happy diwali

Hello,

Wish you a very happy diwali and a prosperous new year

Search Engine Criteria

The first thing that you need to know is that most of the major search engines utilize an algorithm to determine where a website ranks. The search engines have setup specific criteria that a website must meet to get to the top of the list. The criteria are different for every engine, but all engines share several commonalities. It all boils down to the type and amount of content provided on a given website, the level of optimization done on the site, and the popularity of the website (link popularity/PageRank). Below we examine these commonalities in more detail.

1. Where Are You and Why Are You There?
How to get promoted? First you will need to have a reference point. Ask yourself, where are you now? And why are you there? Is there any key strength that has brought you where you are now that you can continue to leverage for the next promotion? Are there any weaknesses that you really need to correct before the next promotion is possible? These questions, while simple are strategic. It allows you to check your strengths and weaknesses. It forces you to access what has worked and what will work to get you promoted.

2. Where Do You Want To Be and How Do You Get There?
You obviously need to have an objective and a plan. Just saying that you want to get promoted is not enough. You need to be clear on your next position. Is it a promotion to a different department or a different branch? Write this down.
Now that you have written this down, how do you plan to get that promotion? Develop a plan for to achieve that objective. If you are lucky, you can even work this out with your immediate boss. Most bosses do not promise that promotion at such discussions but at the very least you get an idea of what are the expectations.
ATTITUDE

3. Put Pride, Passion and Belief In Everything You Do
People who get promoted are those that have a sense of pride in their work. And they take pride in their work. They are driven by genuine enthusiasm and desire to do their best no matter how small the job. They believe in themselves and they believe in the bigger goals of their unit or department and company. How to get promoted? Ask yourself; do you conduct yourself with pride, passion and belief?

4. Back it Up with Skills/Knowledge, Direction and Action
Having pride, passion and belief is only part of how to get promoted. It must be backed up skills and knowledge. That means having the necessary skills and knowledge to do a superb job. Having a direction is important to guide that energy generated by your passion. Otherwise, effort is wasted. Without action which is the actual completion of the task, all else is academic. You will be judged by what you do.

5. See Challenges As Opportunities
Another obvious tip on how to get promoted is to see challenges as opportunities. Very often I see young executives being thrown challenging assignments, which they choose to see as an additional chore. If you want to be promoted, look at challenges as opportunities to shine. Do not complain about hard work, how hard you worked or if your assignment is tougher than your colleagues’. Trust me, no one wants to know how hard you work. In everyone’s mind, their own work is the hardest.
ACTION

6. What Is Your Part?
Know your part and play your part. What is your role? Are you an implementer? Or are you a leader? Know exactly what you need to do in order for your unit to achieve its goals. Knowing your part means being a team player. No one can succeed without help from others. We all need the support of colleagues. When the team succeeds, you succeed too.

7. Do Your Best NOW
I consider this as one of the most important tip on how to get promoted. Do your best NOW.Today. This week’s tasks and projects. Do not bask in the glory of your previous work. That is gone. In all likelihood, no one else cares about it especially your bosses. Do not think too much about future projects that are not implemented yet. That is in the future. It is not here yet. Focus on DOING your best NOW. It determines how you are being judged. When you reflect too much on the past and think too much about the future, you forget to focus on the NOW.

8. Do More Than Necessary
If you want to know how to get promoted, do more than the necessary. That means volunteering for work and taking the initiative to make a job better. It also means not sitting around waiting for work to come to you. Bosses like people who can help them solve problems. Even if the problem is not yours, but if you feel you can be of help and have the expertise to solve it, then volunteer to help. You become the team’s competitive advantage when you do that. And bosses like people who give their unit an advantage over the others. Helping your team stay ahead is then helping you stay ahead too.

9. Do Work from The Next Level Up
If you continue doing work for your current position then you truly deserve your current position. People who know how to get promoted know that if you want the position next level up, you start doing some of those work from that level now. If you are a senior executive now, do some work that is only expected of an assistant manager (assuming that is the next level up). This allows you to demonstrate that you are capable of that position already.
Obviously, there are zillions of tips out there on how to get promoted. These are some of those that I deem to be obvious and not practiced enough by career success seeking newbies. Putting these into practice would greatly increase your chances of a promotion.

Brain Damaging Habbits

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.
This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing
malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air
decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain
efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the
death of brain cells.

7.. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and
decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of
the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may
cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

Email Ettiquette

1. Be concise and to the point.
Do not make an e-mail longer than it needs to be. Remember that reading an e-mail is harder than reading printed communications and a long e-mail can be very discouraging to read.
2. Answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions.
An email reply must answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions – If you do not answer all the questions in the original email, you will receive further e-mails regarding the unanswered questions, which will not only waste your time and your customer’s time but also cause considerable frustration. Moreover, if you are able to pre-empt relevant questions, your customer will be grateful and impressed with your efficient and thoughtful customer service. Imagine for instance that a customer sends you an email asking which credit cards you accept. Instead of just listing the credit card types, you can guess that their next question will be about how they can order, so you also include some order information and a URL to your order page. Customers will definitely appreciate this.
3. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation.
This is not only important because improper spelling, grammar and punctuation give a bad impression of your company, it is also important for conveying the message properly. E-mails with no full s s or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change the meaning of the text. And, if your program has a spell checking option, why not use it?
4. Make it personal.
Not only should the e-mail be personally addressed, it should also include personal i.e. customized content. For this reason auto replies are usually not very effective. However, templates can be used effectively in this way, see next tip.
5. Use templates for frequently used responses.
Some questions you get over and over again, such as directions to your office or how to subscribe to your newsletter. Save these texts as response templates and paste these into your message when you need them. You can save your templates in a Word document, or use pre-formatted emails..
6. Answer swiftly.
Customers send an e-mail because they wish to receive a quick response. If they did not want a quick response they would send a letter or a fax. Therefore, each e-mail should be replied to within at least 24 hours, and preferably within the same working day. If the email is complicated, just send an email back saying that you have received it and that you will get back to them. This will put the customer's mind at rest and usually customers will then be very patient!
7. Do not attach unnecessary files.
By sending large attachments you can annoy customers and even bring down their e-mail system. Wherever possible try to compress attachments and only send attachments when they are productive. Moreover, you need to have a good virus scanner in place since your customers will not be very happy if you send them documents full of viruses!
8. Use proper structure & layout.
Since reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from paper, the structure and lay out is very important for e-mail messages. Use short paragraphs and blank lines between each paragraph. When making points, number them or mark each point as separate to keep the overview.
9. Do not overuse the high priority option.
We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf. If you overuse the high priority option, it will lose its function when you really need it. Moreover, even if a mail has high priority, your message will come across as slightly aggressive if you flag it as 'high priority'.

