Precious Metals

Is the Gold Market Manipulated?

"By arguing whether or not gold manipulation exists, we may find that we are wasting our brain cells on the question. A better question, and one that we might choose to monitor on a regular basis, might be, 'To what degree is successful manipulation taking place?' We might then use the on-going answer as a guide, to inform our reasoning going forward, as to what impact any perceived manipulation is likely to have with regard to our precious metals investment." Continue reading →

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Peter Schiff: What Doesn’t Kill Gold Makes It Stronger

"In July, the gold net-short positions reached record highs. When gold began to rebound last month, a massive number of shorts were left exposed and many still remain exposed. Gold shorts are stuck holding the losing bet on an asset that is going to do the opposite of what they anticipated. If the price rally continues, these traders will feel increasing pressure to unwind their shorts before their losses become catastrophic. This 'short squeeze,' as it is known in finance, will reverse the vicious cycle and could send gold dramatically higher than when the correction started." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: What Doesn’t Kill Gold Makes It Stronger

Bill Bonner: The Bottom Is Still Ahead for This Bear Market

"The last top in Treasury prices (and a bottom for yields) occurred in 1946. Yields rose for the next 34 years. Now the Treasury market appears to be topping out again… and is headed for a new high in yields… which may not arrive until 2047. It may be a long way off… or right around the corner. Either way, it will be hell getting there. The Detroit pension disaster is just the first of many. Wait until long-term interest rates hit 5%… or 10%. How many companies, cities and pension funds will still be solvent? We’ll see! But wait. You don’t think the Fed will sit on its hands and let the markets take over, do you? Taper off? Forget it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: The Bottom Is Still Ahead for This Bear Market

How Fortunes Are Made In Frontier Markets: Interview With Harris Kupperman Part II

"Getting your boots muddy in a frontier market can be immensely profitable. That is, if you get to a boomtown before boom times, there’s plenty of money to be made. As we learned yesterday, there’s huge profit potential in Mongolia — home to the recently started, world-class Oyu Tolgoi copper mine. 'The way I’m thinking of playing this resource boom' says Harris Kupperman, CEO of Mongolia Growth Group (MNGGF) 'is through the consumer, and the best way to access the consumer is retail space on the main streets'. Today we’ll continue our talk with Harris. He’ll explain how his group could make 9-18 times their money in Mongolian real estate." Continue reading →

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Mining the Gobi: The Battle for Mongolia’s Resources

"The country, whose economy has been growing faster than almost any other, is almost entirely dependent on the export of raw materials. Mongolia has things everyone wants -- coal, copper, gold, uranium, rare earth minerals -- and that potential wealth is reflected in the high-ranking visitors it draws. Donald Rumsfeld has been to Ulan Bator, as have Angela Merkel and several Japanese prime ministers. Beijing especially is making an effort to reach out to its northern neighbor. This July the first flat-bed trucks set out from Oyu Tolgoi to China, each bearing 36 tons of a brown, cement-like powder, from which copper and gold would be extracted." Continue reading →

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Diamond Jeweler Turns Alleged Smuggler as India Gold Prices Rise

"In January, jeweler Vihari Sheth was publicizing a ritzy new line of diamond-encrusted designs. Last week, she was arrested at Mumbai airport with nearly $400,000 of gold jewelry in her underwear and on her person. The 27-year-old has a store in Singapore and is married to a director of Mumbai-based Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd (SIYA), a suit maker that is a household name in the country. Her arrest offers a glimpse into how even the wealthy may be joining small jewelers and organized gangs to skirt new government taxes on bullion imports that have made gold about 9 percent more expensive in Indian stores." Continue reading →

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Gold replaces narcotics as the most valued smuggled item in India

"The Bombay Bullion Association has stated that the tighter import curbs by the government have resulted in a huge gap between supply and demand for the precious metal. This huge gap is being partly filled by the illegal traffickers who buy the gold overseas at a cheaper rate and sells it to domestic jewelers or bullion agents by evading tax. Revenue authorities seized gold worth Rs 598 million during April-June quarter this fiscal, an increase of nearly 365% in comparison with the same quarter last year. Smuggled gold pours into the country mainly from Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold replaces narcotics as the most valued smuggled item in India

Is this one of the world’s most expensive suits, at HK$1 million?

"A tailor in Hong Kong has produced what he claims to be one of the world's most expensive suits. With 22-carat gold stitching, a gold waistcoat and diamond-encrusted gold buttons, the one-off was sold on May 29 for HK$1 million (US$129,000). It took Apsley Tailors 200 hours to make the suit from the finest wool, with gold woven into the fabric. Apsley Tailors is based at Punjab House in Tsim Sha Tsui. It is famous for its bespoke suits. Established in 1889, it became the go-to tailors for the British forces stationed in Hong Kong, making officers' uniforms as well as civilian attire." Continue reading →

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Golden threads for the undie drawers of the wealthy

"Hertli, the chief executive of Rococo Dessous, discovered the missing sparkle while a consultant in oil-rich Qatar. Speaking to private banking clients there, he realized wealthy people's love of all things gold was going unfulfilled in the under-there department. After moving to the U.S. and enrolling in Columbia Business School, he teamed up with former Victoria's Secret designer Breanna Lee to launch the first fashion line using gold thread sourced from Switzerland, according to the company. 'The materials are surprising soft and durable,' Lee wrote in an email." Continue reading →

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