Investing

James G. Rickards, author of the current best seller Currency Wars, is so informed and articulate that he is almost scary in his clarity. He is the only person who essentially says what I have been saying about the "hidden" intent of the US Treasury and Central Bank - to deliberately weaken the US dollar and to cause price inflation, all in the interests of improving US competitiveness and to pay debt through financial repression. Ergo…they indirectly want and will cause the price of precious metals to escalate. Words: 398

We are seeing a big turnaround in the gold market. Who’s buying? It is not who you think...So what happened? How did this “stealth” rise in gold happen? Words: 1200

Commodities have obvious appeal to active investors looking to generate profits from short-term price movements [but while] the volatility of this asset class is ideal for risk-tolerant individuals who actively monitor their positions...commodities may also have appeal to the long-term, buy-and-hold crowd...These potentially appealing attributes come with plenty of risk, [however, as] the path to commodity exposure is full of potential obstacles and pitfalls that can erode returns and lead to a less-than-optimal investing experience. Here are ten rules of thumb that will help you achieve a more successful experience investing in commodity markets. Words: 2871

The EU has delivered on its threat to ban the import of crude oil from Iran, in response to its nuclear programme. The latest round of sanctions prohibits any new oil contracts, while allowing for existing deals to run until July but Tehran is apparently finding ways to keep business pumping. Reports say Iran will keep supplying one of its biggest customers - India - but will get payment in gold instead of dollars. Video* length: 02:37 minutes.

Late last year the Royal Canadian Mint intoduced an Exchange Traded Receipt (ETR) in another long line of paper-gold investments that are now trading on securities exchanges worldwide. It, like all of the other programs, comes with a slew of fees and risks. [Why not take personal physical possession of your gold or silver, store it in an allocated and secure non-government vault, be able to have any or all of it shipped to you immediately upon request - and for dramatically less than any ETF or ETR? Let me explain how easily it is to do just that.] Words: 1601

$10,000 (U.S.) gold [is] a gold bug’s dream come true [but] investors would be wise to have far have more modest expectations. [Let me explain why.] Words: 1000

With gold closing above the critical $1,650 level and silver above $30, my view is that we have bottomed and we are on the way to much higher levels. We are seeing a bit of sideways action here, but it’s sideways to upward and I think that will continue. I like the pace, the fact that it’s not going up too fast, but I think we will see an acceleration to the upside in short order. Words: 924

Due to high unemployment and a weak recovery world central bankers are focused on weakening their currencies to boost exports. [As such,] I think [even more] quantitative easing and other currency intervention is in our future...[and this will further increase]...both inflation and the price of gold. Let me explain with a few charts.] Words: 350

The question most often asked of gold bulls is, “At what price will you take your profits?” It is a question that betrays a lack of understanding about why anyone should [want to] own gold [in the first place]. Nevertheless, the simple answer must be, “When paper money stops losing its value”. This response should alert anyone who asks this question to the idea that owning fiat cash is the speculative position, not ownership of precious metals. [Let me explain.] Words: 1184

U.S. stocks are trading at their cheapest levels since at least 1990, according to such commonly used valuations as price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios as well as dividend yield...but [we ask,] cheaper than what? Different "investments" are valued differently at different times during the artificial central-banking business cycle that we must function under. In this case, we would argue, stocks are more likely reflecting potential chaos to come than a buying opportunity. Sure, there may be rallies during this fiat bear market but they should be considered within the context of the larger trends.