10. Do not write in CAPITALS.
IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITALS IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING. This can be highly annoying and might trigger an unwanted response in the form of a flame mail. Therefore, try not to send any email text in capitals.
11. Don't leave out the message thread.
When you reply to an email, you must include the original mail in your reply, in other words click 'Reply', instead of 'New Mail'. Some people say that you must remove the previous message since this has already been sent and is therefore unnecessary. However, I could not agree less. If you receive many emails you obviously cannot remember each individual email. This means that a 'threadless email' will not provide enough information and you will have to spend a frustratingly long time to find out the context of the email in order to deal with it. Leaving the thread might take a fraction longer in download time, but it will save the recipient much more time and frustration in looking for the related emails in their inbox!
12. Add disclaimers to your emails.
It is important to add disclaimers to your internal and external mails, since this can help protect your company from liability. Consider the following scenario: an employee accidentally forwards a virus to a customer by email. The customer decides to sue your company for damages. If you add a disclaimer at the bottom of every external mail, saying that the recipient must check each email for viruses and that it cannot be held liable for any transmitted viruses, this will surely be of help to you in court (read more about email disclaimers). Another example: an employee sues the company for allowing a racist email to circulate the office. If your company has an email policy in place and adds an email disclaimer to every mail that states that employees are expressly required not to make defamatory statements, you have a good case of proving that the company did everything it could to prevent offensive emails.
13. Read the email before you send it.
A lot of people don't bother to read an email before they send it out, as can be seen from the many spelling and grammar mistakes contained in emails. Apart from this, reading your email through the eyes of the recipient will help you send a more effective message and avoid misunderstandings and inappropriate comments.
14. Do not overuse Reply to All.
Only use Reply to All if you really need your message to be seen by each person who received the original message.
15. Mailings > use the Bcc: field or do a mail merge.
When sending an email mailing, some people place all the email addresses in the To: field. There are two drawbacks to this practice: (1) the recipient knows that you have sent the same message to a large number of recipients, and (2) you are publicizing someone else's email address without their permission. One way to get round this is to place all addresses in the Bcc: field. However, the recipient will only see the address from the To: field in their email, so if this was empty, the To: field will be blank and this might look like spamming. You could include the mailing list email address in the To: field, or even better, if you have Microsoft Outlook and Word you can do a mail merge and create one message for each recipient. A mail merge also allows you to use fields in the message so that you can for instance address each recipient personally. For more information on how to do a Word mail merge, consult the Help in Word.
16. Take care with abbreviations and emoticons.
In business emails, try not to use abbreviations such as BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud). The recipient might not be aware of the meanings of the abbreviations and in business emails these are generally not appropriate. The same goes for emoticons, such as the smiley :-). If you are not sure whether your recipient knows what it means, it is better not to use it.
17. Be careful with formatting.
Remember that when you use formatting in your emails, the sender might not be able to view formatting, or might see different fonts than you had intended. When using colors, use a color that is easy to read on the background.
18. Take care with rich text and HTML messages.
Be aware that when you send an email in rich text or HTML format, the sender might only be able to receive plain text emails. If this is the case, the recipient will receive your message as a .txt attachment. Most email clients however, including Microsoft Outlook, are able to receive HTML and rich text messages.
19. Do not forward chain letters.
Do not forward chain letters. We can safely say that all of them are hoaxes. Just delete the letters as soon as you receive them.
20. Do not request delivery and read receipts.
This will almost always annoy your recipient before he or she has even read your message. Besides, it usually does not work anyway since the recipient could have blocked that function, or his/her software might not support it, so what is the use of using it? If you want to know whether an email was received it is better to ask the recipient to let you know if it was received.

21. Do not ask to recall a message.
Biggest chances are that your message has already been delivered and read. A recall request would look very silly in that case wouldn't it? It is better just to send an email to say that you have made a mistake. This will look much more honest than trying to recall a message.
22. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission.
Do not copy a message or attachment belonging to another user without permission of the originator. If you do not ask permission first, you might be infringing on copyright laws.
23. Do not use email to discuss confidential information.
Sending an email is like sending a postcard. If you don't want your email to be displayed on a bulletin board, don't send it. Moreover, never make any libelous, sexist or racially discriminating comments in emails, even if they are meant to be a joke.
24. Use a meaningful subject.
Try to use a subject that is meaningful to the recipient as well as yourself. For instance, when you send an email to a company requesting information about a product, it is better to mention the actual name of the product, e.g. 'Product A information' than to just say 'product information' or the company's name in the subject.
25. Use active instead of passive.
Try to use the active voice of a verb wherever possible. For instance, 'We will process your order today', sounds better than 'Your order will be processed today'. The first sounds more personal, whereas the latter, especially when used frequently, sounds unnecessarily formal.
26. Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT.
Even more so than the high-priority option, you must at all times try to avoid these types of words in an email or subject line. Only use this if it is a really, really urgent or important message.
27. Avoid long sentences.
Try to keep your sentences to a maximum of 15-20 words. Email is meant to be a quick medium and requires a different kind of writing than letters. Also take care not to send emails that are too long. If a person receives an email that looks like a dissertation, chances are that they will not even attempt to read it!
28. Don't send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks.
By sending or even just forwarding one libelous, or offensive remark in an email, you and your company can face court cases resulting in multi-million dollar penalties.
29. Don't forward virus hoaxes and chain letters.
If you receive an email message warning you of a new unstoppable virus that will immediately delete everything from your computer, this is most probably a hoax. By forwarding hoaxes you use valuable bandwidth and sometimes virus hoaxes contain viruses themselves, by attaching a so-called file that will stop the dangerous virus. The same goes for chain letters that promise incredible riches or ask your help for a charitable cause. Even if the content seems to be bona fide, the senders are usually not. Since it is impossible to find out whether a chain letter is real or not, the best place for it is the recycle bin.
30. Keep your language gender neutral.
In this day and age, avoid using sexist language such as: 'The user should add a signature by configuring his email program'. Apart from using he/she, you can also use the neutral gender: ''The user should add a signature by configuring the email program'.
31. Don't reply to spam.
By replying to spam or by unsubscribing, you are confirming that your email address is 'live'. Confirming this will only generate even more spam. Therefore, just hit the delete button or use email software to remove spam automatically.
32. Use cc: field sparingly.
Try not to use the cc: field unless the recipient in the cc: field knows why they are receiving a copy of the message. Using the cc: field can be confusing since the recipients might not know who is supposed to act on the message. Also, when responding to a cc: message, should you include the other recipient in the cc: field as well? This will depend on the situation. In general, do not include the person in the cc: field unless you have a particular reason for wanting this person to see your response. Again, make sure that this person will know why they are receiving a copy.

How do you enforce email etiquette?
The first step is to create a written email policy. This email policy should include all the do's and don'ts concerning the use of the company's email system and should be distributed amongst all employees. Secondly, employees must be trained to fully understand the importance of email etiquette. Finally, implementation of the rules can be monitored by using email management software and email response tools.

Body Language

The DO’s
1- Always look at someone directly in their eyes when they are speaking to you. This may seem difficult at first but it’s definitely the #1 body language ingredient to make you successful when interacting with others. Note: Do not ever stare at someone.
2- Always stand up straight. You never want to slouch. Not only does this make you appear shorter but it projects an image of someone who has low self-esteem.
3- Smile. Smiling is your most powerful body language signal. Though it is not recommended to smile constantly (people will be under the impression you are searching for approval), you should still make an effort to appear happy and optimistic.
4- Do not make repeated, nervous like gestures. When speaking to someone it’s important to use body movements but never fast and repetitive ones (picture someone who is nervous while public speaking; this is exactly what you're NOT aiming for).
5- Create your own personal space. Make sure you let others know you have your own personal space and do not let them walk all over you. Note: you never want to invade someone else’s personal space.
6- Dedicate all of your attention to the person you are speaking with. Do not constantly look around as if you are uncomfortable or not interested.
7- Make sure to emphasize all of these tips when you meet someone new. First impressions count for a lot. You want to make the best impression you can.

