GOLD BUYERS CAN DIVERSFY WITH SILVER!
In March 2009, the gold-silver ratio is 72:1. This means that at the current price of silver it takes 72 ounces of silver to buy 1 ounce of gold. Last March it would only take 48.18 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold.
In 12-months lets see how you would do if you bought a one ounce gold eagle From Westminster Mint for $1,039 and 72 silver bullion rounds at $14.33 4/13/2009.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
U.K. Says IMF Should Free Funds by Selling Gold
U.K. Says IMF Should Free Funds by Selling Gold
By Kitty Donaldson and Nicholas Larkin
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Britain wants an agreement from the Group of 20 nations to improve the way the International Monetary Fund uses its cash, including freeing up money for lending by selling gold reserves, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said.
“Among the measures we hope we can affect is the commitment to provide more and better funds for the IMF and World Bank including by using profits from the sale of IMF gold reserves,” Alexander said at the Group of 20 nations summit in London today. “There have already been conversations with the South Africans and others in terms of whether the gold market can bear a phased and appropriate sale in a way that makes sense commercially.”
The IMF’s board approved a proposal in April 2008 to sell 403.3 tons of bullion as part of a plan to close the Washington- based lender’s annual deficit. The Obama administration soon will push Congress for legislation that allows the IMF to “mobilize” its stockpile of gold to boost its funds, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on March 11.
A decision to sell gold requires the backing of 85 percent of the IMF’s executive board, and the board representative from the U.S. needs the approval of Congress to vote in favor of any sales, according to the organization’s Web site.
“I wouldn’t expect there to be an immediate decision out of today’s decision to sell gold tomorrow on behalf of the IMF,” Alexander said. “On the other hand, there is recognition from all parts of the international financial system that we are risking an unprecedented crisis which risks impoverishing many hundreds of millions more people around the world.”
Gold for immediate delivery traded at $911.77 an ounce in London as of 12:21 p.m. local time. The metal gained the past eight years and is up 3.3 percent in 2009.
By Kitty Donaldson and Nicholas Larkin
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Britain wants an agreement from the Group of 20 nations to improve the way the International Monetary Fund uses its cash, including freeing up money for lending by selling gold reserves, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said.
“Among the measures we hope we can affect is the commitment to provide more and better funds for the IMF and World Bank including by using profits from the sale of IMF gold reserves,” Alexander said at the Group of 20 nations summit in London today. “There have already been conversations with the South Africans and others in terms of whether the gold market can bear a phased and appropriate sale in a way that makes sense commercially.”
The IMF’s board approved a proposal in April 2008 to sell 403.3 tons of bullion as part of a plan to close the Washington- based lender’s annual deficit. The Obama administration soon will push Congress for legislation that allows the IMF to “mobilize” its stockpile of gold to boost its funds, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on March 11.
A decision to sell gold requires the backing of 85 percent of the IMF’s executive board, and the board representative from the U.S. needs the approval of Congress to vote in favor of any sales, according to the organization’s Web site.
“I wouldn’t expect there to be an immediate decision out of today’s decision to sell gold tomorrow on behalf of the IMF,” Alexander said. “On the other hand, there is recognition from all parts of the international financial system that we are risking an unprecedented crisis which risks impoverishing many hundreds of millions more people around the world.”
Gold for immediate delivery traded at $911.77 an ounce in London as of 12:21 p.m. local time. The metal gained the past eight years and is up 3.3 percent in 2009.
Monday, March 30, 2009
“Green Coin,” Contest
MINNEAPOLIS, March 30, 2009 – Westminster Mint, Inc. of Minneapolis, one of the U.S.’s largest silver bullion dealers, today announced the launch of an international contest for the design of its new one-ounce .999 pure silver “Green Coin,” to be unveiled in May 2009.
The deadline for submitting a design for this 39-millimeter coin corresponds with the 39th Anniversary of Earth Day – April 22, 2009. The winning design will incorporate a variety of green themes, such as global warming, climate change, recycling, energy efficiency, conservation and clean fuels.
The contest is open to the public, and designs must be submitted on an Official Entry Form obtained from www.coin-rare.com/contest.aspx, either by email or mail (Westminster Mint, 1660 Highway 100, Suite 429 , Minneapolis , MN 55416 ). The grand prize for the winning design of the inaugural "Green Coin" contest will be $2,009 (in cash or in silver equivalent). The winner will also receive the first coin off the press, as well as the hand sculpts created by world renowned sculptor Caesar Ruffo.
“We're seeing an increased demand for silver bullion as more and more people invest in silver and gold due to the state of the economy,” said Westminster Mint President Ian Clay. “We want to mint a silver bullion coin that speaks to the key environmental issues we're facing today, and we believe that this coin design contest will draw more attention to those important issues.”
