Tag Archives: gold

Every time someone tells me they are buying gold because of inflation fears, I cringe. First, I don't see a risk to higher inflation and, second, even if we have high inflation, don't count on gold as a hedge. Here's why:

While the correlation between bonds and stocks tends to increase during economic turmoil, gold usually becomes negatively correlated with other asset classes in such times. This means that the diversification benefits of gold are maintained and may even increase in during severe crises. Let me explain further and provide some caveats.

Here are ten basic gold-market realities that are either unknown or ignored by many gold ‘experts’.

Predictions that a crash will occur in the fall of 2015 have been gaining traction bolstered by market events of this summer which suggest that something big is indeed unfolding....The question before investors now is whether the pessimists will be right. Will the doom-and-gloom scenarios play out? Their arguments are worth considering, keeping in mind that nobody knows the future and that market forecasts are, at best, educated guesses. Read on!

1. Is gold a safe-haven or a hedge, and what is the difference between them? 2. What is gold supposed to be a safe-haven or a hedge in relation to? 3. Does gold protect investors from a stock market crash, bond market volatility, inflation, or a systemic crisis? 4. Do the safe-haven properties of gold depend on the country and the time horizon?

Stan Druckenmiller has made a career out of making big calls and he has just made a huge bet on gold that indicates that he thinks the bottom is finally in. Why should you care? Because he is one of the world’s most successful and respected traders. Perhaps you should do the same. Here's why.

We are content to pay for house insurance for most of our lives yet very few of us have actually experienced a fire or a major disaster where we had to use the insurance. We are comfortable with paying the premiums every year in order to avoid a catastrophic loss. Well, owning gold is tantamount to owning an insurance policy on your investment portfolio.

Despite its history of gains, and 5,000 years of tradition behind it, gold is rapidly becoming one of the most widely despised assets. Before we pronounce it dead and write the final gold eulogy, however, let’s consider the following:

This chart from Morgan Stanley using World Gold Council data shows which countries, central banks and funds are hoarding the greatest amount of gold:

Gold, silver and precious metals mining stocks are still nowhere near long-term or secular bottoms but I believe they could be approaching short-term tradable bottoms in the coming days or weeks based on the following 3 signals: