Investing

Silver escalated in price by 81.1% in the 12 months ending June 30th, 2011 compared to gold's 19.3%. As such the gold:silver ratio fell from 67: 1 to 44: 1 over that period. This is still way out of whack with the long-term historical relationship between the two precious metals and begs the question: “Is now the perfect time to buy silver instead of the much more expensive gold metal?” Words: 1490

Virtually nothing is being written these days on the long-term warrants associated with a few gold and silver mining companies. I suppose that is to be expected given that there are only 22 such warrants and they are associated with only 19 companies in total. That is unfortunate because those who are in the know can take advantage of the significant leverage warrants generate in a bull market over investing in physical gold and silver, precious metals company stocks and mutual/exchange traded funds. What am I talking about - and which warrants am I referring to? Let me explain. Words: 1703

[To say that the market has capitulated] implies that the market has bottomed and that now is a good time to buy stocks. In my opinion, that is completely wrong. The market is building momentum to the downside...[and] the odds are that the inevitable reactionary bounce is a short reprieve on the way further down. If the capitulation results in a new and meaningful uptrend (and that is a big “if”), we will see that in the charts. Words: 552

At the beginning of 2011 USA Today reported...[that] Ned Davis Research says the S&P 500 will make a run at the 2007 high of 1,565, hit a “midyear peak” [and] then it will crash as interest rates rise...concluding that “the midyear peak could mark the end of the cyclical bull market that began in March 2009 and the start of a new cyclical bear market.” Words: 637

Gold may rally further from this month’s record if President Barack Obama wins lawmakers’ agreement to raise the U.S.’s debt ceiling, weakening the dollar and boosting demand for the precious metal as a store of value, according to Korea Investment & Securities Co. [Below is a chart which shows this quite clearly.] Words: 360

As of the end of March, the federal government owed $14.27 trillion to a wide variety of holders of U.S. Treasury securities. The graphic below depicts who those creditors are and the amount they have bought in treasuries. All amounts are in billions of dollars. Words: 417

Check out this chart (via Ed Yardeni) that shows the price of gold relative to U.S. Treasury and U.S. agency securities held by the Federal Reserve and other central banks - a VERY interesting correlation to say the least. Words: 260

I think we all would agree that owning a 10 kg bar of gold would be nice but that it is probably out of the question at the current cost of over $500,000! I had the pleasure of caressing such a bar recently and being surprised at just how heavy (22.045855 lbs.) it was for such a small object. Below I describe the gold coins of Canada and the United States. Words: 870

With the United States quickly approaching the deadline for raising the limit on its debt load, squeamish investors are thinking about how they can preserve their hard-earned money. [Let's discuss the alternatives: gold and silver, cash, currencies other than the USD and the VIX.] Words: 683

Regardless of what certain pundits and investors say, I believe gold will have a great run into the end of 2011. [Why?] Because I think a currency crisis is brewing worldwide, and gold will be a safe place to store value. The Euro and USD are fundamentally weak, and inflation is nearly out of control due to huge stimulus packages and low interest rates that aren't helping struggling economies. Gold should be the crutch to lean on for a while. [Let me expand on the aforementioned reasons.] Words: 675