Gold Editorials & Commentary

A recent email exchange took place between me and the venerable Kurt Richebächer. We keep in contact regularly but not too frequently.

It was a July summer evening in La Jolla, a weekday night, and our favorite restaurant had an hour and a half wait to be seated. So, we went to an alternate restaurant. It was full, but able to seat us. The economy, on the surface looks like it'sbooming.

The left hemisphere of the human brain is where all the logical and sequential thought processes take place, whereas the right hemisphere of the brain is where the aha!! moments of inspired discovery come from.

Foreign Content 30% Ceiling Has Been Removed... (finally)

One week after China's decision to scrap its dollar peg, the Bank of China has already back- peddled, warning currency traders not to expect any further appreciation of the yuan.

These modern alchemists at the US Federal Reserve are in a pickle. They must promote an image of seeking monetary neutrality in the setting of interest rates.

Below is an extract from a commentary originally posted at www.speculative-investor.com on 17th July 2005.

Historically, one of the primary reasons for owning gold, silver or platinum bullion has been their ability to preserve purchasing power during inflationary periods. Over the long term, inflation robs us of purchasing power.

The views expressed in this column over the past couple of years have been wide ranging and, at times, disconnected. It seems appropriate at this point to set out a consolidated overview.

Introduction

The news that China cut its currency link to the U.S. Dollar came and went with little media reaction.

For a number of years now there have been alarm bells sounded about the huge growing under funded liabilities of both US and Canadian employee pension plans.

Back in the late 1970's, the lineups to buy gold were reminiscent of people waiting to buy Stanley Cup Hockey tickets at the Montreal Forum. They stood in their jeans, ski jackets, bulky sweaters, construction boots and business suits and coats.

The old saying "no one rings a bell," certainly doesn't apply today, as China rang the "mother of all bells." So deafening was its sound, that its vibrations will be felt around the world.

As the FED slowly raises interest rates quarter point by quarter point, the financial environment may seem to be changing very little, but in reality it is becoming increasingly at risk from financial tornadoes; A tornado is a storm that appear suddenly out of

From the early months of 2002, the key currency movement associated with the rise in gold has been the euro. Clearly, gold and the USDollar compete for primacy.

Introduction

There's the housing bubble and the commercial office space bubble. There's the bond-market bubble and its two progenies, the junk-market bubble and the emerging-market-debt bubble.

"If you have zest and enthusiasm you attract zest and enthusiasm. Life does give back in kind."

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

GO GATA!!!

The World, the Economy and the Stock Market in particular, always act like a giant pendulum, swinging from under valuation to over valuation, deflation to inflation, paper assets to hard assets, calm to turmoil.

Introduction

Introduction

Reinventing the Wheel

These truly strange times motivate an allegory. The parties should be clear before the end.

"Shave and a haircut, two bits." What is the origin of the phrase "two bits"?  What about "doubleoons" and "pin money"? Learn where these peculiar phrases came from as well as the origin of the dollar sign. 

Everyone except perhaps some Democrat politicians were relieved when they saw how mild the 2001 recession ended up to be-in fact it might not even technically count as a recession, since we did not get two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP.

As the "debate" over the existence of a housing bubble intensifies, both sides are likely to be proven wrong when it comes to predictions for housing declines should the bubble burst.

The Speculation

Capital flows into gold under one scenario only: when the lack of investment returns elsewhere, the desire for safety, and the ascendance of a risk-averse psychology at large converge.