Gold & Silver

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

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

What a year for gold in 2011! It was up 9% in US dollar price terms and even more so in most other currencies; outperformed a large number of asset classes reinforcing its role as a foundation asset in portfolio construction; provided liquidity when investors needed it the most, acting as a risk management vehicle [and] served as a currency hedge throughout the year, in particular against the US dollar;...[and] gold fundamentals of supply and demand were robust [ which should remain so in 2112]. Words: 1530

[While] some investors are frustrated,, and a few are worried that gold seems stuck in a rut [such a] stall in price has happened before...[but has] always eventually powered to a new high...[Let's] examine the size and length of past corrections and how long it took gold to reach new highs afterward. Words: 740