Excel Shortcuts

Format Data
Ctrl
0
column
Hide columns
Format Data
Ctrl
1
format
Display the Format Cells dialog box
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
2
time
Apply Time format
Format Data
Ctrl
5
strikethrough
Apply or remove strikethrough formatting
Select Cells
Ctrl
6
object
Alternate between hiding objects, displaying objects, and displaying placeholders for objects
Select Cells
Ctrl
7
toolbar
Show or hide the Standard toolbar
Outline Data
Ctrl
8
outline
Display or hide outline symbols
Format Data
Ctrl
9
row
Hide rows
Enter Data
Ctrl
'
copy
Copy formula from cell above
Format Data
Alt
'
style
Style dialog box
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
'
number
Apply number format
Edit Data
Ctrl
-
delete
Delete selection
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
-
border
Remove outline borders
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
!
number
Apply Number format with 2 decimal places, thousands separator
Enter Data
Ctrl + Shift
"
copy
Copy value from cell above
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
#
date
Apply the Date format with the day, month, and year
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
$
currency
Apply Currency format
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
%
percent
Apply Percentage format with no decimal places
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
&
border
Apply the outline border
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
(
row
Unhide rows
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
)
column
Unhide columns
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
*
region
Select the current region
Move within Selection
Ctrl
.
move
Move clockwise to the next corner of the selection
Select Cells
Ctrl
/
array
Select current array
Enter Data
Ctrl + Shift
;
time
Enter the time
Enter Data
Ctrl
;
date
Enter the date
Select Cells
Alt
;
cells
Select visible cells in current selection
Select Cells
Ctrl
[
dependent
Select direct dependents
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
[
dependent
Select all dependents
Select Cells
Ctrl
\
difference
Select differences
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
\
unequal
Select unequal cells
Select Cells
Ctrl
]
precedent
Select direct precedents
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
]
precedent
Select all precedents
Format Data
Ctrl + Shift
^
number
Apply Exponential number format
Enter Data
Ctrl
`
formula
Toggle formula view
Edit Data
Ctrl + Shift
=
insert
Insert blank cells
Enter Data
Alt
=
AutoSum
Insert the AutoSum formula
Enter Data
Ctrl
A
formula
Display Formula Palette after typing function name in formula
Enter Data
Ctrl + Shift
A
formula
Insert the argument names and parentheses for a function after you type a function name in a formula
Select Cells
Ctrl
A
All
Select the entire worksheet
Enter Data
Arrow key
move
Move one character up, down, left, or right
Move and Scroll
Ctrl
Arrow key
move
Move to edge of current region
Move and Scroll
Arrow key
move
Move one cell up, down, left, or right
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
Arrow Key
select
Extend the selection to the last nonblank cell in the same column or row as the active cell
Select Cells
Shift
Arrow Key
select
Extend the selection by one cell
Format Data
Ctrl
B
bold
Apply or remove bold formatting
Enter Data
Backspace
delete
Delete character to left of insertion point, or delete selection
Move and Scroll
Ctrl
Backspace
scroll
Scroll to display the active cell
Select Cells
Shift
Backspace
select
Select only the active cell when multiple cells are selected
Edit Data
Ctrl
C
copy
Copy the selection
Enter Data
Ctrl
D
fill
Fill down
Enter Data
Ctrl
Delete
delete
Delete text to the end of the line
Enter Data
Delete
delete
Delete character to right of insertion point, or delete selection
Enter Data
Alt
Down Arrow
AutoComplete
Display the AutoComplete list
Move and Scroll
Ctrl
End
move
Move to the last cell on the worksheet
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
End
select
Extend the selection to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)
Enter Data
Alt
Enter
line break
Start a new line in the same cell
Enter Data
Ctrl
Enter
fill
Fill the selected cell range with current entry
Enter Data
Ctrl + Shift
Enter
array
Enter formula as array formula
Enter Data
Shift
Enter
complete
Complete cell entry and move up in selection
Enter Data
Enter
complete
Complete cell entry and move down in selection
Enter Data
Esc
cancel
Cancel a cell entry
Menus
Esc
close
Close visible menu or submenu
Windows
Ctrl
Esc
Start
Show the Windows Start menu
Help
F1
Help
Open the Help Task pane
Menus
Shift
F10
shortcut
Show a shortcut menu
Menus
F10
menu
Make the menu bar active
Windows
Ctrl
F10
maximize
Maximize or restore the workbook window
Charts
F11
chart
Create a chart that uses the current range
Macros
Alt
F11
VBE
Display the Visual Basic Editor
Macros
Ctrl
F11
macro
Insert a Microsoft Excel 4.0 macro sheet
Worksheets
Shift
F11
worksheet
Insert a new worksheet
Workbook
Ctrl
F12
open
Display the Open dialog box
Workbook
F12
save as
Open the Save As dialog box
Workbook
Shift
F12
save
Save the file
Print
Ctrl + Shift
F12
print
Display the Print dialog box
Charts
Alt
F2
chart
Create a chart that uses the current range
Enter Data
Shift
F2
comment
Edit a cell comment
Enter Data
F2
edit
Edit the active cell and position the insertion point at the end of the line
Worksheets
Alt + Shift
F2
worksheet
Insert a new worksheet
Enter Data
Ctrl
F3
name
Define a name
Enter Data
Ctrl + Shift
F3
name
Create names from row and column labels
Enter Data
Shift
F3
function
Paste a function into a formula
Enter Data
F3
name
Paste defined name into formula
Enter Data
F4
repeat
Repeat the last action
Move and Scroll
Shift
F4
find
Repeat the last Find action (Find Next)
Windows
Ctrl
F4
close
Close the active workbook window
Move and Scroll
Shift
F5
find
Display the Find dialog box
Move and Scroll
F5
go to
Display the Go To dialog box
Windows
Ctrl
F5
restore
Restore the active workbook window size
Dialog Box
F6
dialog box
In a range selection box, switch focus to the worksheet
Move and Scroll
Ctrl
F6
window
Move to the next workbook or window
Move and Scroll
Ctrl+Shift
F6
window
Move to the previous workbook or window
Move and Scroll
Shift
F6
pane
Move to previous pane in workbook that has been split
Move and Scroll
F6
pane
Move to next pane in split workbook
Edit Data
F7
spell
Display the Spelling dialog box
Windows
Ctrl
F7
move
Carry out Move command (workbook icon menu, menu bar), or use arrow keys to move the window
Macros
Alt
F8
macro
Display the Macro dialog box
Select Cells
Shift
F8
select
Add another range of cells to the selection; or use the arrow keys to move to the start of the range you want to add, and then press F8 and the arrow keys to select the next range
Select Cells
F8
select
Turn on extending a selection by using the arrow keys
Windows
Ctrl
F8
size
Carry out Size command (workbook icon menu, menu bar), or use arrow keys to size the window
Enter Data
Ctrl + Alt
F9
calculate
Calculate all sheets in the active workbook
Enter Data
Shift
F9
calculate
Calculate the active worksheet
Enter Data
F9
calculate
Calculate all sheets in all open workbooks
Windows
Ctrl
F9
minimize
Minimize the workbook window to an icon
Move and Scroll
Ctrl
Home
move
Move to the beginning of the worksheet
Move and Scroll
Home
move
Move to the beginning of the row
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
Home
select
Extend the selection to the beginning of the worksheet
Select Cells
Shift
Home
select
Extend the selection to the beginning of the row
Format Data
Ctrl
I
italic
Apply or remove italic formatting
Enter Data
Ctrl
K
hyperlink
Insert a hyperlink
Move within Selection
Ctrl + Alt
Left Arrow
move
Move left between nonadjacent selections
Outline Data
Alt + Shift
Left Arrow
group
Ungroup rows or columns
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
O
comment
Select all cells with comments
Print
Ctrl
P
print
Display the Print dialog box
Move and Scroll
Alt
Page Down
move
Move one screen to the right
Move and Scroll
Ctrl
Page Down
move
Move to the next sheet in the workbook
Move and Scroll
Page Down
move
Move down one screen
Select Cells
Shift
Page Down
select
Extend the selection down one screen
Worksheets
Ctrl + Shift
Page Down
select
Select current and next sheet in workbook
Move and Scroll
Alt
Page Up
move
Move one screen to the left
Move and Scroll
Ctrl
Page Up
move
Move to the previous sheet in the workbook
Move and Scroll
Page Up
move
Move up one screen
Select Cells
Shift
Page Up
select
Extend the selection up one screen
Worksheets
Ctrl + Shift
Page Up
select
Select current and previous in workbook
Windows
Alt
Print Screen
copy
Copy the image of the active window to the Clipboard
Windows
Print Screen
copy
Copy the image of the screen to the Clipboard
Enter Data
Ctrl
R
fill
Fill to the right
Move within Selection
Ctrl + Alt
Right Arrow
move
Move right between nonadjacent selections
Outline Data
Alt + Shift
Right Arrow
group
Group rows or columns
Menus
Alt
Spacebar
menu
Show control menu
Select Cells
Ctrl
Spacebar
column
Select the entire column
Select Cells
Ctrl + Shift
Spacebar
objects
With an object selected, select all objects on a sheet
Select Cells
Shift
Spacebar
row
Select the entire row
Move and Scroll
Ctrl
Tab
window
Move to the next workbook or window
Move and Scroll
Ctrl+Shift
Tab
window
Move to the previous workbook or window
Move within Selection
Shift
Tab
left
Move left
Move within Selection
Tab
right
Move right
Windows
Alt
Tab
program
Switch to the next program
Windows
Alt + Shift
Tab
program
Switch to the previous program
Format Data
Ctrl
U
underline
Apply or remove an underline
Edit Data
Ctrl
V
paste
Paste the selection
Windows
Ctrl
W
close
Close the active workbook window
Edit Data
Ctrl
X
cut
Cut the selection
Enter Data
Ctrl
Y
repeat
Repeat the last action
Edit Data
Ctrl
Z
undo
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E-Commerce Opportunities for the Gems and Jewellery Industry

