The rough market:a nice place to commit suicide

The broker further observed, "It is frightening to see that some traders pay up to 45 percent more for certain items compared to one month ago." Whatever the price increase (10 percent), DTC boxes continue to trade at two-digit premiums, with many in the plus-20 percent range. And, at any given time, mixed rejection goods secure a 25 percent premium on whatever the box price may be.

Who are we kidding when we say "we don't understand" what causes this? We all, more or less, do understand the issue - but, just like having a bunch of mistresses, this is not a subject we like to talk about too loudly. Read my lips: the answer is India. The single-most serious distortion the industry faces in the current market structure is the abundantly available financing in India and the ability to make more money from financial manipulations than from diamonds.