INFOGRAPHIC: 2014′s most promising alternative energy trends

The business world has recognized a need for viable alternative energy solutions, and investors are now pouring in their cash. Last year, a staggering $214 billion was invested in renewable energy worldwide.

Many nations and corporations across the world are taking steps to develop alternative energy solutions and the private sector is taking note of this opportunity.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (NYSE: KKR), one of the world’s largest private equity firms, invested $567 million USD for a 33% stake in Acciona’s renewable energy efforts. Acciona is a Spanish conglomerate and holds major assets based on seven clean technologies in 13 countries: wind, CSP, photovoltaic, hydroelectric, biomass, biodiesel and bioethanol. The company’s major focus is on wind energy.

Giant firms aren’t the only ones who see potential in green energy investment. According to Thomson Reuter’s Lipper unit, alternative energy mutual funds and exchange traded funds returned an impressive average 41.6% over the 12 months through June.

Original infographic from: TollFreeForwarding.com

India's Gold imports were up by 65.13 percent to USD 3.12 billion, exports up 10.22 percent to USD 26.4 billion in June.

The country’s exports grew by 10.22 percent to USD 26.4 billion in June while imports stood at USD 38.24 billion, up by 8.33 percent, leaving a trade deficit of USD 11.76 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's data. 
    
Country's exports stood at USD 24 billion in June last year while imports were at USD 35.3 billion, the data showed.
    
Exports in May rose by 12.4 percent to USD 28 billion over the same month a year ago, while imports fell by 11.4 percent to USD 39.23 billion.
    
In the April-June period, exports grew by 9.31 percent to USD 80.11 billion.
    
Imports, however, dipped by 6.92 percent to USD 113.19 billion during the first three months of this financial year. Trade deficit during the period stood at USD 33.08 billion.
    
Oil imports increased by 10.9 percent in June to USD 13.34 billion. Non-oil imports during the month under review were up by 7 percent to USD 24.9 billion.
    
Country's gold imports were up by 65.13 percent to USD 3.12 billion in June this year from USD 1.88 billion in the same month last year.

Weekly Economic Data for the week 12-Jul-14 to 18-Jul-14

Data for the week 12-Jul-14 to 18-Jul-14

Date	Time (IST)	Country	Data	Exp.	Prior	Exp. chg today	Avg. chg of last 1 year	Exp. Impact on Price
14-18 Jul-2014	--	India	Exports YoY		12.4%		4.06	Neutral
14-Jul-2014	12-00 PM	India	Wholesale Prices YoY	5.73%	6.1%	-0.28	0.46	Neutral
14-JuL-2014	02-30 PM	European Monetary Union	Industrial Production w.d.a. (YoY)	0.5%	1.4%	-0.90%	0.59	Neutral
14-Jul-2014	11-00 PM	European Monetary Union	ECB's Draghi Speaks to EU Parliament Committee in Strasbourg					Neutral
15-Jul-2014	--	Japan	BOJ 2014 Monetary Base Target	¥270T	¥270T	0.00	0.00	Neutral
15-Jul-2014	--	Japan	Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Statement					Neutral
15-Jul-2014	02-00 PM	United Kingdom	Consumer Price Index (MoM)	-0.10%	-0.10%	-0.50%	0.00	Neutral
15-Jul-2014	02-30 PM	Germany	ZEW Survey (Expectation)	28.2	29.8	-1.60	9.00	Neutral
15-Jul-2014	02-30 PM	Germany	ZEW Survey - Current Situation	67.4	67.7	-0.30	5.46	Neutral
15-Jul-2014	06-00 PM	United States	Retail Sales (MoM)	0.6%	0.3%	0.30%	0.63	Neutral
15-Jul-2014	07-30 PM	United States	Fed's Yellen Gives Semi-Annual Testimony to Senate Committee					Neutral
16-Jul-2014	07-30 AM	China	Gross Domestic Product (YoY)	7.4%	7.4%	0.00%	0.48	Neutral
16-Jul-2014	07-30 AM	China	Industrial Production (YoY)	8.8%	8.7%	0.10%	0.67	Neutral
16-Jul-2014	7-30 AM	China	Retail Sales (YoY)	12.5%	12.5%	0.00%	0.78	Neutral
16-Jul-2014	07-30 AM	China	Industrial Production (YoY)	9.0%	8.8%	0.20%	0.67	Neutral
16-Jul-2014	02-00 PM	United Kingdom	ILO Unemployment Rate (3M)	6.5%	6.6%	-0.10%	0.07	Neutral
16-Jul-2014	02-30 PM	European Monetary Union	Trade Balance s.a.	€16.0B	€15.2B	0.20€	2.05	Neutral
16-Jul-2014	06-45 PM	United States	Industrial Production (MoM)	0.3%	0.6%	-0.30%	0.97	Neutral
16-Jul-2014	07-30 PM	Canada	Bank of Canada Rate Decision	1%	1%	0.00	0.00	Neutral
16-Jul-2014	7-30 PM	United States	Fed's Yellen Gives Semi-Annual Testimony to House Committee					Neutral
16-Jul-2014	08-00 PM	United States	EIA Crude Oil Stocks change	--	-2.37	2.37	3.45	Neutral
17-Jul-2014	02-30 PM	European Monetary Union	Consumer Price Index (MoM)	0.1%	-0.1%	0.20%	0.65	Neutral
17-Jul-2014	02-30 PM	European Monetary Union	Consumer Price Index (YoY)	0.5%	0.5%	0.00%	0.07	Neutral
17-Jul-2014	08-00 PM	United States	EIA Natural Gas Storage change	--	93	-93.00	33.60	Neutral
18-Jul-2014	07-25 PM	United States	Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index	83	82.5	0.50	2.48	Neutral

