A Study of Consumer Behaviour in the Gold Market of Kerala
Gold trade is flourishing business venture in Kerala. The yellow metal play an important role in our sociological institutions and rituals as a solid and reliable form of wealth and the quantity of the metal is decided by the affordability of the party. Irrespective of religion or community, every keralite father and mother want their daughter to tie the knot, bedecked in gold. The primary objective of this paper is to study gold and consumer behavior in Kerala. It also studies the consumer behavior of how people choose to buy gold, when they do and the various factors influencing the purchasing decision with respect to gold. Self-prepared questionnaire is administered among them to assess their buying pattern. From the study it is found out that the keralite consider gold as an all-time investment. Apart from the investment angle, people mainly keep gold with them as jewellery to fulfill their emotional needs. 
Key words: Gold Jwellery, Consumer behavior, Tradition, Investment
A New Gold Rush: Investing in Precious Metals
Following a huge run-up in the 1970s, precious metal prices have, until recent years, been very subdued. Investors tend to overlook precious metals, except to take note of the strong correlation properties with other asset classes, which justifies only a small allocation. However, given current macroeconomic conditions and the extreme policy response that has been initiated due to these conditions, investors should not only be looking at the correlation properties, but also the exceptional returns that precious metals will provide in the coming years.
Do Precious Metals Shine? An Investment Perspective
The investment role of precious metals in financial markets is investigated by analysis of daily data for gold, platinum, and silver from 1976 to 2004. All three precious metals have low correlations with stock index returns, which suggests that these metals may provide diversification within broad investment portfolios. Moreover, the data reveal that all three precious metals have some hedging capability, particularly during periods of "abnormal" stock market volatility. Financial portfolios that contain precious metals perform significantly better than standard equity portfolios. Precious metals have recently become of increasing interest worldwide to investors and politicians. Gold, for example, following a sustained bear run in prices lasting more than 15 years, has regained its luster in the eyes of investors through double-digit annual price appreciation. We examined the investment role of precious metals in financial markets through the analysis of daily price and return data for gold, platinum, and silver from 1976 to 2004. Gold and silver are traditionally perceived to be "investments of last resort" and have a central investment role in many countries, but platinum is normally used for industrial purposes and plays only a small role in investment activity. So, we included platinum as a control metal for comparative purposes. This study differs from previous research in the area in several important ways. First, we examined the properties of precious metals in a global context by examining their relationships to both the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI Europe/Australasia/Far East (EAFE) Index. Second, our study covers almost 30 years of precious metal price data and includes the bull run of the late 1970s, the bear period of the 1980s and 1990s, and the strong performance of precious metals in the early 2000s. Third, we used recent improvements in volatility modeling to examine the hedging properties of gold, silver, and platinum within a time-varying context. Finally, by comparing the investment properties of gold and silver with platinum, we were able to differentiate the unique investment characteristics of gold and silver from that of their industrial counterparts. We found that all three precious metals have low correlations with the S&P 500 and EAFE, which suggests that they have the potential to provide diversification within broad-based investment portfolios. Moreover, and most importantly, all three precious metals have some hedging capability, particularly during periods of "abnormal" stock market volatility. The real benefits of holding precious metals come during periods of market uncertainty but not necessarily in market downturns. From a risk management standpoint, precious metals are possible alternatives to financial derivatives and are clearly of more importance in those countries where derivative markets in equities have not been established. An examination of precious metals as part of a broad-based equity portfolio shows that their inclusion can be of great benefit. Including precious metals in a passive buy-and-hold strategy improved the efficiency of portfolios in the study. Furthermore, our results suggest that over the past 25 years, the optimal weight of gold in broad-based international equity portfolios was approximately 9.5 percent, significantly higher than is seen in most funds' equity portfolios today.