Network Archives

Argentina’s primary elections: Bad dress rehearsal

"The bizarre teaser election that Argentines had to take part in on August 11th was designed by Cristina Fernández, the president. She put her all into promoting her candidates, even flying her hand-picked hopeful for the most populous province of Buenos Aires to Brazil to be photographed with their compatriot, Pope Francis. Photographs of him, her and the pope were plastered across the province as campaign posters. The pontiff’s magic did not rub off. Ms Fernández’s Front for Victory (FPV) party did worse than at any time in its ten-year existence." Continue reading →

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Gold, Silver Product Demand Is ‘Very Strong:’ Royal Canadian Mint

"Demand for the Royal Canadian Mint's gold and silver bullion products remains 'very strong,' said an official from the mint on Wednesday. 'Year-to-date, after the second quarter, we've had record volume for silver Maple Leafs, the greatest we've had in the over 25 years that we've produced them. We've seen near-record volume, only second to 2000, year-to-date, for our gold Maple Leafs,' said Chris Carkner, managing director, sales, for bullion, refinery and exchange-traded products at the Royal Canadian Mint. Volatility in the precious metals markets helped demand, he added." Continue reading →

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Casey’s Louis James Warns: ‘Don’t Try to Time the Market’

"The wisdom of not trying to time the market is tried and true. Benjamin Graham said the same thing 60 years ago. I shouldn't have to defend this premise. Even though investors all know it, they fervently wish it weren't so; they just can't help themselves. You can't time the market. A bureaucrat in Washington can open his mouth and send the price of gold up or down 5% in an afternoon. Fortunately, we can look for value. However, there are things that we can look for. We can compare companies to their peers. We can look at the ounces in the ground and see if something is out of whack. We can look at cash in the bank." Continue reading →

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Aye, Me Hearties—Why There’s Still Old-Fashioned Treasure Out There

"There are literally thousands of mineral exploration companies, and MOST of them will never discover anything. The money these companies raise in the market will be poured into the ground, and chances are that it won't ever do any good. This is what makes identifying companies likely to make a significant discovery so difficult—and therefore so enormously profitable when you do. When an exploration company goes from having nothing to having proven and probable mining reserves of calculable value, share prices can go through the roof... pennies turn into dollars… and dollars into fortunes." Continue reading →

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The sweat of the sun, the breath of god: Gold through the centuries

"The Aztecs called gold 'the sweat of the sun.' And the Egyptians: 'the breath of god.' To display his imperial glory, Napoleon gilded Paris in gold. Hitler sought to control all of Europe's gold as support for his '1000-year Reich.' Now, at the outset of the 21st Century, with gold miners on their knees as even the great gold bulls are filled with doubt, this may be an appropriate moment to look at the precious metal with a touch of historical context. Here are some of the statistics gold has racked up over the centuries, courtesy of our friends at the World Gold Council." Continue reading →

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Is sentiment toward gold shifting again?

"Gold has staged a big comeback in the recent weeks, rebounding over 13 percent since hitting a near three-year low late June, raising the question of whether investor sentiment toward the embattled precious metal is about to shift yet again. The metal, which traded close to a three-week high of $1,336 on Tuesday, has been supported by short covering and robust physical buying especially from China. Latest data from the China Gold Association (CGA) on Monday showed that the country's gold consumption rose 54 percent in the first half of the year, compared with the year-ago period." Continue reading →

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What Happens When You Tell Indians to Stop Buying Gold

"India’s culture is very different from that of many Western countries. I’ve been to many Indian weddings and have witnessed this special and unique celebration as well as a very tight bond among families. However, the record gold buying we are seeing today isn’t only out of love. I believe Indians are also buying out of fear due to its infamously poor and corrupt government policies. Good policies can drive economic growth and markets respond positively. Bad policies can have the opposite effect. At the same time Indians buy gold out of love for their family and close friends, they are also buying gold out of protection." Continue reading →

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No Banker Left Behind

"The Detroit bankruptcy case has been cast as a contest between bondholders and pensioners that can be resolved only by shared sacrifice. What we do have a problem with is shared sacrifice that does not seem to apply to the big banks that abetted Detroit’s descent into bankruptcy. Last month, just days before its bankruptcy filing, Detroit reached its first settlement with creditors. The settlement was with UBS and Bank of America, and though the precise terms will not be nailed down until the bankruptcy judge weighs in, Detroit is set to pay an estimated $250 million to terminate a soured derivatives transaction from 2005." Continue reading →

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Justice seeking to block Bernanke testimony

"The government is trying to block questioning of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in a lawsuit by the former head of American International Group Inc. The Justice Department told a federal appeals court Friday that high-ranking officials should not have to testify except in extraordinary circumstances. Former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg sued the government over the $182 billion bailout of the insurance giant that has since been repaid. It is rare for a Fed chairman to be questioned in a lawsuit, but Judge Thomas Wheeler ruled that Bernanke has firsthand knowledge of the bailout and should undergo questioning." Continue reading →

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India’s Worst Economic Crisis Since 1991 When It Had To Airlift 67 Tons Of Its Gold

"At the time, the country had secured a $2.2bn loan, backed by 67 tons of gold reserves. To satisfy the IMF's concerns about access to the collateral, the RBI had to airlift 47 tons of gold to be deposited offshore with the Bank of England and 20 tons of gold with UBS. While such action is unlikely this time around, if the crisis continues to escalate, Asia's third largest economy will struggle to grow. Even though economists still do not expect a contraction, it is now a real possibility. Some weakening of the rupee may have been desirable for exporters, but losing control of the exchange rate was not what the RBI had in mind." Continue reading →

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