China's Renimbi / Yuan Updates.

Did you notice in the last few months, that China has been establishing agreement after agreement with various major financial centres around the world, so that payments could be settled using the Chinese yuan? That's right. It would appear that world leaders have been in a race to make certain the yuan stopped at their country next. 

March 2014

Bundesbank, PBOC in Pact to Turn Frankfurt into Renimbi Hub, Bloomberg Businessweek, March 28

"Germany's Bundesbank and the People's Bank of China agreed to cooperate in the clearing and settling of payments in renminbi, paving the way for Frankfurt to corner a share of the offshore market.

Germany's financial capital prevailed over Paris and Luxembourg in a euro-area race to win trade in renminbi, which overtook the euro to become the second-most used currency in global trade finance in October, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication."

April 2014

Bank of England and People's Bank of China Agree on London Yuan, Clearing Hub, International Business Times, April 14

"Britain and China have signed a deal to set up a yuan clearing service in London, marrying future financial transactions between the Bank of England and People's Bank of China...

Chancellor George Osborne has been focusing on the world's second largest economy and has been keen to open a yuan trading hub in the capital city as the currency poses stiff competition to the US dollar as a global medium of exchange."

May 2014

China and Russia Ink $400 Billion Gas Deal, USA Today, May 21

"China and Russia signed off on a huge gas deal worth as much as $400 billion Wednesday that heralds a pivot east for Russian business amid ongoing tensions with the West over Ukraine, though few details of the deal were made public.

The 30-year gas-export contract, seen as a move by Russian President Vladimir Putin to aggressively shift the country's commercial interests east amid mounting sanctions from the United States and Europe, was signed as the Russian leader has enjoyed a warm welcome in China, where the two countries have inked a raft of agreements during his ongoing, two-day visit."

June 2014

Russia considers yuan, ruble for Chinese gas deals; Government Had Considered Using the U.S. Dollar, UPI, June 26

"The head of the accounting department at Russian energy company Gazprom says there's no risk in using either Chinese or Russian currencies for gas transactions.

'In regard to using the yuan or rubles in accounting, we are basically ready for that, we think that this is completely normal,' Gazprom finance chief Andrei Kruglov said. 'There are no risks for Gazprom, except for minor transaction expenses.'"