E-Commerce Opportunities for the Gems and Jewellery Industry - Reduce Marketing and Selling Costs, Tap New Markets
E-commerce has transformed traditional business channels for many industries, gems and jewellery being one of them. The Gems and Jewellery industry lends itself perfectly to E-commerce.
A consumer can look at magnified images of jewellery pieces on his or her laptop, compare jewellery across three to four stores and have the jewellery delivered to his or her doorstep.
The advent of online jewellery shopping would have brick and mortar companies worried. However, for the industry as a whole E-commerce implies exciting new opportunities.
It would not be incorrect to state that E-commerce would increase total volumes of sale for the industry. However, the benefit will be enjoyed by those players who can understand online channels of business and use them to their advantage.
Business to Business (B2B)
Most of the electronic commerce that takes place today is of a business to business (B2B) nature. B2B simply implies that both seller and the buyer are business corporations. B2B portals are gaining popularity in the Gems and Jewellery industry. Its benefits are unmatched by traditional business channels.
Advantages of B2B
The Gems and Jewellery supply chain is spread across different regions and it is controlled by a few big companies, thus it is a major cause of concern for most companies. However, B2B portals can be used by a jewellery company to reengineer their supply chain.
Supply Chain Solution
From the buyers’ point of view, B2B medium can be used to procure supplies from a supplier who can offer them at the most competitive price. More importantly the purchasing company does not have to over depend on just a couple of suppliers as he can search for other suitable suppliers and avoid a supply crisis.
Lower Costs
Sourcing goods from a B2B portal eliminates middleman costs. It provides an environment for business houses to negotiate trade agreements directly.
More importantly B2B is a faster and more efficient medium to transact. Average turnover time for business transactions over the internet is much lesser than traditional means. Finally, it allows you to enjoy JIT just in time delivery; the company can keep track of his goods as to where it has reached.
Reduced Selling and Marketing Costs
A business to business portal is a very effective medium for marketing. A Diamond company for example can list all the stones he wishes to sell with images and relevant grade details. The website is visited by prospective buyers, hence the perfect target audience.
He enjoys the option of selling his diamonds to highest bidder. Thus a B2B portal is a highly effective medium of marketing and selling your inventory.
Business to Consumer (B2C)
An online Business to Consumer medium of E-commerce is known as B2C E-commerce. E-retailing as it is more popularly known has emerged as a growth channel for jewellery retail. In 2005, the United States which is the largest market for jewellery in the world witnessed a 25 per cent growth in retails sales through online B2C channels. In dollar terms it accounted to sales of USD 2.1 billion.
Online jewellery shopping owing to its inherent convenience is gaining popularity even in the Indian market. India has an insatiable demand for jewellery, according to the internet and Mobile Association of India, number of shoppers purchasing jewellery online is expected to increase by 15 to 18 per cent by the end of this year.
Revenues from E-commerce (overall) in India almost doubled from Rs 1180 crores in 2005-06 to Rs 2300 crores in 2006-07. Internet penetration is rapidly increasing in India estimated at 38.5 million today and slated to increase to 100 million by 2007-08 for E-retailers more people online translate to more potential consumers.
India with its cultural penchant for jewellery is one of the most important players in the Gems and Jewellery industry. It plays a dominant role in the processing of diamonds and is one of the biggest markets for jewellery consumption.
Organized retail accounts to only 2.5 per cent of total sales in India. However, the retail landscape in India is evolving with more companies embracing E-commerce as a channel for growth.

Tiffany 4Q Profits -76%

Tiffany & Co.'s profits tumbled during its fourth fiscal quarter as the weak consumer market, particularly in the U.S., took its toll on company sales. Profits for the three months ending January 31, 2009, fell 76 percent to $31.1 million, the luxury jeweler reported before the bell Monday. Tiffany took a one-time pretax charge of $97.8 million for an early retirement program and other staffing reductions in the fourth quarter. Approximately 800 employees were offered early retirement, 600 of whom accepted, Tiffany reported. There was also a $7.5 million pretax charge related to the anticipated closing of Tiffany's Iridesse retail operations, charges of $12.4 million to write off an investment in diamond mining at the Jericho mine in Canada, and a pretax charge of $3.4 million to close its diamond polishing facility in Yellowknife, Canada. Together with the drop in headcount from the early retirements and the anticipated closing of Iridesse, Tiffany expects a total staff reduction of 10 percent, resulting in approximately $60 million in pretax savings in 2009. Tiffany's net inventories increased 17 percent in fiscal year to $1.6 billion, due to lower-than-expected sales, the opening of new stores and increases in inventories of raw materials. Total debt as a percentage of stockholders’ equity was 45 percent as of January 31, versus 26 percent one year earlier. Tiffany secured $100 million of long-term financing in the fourth quarter and issued an additional $250 million of long-term debt after the close of the year. The funds are being used to refinance existing debt and for general corporate purposes.The company previously reported that its fourth-quarter sales declined 20 percent to $841 million. Same-store sales in the U.S. fell 33 percent during the period and total sales fell 30 percent. Comparable store sales saw a drop of 13 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, while in Europe they were flat. Full fiscal year profits decreased 32 percent to $220 million and sales were down 3 percent to $2.9 billion, the company reported. “Tiffany has clearly not been immune from global economic turmoil in recent months and we are taking a cautious view to business conditions in 2009,” said Michael Kowalski, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tiffany. Kowalski reported that Tiffany has reduced its cost structure “to maintain reasonably healthy levels of profitability and strong liquidity,” but added that there were no signs yet of an upturn in the business. "Our planning is based on the assumption that economic conditions will remain challenging throughout the year,” he said.
Tiffany expects an 11 percent decline in sales in 2009, assuming a sales percentage drop in the mid-teens across the Americas, the mid-single-digits in the Asia-Pacific region, and the high-single-digits in Europe. During a morning conference call, the company laid out plans to open 13 new stores in 2009, including seven in Asia. The company projected that rough diamond prices will fall an additional 20 percent during the year

