This thread has been so quiet since the last selloff about 2 weeks ago. I think with the FED's statement that interest rates will remain low for a while, gold is on the move again. It has gone up more than $30 in the last two days. What do you guys think?

I agree with shred, but remember, some say I'm a gold bug. Been looking for buys and after much thought, I'm still unsure on which to buy. I'm looking for a mine ready to start and a good price.

>>but remember, some say I'm a gold bug.

Darrell, maybe you already know this silver mine, but the share price is heading up: ISVLF

Post edited 11:19 am – December 17, 2009 by dlst

Probably you’re not missing much.

Bad day for PMs. Very bad.

Post edited 3:11 am – December 18, 2009 by Will

I have done a lot of thinking about the situation we are in concerning gold, US$, inflation etc. Almost everything traded internationally today, including gold is denominated in US$. That is a very powerful position to be in for the US$. Despite the grumbling of many countries about having to bankroll America's insatiable appetite for all kind of goods, there is currently no substitute to the US$ as a reserve currency.

Back in late 2008 when there was a worldwide credit crunch, the Fed's ability to print trillions of $$$ was widely credited to have help avert the great Depression 2.0. While this can be debated and has been debated vigorously, the fact remained that there is no substitute reserve currency ready to take the place of the US$. Much has been ballyhooed about the Euro challenging the US$ but notice how shaky Europe is with member states like Greece, Ireland, and much of eastern Europe on shaky ground.

Common economic sense tells us that when a country prints money like we have, inflation is bound to follow. This is true if the money created were to be allowed to chase after basic consumer goods but with most of the world in recession or weak recovery, the demand for consumer goods has not taken off. Hence there is no indication inflation is about to rear its ugly head anytime soon. But what about the case of printing money that also happens to be the one and only reserve currency for the entire world? It is a love-hate relationship.  You resent someone's ability to simply print money and yet, at the first sign of financial turmoil, you rush to hoard the US$.

I suspect this struggle between the US$ and gold (the money/commodity most likely to challenge the US$'s reserve currency status) will continue for a while. In the long run, unless the Obama administration change its course dramatically to rein in spending and borrowing, gold should triumph eventually. The Europeans, Japanese, BRIC countries, and the middle eastern countries will eventually help to make this happen.

In the meantime, I think people should hold on to their physical precious metals and continue to trade gold ETFs and gold miner stocks cautiously, making every effort to protect their profits. In the complex world of finance, gold is still considered an upstart trying to usurp the position of the mighty US$. Too much is riding on the US$. It is the SYSTEM. Expect a rocky ride but ride it nonetheless. To do nothing is not an option. Things are changing. The world is changing. To go back to the old business as usual routine, get a regular paycheck, put some money into your 401K, and expect to retire in 10, 20 years…I am afraid those days are gone.  

Despite the revelations of Climategate, the Copenhagen Climate summit plows on ahead. It is almost like Climategate never happened. The world has indeed changed. For the first time in history, the world seems ready to acknowledge one man as their leader. When Obama was elected, celebrations were held all over the world, in Pakistan, Kenya, western Europe, large parts of Africa and Asia. In Sudan, someone actually cried, he is the President of the world. He may not be the singular world leader mentioned in the Book of Revelation, but he sure showed us how it is possible for the world to follow after one man…You just need to be extremely likeable, charismatic, has great oratorical skills, promise all things to all people, and have all things lined up for you as in a perfect storm like they did for Obama. The Bible has a word of advice for us during those times…Be on guard, be alert….Mark 13:32-34

Will (and anyone else interested),

I currently have a retirement plan that I contribute 5% to each week.  My company matches up to 5%.  It's pretty much my only means of savings since I had to short sell all of my real estate.  I own a little bit of physical PMs (way too little).  But I am banking on this for my retirement.  (I'm 35)

I had considered taking out most of it (about $100k), taking the penalty, and buying physical PMs and store them in a safe place not my home.  After I take out the $100k, I could keep contributing (I don't miss 5% out of my check) and build it back up again, but obviously it takes a while to build it back up and I don't get the benefits of having a lot there.  I just couldn't do it.

