Gold is known as a solid inflation hedge, and could earn this reputation in 2013 if inflation picks up. Below are three well-known gold bugs (Jim Rogers, Jeremy Grantham and John Paulson) and their bold predictions for investing in gold next year and beyond. Words: 525

Over the past few years, policy leaders worldwide have grown accustomed to kicking the can down the road with each step in this ongoing financial crisis making incremental moves rather than cultivating viable long term solutions. More recent attempts seem to have evolved into simply just trying to kick the can out of the driveway. Now we fear there may not be enough firepower left to simply kick the can over. [Having done so, we are left between the proverbial rock and a hard place.] If lawmakers do nothing, by all accounts we are likely to see a recession. Should lawmakers extend the Bush-era tax cuts, you make no progress towards long term deficit reduction, potentially raising the risk and magnitude of a future financial crisis. [Let me discuss this predicament further and how best to invest in such precarious times.] Words: 1602

Industrialised countries today face serious risks – for their financial sectors, for their public finances, and for their growth prospects. This column explains how, through our financial systems, we have created enormous, complex financial structures that can inflict tragic consequences with failure and yet are inherently difficult to regulate and control. It explains how this has happened and why there are more and worse crises to come. Words: 2434

There are several variations of Long Wave theory, but the most famous is based on the work of Nicolai Kondratieff, a Russian economist who gave the various stages seasonal names, with summer and autumn denoting the peak of financial speculation and winter the aftermath of the resulting crash. The conditions for a global catastrophic failure are in place. Snow (in the form of trillions of new dollars and euros) is falling. There’s no way to know which dollar (or which external event) will start the avalanche, but without doubt something will. [Let me expand on why I hold that view.] Words: 888

Gold is one of the rarest metals in the world, and has a long history as a valuable and intensely sought-after element. The precious metal has served as the basis for physical currency for thousands of years, and many monetary systems throughout human history have utilized a gold standard that focused on the precious metal. Exploration and production of gold has become a major industry in regions that maintain significant deposits of the metal, and quests for gold have been the impetus of countless expeditions and discoveries. [Below are a list of the top 10 gold producing countries, the top 10 gold producing companies and a definitive guide as to the multiple options of investing in the metal.]

Silver has been an important metal for thousands of years, often used as a medium of exchange or jewelry in ancient times....Today, silver still finds its way into jewelry and coins but it is now also a key ingredient in many ‘modern’ applications as well....Due to this multitude of uses the metal has continued to be a popular investable asset...[as well] as a store of value and an inflation hedge. Below are a list of the top 10 silver producing countries, the top 10 silver producing companies and a definitive guide as to the multiple options of investing in the metal. Words: 2091

When it comes to investing in gold, investors often see the world in black and white. Some people have a deep, almost religious conviction that gold is a useless, barbarous relic with no yield and an asset no rational investor would ever want. Others love it, seeing it as the only asset that can offer protection from the coming financial catastrophe, which is always just around the corner. Our views are more nuanced and, we believe, provide a balanced framework for assessing value. Our bottom line: given current valuations and central bank policies, we see gold as a compelling inflation hedge and store of value that is potentially superior to fiat currencies. [Here are the details of our analyses.] Words: 1316

Price is determined by demand and supply and, going forward, demand for gold may continue to rise, while supply will remain constrained as it has since the beginning of time. With this backdrop, let’s explore some specific reasons investors may consider buying gold at today’s prices. Words: 1315

All thing considered, it seems clear that the long-term real returns of gold have been poor (compared to stocks and bonds), and I see no reason to expect long-term price appreciation for gold to be above inflation. In fact, as with any non-income producing asset, it would be unreasonable to expect gold to provide significant positive real returns over an indefinite period of time...I would argue that buying gold is a short-term gamble that is completely dependent on the unpredictable vagaries of perception, market psychology and the "greater fool" theory...While it is true that gold can be a good short-term trade and offer superior returns over shorter periods (as has been the case in recent years) I believe that stocks will continue to substantially outperform gold over time. [Let me explain these less than popular conclusions further.] Words: 1258

In all my years of writing about gold, I have rarely referenced specific gold bear articles or posts, but I found myself compelled to break with tradition after reading a recent piece from Zacks Investment Research called The Case Against Gold In Today's Market. My response below mainly focuses on noting how the gold bear arguments themselves demonstrate that gold is not nearly as different from other assets as the Zacks pieces suggests.