Once it’s produced in May, the Westminster Mint’s inaugural “Green Coin” will be made available to the public exclusively by Westminster Mint.
The deadline for submitting a design for this 39-millimeter coin corresponds with the 39th Anniversary of Earth Day – April 22, 2009. The winning design will incorporate a variety of green themes, such as global warming, climate change, recycling, energy efficiency, conservation and clean fuels.
The contest is open to the public, and designs must be submitted on an Official Entry Form obtained from www.coin-rare.com/contest.aspx, either by email or mail (Westminster Mint, 1660 Highway 100, Suite 429 , Minneapolis , MN 55416 ). The grand prize for the winning design of the inaugural "Green Coin" contest will be $2,009 (in cash or in silver equivalent). The winner will also receive the first coin off the press, as well as the hand sculpts created by world renowned sculptor Caesar Ruffo.
“We're seeing an increased demand for silver bullion as more and more people invest in silver and gold due to the state of the economy,” said Westminster Mint President Ian Clay. “We want to mint a silver bullion coin that speaks to the key environmental issues we're facing today, and we believe that this coin design contest will draw more attention to those important issues.”
Once it’s produced in May, the Westminster Mint’s inaugural “Green Coin” will be made available to the public exclusively by Westminster Mint.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Gold spikes after Geithner speaks on dollar
Gold spikes after Geithner speaks on dollar
By Frank Tang and Paul Lauener
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices rose sharply on Wednesday as the dollar weakened after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talked about a system put forward by China that would replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
Geithner said he was "quite open" to China's suggestion of moving toward a currency system linked to the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), a basket of dollars, euros, sterling and yen, as a super-sovereign reserve currency.
That hit dollar sentiment as it could mean countries selling large portions of their dollar reserves, highlighting the use of gold as a hedge against the U.S. currency, analysts said.
Spot gold was at $937.10 an ounce at 2:10 p.m. EDT, up 1.3 percent from its last quote in New York late Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled up $12.00, or 1.3 percent, at $935.80 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The dollar came off after Geithner's comments," said Eugen Weinberg, analyst at Commerzbank. "Gold gained on the dollar."
A weaker U.S. currency makes metals priced in dollars cheaper for holders of other currencies.
However, gold pared gains when Geithner later said the dollar would remain the world's reserve currency for a long time.
Gold's use as a hedge against financial uncertainty has come under pressure in recent days as stock markets rallied on optimism about the U.S. government's drive to clean up bad loans held by banks.
U.S. stocks, however, turned negative later in the session as enthusiasm from upbeat economic data faded, supporting the price of the metal.
Bullion is up about 5 percent from a six-week low of $882.90 hit on March 18, but is still more than 7 percent shy of the 11-month high above $1,000 set in February. It soared to an all-time peak of $1,030.80 in March 2008.
Investors piled into gold in recent months as the financial crisis escalated, the dollar tumbled and markets started to worry about price pressures in the pipeline because of the vast amounts of money being pumped into economies.
"In addition to the factors that have always been driving gold prices higher, the Fed's decision last week is simply another impetus," said Dennis Gartman, independent investor and author of the daily Gartman Letter.
Last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said it would buy up to $300 billion worth of long-dated U.S. government debt to help ease credit market conditions.
Strong interest can be seen in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, which said its holdings rose to a record 1,124.99 tonnes on March 24, up 10.7 tonnes from the day before.
Spot silver was bid $13.45 an ounce from $13.40 an ounce on Tuesday, palladium at $206 from $205.50 and platinum at $1,115 from $1,114.
Platinum used in autocatalysts to clean car emissions has tumbled alongside deteriorating sales in the auto sector. Prices have halved since a record $2,290 in March 2008.
By Frank Tang and Paul Lauener
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices rose sharply on Wednesday as the dollar weakened after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talked about a system put forward by China that would replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
Geithner said he was "quite open" to China's suggestion of moving toward a currency system linked to the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), a basket of dollars, euros, sterling and yen, as a super-sovereign reserve currency.
That hit dollar sentiment as it could mean countries selling large portions of their dollar reserves, highlighting the use of gold as a hedge against the U.S. currency, analysts said.
Spot gold was at $937.10 an ounce at 2:10 p.m. EDT, up 1.3 percent from its last quote in New York late Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled up $12.00, or 1.3 percent, at $935.80 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The dollar came off after Geithner's comments," said Eugen Weinberg, analyst at Commerzbank. "Gold gained on the dollar."
A weaker U.S. currency makes metals priced in dollars cheaper for holders of other currencies.
However, gold pared gains when Geithner later said the dollar would remain the world's reserve currency for a long time.
Gold's use as a hedge against financial uncertainty has come under pressure in recent days as stock markets rallied on optimism about the U.S. government's drive to clean up bad loans held by banks.