Here's my question though:  The market is not necessarily denominated in dollars, right?  I mean, if I own a share of an international company, that is a share regardless of whereever the shareholders live.  If I owned a stock and it went from $10 to $15, but the dollar had lost 50%, I would be breaking even.  However, I would still be holding something of value, a share of a company.  Now, if the company was an American company and because of the devaluation of the dollar it could no longer survive, then the stock price would of course go down.

I may be missing something here, but with that rationale, wouldn't it be safe for me to keep my retirement plan seeing as how almost all of my holdings are international or foreign companies?  It might not be as safe as gold but I think that the only time gold will absolutely and totally dominate would be if ALL fiat currencies failed, or a gold standard was re-established, neither of which seem likely in my lifetime… 

Appreciate any help/insight. 

The science surely isn't perfect, but meanwhile conservation measures seem like a sensible move, as always. Actually it's (IMO) over-population that's at the root of it all, and unfortunately no one seems willing to touch that issue anymore.

stockcrazy10 said:

dlst said:

>>Despite the revelations of Climategate, the Copenhagen Climate summit plows on ahead. It is almost like Climategate never happened.

Appropriate, IMHO, and this guy assesses it pretty fairly:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7478606652950905956&postID=5076024006330863450 and click on "Show Original Post"

This cartoon also, IMHO, about sums it up: http://greenupgrader.com/9996/…..ll-a-hoax/

---

Call me a 'denier' if you like, but the science is not 'settled' and won't/can't be until ALL research is examined without bias.

We're far from that…we're reacting to propaganda, not science.

Climate science is a very controversial subject and I apologize to Stock Gumshoe for bringing it up. With respect to the owner of this site and all other users, I would respectfully request that we not continue this discussion. We could continue this discussion via the pm route. Having said that, I feel that as the originator of this thread, I have a responsibilty to respond to dlst's posting and cartoon.

If the hacked emails from Climategate shows a pattern of behavior that includes cooking the science, making changes to reverse an actual cooling trend into a warming trend, and pressuring scientific journals to reject articles from scientists who have a different opinion, wouldn't anyone of sound mind wants to find out more. That is precisely what Climategate has uncovered but Copenhagen plows on. The mainstream media didn't bat an eyelid!

If any of you wants to continue this discussion, please send me a personal message. My math question is a perfect 10 + 10

Thanks!

It is interesting to note that the great third qtr report in late November that caused gold to plunge from $1227 to $1090 has been revised downwards twice, most recently on 12/22/09. Is this the reason gold has been quietly moving up the last two days. New homes sales in November also drop more than 10% which didn't help the US$ much.

With Obamacare fast becoming our latest Christmas present from congress, I think gold will continue climbing the rest of this year. Time will tell. Hope it goes up fast enough such that my January GLD options do not expire worthless.

GATA law suit…..from post #110 above.

Well….I'm going "long" on the bet that

A) their court order will be squashed like a bug

B) there will NEVER be a disclosure of the central bank's records….

Gotta' give them CREDIT for tryin'……

************************

How many folks from the "grassy knoll" are still alive ???

either option should result in gold price shooting through the roof. Time will tell.

Will,

Yes, it does help.  Right now I plan to let the retirement keep going along with its funds and do the "buy and hold".  I don't think I would do it if I was retiring in the next 10 or 15 years, but I have a good 30-35 years to go so anything can happen. 

I currently have a Scottrade account which just recently is making it easier to buy stock online in foreign markets, however, does not have the ability to purchase in other currencies.  I'd think that China/Hong Kong would be the way to go for doing that since their economy is so strong and they are not in debt to anyone.  Do you know of a reliable place where I could invest via the Renminbi?

Also, as far as gold goes, I'm continuing to buy physical, but I'm buying more Silver than Gold.  To me, as far as the masses go, everyone is looking at Gold and no one is looking at Silver, which still isn't near its high.  Anything that happens that would benefit Gold should theoretically beneift Silver as well, yet Silver is used for other industrial reasons so has the potential to lose more supply. It seems to me more likely that Silver could go to $100/oz than for Gold to go to $5000/oz which is the same 5:1 ratio (approximately).  People could be yelling and screaming about Gold heading up while Silver quietly doubles, at least that's how I see it.

Giddyup!

Have something here for you folks…

http://www.optionszone.com/tra…..o-buy.html