The Punjab governments decision making it compulsory for all gold traders to declare the quantity of gold being brought in the state, has curtailed the inflow of gold in Punjab. Winter being the main season for gold sales, especially in the wake of the marriage season and with NRIs flocking home, the sales have been hit hard.

Gold traders in Punjab said ever since the government made it compulsory to declare all gold being brought in or taken out of the state, under Section 51, VAT, at the information collection centres (ICCs), the sales have been hit hard. Because of security concerns, traders are not ready to declare their gold at the 32 ICCs in the state. So, they are not ready to get the yellow metal in the state and supply is restricted.

Devinder Khanna, secretary, Punjab Sarafa Association, said as a result of their compulsory declaration, the availability is down by over 40 per cent.

CME rival eyes Archipelago founder as chief

The upstart electronic futures exchange planning to face off against the CME Group is considering Archipelago founder Jerry Putnam for its chief executive, say people close to the discussions.

Putnam has been at the forefront of computerized trading for well over a decade and could be in the market for another opportunity after stepping down as vice chairman of NYSE Euronext in August.

A spokesman for the proposed exchange declined to say whether Putnam is a CEO candidate.

ROUNDUP Rio Tinto FY results overshadowed by acquisition defence

LONDON, Feb. 13, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Rio Tinto posted better-than-expected results for the full year as the world's third-biggest mining company continued to promote its future expansion programme as part of ongoing defence against BHP Billiton's (NYSE:BHP) takeover approach. Rio Tinto's 2007 net profit fell 2 pct to 7.312 bln usd, but beat the 7.1 bln usd consensus forecast, as a result of rising costs and adverse exchange rates. It also incurred costs associated with last year's takeover of Canadian aluminium giant Alcan Inc. (TSX:AL.E) The group's chief economist, Vivek Tulpule, said almost all commodity prices remain significantly above historical trends and anticipates that some commodity prices have yet to reach their cyclical peaks. 'The outlook statement was relentlessly positive, underlining emerging markets growth and reiterating that the underlying trends in China and India are largely insulated from any potential near-term weakness in western economies,' said Martin Potts, an analyst at Landsbanki.

FDA Admits Drug-Approval Error

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CFFEX approves 13 new members

The China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) announced the fourth group of members on Monday. Including the 13 new members, the total number of CFFEX member brokers is now 52, accounting for about one third of all of China's futures brokers.

As of yesterday, of the total 52 CFFEX members, seven are full clearing brokers, 27 are trading and clearing brokers, and 18 are trading members.

WallSt.net (www.wallst.net) Updates the Investment Community Through ...

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 8, Jeff Smith, President of PSM Holdings, Inc. (PinkSheets: PSMH) (http://www.psmholdings.com) updated the investment community in an all-new interview with http://www.wallst.net. Interview highlights include detailed discussions on the following topics:

On October 10, Ariel Kelman, Senior Director of Platform Product Marketing for Salesforce.com, Inc.

Saturday Question

Clare Bozarth mighta slipped and said she was about to "bake a maybe" but she didn't name the maybe after Betty Crocker above. See below.

How hot is property in North Idaho? Cis Gors/From A Simple Mind reports a strange rumor about the Sandpoint area housing market. Seems an owner wanted $150,000 for a house, without a foundation, on five acres in the Samuels area. And was surprised that her sorry property triggered a bidding war among three prospective buyers who jacked up the price to $220,000 and counting. Inspired, one of the other neighbors is thinking of selling her beautiful place because shes heard offers that are too good to refuse, sez Cis. Quoth: Trouble with that idea is where is there a place to go in this area that isnt going to cost you, your profits and more? A voice of reason.

F. William Engdahl's "A Century of War" - Part II

It forced Nixon to act again on February 12, 1973. He announced a further 10% devaluation, major world currencies began a process called a "managed float," and world instability was the worst seen since the 1930s. Unknown was the reason behind the August, 1971 strategy. It was to buy time before initiating a bold new monetary "paradigm shift" - to revive a strong dollar and US world power with it. In May 1973, the scheme was hatched - to initiate a "colossal assault" on world industrial growth through a 400% increase in oil prices. In addition, the resulting petrodollar flood had to be managed. A global oil embargo was the scheme to rocket up its price and create an equally great demand for dollars. Kissinger's Yom Kippur war began it when Egypt and Syria invaded Israel on October 6, 1973.

Florida Primary Coverage - Tuesday, January, 29, 6:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m ...

OLBERMANN: At just past 6:00 p.m. in Florida, still two hours before the last of the polls there closed. We join you from MSNBC and NBC News headquarters in New York. Alongside Chris Matthews, I'm Keith Olbermann. Here we are in Florida.