The time to get the best returns from gold investments or from your gold stock may no longer be available. Here's some points to ponder:

As per the data coming out of the World Gold Council Gold demand in the third quarter of 2011 reached 1,053.9 tonnes, an increase of 6% compared to the same period last year. According to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report for Q3 2011 this increase was driven by investment demand which rose by 33% year-on-year to 468.1 tonnes, The demand for physical demand for the traditional purposes fell by 15% in this quarter.

Overall, Indian jewellery demand in Q3 saw a 26% decline in tonnage, when compared to the same quarter in 2010, to 125.3 tonnes.

Sandip Sabharwal raises the question that, for how long can investment demand hold up the price of a commodity in light of falling end user demand. The most drastic example of this was the way in which oil prices fell in the year 2008 from levels of USD 150 to USD 30 in a period of just six months. That is not to say that such a thing is possible and likely in the case of gold.

After the savings deposit interest rates were deregulated and interest rates of small savings linked to market rates, now the deposit rates for NRIs have also been deregulated by the RBI.

The deregulation applies to interest rates on Non-Resident (External) Rupee (NRE) Deposits and Ordinary Non-Resident (NRO) Accounts (the interest rates on term deposits under Ordinary Non-Resident (NRO) Accounts are already deregulated).

Accordingly, banks are free to determine their interest rates on both savings deposits and term deposits of maturity of one year and above under Non-Resident (External) Rupee (NRE) Deposit accounts and savings deposits under Ordinary Non-Resident (NRO) Accounts with immediate effect.

The technology adoption in the Mutual Funds industry in India is taking rapid strides. For example, you can buy Mutual Funds through your broker. One more reason why you should invest in Mutual Funds?

The first Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) was to be issued by November 10, 2011 that covered the Mutual Fund transactions for the month of October, 2011. So now, instead of getting separate account statements from the various Mutual Fund houses (AMCs) where you have invested, the CAS will ensure just one statement.

AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds in India) has a detailed FAQ on it's website about CAS

Here are some of the things that you must know about CAS:

The government has raised the rates of interest on small savings schemes and has also raised the investment ceiling on the popular public provident fund (PPF) from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh. This is part of the series of updates that will help you with your financial management and planning.

Amid the cheer that it brings to small investors, it’s important to note the fine print. The interest rates on all Small Savings Schemes will be dynamic. So while it has gone up this year, it is market linked and will not be fixed for life. The rate of interest on most small savings schemes will be linked to the government securities of similar maturity and usually offer 0.25 per cent more than the yield on the G-Sec.

Jayant Pai, Vice President, PPFAS says that “From now on, you will not be able to enjoy the best of all worlds viz. High Security, Income Tax Benefits and interest rate visibility for long tenures. In the case of Public provident Fund, interest rates were semi-dynamic to some extent but now this has been extended to all instruments.”

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