Gold prices may rebound on demand for an alternative to currencies

A recent Bloomberg survey says that gold prices may rebound on demand for an alternative to currencies. Gjepc.org spoke to some experts to find out what they feel about this and what will the situation be in the months to come.Bhargav Vaidya, industry expert and bullion consultant, says, "I can't say this so directly but indirectly, yes, there are possibilities that gold could react this way. But it will happen with countries that don't have confidence in their currency. Though it's for sure, it will not happen in a huge way and if there's a short in Euro, there will be a long in gold". He adds that though no one knows how the last year's depreciation could be termed, it's for sure that the dollar terms will not be breached. His thoughts are seconded by Debjyoti Chatterjee, an associate vice president with MAPE ADMISI Research in Mumbai. He says, "The current bull on gold prices is because of safe haven buying and in this recessional market, people are not sure of their currency. Thus, as an alternative investment, they are pouring money on futures". He is of the opinion that because of a decline in dollar, gold is gaining heavily and this volatility in the market was not evident before 2005. He adds, "There is always 50-60 dollar volatility in trading but that's not the case anymore. It's a traders market now and they decide on the prices. Whatever happens, there will be no breach in the gold prices. Currently, gold is around $900 an ounce which is pretty much close to $1000 an ounce and, for 2009, I would say that gold at $1200 an ounce is not at all superficial but very much practical". Adding further to this situation, Chatterjee says that even higher crude oil prices will support gold prices. "In the second quarter rally, by April, there will again be volatility in the market and the bullion market will be beneficial for gold. The physical gold demand has reduced by 2/3rd because of higher prices and compared to last year, the gold import in India has been merely 300-350 tonnes". He feels that the prices are not going to heal as India is just a "price taker and not maker". Since there is a mismatch in the demand and supply in physical gold, even the central bank is holding on to its reserves. "This is going to be very much supportive for gold prices which are going to be just higher and higher", concludes Chatterjee.

Alrosa Aims To Become World's Leading Diamond Miner ---Presently accounts for 25% of global diamond output

En.rian.ru reports that Russia's largest diamond company Alrosa could become the world's top diamond mining company, and is considering buying foreign assets, the company CEO said.
Sergei Vybornov said Alrosa has an opportunity to seize the initiative and become the global leader amid the ongoing crisis, as the company has the world's best diamond resources in Yakutia in northeast Siberia, while its rival De Beers has had to cut output.
"There is also an opportunity to purchase very good diamond assets abroad - small companies that are going bankrupt or are on the verge of bankruptcy," Vybornov said.
Alrosa accounts for 97% of Russian and 25% of global diamond output. The Russian government holds a 50.9% stake in the company.

Turkey To Challenge India In Gold Jewellery Sector ---

According to Commodity Online, India may witness strong challenge from Turkey in the gold jewellery sector with that country focusing on better designs and new models.
According to reports, Turkish gold jewellery sector is in a strong position and is set to continue growing.
Reports appearing in the media said that Turkey could become the market leader for creating quality jewellery pieces from the precious metal.
Turkey is in a very successful position in terms of workmanship and design.
A strong culture of jewellery making combined with advances in marketing and design has put the country at the forefront of the sector.
The number of Turkish designers has increased with gold jewellery experts on every corner in the country.

GIA Museum To Debut 472-Carat Emerald --- It's a brilliant green four-inch hexagonal crystal

According to Rapaport, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) plans to debut a recently discovered 472-carat emerald crystal from the Muzo region mines in Colombia. The emerald, the El Itoco crystal, was named after Muzo Indian lore, according to Ron Ringsrud, the emerald dealer who loaned it to the GIA Museum on behalf of its owner, Hernando Sanchez, who is the emerald mine shareholder and Colombian emerald exporter. "This is the first time any of the Colombian mine owners have displayed such a significant emerald at any museum worldwide," Ringsrud said. "This is by far the largest gem-quality crystal to have come out of this historical mining area in a long time."
GIA spokespersons stated that a gem-quality emerald crystal of this size is extremely rare. The four-inch hexagonal crystal possesses a color equivalent to the finest emeralds, according to Terri Ottaway, GIA Museum curator. "To have the El Itoco in our museum for our students and the public to view is an extraordinary honor. Pieces of this size and quality are the stuff of legends. It generates what Colombian miners call 'green fever' in the imagination," she said.
Ottaway stated that the GIA was chosen to display this coveted piece from among some of the nation's most renowned museums. The El Itoco is displayed in a case that includes three other emerald crystals and an emerald and diamond necklace and earrings suite designed by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co., circa 1960. The El Itoco emerald crystal will be exhibited in the GIA Museum until early fall 2009

Gems & Jewellery Sector May Recover Soon

Gems & Jewellery Sector May Recover Soon - - Reports of increasing consumer spending in the US
According to Press Trust Of India, Indian gems and jewellery exports, which have been declining owing to the global economic meltdown, are expected to recover in the next few months on account of revival of demand in the major market of America.
"We expect that, in June and July, there will be some revival of exports as one of the reports revealed increasing consumer spending in the US," Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council Chairman Vasant Mehta said.However, he said that exports would continue to remain down by about 20-30 percent in April and May. As per estimates by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, the industry has suffered an export order loss of Rs 125.67 crore and cash loss of Rs 49.93 lakh during August-October 2008.The US accounts for 30 to 35 percent of the Indian jewellery exports.The declining trend had begun well before the Christmas season. In fact, the sector's exports had started showing a declining trend from November onwards when it dipped by 34.25 percent as compared to the same period last year. In December 2008, exports had declined by 25.89 percent over the corresponding period last year.Shipments during April-January stood at $16.3 billion against $16.7 billion a year ago.

"Diamond jewelry has grown to a tune of 10-15%"

"Diamond jewelry has grown to a tune of 10-15%"
In India there is nothing called recession but just a slow down in the economy. This slow down has happened only October 2008 onwards which also happens to be the wedding season. The impact of this slowdown has been very limited but consumers continue to buy jewelry during the wedding season. The diamond jewelry has grown to the tune of 10-15% over the same period last year.I also believe that diamonds are doing well across the country and it is not specific to any specific city or area. Diamonds are doing well across the country. The preference for diamonds has been very high for the last few years.
A recent consumer survey very clearly shows a high desirability for diamond jewelry as compared to plain gold jewelry. I feel that the desirability for diamonds has been built over the last full decade. Such high desirability remains high for a long time and hence I see the craze for diamonds to remain for a long time.