U.S. stocks, however, turned negative later in the session as enthusiasm from upbeat economic data faded, supporting the price of the metal.
Bullion is up about 5 percent from a six-week low of $882.90 hit on March 18, but is still more than 7 percent shy of the 11-month high above $1,000 set in February. It soared to an all-time peak of $1,030.80 in March 2008.
Investors piled into gold in recent months as the financial crisis escalated, the dollar tumbled and markets started to worry about price pressures in the pipeline because of the vast amounts of money being pumped into economies.
"In addition to the factors that have always been driving gold prices higher, the Fed's decision last week is simply another impetus," said Dennis Gartman, independent investor and author of the daily Gartman Letter.
Last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said it would buy up to $300 billion worth of long-dated U.S. government debt to help ease credit market conditions.
Strong interest can be seen in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, which said its holdings rose to a record 1,124.99 tonnes on March 24, up 10.7 tonnes from the day before.
Spot silver was bid $13.45 an ounce from $13.40 an ounce on Tuesday, palladium at $206 from $205.50 and platinum at $1,115 from $1,114.
Platinum used in autocatalysts to clean car emissions has tumbled alongside deteriorating sales in the auto sector. Prices have halved since a record $2,290 in March 2008.
Friday, March 20, 2009
China Aims to Boost Underground Gold Reserves, Output
China Aims to Boost Underground Gold Reserves, Output
By Richard Dobson and Li Xiaowei Bloomberg
March 20 (Bloomberg)
China, the world’s biggest gold producer, will seek to increase its underground gold reserves by 800 metric tons and raise production to 290 tons this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.
The government aims to encourage industry mergers so the top 10 gold producers account for more than half the nation’s output, according to a statement on the ministry’s Web site, citing Deputy Minister Miao Yu. The country’s output was 282 tons last year, the statement said, without elaborating.
Gold climbed 8.6 percent this year as investors sought to protect their wealth amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The Federal Reserve may buy more than $1 trillion in government and mortgage debt to help end the recession and the credit crisis, it said this week, spurring a slump in the dollar and a gain in gold.
Shandong Gold Mining Co., Zhaojin Mining Industry Co., Zijin Mining Group Co. and Lingbao Gold Co. are among China’s biggest producers.
Gold demand in China, the world’s second-largest consumer after India, may stagnate as volatile prices dissuade buyers and industrial usage drops because of the economic slowdown, Hou Huimin, vice chairman of the China Gold Association, said in December. He estimated annual consumption at about 360 tons.
The country has the world’s biggest foreign-exchange reserves at $1.95 trillion, with about 600 tons of gold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gold for immediate delivery traded little changed at $955.83 an ounce at 1 p.m. in Shanghai. The price reached a record $1,032.70 last March.
By Richard Dobson and Li Xiaowei Bloomberg
March 20 (Bloomberg)
China, the world’s biggest gold producer, will seek to increase its underground gold reserves by 800 metric tons and raise production to 290 tons this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.
The government aims to encourage industry mergers so the top 10 gold producers account for more than half the nation’s output, according to a statement on the ministry’s Web site, citing Deputy Minister Miao Yu. The country’s output was 282 tons last year, the statement said, without elaborating.
Gold climbed 8.6 percent this year as investors sought to protect their wealth amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The Federal Reserve may buy more than $1 trillion in government and mortgage debt to help end the recession and the credit crisis, it said this week, spurring a slump in the dollar and a gain in gold.
Shandong Gold Mining Co., Zhaojin Mining Industry Co., Zijin Mining Group Co. and Lingbao Gold Co. are among China’s biggest producers.
Gold demand in China, the world’s second-largest consumer after India, may stagnate as volatile prices dissuade buyers and industrial usage drops because of the economic slowdown, Hou Huimin, vice chairman of the China Gold Association, said in December. He estimated annual consumption at about 360 tons.
The country has the world’s biggest foreign-exchange reserves at $1.95 trillion, with about 600 tons of gold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gold for immediate delivery traded little changed at $955.83 an ounce at 1 p.m. in Shanghai. The price reached a record $1,032.70 last March.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Gold Climbs Most in Four Months as Fed Plan May Spur Inflation
Gold Climbs Most in Four Months as Fed Plan May Spur Inflation
Bloomberg
By Nicholas Larkin
March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose the most in four months in New York after the Federal Reserve said it would buy as much as $1.15 trillion in bonds to lower borrowing costs, reviving concern that inflation will accelerate.
The Fed pledged to buy as much as $300 billion of Treasuries, up to $750 billion of bonds backed by government- controlled mortgage companies and $100 billion in debt from other government agencies to loosen credit and bolster the housing market. Gold, which yesterday dropped the most in two months, is up 5.7 percent this year.
