Precious Metals

Be Prepared When the ATMs Go Dark…

"Best way to establish a 'go-to' fund is by buying gold bars in the largest size you can afford and storing them in your name overseas. Here’s why this is the smartest play: 1) Overseas gold storage is not reportable as long as it is not tied to a foreign bank account. 2) Buying gold in the largest amount you can afford is more financially sound than buying it in smaller bars or buying fractional gold. 3) In the event that you need to sell your gold to access cash, large banks and precious- metals dealers are more likely to want to purchase large gold allotments rather than several smaller ones. This provides superior liquidity in times of need." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBe Prepared When the ATMs Go Dark…

Bill Bonner: Has gold bottomed out?

"Is there any reason to doubt? Any reason for worries? Any reason to stash a gold coin in your safe, just in case this reprise of credit-based money doesn’t pan out? It took the Soviets 70 years to realise that their experiment with primitive communism wouldn’t work. They tried to run a huge, modern nation as though it were a paleolithic tribe. It took Zimbabwe nearly 30 years to discover that it couldn’t cover its expenses by printing up its own credit-based money (though it didn’t begin running the presses at full speed until near the end). And how long did it take the Thousand-Year Reich to discover that ignoring the laws of civilised nations would be fatal? Only 12 years!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Has gold bottomed out?

Gold Slump Revives Hedges Scrapped During Bull Run

"Tumbling gold prices are raising the prospect of a return to hedging - a strategy that’s been shunned by investors and producers who spent at least $10 billion at the end of the last decade unwinding forward sales. A revival of hedging may be a last resort for producers from Toronto to Melbourne who have announced plans to trim spending, sell mines, cut staff and reduce high-cost production in response to a decline in the price of gold that could shave about $10 billion from earnings, according to data compiled by New Jersey-based Kenneth Hoffman at Bloomberg Industries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Slump Revives Hedges Scrapped During Bull Run

Clarification of William Kaye Regarding German / US gold in Hong Kong refineries

"Hong Kong fund manager William Kaye identifies the Hong Kong gold refiner that is recasting Western gold, including Western central bank gold, for the Asian market. Kaye remarks that this movement and recasting of gold should hardly be a sensation because it is completely consistent with everything known about the current gold market. Kaye also denounces Western exchange-traded gold funds as facilitating 'enormous potential mischief and abuse' of gold investors at the hands of the bullion banks that are exclusively authorized to put gold into and take gold out of the funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingClarification of William Kaye Regarding German / US gold in Hong Kong refineries

Jim Rogers: Why Gold Broke Its Bull Run

"As Rogers notes, India is the largest buyer of gold in the world, giving them a fair amount of influence over the price of the metal. As gold continued to skyrocket in price, so too did India’s trade deficit, the largest drivers of which are gold and oil. As Rogers states, the nation can’t do much about oil prices, so that leaves gold to take the fall. As such, India has taken a number of measures to slow the import of gold including a ban on installment credit card purchases. The first half of May saw India purchase $135 million in the first two weeks of the month, but only $36 million the latter two weeks of the month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Rogers: Why Gold Broke Its Bull Run

Indian gems, jewellery exports fall 41% in June on gold shortage

"India's gems and jewellery exports fell about 41 per cent year-on-year to $2.3 billion in June, 2013 on account of shortage of gold and limited inventory in domestic market. In June last year, these exports stood at $4 billion, according to the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). 'The exports declined drastically in June as there was a shortage of raw-material for jewellery manufacturing. This was because the government had taken steps to curb gold imports,' GJEPC chairman Vipul Shah said. The major markets for the country's jewellery exports are the US, Europe, Middle-East, Hong Kong and Japan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian gems, jewellery exports fall 41% in June on gold shortage

Still strong Indian demand for gold loans keeping banks interested

"Despite the recent imposition of new restrictions by the Reserve Bank of India on the provision of gold loans, banks and non-banking financial corporations, report continued growth in the sector. And, citizen demand for such loans has two institutions cozying up afresh, by filing applications to open up new centres. India's largest pure play gold mortgage player Muthoot Finance has applied for a banking licence and maintains it can easily launch a commercial lending business with over 2,000 branches. While Muthoot Finance aims to cater to the small towns and villages, IndusInd bank will instead focus on the metros and will cater to self employed individuals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStill strong Indian demand for gold loans keeping banks interested

Indian government again urges Indians not to buy gold

"India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram has appealed to the people, once again, to moderate their demand for gold. While insisting that the government would not rule out a complete ban on gold imports, as has been discussed in some quarters, he pointed out the precious metal has cost the nation $50 billion in foreign exchange. Stating that there is a long time attachment to gold in India, the minister asked, '... can we for sometime moderate the demand for gold?' Asking investors to cut down on their purchases as a starting point, Chidambaram suggested buying 10 grams of gold if one was inclined to buy 20 grams of gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian government again urges Indians not to buy gold

New evidence gold on Earth created by ancient collision of dead stars in outer space

"About a decade ago, a team from Europe using supercomputers suggested that gold, platinum and other heavy metals could be formed when two exotic stars — neutron stars — crash and merge. Neutron stars are essentially stellar relics — collapsed cores of massive stars. Now telescopes have detected such an explosion, and the observation bolsters the notion that gold in our jewelry was made in such rare and violent collisions long before the birth of the solar system about 4½ billion years ago. People 'walk around with a little tiny piece of the universe,' said lead researcher Edo Berger of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew evidence gold on Earth created by ancient collision of dead stars in outer space

Gold Is the Most Hated Investment You Might Want to Love

"Just as gold was about to peak at $1,923.70 per ounce in August 2011, speculative positioning in the gold futures market was at a record high, and the so-called smart money institutional investors held a record net long. With 20/20 hindsight, it’s obvious that wasn’t a good time to be going long gold. Measuring market sentiment, or the madness of crowds, can provide important clues at key turning points in securities prices. When sentiment moves from good to bad, to totally bleak, ignore the rampant pessimism and watch for incremental improvement. But one thing’s for sure: I don’t want to get caught up in the overcrowded short trade in precious metals right now." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Is the Most Hated Investment You Might Want to Love