China to Set Yuan Clearing Bank in Sydney, Australia, Channel News Asia, June 26

"China will designate a clearing bank in Sydney for overseas trading of its yuan currency, a top Australian official said on Thursday as Beijing seeks to make the tightly-controlled unit more international.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit Australia in November for a summit of the G20 group of nations, and Hockey said the two countries hope to reach a free trade agreement before the end of the year."

China signs yuan accords with France, Luxembourg, The Bull.Asia, June 30

"China's central bank said it has signed agreements for yuan clearing arrangements with France and Luxembourg, with the aim of promoting greater use of its currency overseas....

Yuan clearing in France and Luxembourg would allow companies and financial institutions to use the currency for cross-border transactions, as well as promote liberalization of trade and investment, PBoC said.

European countries are competing to become the dominant hub for yuan business in the continent."

July 2014

South Korea, China Agree to Direct Trade in National Currencies, RT, July 4

"South Korea and China have agreed to create a market for direct trading of the yuan and won, which is hoped, will help reduce the pressure of the US dollar, as well as cut foreign exchange costs and boost bilateral investment.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between China's central bank and the Bank of Korea to create a yuan clearing system was signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea on Thursday. The leaders of both countries pledged to sign an agreement by the end of the year... The establishment of a won-yuan market may make bilateral trade easier, and reduce the pressure of the US dollar on the Korean currency.

China also provided South Korea with a $12.8 billion quota to invest in national capital markets, the same amount the UK and France have been granted."

China Signs Currency Deals, Except in the U.S., Wall Street Journal, July 10

"In recent years, China has signed a flurry of currency deals with countries around the world. One notable absence: the U.S.

The Chinese government has been pushing for a greater role for the tightly controlled yuan in global trade, investment and finance, as part of its effort to revamp the country's creaky financial system and to one day challenge the U.S. dollar's dominance in the international monetary system. To promote the yuan on the world stage, Beijing has been trying to foster yuan-trading hubs outside the mainland by making it easier for foreign banks to obtain the yuan as well as to clear yuan-denominated transactions.

Gold Plunges Back Below $1300 As "Someone" Dumps $2.3 Billion In Futures

With The Fed proclaiming bubbles in some of the most-loved segments of the stock market and explaining that the economy is doing "ok" but they must remain dovish for longer for feasr of "false dawns"... what better time than now to dump $2.3 Billion notional in futures... of course the dump in gold's anti-status quo price coincided with an odd v-shaped recovery in stocks... Gold remains above its pre-June FOMC levels still.

The break was precipitated by the sale of over 17,000 contracts (or over $2.3 Billion notional)...

But for now gold remains above FOMC levels...

BRICS Announce $100 Billion Reserve To Bypass Fed, Developed World Central Banks

As we suggested last night, the anti-dollar alliance among the BRICS has successfully created a so-called "mini-IMF" since the BRICS are clearly furious with the IMF as it stands currently: this is what the world's developing nations just said on this topic "We remain disappointed and seriously concerned with the current non-implementation of the 2010 International Monetary Fund (IMF) reforms, which negatively impacts on the IMF’s legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness."

As Putin explains, this is part of "a system of measures that would help prevent the harassment of countries that do not agree with some foreign policy decisions made by the United States and their allies." Initial capital for the BRICS Bank will be $50 Billion - paid in equal share among the 5 members (with a contingent reserve up to $100 Billion) and will see India as the first President. The BRICS Bank will be based in Shanghai and chaired by Russia. Simply put, as Sovereign Man's Simon Black warns, "when you see this happen, you’ll know it’s game over for the dollar.... I give it 2-3 years."

• BRICS MINISTERS SIGN DEVELOPMENT BANK AGREEMENT
• INITIAL SUBSCRIBED CAPITAL OF BRICS BANK IS $50 BLN: STATEMENT

A quick take on existing monetary policy.

• MONETARY POLICY MUST BE CAREFULLY CALIBRATED: BRICS STATEMENT

The punchline, however, is that using bilateral swaps, the BRICS are effectively disintermediating themselves from a Fed and other "developed world" central-bank dominated world and will provide their own funding.