ROSY BLUE TO DIVERSIFY INTO OILSEED PROCESSING

ROSY BLUE TO DIVERSIFY INTO OILSEED PROCESSING
- Aimed at generating employment in the region, says Russell Mehta

De Beers Diamond Trading Company (DTC) sightholder Rosy Blue (India) Pvt. Ltd. is planning to set up either a castor seed or an isabgol (psyllium seed husks) processing plant in Gujarat, the financial daily Business Standard reports. The company has approached the state government to acquire 50 acres of barren land for the project, the report said.

“Diamond being the core business for us, we thought of getting into a second or third leg business,” said Rosy Blue chief operating officer Russell Mehta. “Though the company is yet to decide whether it would set up a castor seed processing plant or an isabgol plant, ultimately we intend to generate some more job opportunities in the region,” he added.

Rosy Blue also intends to set up a cutting and polishing unit near Palanpur, a historic diamond processing centre. “As of now, we are satisfied with our diamond cutting and processing capacity. Yet, the new plant is again an effort to generate more employment in that region,” Mehta remarked.

Business Standard said the new factory will be established through Rosy Blue shareholder, Banaskantha Industries Pvt. Ltd., on an additional 50-acre plot of land.

The Reasons behind Ups and Downs of the stock market

The core reasons are………………………..
Why Stocks prices Go Up
-- The company entered in to a big new contract
-- A great positive news coverage on the company in the media
-- Scientists discovered and opined that the product is good for something important
-- A famous investor is buying shares-- Lots of people are buying shares
-- An analyst upgrades the company, changing her recommendation from, for instance, "buy" to "strong buy"
-- Other stocks in the same industry go up
-- Most of the stock market is up
-- A competitor's factory burns down
-- The company wins a lawsuit
-- More people are buying the product or service
-- The company expands globally, and starts selling in other countries
-- The industry is "hot"
-- people expect big things for good reasons
-- The industry is "hot"
-- people don't understand much about it, but they're buying anyway
-- Increasing sales and profits
-- A great new executive is hired to run the company
-- An exciting new product or service is introduced
-- The company is bought by another company-- The company might be bought by another company
-- Additional exciting new products or services are expected
-- The company is going to "spin-off" part of itself as a new company
-- Rumours
-- For no reason at all
Why Stocks prices Go Down
-- Lots of people are selling shares
-- A factory burns down
-- Other stocks in the same industry go down
-- Profits and/or sales are slipping
-- Top executives leave the company
-- A famous investor sells shares of the company
-- An analyst downgrades his recommendation of the stock, maybe from "buy" to "hold"
-- The company loses a major customer
-- Most of the stock market is down
-- perhaps in a temporary recession or bear market
-- Another company introduces a better product
-- There's a supply shortage, so not enough of the product can be made
-- A big lawsuit is filed against the company
-- Scientists discover the product is not safe
-- Fewer people are buying the product
-- The industry used to be "hot," but now another industry is more popular
-- Some new law might hurt sales or profits
-- A powerful company becomes a competitor
-- Rumours
-- For no reason at all
These are the some reasons which creates wave in the market both for and against the company in different situations. But, an intelligent investor has to look at all these fundamentals before taking any reasons regarding buying and selling of shares and stocks of any companies. Now, I would like to add up one more thing that some of these reasons harm short term oriented investors and some time they harm both. Therefore, an investor with long term vision and patience will always make the most out of any stock market or any stocks. As a financial consultant, my advice is, if you really want to take part in the development of India, be regular in the long run.

Women Regard Gold Jewellery Ideal Gift for Valentine's Day: WGC Survey

Women Regard Gold Jewellery Ideal Gift for Valentine's Day: WGC Survey - Represents something 'everlasting' say 76% of the correspondents

The Israel Diamond Industry Portal reported that according to participants in the World Gold Council's (WGC) 2008 jewelry survey, women all the world – no less than 76% - agree unanimously that a key reason for buying gold jewelry as a gift is "because it is everlasting,” which makes it very apt for a Valentine's Day gift. The survey was conducted by the GfK independent research firm, in the central gold jewelry markets of India, China, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Turkey and the USA. 7,500 females aged between 15 and 65 were asked what their reasons for buying gold jewelry were and to name favorite occasions for receiving gold jewelry. Valentine's Day was named a key date. Philip Olden, Managing Director of the World Gold Council, noted: "Our survey shows that Valentine's Day is an important occasion for receiving gold jewelry for women in different regions around the world. The higher gold price has added to gold jewelry's desirability despite these challenging economic times. Gold's perceived value and enduring emotional appeal are not mutually exclusive and set gold apart from other traditional gifts and apparently, holds the key to women's hearts on Valentine's Day.” Olden added: "With two-thirds of global gold demand coming from the jewelry sector, understanding our consumer is crucial to both the gold jewelry trade and the gold market as a whole. With retailers under severe financial pressure, unlocking the consumer purse through effective promotion of gold jewelry is critical. The continuous efforts of World Gold Council and our partners from the gold trade in the key jewelry markets have been notable in keeping this ancient adornment desirable and relevant in today's competitive consumer market." Even the younger segment that participated in the survey, who are typically more interested in spending money on gadgets such as mobile phones than spending their disposable income on high-end jewelry, appreciate the romance of gold jewelry - 30% stated that they wanted to receive it for Valentine's Day. Other key occasions on which women like to receive gold are birthdays, wedding anniversaries, weddings and religious festivals, with women also buying gold jewelry for themselves on these occasions

GSI Launches Minisite for Indian Jewelry Industry

GSI Launches Minisite for Indian Jewelry Industry

Gemological Science International (GSI) has launched its first minisite, http://www.gsiindia.net/, dedicated specifically to the Indian jewelry industry. GSI has been in India since 2006 and its business now serves both export and local sectors, according to CEO Mark Gershburg.
"The minisite concept has been used by many non-jewelry companies. We believe this is its first application in the jewelry industry," says Mr. Gershburg. "This approach allows us to offer more Indian-directed services online without overcomplicating our main site. It also shows our dedication and strong belief in the future of the Indian jewelry industry." In support of the Indian industry, including those looking to enter it, the GSI-India minisite provides information and services that are unique for a gem lab. For example, it offers a list of Indian suppliers of equipment and services along with directories of Indian jewelry associations, trade publications, and retail jewelers all over the country.
"Practically anything that can be done in the lab can be done by our MobilLab," says Mr. Gershburg. "It creates economic and efficiency advantages throughout the gemstone/jewelry supply chain."
GSI's customers in India, or elsewhere, also have the unique benefit of viewing their actual reports online, rather than just as data. Another one-of-a-kind feature allows GSI customers to track the progress of their goods in the lab in real time.

Diamond as an Investment

Diamond as an Investment

History
Diamonds have been cherished as gemstones since the ancient times. Popularity of diamonds has increased since the 19th century because of successful advertising in spite of an outrageously increased supply. Diamonds are not usually used as a mainline store of value during times of crisis, due to their lack of fungibility and low liquidity. Though, they may still be useful during times of hyperinflation. Roughly 20% of mined diamonds are used in jewelry and 80% for industrial uses (such as lasers, drill parts and surgical equipment). Chemical vapor deposition is now used to produce cultured diamonds which, different diamond simulants, require very close inspection to distinguish them from natural diamonds.