“The action of the Fed and other central banks will no doubt fuel inflationary pressures,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, wrote today in a note. “With no clear plan yet from the U.S. on toxic assets, investors are still likely to favor safer assets.”
Gold futures for April delivery rose as much as $52.50, or 5.9 percent, to $941.60 an ounce in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. That’s the biggest intraday increase since Nov. 14. It traded at $937.10 an ounce as of 11:09 a.m. London time.
The metal advanced to $937.25 in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $893.25 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing. Bullion for immediate delivery in London traded down 0.6 percent at $936.49 an ounce. Prices had jumped about $56 after the Fed announcement before the London market closed. Comex closed before the announcement.
‘Far From Recovery’
“The effects of the announcement were magnified as it portrayed the fact that perhaps the economy is far from recovery,” Emanuel Georgouras, a precious-metals trader at Marex Financial Ltd. in London, wrote today in a note. “Should quantitative easing continue, you can expect to see further gains in gold.”
The Fed kept its main rate at almost zero and may keep it there for an “extended” time. Central banks are lowering interest rates and spending trillions of dollars in response to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. That may devalue currencies and boost demand for bullion as an alternative investment.
The dollar yesterday fell against a weighted basket of six major currencies and today traded lower for an eighth day. Gold historically has moved inversely to the U.S. currency, though the correlation hasn’t held for much of 2009 as investors sought the safety of both assets.
Investors are continuing to buy gold in a bid to protect their wealth. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest ETF backed by bullion, expanded 1.4 percent to a record 1,084.33 metric tons yesterday, according to the company’s Web site.
Exchange-Traded Products
ETF Securities Ltd.’s exchange-traded products backed by bullion attracted almost $134 million last week, the company said today.
Gold’s climb since yesterday is “insane” because U.S. inflation may not accelerate until 2011, said Peter Fertig, owner of Quantitative Commodity Research Ltd.
“There’s no real spillover from the monetary system to the real economy yet,” Fertig said today by phone from Hainburg, Germany. “The U.S. is far from inflationary pressures. It will take some time before the gap is closed.”
Among other metals for immediate delivery in London, silver futures advanced 7.8 percent to $12.86 an ounce. Platinum added 2.1 percent to $1,064.50 an ounce, and palladium rose 1.7 percent to $198 an ounce.
Bloomberg
By Nicholas Larkin
March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose the most in four months in New York after the Federal Reserve said it would buy as much as $1.15 trillion in bonds to lower borrowing costs, reviving concern that inflation will accelerate.
The Fed pledged to buy as much as $300 billion of Treasuries, up to $750 billion of bonds backed by government- controlled mortgage companies and $100 billion in debt from other government agencies to loosen credit and bolster the housing market. Gold, which yesterday dropped the most in two months, is up 5.7 percent this year.
“The action of the Fed and other central banks will no doubt fuel inflationary pressures,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, wrote today in a note. “With no clear plan yet from the U.S. on toxic assets, investors are still likely to favor safer assets.”
Gold futures for April delivery rose as much as $52.50, or 5.9 percent, to $941.60 an ounce in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. That’s the biggest intraday increase since Nov. 14. It traded at $937.10 an ounce as of 11:09 a.m. London time.
The metal advanced to $937.25 in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $893.25 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing. Bullion for immediate delivery in London traded down 0.6 percent at $936.49 an ounce. Prices had jumped about $56 after the Fed announcement before the London market closed. Comex closed before the announcement.
‘Far From Recovery’
“The effects of the announcement were magnified as it portrayed the fact that perhaps the economy is far from recovery,” Emanuel Georgouras, a precious-metals trader at Marex Financial Ltd. in London, wrote today in a note. “Should quantitative easing continue, you can expect to see further gains in gold.”
The Fed kept its main rate at almost zero and may keep it there for an “extended” time. Central banks are lowering interest rates and spending trillions of dollars in response to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. That may devalue currencies and boost demand for bullion as an alternative investment.
The dollar yesterday fell against a weighted basket of six major currencies and today traded lower for an eighth day. Gold historically has moved inversely to the U.S. currency, though the correlation hasn’t held for much of 2009 as investors sought the safety of both assets.
Investors are continuing to buy gold in a bid to protect their wealth. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest ETF backed by bullion, expanded 1.4 percent to a record 1,084.33 metric tons yesterday, according to the company’s Web site.
Exchange-Traded Products
ETF Securities Ltd.’s exchange-traded products backed by bullion attracted almost $134 million last week, the company said today.
Gold’s climb since yesterday is “insane” because U.S. inflation may not accelerate until 2011, said Peter Fertig, owner of Quantitative Commodity Research Ltd.
