GJ Town India

Pandemic Made Holiday Forecast challenged the most!   NRF Chief Economist Says Pandemic Made This Year’s Holiday Forecast the Most Challenging Ever! With the coronavirus pandemic presenting unique circumstances for the nation’s economy, forecasting retail holiday sales this year was more challenging than ever before, National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said today.   “There is no doubt this is the most unusual economic environment in our lifetimes,” Kleinhenz said. “I cannot think of a period with so many simultaneous factors hitting the economy at once when formulating this forecast.” NRF usually releases its annual holiday forecast in early October but waited until November 23 this year in order to see additional economic data and “put carefulness and caution ahead of speed,” Kleinhenz said.   “This is a year when it is particularly important to recognize known risks, understand unusual factors and attempt to reduce oversights when making pr...

A significant increase Exports of polished diamonds in India and Belgium World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) President Ernie Blom says the diamond and jewelry industries appear to be heading for a strong end of the year according to import and export figures and other reports in recent weeks.   India recently reported a 19-percent rise in exports in October in its latest results, while Belgium posted a 17-percent increase. Meanwhile, US retail industry research groups are predicting a rise in holiday season sales of around 5 percent. "The figures are looking upbeat," said Blom. "Exports of polished diamonds showed a significant increase in two of the most important centers – India and Belgium.  Meanwhile, forecasts for the holiday season in the United States are very promising as a result of the strength of the US economy. And we saw record-breaking figures for consumer purchases on Black Friday and Cyber Monday last month. "In ad...