Gold Fades From Investment Picture

BurnleyBob

JohnRo wrote: »

It's become increasingly obvious the paper gold and silver prices bear little relation to the physical metal they're supposed to represent, hasn't it?

More and more commentators are pointing out the paper gold price is blatantly manipulated and that saying so isn't just the preserve of gold bugs, conspiracy brigade, good old fashioned nut jobs or whatever pejorative takes your fancy. It's the same fiat problem all over again, that just won't go away. There's not enough real gold to back the tickets.

China has and is buying gold at the rate of around 100 tonnes a month, and the premium on physical over spot price has hit new records in asia.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-13/chart-day-china-imports-over-2000-tons-gold-last-two-years

Unlike China I don't hold any gold or silver.

Given your contributions in this thread, I'm surprised that you have no shiny stuff hidden in your sock drawer. Didn't the Cyprus bail-in alarm bell ring loud enough for you? Co-op bank bondholders have had a foretaste of what's to come.

The user comments beneath that article are interesting. One says he lived in China and the growing middle class there are clamouring for Au. Meanwhile, back in Nowhereville USA, is hometown, there's 12 we buy gold shops.

At my nearest High Street four jewellers display we buy gold signs along with a Money Shop, Cash Generator and Cheque Centre stores. The latter three also push usurious loans. In that same 500-600 yard stretch there were nine charity shops at the last count. They provide more clues pointing towards the UK economy swirling round the plug hole in spite of four years worth of a record low BoE base rate and £375B of QE counterfeiting.

And the wealth transfer will accelerate from West to East.

BurnleyBob

gadgetmind wrote: »

This is what happens to people who rely on the bigger fool.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/may/24/gold-price-collapse-pawnbroker-profits

Aside from those who are absolutely desperate for immediate cash, no-one except for the terminally stupid would sell their gold in one of their shops when any number of online companies would purchase their stuff for much closer to the spot price. H&T and the like thrive on people's ignorance.

Most of the weak-hearted and weak-minded have flogged their excess jewellery. They're down to their wedding and engagement rings. That's the real reason why the bandits on the High Street have seen their scrap purchases and profits decline.

Perelandra

BurnleyBob wrote: »

The user comments beneath that article are interesting. One says he lived in China and the growing middle class there are clamouring for Au. Meanwhile, back in Nowhereville USA, is hometown, there's 12 we buy gold shops.

At my nearest High Street four jewellers display we buy gold signs along with a Money Shop, Cash Generator and Cheque Centre stores.

And the wealth transfer will accelerate from West to East.

There's a very educational episode of "South Park" which discusses this exact phenomenon...

markwilkinson

What is a "Gold Bug" exactly,or even, remotely?

I buy it in its physical form but only have a small amount and I only buy small amounts, as and when I have spare cash and nothing more interesting to do with it. I don't try and ramp it on the forum, I don't even encourage anyone else to buy it.

Am I a "gold bug" just because I buy it?

BurnleyBob

gadgetmind wrote: »

Agreed, but that's not what you see with gold bugs. They don't show any interest in assets other than gold, only come out of the woodwork when the price is at long-term highs, and rather than seeming to want the price lower so they can buy more (as I'd hope most of us view equities and property) they do all they can to encourage others to buy and ramp the price.

Being generous, this is all a ruse and behind the scenes they are selling into their ramping.

Being realistic, they are all as nutty as a fruitcake.

John F. Kennedy must be a leading contender for the fruitcake of all time amongst those who mutter "conspiracy theory" the instant they're presented with anything they can't explain or would prefer not to think about. Here's an audio recording of the nutter's 1961 'secret societies' speech. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeYgLLahHv8

Other highly intelligent and ultra rich but obviously head-banging lunatics have chosen to state publicly what Kennedy did.

My fave and the most succinct was made by Henry Ford the car manufacturer.

"The one aim of these financiers is world control by the creation of inextinguishable debts."

brasso

markwilkinson wrote: »

What is a "Gold Bug" exactly,or even, remotely?

I buy it in its physical form but only have a small amount and I only buy small amounts, as and when I have spare cash and nothing more interesting to do with it. I don't try and ramp it on the forum, I don't even encourage anyone else to buy it.

Am I a "gold bug" just because I buy it?

No. I too have some physical gold.

As far as I understand it, gold bugs are obsessional (though they won't think of themselves in that way). They have a foolishly disproportionate amount of their wealth in gold, and they take every opportunity to deride and undermine more conventional investors and investments, usually accusing them of being short-sighted and heading for oblivion.

markwilkinson

brasso wrote: »

No. I too have some physical gold.

As far as I understand it, gold bugs are obsessional (though they won't think of themselves in that way). They have a foolishly disproportionate amount of their wealth in gold, and they take every opportunity to deride and undermine more conventional investors and investments, usually accusing them of being short-sighted and heading for oblivion.

No, I don't do that!

I like having it around, well,in the safe, but I think I must have been a pirate in a previous life.

JohnRo

I'm surprised that you have no shiny stuff hidden in your sock drawer.

I'm open minded or empty headed or something.. obviously I should just get with the program and accept bankers know what they're doing, honest hard working upstanding folks providing a service with everyone's interests in mind. That we all just need to trust them and stop asking questions. Everything is going to be just fine, until it's not... yet again

We were told the QE counterfeit given to insolvent banks was to create liquidity and spur lending to SME to get the economy moving, looks like the banks soon found a far better in house use for it.

At the moment, given my limited understand of what's real and what's not in markets I've put my money on equities, at least shares of a public company are backed by something real even if much of the valuation isn't (or is) and the levels of scrutiny they're subjected to is reassuring, so may as well try and benefit while counterfeit money speculation is pumping up the valuations.

I'm hedging my bets with cash because I need to be able to average down when the equity price bubble pops. I just wonder whether ongoing world banking and government discussions about Cyprus style wealth confiscations alongside their existing schemes, to fund the failing ponzi, will catch me out but not losing sleep over that.

If and when I can afford to hold a physical gold collection I will, but right now I'm focusing on growing my equity and cash pot.

grey_gym_sock

BurnleyBob wrote: »

John F. Kennedy must be a leading contender for the fruitcake of all time amongst those who mutter "conspiracy theory" the instant they're presented with anything they can't explain or would prefer not to think about. Here's an audio recording of the nutter's 1961 'secret societies' speech. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeYgLLahHv8

Other highly intelligent and ultra rich but obviously head-banging lunatics have chosen to state publicly what Kennedy did.

i don't have flash working in this browser, but is that the same speech as in this transcript? - http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/American-Newspaper-Publishers-Association_19610427.aspx

in that speech the conspiracy he's talking about is world communism (and he's urging the press to exercise voluntary self-censorship on the grounds that the cold war is just as great a threat as a standard war).

what (among ideas that are sometimes labelled "conspiracy theories") is kennedy supposed to be agreeing with?

sabretoothtigger

Being realistic, they are all as nutty as a fruitcake.

The reason that does not add up is fairly simple. We used to relate money to gold by either coinage or various links like bretton woods.

To appear as a bug now is only to reflect what was true for everyone a few decades ago. Its not ancient history yet, not quite archaic

This is not like going to live in a cave, its recent history. Its more like the tide going out and now we are used to the water being a mile out; we dont want to believe waves could lap the immediate shoreline again

Perhaps its incorrect to believe in this reversal, we're a technological nation now or whatever reasons, its not even close to impossible though.
It would not be an extreme event for financial events to repeat like this, I think in probability it ranks as normal