“There’s no real spillover from the monetary system to the real economy yet,” Fertig said today by phone from Hainburg, Germany. “The U.S. is far from inflationary pressures. It will take some time before the gap is closed.”
Among other metals for immediate delivery in London, silver futures advanced 7.8 percent to $12.86 an ounce. Platinum added 2.1 percent to $1,064.50 an ounce, and palladium rose 1.7 percent to $198 an ounce.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Case for Inflation
The Case for Inflation
By Howard RuffThe Ruff Times
Inflation is always a monetary phenomenon. Since the printing press, it has in all times and in all places been the inevitable consequence of creating large amounts of money, not backed by any commodity, such as gold.
Now we are in a period of deflation, with falling prices. Government will do what it feels it has to do to fight deflation, because deflation is synonymous with depression, like in the 1930s. But the only way they know how to solve a problem like this is to throw money at it. The amounts are in the trillions; nothing is like it in all of history.
If all of this newly created money does not cause inflation, it will be the first time in the history of fiat money that inflation has not resulted. Based on the lessons of history, that’s the way to bet.
One of the natural consequences of a dominant world-wide currency, like the dollar, being created in vast quantities, is that the dollar will fall versus other currencies. The irony is that right now the dollar is rising against other world currencies. That only means the dollar is the healthiest patient in the hospital. Why? Other currencies are the early victims of the inflationary plague.
You Americans who earn and spend only dollars will soon see the natural consequences of inflation, which are rising dollar prices.
When will we begin to see the consequence of monetary inflation; broad-based price inflation?
I was on CNBC recently, and they asked me to tell them when this was going to happen. I told them I didn’t have my crystal ball, and the best way to become a fallen prophet was to set a date for something like that and get it wrong. I’m too old and smart to do that. I did give my best guess, which is some place between six months to a year, when trillions of dollars we are creating are no longer sitting silently on the balance sheets of banks but start circulating. That’s when the real inflation starts.
What Will It Look Like?
What will the inflationary world look like?
Gasoline and other oil-derivative prices will start rising. Oil will go back above $145 eventually. Sometime within the next year you will see oil at $75 to $80 per barrel, which will put gasoline prices back under $5. Food will get more expensive.
That’s my best guess; it is not an exact science. You are relying on my experience and instincts to be right more often than I’m wrong.
The Death Throes of the Dollar
One consequence of rising monetary inflation is that the dollar will begin its death throes. History tells us that the world is littered with dead paper currencies. They all have a life span of about 75 years. This one is living on borrowed time.
Glenn Beck, one of my favorite talk-show hosts, has said in his gold commercials that he is not buying gold as an investment, but as insurance. Insurance against what? You are insuring yourself against the ultimate total collapse of the dollar because of inflation!
Money is supposed to be a means of exchange and a store of value. The dollar is still a means of exchange, but years ago it ceased to be a store of value. If you want to store the value of your assets, don’t store them in anything that is dollar denominated other than gold and silver, which immediately places into question the stock market.
Again going to the lessons of history, something in the human psyche instinctively moves us towards precious metals. That is exactly what’s happening now. Despite the apparent non-price-responsive metals, eventually they will take off big time, based on demand.
The fundamentals are being built now as the public demands for gold and silver is soaring. One reason I like silver is that people can afford to buy some. When the gold gets near $1,000, an ounce becomes too expensive for the average guy. So I will place my bet on silver where the average guy can act.Worldwide a tremendous amount of bullion and coin buying is going on, even creating silver shortages. The monetary authorities (bankers) have done all they can to keep gold under control. $1,000 an ounce gold seems to be a trigger point for them. They will do all they can to suppress it, because rising gold is an insult to the dollar.
I will write later on how this manipulation occurs and why gold and silver have not yet gone as high as you think they should. The fundamentals seem to demand higher prices, given the rising worldwide demand.
Ten or 20 years from now, you will brag about having bought the metals at these prices. Remember, you are buying it as insurance against the total eventual collapse of the store-of-value function of the paper dollar.
This is much more apocalyptic sounding than, “You should buy gold and silver because you will make a lot of money.” That happens to be true; but it’s not the real reason to own it.
On CNBC Squawk Box I was asked, “When will you tell the world that the stock market is cheap enough to buy.”
I was caught a little off guard, but basically I sad, “You assume that day will come. I think that is a difficult bet.” I’m betting against it!
The Terminally Ill Dollar!
The stock market is in its death throes, and the dollar will soon be in its death throes, when the Chinese, the Indians, and the Japanese stop buying U.S. paper. Now it seems to be recovering. But that is a temporary phenomenon and eventually the dollar will implode, leaving the world knee-deep in a failed currency, as it has always done throughout history.