Diamond price
In olden times, the wholesale diamond price has been controlled by De Beers Group, which has an estimated 40% to 50% of the market. Botswana is presently the largest producer of diamonds with mines operated by Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government. However, since the 1980s, other producers have developed new mines in Russia, Canada and Australia for e.g., challenging De Beers' dominance (historically De Beers market share was considerably higher, e.g. 80%. De Beers through its trading company called as the DTC raised wholesale diamond prices three times in 2004 by a total of 14%.

The US is the largest consumer of diamonds in the world. The U.S. accounts for 35% of diamond sales, Hong Kong 26%, Belgium 15% (Antwerp is the world's diamond-trading centre), Japan 6%, and Israel 4%, Israel and Belgium are significant Hubs for trading diamonds thus consumption numbers are a bit misleading. The price of diamonds varies with global demand and the world economy.

Diamond prices vary generally depending on a diamond's carat, color, clarity and cut (The 4 C's). In contrast to precious metals, there is no universal world price per gram for diamonds. However the industry does use tools like the Rapaport Diamond Report and The Gem Guide which are published weekly or quarterly, as a price references.

In addition to print and online references, numerous institutions have changing standards which can be used to aid in diamond identification and pricing. Gemological Institute of America, American Gemological Society and International Gemological Institute are 3 such institutions. Often these organizations center on new research and education which they pass on to their members and the public.

Feasibility of using diamonds as an investment
There is no natural scarcity of diamonds. Diamonds can be synthesized at much lower cost than the equivalent natural diamond price and the chemical and structural purity of a synthetic diamond can surpass a natural one. However, the chemical composition is not the only factor that concludes their value - the quality of the cut is of as much, if not greater, importance.

Diamonds are a troublesome investment. While it is easy to buy a diamond, it is not easy to sell one unless one is already a well-known diamond merchant. Another problem for investors is that purchasers other than well-known jewelers will be paying retail for a stone but can get only wholesale at most if they sell it back to a jeweler. If buying from non-industry sources, fraud is a major risk and even retail jewelers are skittish about it following Jewelers Vigilance Committee warnings in the 1990s about many fraud schemes by customers selling jewelry to jewelers or bringing it in for repair.
Some companies offer "investment-grade" diamonds for sale to the public. A cautious investor must ask for a written promise to rebuy the diamonds at or near the purchase price within a particular period.

Today there are a small number of funds that are investing in diamonds. These funds buy unique diamonds (very large in size or color); each stone is checked by a few professionals and negotiated until the fund decides to purchase it. Then a marketing team goes into action and through a widespread work the fund yield is gained. Between 2007 and 2008 the price of a diamond from the top range of color, clarity, cut and carat went up by over 50%.

Methods of investing in diamonds

Polished diamonds
Cut and polished diamonds.
Polished and rough diamonds lack some of the attractive attributes of investment vehicles, including liquidity, homogeneity and fungibility. Grading and certification by familiar laboratories goes some way to redressing this. Weight and cutting proportions are parameters which can be accurately measured. Colour and clarity grades are parameters which should be determined by gemologists.

The increasing size and quality, and decreasing price, of synthetic diamonds also presents a threat to the value of polished diamonds as a long-term investment. The likelihood of low-cost ultra-high-quality diamonds becoming available in industrial quantities at some time in the future is not an encouraging prospect for long-term investors in diamonds. However, synthetic diamonds have been manufactured since the 1950s and have yet to make a main impact on the market.

A warning example of such a price fall caused by introduction of a new simulant strongly undermining the prices of a natural gem was the permanent fall in natural pearl prices with the introduction of cultured pearls. The mechanism by which prices were affected is composite. In part because of the social acceptability of wearing cultured pearls to much of the market, customers migrated from the natural to the lower priced cultured product. This changed the supply and demand situation for natural pearls and perhaps the overall prestige of pearls in general was lowered. Where synthetic stones are less socially acceptable to the market for the natural version, arguably as with synthetic corundums where the two markets, natural and synthetic, are frequently separate, the prestige of the natural stones has been, with effort, sustained. Thus increased availability and lowered prices of synthetics may or may not have main implications for the future price of natural diamonds. The drop in natural pearl prices was also affected by the onset of the Great Depression and the development of the oil industry in the Persian Gulf (which not only provided pearl divers with better-paid, safer jobs, thereby rising production costs and lowering production capacity, but also increased pollution in the gulf, thereby reducing supply) - neither of these factors apply to diamonds. Besides, the introduction of synthetic rubies in the late 19th Century did not appear to have a permanent effect on the price of natural rubies.

There are many factors contributing to low liquidity of diamonds. One of the major is the lack of terminal market. The majority of commodities have terminal markets, and some form of commodities exchange, clearing house, and central storage facilities. This does not exist for diamonds. Diamonds are also subject to value added tax in the United Kingdom, EU, and sales tax in most developed countries, therefore reducing their effectiveness as an investment medium. A good number diamonds are sold through retail stores at very high profit margins.

As diamonds in larger sizes become increasingly rare and valuable, any easily visible and readily understood pricing system has been hard to establish. Martin Rapaport produces the Rapaport Diamond Report, which lists the prices for polished diamonds. The Rapaport Diamond Report is relatively expensive to subscribe to, and as such is not easily available to consumers and investors. Every week, there are matrices of diamond prices for round brilliant cut diamonds, by colour and clarity within size bands, and also other shapes. The price matrix for brilliant cuts alone surpasses 1,400 entries, and even this is achieved only by grouping some grades together. There are considerable price shifts close to the edges of the size bands, so a 0.49 ct stone may list at $5,500 per carat = $2,695, while a 0.50 ct stone of similar quality lists at $7,500 per carat = $3,750. This may appear such a big difference as to defy logic, but in reality stones near the top of a size band tend to be uprated slightly. Some of the price jumps are related to marketing and consumer expectations. A buyer expecting a 1 carat (200 mg) diamond solitaire engagement ring may be not ready to accept a 0.99 carat (198 mg) diamond.


There are many diamond grading laboratories, and there is no easy way for investors, consumers, or even dealers to know the relative competence and integrity of each. Even the market-leading Gemological Institute of America (GIA) suffered embarrassment recently when a small number of big, significant and precious diamonds were overgraded, resulting in legal action by one dealer against the dealer who had submitted them to the GIA for grading. A number of GIA employees left after the scandals appear, and the GIA has changed a number of its procedures. There are many laboratories affiliated to CIBJO (Confederation International de la Bijouterie, Joaillerie et Orfèvrerie, also known as the World Jewelery Confederation). There must be commercial pressure on all labs to upgrade marginal stones or lose business to other labs that are prepared to trim down standards.

Leaving the concept of fungibility to those expert economists who understand it, the non-linear pricing of different sizes (weights), which means it is not realistic to exchange, for e.g., 2 quarter carats (50 mg) for 1 half carat (100 mg), even if their relative values can be calculated. With commodities such as gold, it is clear that 1 twenty gram bar is worth the same as 2 ten gram bars, expecting the same quality. In the majority terminal markets, there needs to be a readily available standard quality, or limited number of qualities, available in sufficient quantity to be tradable. It is this issue which affects liquidity. There are lot many variables in diamond quality, and an almost infinite graduation of each quality parameter.
There are fashion and marketing elements to consider. De Beers expends marketing efforts to encourage sales of diamond sizes and qualities which are being produced in relatively huge quantities. They have also been known to take steps to deject investment, mainly because they perceive, probably correctly, that bubble prices which are followed by sharp falls are bad for long term consumer confidence in diamonds as a long-term store of value. Diamonds are mainly a consumer item.

