Bumble Bees, Gold and a Single Scoop Recession.

dqnet

I have done a little research and I just found the prices to be a little high right now...
I'm just not totally confident with Silver. I mean I could be totally wrong but it just seems such a useless investment?

hounslow_boy

Lokolo wrote: »

Putting all your eggs in 1 basket is baaaaad.

- unless you put them in the right basket

dqnet

Hmm, what is everyone elses opinion on silver?

dqnet

I've been looking carefully at the silver bars now...
I was thinking of buying from Hatton Garden Metals... they dont seem to sell silver.. Would it be wise to just walk into a shop and buy the bars?

DiggerUK

dqnet wrote: »

Hmm, what is everyone elses opinion on silver?

Too much VAT, too much industrial use, too much bulk, too many urban myths, and too much of it.

But then again, after starting a thread on gold I would say that, wouldn't I.

edinburgher

too much industrial use

I disagree that something that can be used for something is an inherently worse investment than something that just looks pretty. Ok, so there are some uses for gold, but not nearly as many as for silver.

To quote you:

Don't forget, the greatest trick that paper money ever pulled, was convincing the world it was real

You could swap 'paper money' for 'gold' and 'real' with 'valuable' in my opinion

DiggerUK

edinburgher wrote: »

I disagree that something that can be used for something is an inherently worse investment than something that just looks pretty. Ok, so there are some uses for gold, but not nearly as many as for silver.....

Of the precious metals (PM's) gold has about one eighth of annual production used in industrial/medical use. The rest is nearly all used as investment. Most of the gold jewelery demand is for savings in areas of the world that have never trusted banks.
Now there's a shocking revelation I hear you say, "some people don't trust banks!!
http://www.invest.gold.org/sites/en/why_gold/demand_and_supply/

When economies are in full swing then demand for PM's such as silver in electronics, platinum in car manufacture, rhodium and palladium in aircraft manufacture is what boosts the price. Very little is investment demand. Collapse economic growth and that demand falls, along with the price. Gold is not so sensitive to economic stagnation because it has little use beyond an international currency which is why it is described as "real money"

edinburgher

Gold is not so sensitive to economic stagnation because it has little use beyond an international currency which is why it is described as "real money"

Doesn't really address my comment, but never mind. I'm arguing that I'd rather invest in something with many practical uses, you're saying that gold doesn't have many uses. It's like we're having two different conversations...

shaven-monkey

If you're looking to hedge against economic collapse then gold that you hold yourself in a safe at home is the way to go. No point having it in a safe deposit box when all the banks close thier doors really.

If you're looking to hedge against stock fluctuations then gold or silver are equally valid investments. Which is best... well that's the trick isn't it.

FTSE 100 12 month .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/stockmarket/3/twelve_month.stm

Gold FOREX 12 month.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/commodities/11632/twelve_month.stm

Silver 12 month.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/commodities/40380/twelve_month.stm

The headlines about both metals are using the phrase "All time high" which should be a pretty clear indicator that it's not something to invest in for profit. My 2 cents worth anyhow.

edinburgher

The headlines about both metals are using the phrase "All time high" which should be a pretty clear indicator that it's not something to invest in for profit. My 2 cents worth anyhow.

I just like silver because it's shiny - perhaps the worst reason for an investment ever? Still, I'm only spending 2-3% of my earnings on it, compared to 5% in Zopa, 12-15% in equities.