Does history always have to repeat itself? No, of course not. But that is the way to bet. All the factors are in place, including a President and a Congress that have no compunction against creating unlimited amounts of dollars and spending them through the banking system. This is sheer madness and makes Obama perhaps the most dangerous president the United States has ever had.
His ignorance of economic principles is monumental, equaled only by his arrogance in pursuing this destructive course.
I’m sorry if you don’t like my politics and because I haven’t joined the ranks of those who have been infected by Obama-mania. I just hope I will live long enough to see the day when we will return to some level of sanity. But that sanity will not include the recovery of the dollar as a store of value. Some day we will need a new currency backed by a fixed commodity. I don’t know what form it will take, but the market will speak and create a new piece of paper that has some tangible anchoring.
In the meantime, the world as we knew it is dying and the dollar is beginning its death throes, regardless of the current daily price of the dollar versus other currencies. When we get sick, the rest of the world gets pneumonia. We will probably attempt to make the euro the reigning world currency (perhaps even the yen), but that is only a temporary stop-gap.
In the meantime, precious metals are an insurance policy that preserves the value of your assets. You can offset the failure of your paper dollars by putting about a third of your assets into precious metals, preferably silver.
By Howard RuffThe Ruff Times
Howard J. Ruff, the legendary author and financial advisor, has re-edited and re-issued his 1978 mega best seller, How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years, still the biggest-selling financial book in history, with 2.6 million copies in print. He is founder and editor of The Ruff Times financial newsletter. This article is from a recent article in The Ruff Times. The newsletter is much more comprehensive and deals with a broad spectrum of middle-class financial issues and includes an Investment Menu from which you can build your portfolio. (You can learn about it here).
The Ruff Times has served more than 600,000 subscribers – more than any financial-advisory newsletter in the world. His updated and revised book, How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years in the 21st Century, is in book stores or at http://www.rufftimes.com/. You can get it free when you subscribe to The Ruff Times, or if you buy the book at your favorite bookstore, you can deduct $10 from the subscription price.
Howard was a guest on CNBC on March 4th. You can view the interview at http://www.rufftimes.com/.
By Howard RuffThe Ruff Times
Inflation is always a monetary phenomenon. Since the printing press, it has in all times and in all places been the inevitable consequence of creating large amounts of money, not backed by any commodity, such as gold.
Now we are in a period of deflation, with falling prices. Government will do what it feels it has to do to fight deflation, because deflation is synonymous with depression, like in the 1930s. But the only way they know how to solve a problem like this is to throw money at it. The amounts are in the trillions; nothing is like it in all of history.
If all of this newly created money does not cause inflation, it will be the first time in the history of fiat money that inflation has not resulted. Based on the lessons of history, that’s the way to bet.
One of the natural consequences of a dominant world-wide currency, like the dollar, being created in vast quantities, is that the dollar will fall versus other currencies. The irony is that right now the dollar is rising against other world currencies. That only means the dollar is the healthiest patient in the hospital. Why? Other currencies are the early victims of the inflationary plague.
You Americans who earn and spend only dollars will soon see the natural consequences of inflation, which are rising dollar prices.
When will we begin to see the consequence of monetary inflation; broad-based price inflation?
I was on CNBC recently, and they asked me to tell them when this was going to happen. I told them I didn’t have my crystal ball, and the best way to become a fallen prophet was to set a date for something like that and get it wrong. I’m too old and smart to do that. I did give my best guess, which is some place between six months to a year, when trillions of dollars we are creating are no longer sitting silently on the balance sheets of banks but start circulating. That’s when the real inflation starts.
What Will It Look Like?
What will the inflationary world look like?
Gasoline and other oil-derivative prices will start rising. Oil will go back above $145 eventually. Sometime within the next year you will see oil at $75 to $80 per barrel, which will put gasoline prices back under $5. Food will get more expensive.
That’s my best guess; it is not an exact science. You are relying on my experience and instincts to be right more often than I’m wrong.
The Death Throes of the Dollar
One consequence of rising monetary inflation is that the dollar will begin its death throes. History tells us that the world is littered with dead paper currencies. They all have a life span of about 75 years. This one is living on borrowed time.
Glenn Beck, one of my favorite talk-show hosts, has said in his gold commercials that he is not buying gold as an investment, but as insurance. Insurance against what? You are insuring yourself against the ultimate total collapse of the dollar because of inflation!
Money is supposed to be a means of exchange and a store of value. The dollar is still a means of exchange, but years ago it ceased to be a store of value. If you want to store the value of your assets, don’t store them in anything that is dollar denominated other than gold and silver, which immediately places into question the stock market.
Again going to the lessons of history, something in the human psyche instinctively moves us towards precious metals. That is exactly what’s happening now. Despite the apparent non-price-responsive metals, eventually they will take off big time, based on demand.
