Investment/Trends

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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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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Gold Investors Seek Alpine Haven in Swiss Army Bunkers

"At Pro Aurum, movement and vibration detectors add protection to the former Zuercher Kantonalbank branch in Kilchberg, a lakeside suburb of Zurich. Cameras hang from the ceiling to film employees as they fulfill orders from customers who can store valuables in one of the 700 safe deposit boxes or buy up to 100,000 francs ($107,000) of gold with cash over the counter without proof of funds such as a bank statement. About half of Buchwalder’s customers are Swiss, with Europeans making up most of the remaining clients. Pro Aurum, which also has units in Austria and Germany, trades 'over a billion francs' of gold per year." Continue reading →

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Subpoenaed CEO: You’ll use Bitcoin without even knowing it

"The founder of Coinsetter, one of the 22 companies subpoenaed on Monday as part of an effort to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, isn’t concerned about the future of his industry. Not in the least bit. 'In the future, most people will use Bitcoin without even knowing it,' Jaron Lukasiewicz, cofounder and CEO of Coinsetter, a foreign exchange trading platform for Bitcoin, wrote in an email to me. 'Bank transfers will take place over the Bitcoin network, making transfers quick and inexpensive for both banks and consumers.' The New York City-based Coinsetter raised $500,000 from Tribeca Vebture Partners this April." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin vs Gold: Getting the Most Bang For Your Buck

"There's a new Bitcoin sheriff in town. It's called the Digital Asset Transfer Authority -- or DATA. And it's not just limited to Bitcoins, it will self-govern most of the actors in the digital currency space, including Ripple. Again, this is on a purely voluntary basis. With regulators increasingly cracking down on various crypto-currencies, DATA is attempting to get ahead of the game -- and craft best practices to interact with regulators. Bob talks with Trace Mayer, entrepreneur, and Andreas Antonopoulos, internet security expert, and asks if the new regulatory authority, DATA, goes against the original purpose of Bitcoins -- namely anonymity." Continue reading →

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