Gold & Silver

While gold remains a smart move, there’s much to be said for silver. Why? Because, unlike gold, silver has an inherent value that goes well beyond scarcity. Without silver the world as we know it would literally stop. The computer screen on which you are reading these words, has silver in it. The TV you watch, has silver in it…and the list goes on and on.

The best way to think of gold is as a non-yielding currency with a special trait: The only way to "print" it is to pull it out of the earth at great cost. As a currency with no yield and limited practical use...gold's investment case largely rests on its ability to insure against currency depreciation. Few people expect to make money by taking out insurance policies. I don't recommend allocating any more than 10% of a portfolio to gold. Words: 610

While $500 silver probably won't happen its rise will be orgasmic - a rapid climax rally followed by a dramatic decline. Gold will be a buy up to $3,500.

Comparing the gold or silver price to another assets is a great way to create an understanding of the true value [of each]. The long term charts [below] indicate that this bull market is very strong; the fundamentals keep on strengthening by the day, week, month, year....The wise lesson you can draw from these charts: the trend is your friend.

Commodity prices including those of...[gold and silver] tend to go through super-cycles...[which] last for many years. [Below is a review of the history of such cycles and the length of each. Where are we now in each? When will they go "boom"? When will they go "bust"? Let's take a look.] Words: 165; Charts: 1; Tables: 3

Most of us just throw away gold without knowing it. Here's an interesting infographic...that shows how much gold is in our garbage.

3 critical drivers for gold, silver and their relative securities [are once again enticing] investors to...take stakes here. These catalysts...affect both the short-term and long-term, and so, at the very least, a floor may be developing.

So many headlines are saying “$5,000 Gold; $10,000 Gold; Silver, The Investment of the Decade,” etc, etc, etc. Will that happen? A history of failed fiat currencies says "yes". When will it happen? That is the question few articles address because they simply have no clue, beyond their sensationalized headlines. Who can best answer that question? It is not "who can", but "what can", and that comes from the market itself - ever the most reliable source. The answers may not always satisfy, but the market is never wrong [and this is what the market is saying]. Words: 590

Those who discuss gold in terms of bull or bear markets do not understand reality and do a disservice to less informed readers. Gold is money, true money, as opposed to fiat currencies. True and honest money cannot be in a bull or bear market. Its value is stable (but not constant!).

I am not married to my ideas and neither should you be. While I have covered the long-term bullish argument in the past, I believe there are some indications that gold is richly valued in the interim. Caution is warranted.