Gold prices hit all-time high

Gold prices hit all-time high

Gold prices surged to a record high Tuesday after the International Monetary Fund said it had sold 200 metric tons of the precious metal to India’s central bank, CNNMoney reported.

November gold rose $30.90 to settle at $1,084.90 an ounce, after climbing to a high of $1,085.20. The previous intraday record was set Oct. 13, when gold rose to $1,069.70 an ounce.

The IMF said Monday that it had sold 200 metric tons of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for $6.7 billion. The sale was part of an ongoing IMF plan aimed at selling over 400 metric tons of gold.

The move eased some concerns that such a big influx of supply could weigh on prices. It also raised speculation that China, which many analysts had expected to be the main buyer, will absorb much of the remaining gold in the IMF’s stockpiles.

"The market was expecting the sale to happen over several years," said Tom Pawlicki, a precious metals analyst at MF Global in Chicago. "It’s pushing gold higher because it means that gold won’t come onto the open market."

Gold prices were also supported by news that Barrick Gold Corp. bought back 1 million ounces of gold in its hedge book during October.
The mining company said Monday it expects to unwind its remaining gold hedges, totaling 1.9 million ounces, by September 2010.

The rally came despite a slightly stronger U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which measures the dollar’s value against a basket of currencies, rose to a one-month high earlier Tuesday.

Gold and other commodities that are priced in dollars often fall when the greenback strengthens. But demand for gold remained firm Tuesday as investors focused on the IMF sale. 

15th Anniversary Azerbaijan International “Telecommunication and Information Technologies” Exhibition

15th Anniversary Azerbaijan International “Telecommunication and Information Technologies” Exhibition

Iteca Caspian, the exclusive partner of ITE Group, will organize the 15th Anniversary Azerbaijan International Telecommunication and Information Technologies” Exhibition and Conference dubbed as BakuTel 2009 from November 4-7.

BakuTel 2009 will gather over 100 companies from 15 countries worldwide. The regular participants of the exhibition include mobile operators of Azerbaijan Azercell, Azerfon, Bakcell; and the telecommunication and IT companies Aztelecom, BTRIB, Delta Telecom, Iskratel, Microsoft, Ultra, Nokia Siemens Networks, Caspel, Bestcomp Group, R.I.S.K., Sinam, Smart Systems Technology and others. New exhibitors include: ZTE Corporation (China), Caspian Navtel (Azerbaijan), Idrak Technology Transfer (Azerbaijan), Headtechnology (Azerbaijan), IT Solutions (Azerbaijan), Azedunet (Azerbaijan), Connect (Azerbaijan), Azlanit (UK-Azerbaijan), Silverkey Azerbaijan (USA), Pirelli Broadband Solutions (Italy), Ozkabel (Uzbekistan) and others.
Traditionally, a group of Korean companies takes part in the exhibition, as well as five companies from Turkey, including the major telecom operator Turk Telekomunikasyon A.S.

Windows 7 will be available in Azerbaijani language

Windows 7 will be available in Azerbaijani language

Microsoft Azerbaijan Company has launched localization of operational system Windows 7 into the Azerbaijani language, the company said.

Windows 7 will be presented at a stand of Microsoft Azerbaijan during the Azerbaijani international exhibition BakuTel-2009, Microsoft Azerbaijan director general Teymur Akhundov said.

Windows 7 was created during close cooperation of Microsoft engineers and designers with end users. They shared their thoughts over operation system with each other.

First, Windows 7 was demonstrated at the conference of Microsoft developers on Oct. 28, 2008.

A new taskbar appeared in Windows 7. It was not rather changed since appearing of Windows 95. Windows 7 was seriously changed.

There are many new opportunities connected with naturalization of user's interface in Windows 7. Microsoft provided support of multi-touch technology in a new operational system.

There is also XP regime in Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate.

This regime ensures operation with applications not update specially for new operational systems.

Users have opportunity to choose among several releases of Windows 7. They are the following: Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate. Corporative users concluded the Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft, will be able to install expanded version of Windows 7 Enterprise.

Azerbaijan's Central Bank will be participant of Organized Interbank Credit Market

Azerbaijan's Central Bank will be participant of Organized Interbank Credit Market

The Baku Interbank Currency Exchange (BBVB) has announced a new stage in development of Organized Interbank Credit Market (OICM) operating in its e-trading system BEST.

BBVB reports that on Oct. 21 the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, BBVB and a range of market-makers (Azerdemiryolbank, ?GBank, investment & commercial bank Nikoil, Bank Standard, Pashabank, Unibank and Bank of Baku) signed an agreement that is a legal base for new segment of the money market.

The agreement contains mechanism of CBA participation in it that will allow diminishing essentially credit and estimated risks.

“Due to reduction of risks the money market should increase its liquidity. In its turn, the Azerbaijan’s financial market that bases itself first of all on Azeri manat will receive a new impulse in development,” it was reported.

The initiative of creation of new segment of the money market and mechanism of CBA’s involvement in it was suggested by the Exchange and the market makers.

“For a range of causes the global financial crisis made funding hard-to-reach for developing countries’ banks.

The issue of fast formation of internal reliable high-liquid money market has activated much. The CBA and BBVB develop purposefully OICM operating in the country since March 2002 as a BEST BBVB segment.

For the purpose of further money market development a range of commercial banks and BBVB reached in 2005 an agreement that allowed creation of the institute of market-making of the money market. By the present quantity of market maker banks reached 10.

The market maker banks place daily their orders in BEST to raise and place credit resources in both national and foreign currency, thereby forming money market indicators (BakiBID, BakiBOR). The CBA and the money market-makers undertake joint efforts aimed at developing the money market based on national currency,” it was reported.

Besides, the banks which signed the agreement with the CBA, the market-makers are also Bank Respublika, AtaBank and Kapital Bank. BakIBID - Baku Interbank Bid Rate (rate of raising), BakIBOR - Baku Interbank Offer Rate (rate of placement).