The major positive investment parameter of diamonds is their high value per unit weight, which makes them easy to store and transport. A high quality diamond weighing as little as 2 or 3 grams could be value as much as 100 kilos of gold. This awfully condensed value and portability does bestow diamonds as a form of emergency disaster fund. People and populations displaced by war/extreme upheaval have utilized this property successfully, and presumably will do so again in the future.

The arguments known mean that it is almost certain that diamonds can never be commoditized sufficiently to allow efficient and sufficiently liquid markets. This does not mean, though, that diamonds can never be used or considered as investments. The very lack of liquidity itself could be used by a speculator who was ready to make a market in diamonds. Any such investor would need to make sure that he maintained sufficient personal liquidity to avoid distress selling, except by others. Such an investor would need to expend effort to market his stock and to advertise his willingness to buy and would effectively become a trader rather than investor.

Funds
In 2008 Diapason Commodities Management listed an investment company called Diamond Circle Capital, which intends to invest in rare colored and colorless diamonds worth more than $1m each. As of July 2008 the IPO for the closed-end fund was postponed until additional notice.

Mining companies
These do not represent diamonds at all, but rather are shares in firms that mine diamonds. The major diamond company in the world is De Beers, which is jointly owned by Anglo American (45%), the Oppenheimer family (40%) and the Botswana government (15%). The Argyle mine in Australia (owned by the Rio Tinto Group) is the principal single producer of diamonds in the globe.

Taxation
Diamonds are subject to value added tax in the EU, and sales tax in most urbanized countries. Other taxes like capital gains tax may apply for individuals depending on citizenship and if the asset is sold at increased value. Rough diamonds are also subject to taxation and in the future days all rough diamond mined in South Africa will be subject to a 7% royalty.

Diamond Retains Lustre Among Online Shoppers - Kundan sets too find prominent buyers

Diamond Retains Lustre Among Online Shoppers - Kundan sets too find prominent buyers

Reports say that glittering even during the economic downturn, diamonds better known as a "girl's best friend", have emerged as one of the most popular buys among online shoppers.

Diamonds were much sought after purchases by women as well as men in January, according to data available with online marketplace eBay India.

Apart from loose diamonds, 'Kundan sets' and diamond rings were the most popular among jewellery shoppers. "Diamonds continue to be a girl's best friend. As more women shop online as well as most male shoppers gifting jewellery to their significant others, jewellery is the single most popular category on eBay India," an analysis report of 50 most popular trends by the company showed.

Diamond Jewellery Gaining Popularity Down South - Registers a 25% positive growth

Diamond Jewellery Gaining Popularity Down South - Registers a 25% positive growth

Kerala market is known for its affinity for gold, diamond jewellery is becoming increasingly popular with customers in the state.

Industry experts say that sale of diamond jewellery in the state has increased from Rs 400 cr in 2005 to nearly Rs 600 cr in 2008. The state has about 20 diamond dealers and over 50 retail outlets selling diamond jewellery.




"Even though the economic slowdown has affected the consumer market in the state, the sale of gold and diamonds has been registering a positive growth in the last few months," they said.

As per a report of De Beers Diamond Trading Company, the top city for retail diamond jewellery sale in the country is Hyderabad, followed by Kochi. "While the national sale figure of diamond jewellery has fallen nearly 70 percent from last year's sale figure in the last four to five months, in Kerala the sale figure shows a growth rate of about 25 percent," said Sunny Diamonds chairman and managing director P T Sunny.

He said that the diamond market in the state was an established one compared to that of gold. "It took nearly five to seven years for diamond merchants in the state to attract people. Rather than considering it a luxury item, people have started to opt for diamonds because of their value for money and as a pledging option with various banks," said Sunny adding that the rising price of gold was yet another reason for people to opt for diamond jewellery.

"They fear that the price of gold may fall drastically at some point," he said. Cochin Stock Exchange Ltd director Varghese Mathew said that both gold and diamond jewellery have been attracting customers for the last several months.

"The highly volatile nature of the stock market in the last few months has forced people in the state to look for alternative segments like diamonds as an investment option," he said.

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LVMH 2008 Sales Rises 4 percent

LVMH 2008 Sales Rises 4 percent - But a 2 percent decline at constant exchange rates

Rapaport reports that LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported that its 2008 sales rose 4 percent to EUR 17.2 billion ($22 billion). At comparable exchange rates, the company saw sales growth of 7 percent. Group profits, although nearly flat from 2007 at EUR 2 billion ($2.6 billion), set a new record for the luxury goods company.

The watches and jewelry category rose 6 percent to EUR 879 million ($1.1 billion), but experienced a 2 percent decline at constant exchange rates. Operating profits fell 16 percent to EUR 118 million ($151 million), the steepest decline of all of the company's sales categories. LVMH reported a noticeable drop in jewelry sales during the fourth quarter due to weak sales in the U.S., but "good performance in Europe and Asia compensated in part for the slowdown in the American and Japanese markets."

Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of LVMH, said, "The 2008 results demonstrate the exceptional reactivity of our organization in this period of economic crisis. The group has always emerged stronger from previous economic downturns thanks to the dynamic innovation of its brands, the quality of its products and the effectiveness of its teams. LVMH approaches the challenges and the opportunities of 2009 with confidence and determination and has set the objective of increasing its leadership position in the worldwide luxury goods sector."

Diamond Producers Plan Joint Marketing Campaign -Alrosa, De Beers, Harry Winston and BHP Billiton

Diamond Producers Plan Joint Marketing Campaign
-Alrosa, De Beers, Harry Winston and BHP Billiton

The Israel Diamond Portal Reported that Diamond producers Alrosa, De Beers, Harry Winston, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which together control over 90% of the global diamond market, are planning a joint marketing campaign to promote demand for diamonds.

The President of Alrosa, Sergei Vybornov, stated that part of the plan is to advertise diamonds as an investment vehicle in order to boost demand.

De Beers spokesperson Lynette Gould said that the diamond producing companies will set up an SPV, SteerCom, to implement their common market strategy. Management consultants McKinsey & Co are reportedly working on the financial planning which will involve all of the production chain's links from diamond miners to cutters and jewelers.
Vybornov and Gould did not specify the amount of money to be invested in the campaign.

Sergei Goryainov estimates that an effective marketing campaign will cost around $1 billion, with most of the sum focused on advertising.

Jewelry Boosts Online Retail Traffic in UK

Jewelry Boosts December Online Retail Traffic in UK- 26 percent growth from November 2008
Jewelry and luxury goods helped draw internet traffic for online retailers in the United Kingdom this past Christmas. According to online research company comScore, traffic to jewelry and luxury goods sites grew 26 percent from November 2008 to 4.094 million unique visitors in December. The company did not provide comparative data for December 2007, nor did it give sales figures.

While growth in visitors to jewelry and luxury sites outpaced other retail products, it remained among the smaller categories of the top 10 tracked by comScore. Traffic to retail music sites grew 16 percent to 11.805 million visitors from November to December, while traffic to mall sites rose 16 percent to 13.689 million visitors, and flowers, gifts and greetings increased 16 percent to 5.522 million visitors. The total online retail audience remained flat at 6.6 million unique visitors in December.

Earlier, comScore reported that online sales of jewelry and watches in the United States fell 24 percent in December 2008 compared to a year earlier. Total online traffic to retail sites in the United States rose 5 percent to 180 million unique visitors during the month.