Good reason for optimism in metals: Part 1

The Gold Report: “We’re finally seeing some good economic news. Have we hit the bottom?” Leonard Melman: “As far as the general economy is concerned, I’m not exactly prepared to make a clear statement.”

Tags: precious metal prices, precious metals investing

Good reason for optimism in metals: Part 2

The markets always tend to look ahead and the base metals are no different. So if the price of the base metals starts to rise unaccountably, that’s also a positive indication that this economic recovery or boomlet will indeed take place. So the price of the base metals is a real key to the future of the economy—at least it’s a good solid indication.

Tags: precious metal prices, precious metals investing

Nothing in this Silver and Gold Price Move Changes the Long Term Outlook

Watching the Nice Government Men play with silver and gold prices the last few days has sent me back to re-examine basic strategy. What you’ve witnessed amounts to nothing more than their Pyrrhic victory forcing down the price for a few days when it is already weak. This temporary win does them no good long term, as the price will shortly pop back up.

Tags: gold prices, precious metals investing, silver prices

Mapping the platinum story: ThomWatch

Platinum’s 20% rise this year points to a repeat of 2008’s record-breaking run to $2,250 an ounce. This week, the silvery white metal is $1,000 away from that mid-2008 mark. As R. Michael Jones of Platinum Group Metals used to tell me years ago, “When enough people say they want platinum, really really want it, the market gets insane.”

Tags: platinum investing, precious metals investing

Why investors bought large chunks of gold in 2008

Bullion prices traded within a rather confined range overnight (from $915 to $930) , while the US dollar appeared stalled at just above 84 on the index, and oil prices gave up a little more than one dollar on rising inventories while they sank to the mid-$52 area. Stock markets also gave back some of the ground they had won earlier in the week.

Tags: bullion prices, precious metals investing

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