With interest rates in much of the developed world still scraping the bottom, with stocks losing altitude, with oil, gold, and other raw materials sinking in price, it's hard for readers to find growth investments.

Today, thanks to Adrian Ash, the research head of www.bullionvault.com, our advertiser, we have a new investment idea combining growth and value. What do you think of Whiskey Galore?

While I am not allowed to share the details with you, our advertiser is turning to drink. Thanks to the links between www.bullionvault.com CEO Paul Tustain and whiskyinvestdirect's CEO Rupert Patrick, who attended school together, bullionvault plans to offer what it does to gold investors to those wanting to buy Scotch in storage.

It will be kept in approved warehouses and tradable 24/7 on line in open auction on the site. Bullionvault is investing £2 mn in whiskyinvestdirect.com but this will not make much of dent in its shareholder funds of £26 mn. The site will acquire stock of young but maturing whiskey that you can buy on-line. There is no risk to our gold or silver holdings at www.bullionvault.com which is now 10 years old, and rates as the world's largest physical gold and silver exchange. 

Adrian begged me not to write up the whiskey site until it is set up to accept US$s as well as sterling, but as a journalist I cannot resist a scoop. He stated:

Looking ahead, we believe the case for precious metals investing remains plain, both as a proven diversifier for your other assets and an insurance policy against the credit-bubble collapse which QE and zero interest rates have merely delayed, and in truth worsened.

Scotch whiskey offers a separate, and compelling, opportunity. Long-term savers already holding a good spread of other investments can learn more, and test-drive it with a little free spirit today, at WhiskyInvestDirect.

Vivian adds: While I have changed the spelling of whiskey to conform to US rules, the name of the offering agency spells it UK-style, whisky. Note also that while non-UK investors are welcome to join the venture, they will have to convert their investment into sterling for now, until the mechanisms for paying in with foreign currencies are in place. Those outside the UK will get a bit of free spirit in their account for signup, not in their glasses.

There is a minor risk from Scottish nationalism, as this London-based firm might turn out to be from a different country. Note also that taking physical delivery of your Scotch in the USA would incur huge shipping and excise taxes, and is not really sensible. And remember that mature whiskey takes time to reach its price peak so this is not a quickie investment and needs to be savored slowly.

Moody's cut France's credit rating to Aa2 from Aa1 with stable outlook short-term and weaker outlook medium-term. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin reiterated France's commitment to economic reforms. Maybe we can buy aging cognac.

Volkswagen's stock has crumbled by nearly 28% today after it admitted the US Environmental Protection Agency was right that it had set up a system to remove sulphur dioxide emissions from its diesel vehicles sold here only when pollution tests were taking place. This surprise second largest ever one-day percentage fall for a German stock came despite the Frankfurt market being institutionally driven. Analysts are busily scurrying to mark down their VW target prices to euros 133 to 185—from earlier levels around euros 200. Moreover VW has in place shareholder blocks from trade unions and federal states who would not sell.

Diesel cars overall are now in focus and this may give electric and hybrid cars a boost. 

More from Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Britain, India, Hong Kong, Canada, Brazil, Israel, and Finland.

Mining

*Reuters ran an interview with Barrick Pres. Kelvin Dushnisky yesterday in which the senior official of the Canadian gold miner said that sale of 6 US sites will close this year. A source said that Newmont Mining (NEM) and Kinross Gold (K-Toronto) may bid, but the ABX official declined to comment. The selloff is aimed at helping cut debt by $3 bn. The mines will be sold either individually or together depending on what produces the most money. Credit Suisse, as we reported last week, expects the sale will raise well over $500 mn. Other assets on the block include stakes in Acacia Mining of London and a jv in Australia with NEM, Kalgoorie mine. It already has cut back on financing of its Dominican Republic Pueblo Viejo mine. We have owned Barrick bonds since your editor visited Pueblo Viejo. The bond lost 1.75% this morning.

*Mysteriously, Vale rose over $5 in London trading today picked up on Wall Street where it is now $5.10. The selloff appears to have reversed from late August, at least for now.

