is one of the most high profile changes in the British government’s controversial Welfare Reform Bill. Ministers have stated that it will result in benefits being in line with the average income of working households in the UK.

The government has also said that some exemptions to the maximum amount of benefits will remain, for example, people who currently receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and those that receive Working Tax Credits, won’t suffer caps to the amount that they earn.

Along with the bishops who tabled amendments in the Lords, other groups have disagreed with the Bill. The opposition party meanwhile, Labour, have said that they support the basic idea of introducing a benefit cap, but argue that local caps, set by an independent commission, should be put in place instead of one national cap.

Image: Jon Whiles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

UK Government Wins Vote To Cap Household Benefits