Indians Priced Out of Worshipping God

Now that ’safe as houses’ feels like a cruel, sick joke rather than a sound business mantra, mum and dad investors are looking for the next safe bet. The gold rush is on. In the Guardian today Laura Barton runs us through the steps to giving your investment portfolio that gilded touch – basically buy the big gold bars rather than the little shiny things you see in the pawn shop because they are worthless. If you can’t buy the bars though, you’re in a bit of a pickle unfortunately, because apparently gold coins are totally sold out:

“‘We can’t buy any more coins,’ says the spokesman for Baird and Co. ‘There are no sellers, only buyers right now.’”

Disappointing, but not heartbreaking. That is, unless you are Indian and have been priced out of worshipping your own gods. Navrati is a nine day festival in Sept/Oct where Hindhu’s worship a variety of deities, including the goddess of wealth and proseprity ‘Lakshmi’, by decorating their houses in gold coins. High demand for gold means a lot less of that sort of worshipping this year though (as India’s Economic Times reports):

“There was a 50-60% drop in sales of gold coins and bars in India during this year’s Navratri and Dussehra, according to industry estimates, when the festive demand is at its peak, as compared to last year.”

That’s the funny thing about globalisation… blah, blah… spiritual crisis… blah blah … ultimate irony of western capitalism …. etc.

Posted by Daniel Stacey in Hot Money | October 13, 2008 3:48PM |