Abhimanyu Sisodia has 2 notes from India. I have one below as well.

*Odisha regional voters protested against environmental rules and in favor of Vedanta Ltd's continuing to mine bauxite there so as to furnish its Lagjigarh aluminum factory which employs 100,000 locals.

Tech

*Infosys won a key contract to help the Modi govt centralize the collection of goods and services taxes around India in place of a bevy of local levies easily evaded. India needs technology to register sellers of merchandise or services worth more than $15,000/yr to get permanent tax registration numbers, process payments, and file returns on-line. Reform is still stuck in Parliament but this contract will make its passage likelier.

Over the next 5 years, INFY will supply a software solution, worth ~$210 mn, helping it to meet its 2020 $20 bn revenue increase target.

*Nokia was upgraded by Goldman Sachs to conviction buy, its highest rating, with a $6.53/sh target price. Since NOK is $6.61 now I am not sure what this means. Deutsche Bank also upgraded NOK.

*Among the diversifications away from social media being funded by our Tencent, I learn from the current Bloomberg Business Week, is a gangnam-style girl's band with a huge Chinese fan base.

Banking and Finance

*Zurich Insurance has halted its £5.6 bn takeover bid for Britain's RSA Insuranceafter examining its books, and because of the impact of the Tianjin port (China) disasters on its own P&C claims. While there are clear indications that laws were violated by how explosives were stored at the port, this may not be enough to deny claims. I expect it will be years before the dust settles. Meanwhile whatever lurks in the RSA books has resulted in the UK insurer's shares falling over 21% today. ZURVY is down 0.8% which is no big deal.

*Insurance laws in India will keep GE from investing in atomic energy plants there, Jeff Immelt said today. After meeting with PM Modi, the GE CEO said India needs to “homogenize” its accident liability laws with those of the rest of the world. (He meant harmonize, I think). Five years ago, in memory of the 1984 Bhopal disaster, India's parliament passed a law that makes equipment suppliers liable if there is an accident. This is not part of normal insurance and the US has been pushing for changes. GI-Hitachi for now will not build plants in India, but when Modi meets Obama later this week there may be some give.

*Two notable switches out of Spanish tradition are worth noting today. First, our Santander has set up a scout in Israel to seek out venture capital investments in Israeli high tech which will begin before the year ends.

Pharma

*The other way around, our Teva is among the rumored bidders for the Mexican generics firm RIMA (Representaciones y Investigaciones Medicales SA), according to Globes Israel.

*Novo Nordisk was upgraded by analysts at Swedbank to “strong-buy”.

*GlaxoSmithKline has temptingly fallen below $40.

*While there has been a bit of a selloff among the booming biotechs on Q this morning, the wretched newly-listed Benitec Biopharma is actually up 2.7%.

*US analysts' consensus now rates Dr Reddy's a sell. We told you first. RDY.

Trades

*While I think one of the purposes of the Fed's delay in raising interest rates is to stop the dollar rising, I delayed selling our two long dollar funds last week because the only other currency I can watch closely in local time, the loony, actually strengthened Friday (at least for a while) to $1.30 per C$. The market expects the loony to fall to $1.40 which I think is nonsense. While obviously Canada will lose exports of oil and raw materials in the present commodity funk, it also has other economic strengths, ranging from banking to agriculture, as well as factories making stuff for those of us south of its borders. We buy our IT from Canada, where our webmaster hangs out, in part because this saves use money given the weak loony.

*I sold out of Caesarstone Sdat Yom today at $41.57, taking a loss. Your editor has long been biased against miracle rabbis giving stocks their blessing as the Lubavitcher Rebbe used to do Down Under and as my temporarily jailed neighbor Rabbi Pinto has done for the Argentine Cresud group.

Now I am also suspicious of lefty kibbutzniks entering the market with products from their collective farms and quarries. I don't want to only be biased against holy rabbis because I was taught to dance the Hora and sing Kibbutz songs when I was kid.