Gold remains unchanged at Rs 15,700; silver coins rise

Gold maintained an unchanged level at Rs 15,700 per 10 gram as retailers and stockists refrained from buying at record high levels amid reports of the metal remaining high on the overseas front.

However, silver coins maintained an upward march in the national capital on sustained buying by stockists to meet marriage season demand on Friday.



Marketmen said there was hardly any worthwhile buying activity in the market as people postponed their decision of buying for the current marriage season.

Slump hits China multinationals

Nearly 70% of multinational companies in China plan to cut recruitment this year, and more than a quarter have laid off staff already, a survey suggests.

Of the more than 350 companies questioned in different sectors across the country, finance, communications and IT firms were the hardest hit.

Two years ago the multinationals were competing to hire the brightest talent from China's universities.

But since the financial crisis, jobs there no longer look so secure.

Jobs in multinational companies are highly prized in China especially white collar jobs.

For a start the pay is often better than you might get as a public servant or the employee of a state-owned enterprise.

The jobs tend to be concentrated at the moment in the larger cities like Beijing or Shanghai, or in the areas where there are many factories making goods for export.

'Safer' alternatives

Since the financial crisis, jobs are less secure in multinational firms whose parent companies have run into trouble overseas like CitiGroup or Motorola.

This year there was a record number of applications for the civil service. More than 750,000 people applied for just 13,500 places.

The surveys of the multinationals reported in the state media suggest that those applicants were wise to seek safer alternatives.

Almost seven out of 10 of the firms polled made clear they planned to recruit fewer staff in the year ahead - that will make life even harder for this year's graduates.

There are fewer jobs available than before and they will be competing with other unemployed graduates from previous years and with newly laid-off workers who already have experience.

The graduate employment market has always been tough in China but this year it is looking like it will be tougher than ever.

Economy fears send stocks falling

Global stock markets fell on Friday amid fears over the state of the world economy and the banking industry, with finance firms among the main fallers.

The Dow Jones index was 1.8% lower in afternoon trade on Friday after seeing its lowest close since 9 October 2002.

Investors are worried over how long the slowdown will last, despite government intervention to boost their economies.

France's Cac 40 fell 4.25% to its lowest since April 2003, the FTSE 100 shed 3.2% and Germany's Dax shed 4.7%.

The Paris-based benchmark index ended at 2,750.55. The FTSE closed at 3889.06.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 133.25 points to 7,332.70 just after noon in New York, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.84% to 764.58.

Japan's Nikkei index ended 1.8% down and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 2.49%.

'Lack of clarity'

South Korea was among the worst hit in Asia. Its main stock index fell 3.7%, while its currency, the won, weakened on fears about the health of local banks.

This week , US President Barack Obama signed a $787bn (£548bn) stimulus plan into law, but there is uncertainty over how much this will help boost the ailing banking sector.

Bank of America shares fell nearly 17%, while Citigroup shed more than 21%.

"We're going through a tug of war between optimism and pessimism," said Wasif Latif, portfolio manager at USAA Investment Management CoLatif.

"When there is a lack of clarity, it becomes more of an emotional or psychological environment. The mood can sway on any given day, based on the flow of news coming out."