On gold and the current economy

Hi Wisey. You are right on three things:

1. Gold has never fallen in Rupee terms. That is a very significant thing. Very unlike gold in dollars and a point I hadnt thought of before (although stagnation of 10 years seems like opportunity lost to me, for a mango man, the impact of steady prices vs a 50% fall are very very different. Hence stability of gold is there.

2. This was a dismal Diwali in Delhi. I dont know about Mumbai and Bangalore, but in Delhi, people are switching into bracing against head wind mode. Malls are empty and many shops are shut. Many malls have 10-20% shops with renters and 80% are empty. There are no buyers. Multiplexes run a hit movie for one week because next week it is empty thanks to massive price hikes. Lines in the very few non multiplex theaters which have lesser ticket prices are long and you cant get tickets there. Restaurants are less crowded and even on weekends you can get table without waiting, thanks to menu prices approx doubling.

3. It is facing multiple whammies, with competition against the Wstern companies, dropping IT budgets and higher cost structure for employees.

I think currency depreciation is inevitable. So gold has to perform. SO called "reforms" - what a joke - have bombed at the "box office"