We are pleased to announce the signing of the Treaty for the establishment of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) with an initial size of US$ 100 billion.This arrangement will have a positive precautionary effect, help countries forestall short-term liquidity pressures, promote further BRICS cooperation, strengthen the global financial safety net and complement existing international arrangements.... The Agreement is a framework for the provision of liquidity through currency swaps in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures. 

Incidentally, the role of the dollar in such a world is, well, nil.

For those who have forgotten who the BRICS are, aside from a droll acronym by a former Goldman banker, here is a reminder of the countries that make up 3 billion in population.

Key excerpts from the Full statement:

We remain disappointed and seriously concerned with the current non-implementation of the 2010 International Monetary Fund (IMF) reforms, which negatively impacts on the IMF’s legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness. The IMF reform process is based on high-level commitments, which already strengthened the Fund's resources and must also lead to the modernization of its governance structure so as to better reflect the increasing weight of EMDCs in the world economy. The Fund must remain a quota-based institution. We call on the membership of the IMF to find ways to implement the 14th General Review of Quotas without further delay. We reiterate our call on the IMF to develop options to move ahead with its reform process, with a view to ensuring increased voice and representation of EMDCs, in case the 2010 reforms are not entered into force by the end of the year. We also call on the membership of the IMF to reach a final agreement on a new quota formula together with the 15th General Review of Quotas so as not to further jeopardize the postponed deadline of January 2015.

BRICS, as well as other EMDCs, continue to face significant financing constraints to address infrastructure gaps and sustainable development needs. With this in mind, we are pleased to announce the signing of the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB), with the purpose of mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging and developing economies. We appreciate the work undertaken by our Finance Ministers. Based on sound banking principles, the NDB will strengthen the cooperation among our countries and will supplement the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global development, thus contributing to our collective commitments for achieving the goal of strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

The Bank shall have an initial authorized capital of US$ 100 billion. The initial subscribed capital shall be of US$ 50 billion, equally shared among founding members. The first chair of the Board of Governors shall be from Russia. The first chair of the Board of Directors shall be from Brazil. The first President of the Bank shall be from India. The headquarters of the Bank shall be located in Shanghai. The New Development Bank Africa Regional Center shall be established in South Africa concurrently with the headquarters. We direct our Finance Ministers to work out the modalities for its operationalization.

We are pleased to announce the signing of the Treaty for the establishment of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) with an initial size of US$ 100 billion.This arrangement will have a positive precautionary effect, help countries forestall short-term liquidity pressures, promote further BRICS cooperation, strengthen the global financial safety net and complement existing international arrangements. We appreciate the work undertaken by our Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. The Agreement is a framework for the provision of liquidity through currency swaps in response to actual or potential short-term balance of payments pressures.

Goodbye visions of an SDR-world currency. As for the USD...

Turnover of commodity exchanges down 65% in Q1: FMC

The turnover of commodity exchanges fell sharply by 65 per cent to Rs 14.55 lakh crore in the first quarter of this fiscal due to poor volumes in most commodities, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) said.

The turnover at these commodity bourses stood at Rs 41.45 lakh crore in the same period last year.

Much of the fall was seen in bullion followed by energy, metals and agricultural commodities, FMC data showed.

According to the FMC, the turnover from bullion fell by 73 per cent to Rs 5,23,030 crore in April-June this year, against Rs 19,38,548 crore in the same period a year ago.

Similarly, the business from futures trading in energy commodities such as crude oil declined by 70 per cent to Rs 3,18,662 crore from Rs 10,45,990 crore, while the turnover from metals dropped by 61 per cent to Rs 3,12,859 crore from Rs 7,93,213 crore in the review period.

The turnover from agriculture commodities also fell by 18.23 per cent to Rs 3,00,690 crore in April-June of this year, as against Rs 3,67,711 crore in the corresponding months of 2013-14.

Analysts attributed the falling volumes to higher transaction cost after the imposition of commodity transaction tax (CTT) and the dent in investors’ confidence in the wake of the Rs 5,600 crore-payment crisis at the commodity spot exchange NSEL.

There are five national and nine regional level bourses operating in the country.