Silver and The Gold Standard

The silver price fell yesterday on profit taking and rising equities as risk appetite re-entered the markets with renewed optimism over economic recovery. The markets reacted well to the U.S. government’s plan to purge toxic assets from the banks, which lent strength to hopes such actions will revive lending and boost the economy.

Tags: gold, gold standard, silver

In uncertain times, all that glisters is a gold standard

A few months ago, Terry Smith, head of Tullett Prebon, the interdealer broker, chaired a panel at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos which was asked to produce one concrete recommendation to fix the global financial crisis. The top pick? Not anything on toxic assets or fiscal spending.

Tags: gold standard, precious metals investing

Russia Says: Let’s Go Back To The Gold Standard

Not happy with the dollar? Russia isn’t, so the Kremlin is apparently putting forth an alternative international currency that would be more conducive to its interests, considering its massive gold reserves: a return to money backed by gold.

But you don’t need to be a major superpower to trade in currency not backed by government fiat. In connection to my story on bartering, I briefly mentioned the trade-and-barter industry, which has a form of currency all its own–”barter points” that members of a trade-and-barter association use in place of money to price its each other’s services. This can be useful for a few reasons. For example, U.S. exporters have faced a disadvantage recently as the dollar has strengthened. Trading in barter points rather than dollars is one way around that. David Wallach, president of the International Reciprocal Trade Association, told me that these alternative currency arrangements are useful when “there are not enough dollars in the system” to satisfy demand.

Tags: gold standard, precious metals investing