Diamond News Archives
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(IDEX Online) - The World Jewellery Confederation, CIBJO, has established a new laboratory-grown diamond committee. The new committee will establish operating practices specific to the lab-grown trade.
It will operate under the umbrella of the organization's Diamond Commission and is being formed from an ad hoc group working established last year that included CIBJO officers and officials, representatives of both the laboratory-grown diamond sector and the natural diamond sector and a leading gemological laboratory.
The organization, which concluded its annual Congress yesterday, also established another committee that will focus on the long-term impacts of new technologies on the jewellery, gemstone and precious metals sectors.
"It is imperative that we develop an understanding of where things are headed, rather than having to react to situations brought about by technological developments, when we are less informed and less prepared," said CIBJO president Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri. "For a long while our industry continued to operate according to rules and systems that seldom changed, but that is no longer the case. CIBJO needs to better informed, and we must then pass that knowledge onto our members and stakeholders. This will be the role of the Technology Committee."
During the Congress a new board of directors were sworn in and Dr. Cavalieri was confirmed for another two-year term in office. Two new vice presidents. They are Jonathan Kendall of the De Beers Group of Companies and Pramod Agarwal, the current chair of India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council....
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U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during the "The Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy" panel discussion hosted by the Swiss Institute of International Studies at the University of Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland September 6, 2019.
Arnd Wiegmann | Reuters
Federal Reserve officials are continuing to look at ways to make sure funding pressures in the overnight lending market don't cause a problem again.
At their October 29-30 meeting, Federal Open Market Committee members weighed several options ahead for keeping the repo market stable and maintaining the central bank's key lending rate within its target range.
The discussions came about a month and a half after funding pressures sent repo rates soaring and the fed funds rate briefly above its target range. The repo market is considered the plumbing of the U.S. financial system as it is the place where banks go for the overnight loans they use to fund operations.
The minutes noted that Fed officials also met by videoconference on Oct. 10 to discuss a strategy.
One option that received considerable discussion was a so-called standing repo facility – essentially a mechanism where the Fed will step in whenever needed to supply banks with reserves in exchange for ultra-safe collateral like Treasury debt.
The standing repo idea is a popular one on Wall Street[1]. But policymakers said they are not yet ready to make any decisions, instead deciding to continue to watch how market operations instituted since the September problems are working.
A standing repo "would likely provide substantial assurance of control over the federal funds rate, but use of the facility could become stigmatized, particularly if the rate was set at a relatively high level,"...
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A rear door gunner on a CH-47, keeps watch on the mountains in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, May 12, 2013.
Sgt. Jessi Ann McCormick | U.S. Army
WASHINGTON — American taxpayers have spent $6.4 trillion on post-9/11 wars and military action in the Middle East and Asia, according to a new study[1].
That total is $2 trillion more than the whole federal government spending during the recently completed 2019 fiscal year. The U.S. government spent $4.4 trillion during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to the Treasury Department[2].
The report, from Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University, also finds that more than 801,000 people have died as a direct result of fighting. Of those, more than 335,000 have been civilians. Another 21 million people have been displaced due to violence.
The report comes as the Trump administration works to withdraw the U.S. military presence from war-torn Syria[3]. Last year, President Donald Trump went through a similar debate over whether to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, ultimately agreeing to keep them there but only after repeatedly raising questions about why they should stay.
The $6.4 trillion figure reflects the cost across the U.S. federal government since the price of America's wars is not borne by the Defense Department alone, according to Neta Crawford, who authored the study.
Crawford explains that the post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria have expanded to more than 80 countries — "becoming a truly global war on terror."
The longer wars drag on, more and more service members will ultimately claim veterans benefits and disability payments, the study points out.
"Even...
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(IDEX Online) - Studs, a new ear piercing experience that opened its first brick and mortar location in New York City yesterday, also announced it has raised $3 million in seed funding.
The funding, which was led by First Round Capital with participation from Lerer Hippeau and angel investors will be used for building retail locations, enhancing the ecommerce experience and expanding the Studs team.
Studs was created to modernize the traditional "mall piercing" experience and to build a brand that encourages bold self-expression, healthy and safe piercing practices and trend-driven jewelry at an accessible price point.
"With traditional piercing retailers losing popularity and failing to meet the needs of today's consumers, there's a lack of brands in the piercing and retail landscape that prioritize healthy needle piercing, offer a trend-driven product assortment and accessible pricing," said Anna Harman, co-founder and CEO of Studs.
"By having a singular focus on the ear piercing experience from start to finish, we're confident that Studs can close the gap and deliver a service not only centered around ear piercing, but optimized for every possible need related to either piercing or jewelry in a way that no other brand is doing today."
As well as ear piercing, Studs also offers an online retail destination where customers can shop curated earscapes, single earrings, collections and access after-care.
"Gen Z has evolved beyond mall brands like Claire's and is uninspired by getting pierced at their pediatrician's office," said Hayley Barna, Partner at First Round.
"With the increasing demand for multiple piercings and jewelry styles becoming particularly trendy amongst this age demographic, tattoo parlors, which can be intimidating, expensive and limited in selection, have become...
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Lost in the media’s obsession with the impeachment circus last week was Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony on the state of the economy before the Joint Economic Committee. In his testimony, Chairman Powell warned that when the next recession inevitably occurs, the US Government’s over $23 trillion debt would prevent Congress from increasing spending to revive the economy.
Powell also said that the Fed’s current low interest rate policies would prevent the Fed from using its traditional methods of increasing the money supply and further lowering interest rates to jump-start economic growth in a recession. Hopefully, Powell is correct that when the next recession hits the Federal Reserve and Congress will be unable to “stimulate” the economy with cheap money and new spending.
Interest rates are the price of money and, as with all prices, government manipulation of interest rates distorts the signals regarding market conditions. Artificially low interest rates lead to malinvestment and the creation of bubbles. Recessions are a painful but necessary correction that allows the economy to cleanse itself of these distortions. When the Federal Reserve and Congress try to stimulate the economy, they introduce new distortions, making it impossible for the economy to heal itself. Fiscal and monetary stimulus may temporally create the illusions of prosperity, but in reality they merely create another bubble that will eventually burst starting the boom-and-bust cycle all over again. So, the best thing Congress and the Federal Reserve can do to help the economy recover from a recession is nothing.
Powell is the latest Federal Reserve Chair to warn of the dangers of government debt, which is ironic since the Federal Reserve is the great enabler...