Precious Metals

The World’s Greatest Investor is Dead Wrong

"Contrary to the wisdom spouted by people like Mr. Buffett, gold’s movements are not about the economy. They’re not about geopolitical tensions. They’re not about inflation (and they’ve never been about inflation— a fact that four decades of correlation statistics handily prove). They’re not about what central banks are or are not buying. They are, instead, entirely about the direction of the U.S. dollar as a reflection of the U.S. fiscal situation. And as the last four decades have proven, the dollar will go down as America’s finances worsen. And that makes gold a buy." Continue reading →

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On This Day in 1933

"You were considered a hoarder and a slacker if you still resisted turning over your gold to the government. Roosevelt had only been in office for 101 days and while there was broad bipartisan support for inflationary policies in Congress, it’s safe to say that most of those who voted for FDR never expected him to confiscate private holdings of gold coins, bullion, and certificates. Roosevelt called the measure a temporary one (it wasn’t), and he followed it up by invalidating gold clauses in private contracts that obligated payment in gold dollars, which had the effect of devaluing the assets of bond and contract holders." Continue reading →

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Don’t Dismiss the Possibility of Gold Confiscation

"If you hold precious metals in your portfolio, there is a good chance you fear hyperinflation and the crash of fiat currencies. You probably distrust governments in general and believe they are self-serving and have no interest in your economic well-being. It is likely that your holdings in gold are your lifeline – your hope to get you through these times while holding on to your wealth. But have you ever given any thought to the possibility of having this lifeline confiscated by the authorities? It's an interesting thought that the greatest threat to gold and silver investment might not be the possibility of losing on the speculation, but the government taking it away from you." Continue reading →

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Mint: U.S. bullion coin demand still at ‘unprecedented’ levels

"Demand for U.S. gold and silver bullion coins is still at 'unprecedented' high levels almost two months after an historic sell-off in gold released years of pent-up demand from retail investors, the head of the U.S. Mint said on Wednesday. His comments are likely to allay concerns among some traders that frenzied buying by mom-and-pop investors since mid-April after prices plunged to two-year lows had started to fade. Their interest has helped prices recover to above $1,400 an ounce, providing key support to prices after institutional investors fled the futures market and exchange-traded funds." Continue reading →

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Former ‘Plunge Protection Team’ Official: Expect More Government Theft

"Look, we are in a world where every major industrialized government doesn’t have the funds to deliver on the promises they’ve made to the public. So they are going to reach for the public’s cash in different ways....Some of it is through higher taxes. Some of it is what I would call ‘expropriation,’ although taxation and even inflation are a version of that. I think what we saw in Cyprus, a really overt expropriation, we are going to see that come in lots of different forms (going forward). Some of it will be obvious like Cyprus. Some of it will be subtle like Portugal, but what’s sure is that it’s happening.” Continue reading →

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France Prohibits Sending Currency, “Coins And Precious Metals” By Mail

"In new legislation which was enacted May 23rd, the French government decreed that it is forbidden to send all forms of currency - coins and cash and all forms of precious metals – coins, bars and jewellery by mail. There were no communications and nobody in the government justified or explained this decision. 3 months ago in March, Fedex began stopping French people from taking delivery of precious metals. At the start of the year, UPS began stopping French people from taking delivery of precious metals. In recent days Fedex have stopped allowing companies and individuals to send or receive precious metal bullion by insured mail in Germany and the UK." Continue reading →

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India Central Bank Prohibits Sales Of Gold Coins By Banks

"Two weeks ago, with its current account getting crushed by relentless gold imports, India's finance minister Chidambaram literally begged the people to stop buying gold. Judging by the popular response, the ongoing physical shortage, and last night's increase in Indian gold import duties from 6% to 8%, appealing to people's feeling when it comes to the choice of fiat vs physical, has failed miserably. Per Reuters: 'The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks against selling gold coins to retail customers, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Thursday, a day after he raised gold import duty to try to ease pressure on India's bloated current account deficit.'" Continue reading →

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U.S. States Push to Bring Back Gold Standard

"More than a dozen states have introduced laws to recognize gold as legal currency. If the bill gets the governor's signature, Arizona will be the second state to legally consider gold as legal tender. Supporters of going back to the gold standard say the system is preferable to the Federal Reserve and Ben Bernanke's monetary policies. On the 80th anniversary since the Gold Standard in the U.S. was abolished, RT Correspondent Liz Wahl reports on the rush get back to gold." Continue reading →

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David Galland: Three Reasons the Case for Gold Remains Intact

"While it's nice to see gold bounce off recent lows and stage a rally of late, short-term price action is of little personal concern as I don't trade the physical metals: I own them as a long-term insurance against further currency depreciation. In that regard, however, it's worth periodically pondering whether the base case for holding gold – or any asset, for that matter – remains intact. Here are three quick observations on why I think the gold bull is still well intact." Continue reading →

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Understanding Gold Market Dynamics

"While the big institutions are driven by momentum into gold, they also relied on fears related to inflation and economic uncertainty. However, many have now abandoned these concerns. In reaching its bearish conclusion on gold, Goldman Sachs cited low global inflation, and surging equity markets in the U.S. and Japan as reasons to believe that the bull run in gold had come and gone. However, their conclusions are hasty." Continue reading →

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