He is closely monitoring supply, particularly in western markets like Phoenix, Las Vegas and certain California towns where first-time buyers battle with investors at the lowest price points.

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Gold jewelry, particularly in the economically struggling Western markets, has been a difficult sell since at least 2008 because investor demand has caused the price of the precious metal to skyrocket.

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For their part, Western companies in slower growth economies are ready sellers, particularly those in basic industries that find it difficult to access Western capital markets.

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They also likely gift wrapped a kinder package to banks in emerging markets, particularly those close to stingier Western European banks.

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While many are pointing the finger toward the number of lower-tier Google (GOOG) Android-powered devices from the likes of Samsung, LG, HTC, and others hitting the market as the culprit, the data shows that a number of markets have high smartphone penetration levels, particularly in the U.S. and Western Europe.

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