The fundamentals are being built now as the public demands for gold and silver is soaring. One reason I like silver is that people can afford to buy some. When the gold gets near $1,000, an ounce becomes too expensive for the average guy. So I will place my bet on silver where the average guy can act.Worldwide a tremendous amount of bullion and coin buying is going on, even creating silver shortages. The monetary authorities (bankers) have done all they can to keep gold under control. $1,000 an ounce gold seems to be a trigger point for them. They will do all they can to suppress it, because rising gold is an insult to the dollar.
I will write later on how this manipulation occurs and why gold and silver have not yet gone as high as you think they should. The fundamentals seem to demand higher prices, given the rising worldwide demand.
Ten or 20 years from now, you will brag about having bought the metals at these prices. Remember, you are buying it as insurance against the total eventual collapse of the store-of-value function of the paper dollar.
This is much more apocalyptic sounding than, “You should buy gold and silver because you will make a lot of money.” That happens to be true; but it’s not the real reason to own it.
On CNBC Squawk Box I was asked, “When will you tell the world that the stock market is cheap enough to buy.”
I was caught a little off guard, but basically I sad, “You assume that day will come. I think that is a difficult bet.” I’m betting against it!
The Terminally Ill Dollar!
The stock market is in its death throes, and the dollar will soon be in its death throes, when the Chinese, the Indians, and the Japanese stop buying U.S. paper. Now it seems to be recovering. But that is a temporary phenomenon and eventually the dollar will implode, leaving the world knee-deep in a failed currency, as it has always done throughout history.
Does history always have to repeat itself? No, of course not. But that is the way to bet. All the factors are in place, including a President and a Congress that have no compunction against creating unlimited amounts of dollars and spending them through the banking system. This is sheer madness and makes Obama perhaps the most dangerous president the United States has ever had.
His ignorance of economic principles is monumental, equaled only by his arrogance in pursuing this destructive course.
I’m sorry if you don’t like my politics and because I haven’t joined the ranks of those who have been infected by Obama-mania. I just hope I will live long enough to see the day when we will return to some level of sanity. But that sanity will not include the recovery of the dollar as a store of value. Some day we will need a new currency backed by a fixed commodity. I don’t know what form it will take, but the market will speak and create a new piece of paper that has some tangible anchoring.
In the meantime, the world as we knew it is dying and the dollar is beginning its death throes, regardless of the current daily price of the dollar versus other currencies. When we get sick, the rest of the world gets pneumonia. We will probably attempt to make the euro the reigning world currency (perhaps even the yen), but that is only a temporary stop-gap.
In the meantime, precious metals are an insurance policy that preserves the value of your assets. You can offset the failure of your paper dollars by putting about a third of your assets into precious metals, preferably silver.
By Howard RuffThe Ruff Times
Howard J. Ruff, the legendary author and financial advisor, has re-edited and re-issued his 1978 mega best seller, How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years, still the biggest-selling financial book in history, with 2.6 million copies in print. He is founder and editor of The Ruff Times financial newsletter. This article is from a recent article in The Ruff Times. The newsletter is much more comprehensive and deals with a broad spectrum of middle-class financial issues and includes an Investment Menu from which you can build your portfolio. (You can learn about it here).
The Ruff Times has served more than 600,000 subscribers – more than any financial-advisory newsletter in the world. His updated and revised book, How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years in the 21st Century, is in book stores or at http://www.rufftimes.com/. You can get it free when you subscribe to The Ruff Times, or if you buy the book at your favorite bookstore, you can deduct $10 from the subscription price.
Howard was a guest on CNBC on March 4th. You can view the interview at http://www.rufftimes.com/.
Friday, March 13, 2009
World mints report soaring demand for gold coins
World mints report soaring demand for gold coins
LONDON (Reuters) - Mints around the world say demand for gold coins has risen sharply as interest in the precious metal soars on the back of financial instability and concerns over the inflation outlook.
The Royal Canadian Mint, which produces Maple Leaf bullion coins, said it quadrupled its production capacity late last year as demand for gold and silver bullion products leapt. Gold was one of the few commodities to rise last year as turmoil in the financial sector sharpened investors' appetite for assets seen as a safe store of value, such as bullion.
Spot gold rallied to an 11-month high of $1,005.40 on February 20 as a slide in equity markets increased interest in the precious metal. Demand for physical gold products such as coins and bars has been particularly strong, traders say.
The United States Mint said sales of its one-ounce American Eagle gold bullion coins rocketed to 710,000 ounces in 2008, from 140,000 ounces a year before. "The demand for gold and silver has been unprecedented," a spokesman for the Mint told Reuters.
The chairman of the French Mint, Christophe Beaux, said sales roughly doubled last year in value terms and are expected to rise by another 50 percent this year.
