VINACHEM

Vietnam gold edged up from yesterday close but fell from yesterday
morning to VND42.15 million a tael this morning. World gold eased both
in New York trade last night and in Asia trade this morning.

Nguyen Thi Ha sighs as she looks at
the dust and cobwebs covering crates full of colorful, enameled
tiles in her factory by Hanoi’s Red River.

Plastic sacks now account for over half of all sacks used in industrial
packaging in Europe and are set to make significant inroads into markets
which up to now have mainly used paper such as cement, pet food and
food ingredients, as per a report by Applied Market Information Ltd. The
industry has been undergoing a period of significant change driven by
an increased competitive dynamic at the customer level, new developments
in resin technology and restructuring of European supply. Opportunities
but also challenges arise for the plastic sack manufacturers who strive
to keep and expand their market share.

Asian currencies fell to a four-month
low as Greece’s failure to form a government deterred risk-
taking, damping demand for higher-yielding assets.

Gold entered a so-called bear market,
dropping for a fourth day, after Greek leaders failed to form a
government, increasing speculation that the country may quit the
euro and driving the Dollar Index (DXY) to a record advance.