Investing

The threats of global recession, insurmountable debt, terrible government policy, central bank support, and many other very persuasive arguments present gold as a very appealing investment or safe haven but all of this is an illusion. Gold was a sensible investment in the early part of the bull market (1999-07), but has now become a false sense of security for many investors who will soon learn the hard way. Not only are the fundamentals already priced in, the technicals severely weakened, and the extremes in gold optimism easily apparent, but the bad news for gold could soon get much worse. The next weeks or few months will hopefully give us a lot more clarity. Words: 1170

While George Soros spent over 40 years managing funds at Soros Fund Management, racking up an incredible average annual return of 20%, he is arguably most known for the huge bets he made against the British pound in 1992. He felt that the European Exchange Rate Mechanism overvalued the pound and that the system was inherently unsustainable so he bet $10 billion on this view and reaped more than $2 billion in profits from his trades. [This article outlines his the life - both professional and personal - of this epitome of a hedge fund manager.] Words: 972

Been busy? Not to worry. Here are introductory paragraphs and links to 13 of the “best of the best”articles on gold and silver that you might have missed reading. Each article has been edited for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure you a fast and easy read. Read just one or read them all. Enjoy!

A month ago it looked like the U.S. Dollar Index would crash through its 1-year support line. Instead, the index bounced off it like an Indian rubber ball (remember?) and, in the process, hurt the price of gold and silver. That seems to have reversed in the past few days. Take a look at the charts. Words: 431; Charts: 2

Seeing the S&P 500 outperform gold and seeing gold stocks get decimated...has been enough to create suicidal sentiment...in the precious metals (PM) sector...but, as the many calls for an end of the PM bull market...[are expressed,] the risk in the PM sector gets lower and lower. The bigger picture hasn't changed and isn't going to for some time [so] keep the faith and hold onto your PM sector items tight. Don't let the short and intermediate-term noise distract you from what STILL promises to be a secular bull market for the history books. The Dow to Gold ratio will hit 2 and might even go below 1 this cycle. [Let me explain.] Words: 873

Sentiment in the precious metals sector is in the toilet yet the fundamentals for the sector are off the walls positive. That is not secret, but it is what creates huge market moves in the direction of the fundamentals. In fact, market management will never move price against the underlying fundamentals for too long a period of time.

There is a high probability that the correction in the gold price that started in early October at $1797 has been completed. Once $1800 is taken out on the upside the gold chart will look tremendous. A beautiful “cup and handle” base would then provide strong support for a vigorous upward climb in the precious metal. At this stage there is no reason to abandon the rough target of $4500 for this coming upward wave. [Below is my analysis and some charts on the situation.] Words: 434; Charts: 2

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has developed a chart showing the past two cycles in the S&P 500 highlighting peak and trough valuations. At face value it is very alarming as it suggests a potential decline of somewhere in the vicinity of 60% over the next year or two and concurs with previous innovative trend analyses included in this article. Charts: 4

Like Warren Buffett I don't believe that investors should diversify very much. As long as I feel comfortable with a sector or a particular stock, I don't have a problem with over-exposing myself to it. My style...[may be] more aggressive than most...[but,] as far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as speculation, just risk reward calculations. The only question is how much risk you want to undertake to earn the yield or appreciation you are hoping for so, [and to that end, each of my top 6 picks for 2013 - according to me myself and I - include] a scale of 1 to 10 for the risks associated with each and a second number for the possible appreciation the stock could yield during the year. Here are my top picks for 2013. Words: 1180

The situation in the gold market today is different than the one in 1980 in a few important areas. Even if past patterns don't give you any certainty, though, sometimes they can limit the uncertainty. Let us analyze that in more detail. Words: 1260; Charts: 2