The 2009 catalogue the mint had produced was almost entirely pre-sold, he said. The French Mint produces 100 euro gold coins, and plans to mint 10-ounce and 1-kilo coins this year.
In South Africa -- the world's second-largest gold producer -- Natanya van Niekerk, deputy general manager for numismatics at the South African Mint Company, said she had seen a big increase in demand for gold.
"I think we will see this same trend in this and the next quarter," she said. "Gold surely has been resilient in these times."
Michael O'Kane, head bullion trader at the New Zealand Mint, said many overseas buyers had come into the New Zealand market. "We're seen as a safe-haven market," he said. He said buying had been strong since the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in September, as investors moved money from banks into hard assets like gold.
The mint was averaging "a month's transactions in a day," he said, adding he saw demand continuing to rise.
(Reporting by Jan Harvey, Frank Tang, James Macharia, Cameron French, Adrian Bathgate, Gus Trompiz; Editing by Sue Thomas)
LONDON (Reuters) - Mints around the world say demand for gold coins has risen sharply as interest in the precious metal soars on the back of financial instability and concerns over the inflation outlook.
The Royal Canadian Mint, which produces Maple Leaf bullion coins, said it quadrupled its production capacity late last year as demand for gold and silver bullion products leapt. Gold was one of the few commodities to rise last year as turmoil in the financial sector sharpened investors' appetite for assets seen as a safe store of value, such as bullion.
Spot gold rallied to an 11-month high of $1,005.40 on February 20 as a slide in equity markets increased interest in the precious metal. Demand for physical gold products such as coins and bars has been particularly strong, traders say.
The United States Mint said sales of its one-ounce American Eagle gold bullion coins rocketed to 710,000 ounces in 2008, from 140,000 ounces a year before. "The demand for gold and silver has been unprecedented," a spokesman for the Mint told Reuters.
The chairman of the French Mint, Christophe Beaux, said sales roughly doubled last year in value terms and are expected to rise by another 50 percent this year.
The 2009 catalogue the mint had produced was almost entirely pre-sold, he said. The French Mint produces 100 euro gold coins, and plans to mint 10-ounce and 1-kilo coins this year.
In South Africa -- the world's second-largest gold producer -- Natanya van Niekerk, deputy general manager for numismatics at the South African Mint Company, said she had seen a big increase in demand for gold.
"I think we will see this same trend in this and the next quarter," she said. "Gold surely has been resilient in these times."
Michael O'Kane, head bullion trader at the New Zealand Mint, said many overseas buyers had come into the New Zealand market. "We're seen as a safe-haven market," he said. He said buying had been strong since the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in September, as investors moved money from banks into hard assets like gold.
The mint was averaging "a month's transactions in a day," he said, adding he saw demand continuing to rise.
(Reporting by Jan Harvey, Frank Tang, James Macharia, Cameron French, Adrian Bathgate, Gus Trompiz; Editing by Sue Thomas)
2008 AMERICAN BUFFALO SET PCGS MS70
American Buffalo gold coins Now Extinct! Get yours while you can.
American Buffalo gold coins were first struck in 2006. These coins hold the unique distinction of being the first coins struck by the U.S. Mint in pure 24kt gold. Their popular design is based on the famous Buffalo design by James Earl Fraser that first appeared on nickels in 1913. In 2008 for the first and only time! the U.S. Mint struck three fractional versions of this coin. Now you can own the complete set featuring the $50, $25, $10 & $5 versions of these popular coins. These coins have been certified by PCGS, the leading coin grading service in America as perfect, flawless mint state 70 coins (MS70), the highest grade any coin can be certified. Anyone who knows anything about PCGS knows that only a tiny fraction of coins ever make perfect MS70. You can count the number of these sets in double digits! Less than two people per state can hope to add these to their collections.
• Perfect MS70 coins with First Strike designation• Very rare less than 100 sets known• Includes three fractional coins $25, $10 & $5 made for one year only• Coins struck at WestPoint Mint• Don’t confuse with sets and prices of coins certified by others!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The most valuable coin I own
The most valuable coin I own
I’ve been a coin collector for over 40 years during which time I have bought and sold over $100 million worth of coins. The most valuable coin I own and the only coin I will never sell is my Churchill Crown. I’ve had the coin for over 40 years, I’ve taken it to over 30 countries and after all this time its still only worth about $5.00 on the open market.
The coin was issued in Great Britain following the death of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill in 1965.
I’ve been a coin collector for over 40 years during which time I have bought and sold over $100 million worth of coins. The most valuable coin I own and the only coin I will never sell is my Churchill Crown. I’ve had the coin for over 40 years, I’ve taken it to over 30 countries and after all this time its still only worth about $5.00 on the open market.
The coin was issued in Great Britain following the death of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill in 1965.
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