Investing

July 5, 2010

  • Buying Junior Gold and Silver Mining Stocks

    "All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise not from the defects in their constitution or confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation."
    John Quincy Adams

    After the wildly enthusiastic response to my piece last week (on selling your gold jewelry) I thought I'd look at what you should do with your new-found cash. (…)

January 29, 2010

September 3, 2009

August 17, 2009

  • China "Suggests" its Citizens Buy Silver

    Huh?  In 1965, our government took silver out of our coinage, and told Americans  NOT to buy it.  Hmmm, with silver trading almost $35 below where it traded in 1980, perhaps it would be a good idea to follow the recommendation of the Chinese media.  The Chinese were on a silver coinage standard for centuries…  Re-education anyone?

July 5, 2009

June 30, 2009

March 25, 2009

  • Ignore that Man Behind the Curtain—Buy Gold

    This is my Tuesday After Lunch Money Memo newsletter from yesterday.  Apparently a lot of people liked it, so I thought I'd share it more widely.  Let me know what you think by commenting below or by signing up! (…)

March 18, 2009

February 26, 2009

  • Top Ten Reasons NOT to own the Gold ETF (GLD)

    "Given that the stated amount of gold in the GLD Trust has grown to over 850 tonnes, it appears that a lot of investors believe that investing in GLD is the same thing as buying physical gold bullion. (…)

February 3, 2009

December 30, 2008

December 9, 2008

  • Tuesday After Lunch Money Memo: MYRRH-MURRINGS OF COMMODITIES

    At the granite conference table in the upscale offices of Pasadena ad agency, Batton Barton Durston and Packaloomer, CEO Bob Jelly said to the participants, "What say we go around the table and you people give me your thoughts on the new Myrrh company account the agency just brought in.  I want high concepts here, people."
    Judith, the firm's researcher, began with, "Well, the dictionary says Myrrh is a yellowish brown aromatic gum resin with a bitter, slightly pungent taste usually obtained from an East African tree.  Other than some gifting by a few alleged Wise Men 2000 years ago, there's very little modern usage."
    Skip, the firm's Account Executive and Chief Hustler, said, "Well, then we've got the religious folks.  We could try a bitter gum for bored teens.  And there's always golfers."
    Dexter, another A.E., piped in with, "Perhaps we could get parents to trample each other entering a department store to buy the new 'Myrrh Wars' video game."
    Grace, the A.E. (…)

October 21, 2008

October 3, 2008

  • Goldman Sachs No Longer Short

    Dear Fellow Investor:
    Below is an analysis by Adrian Douglas, a guy I've met, and who runs www.marketforce.com, a serious analytical outfit.  IF…IF… GS (more affectionately known in the business as Hannibal Lecter) is now actually long gold after BS'ing their clients for years about selling gold or even shorting gold…the result could be that prices of gold and shares that have been dumped by a zillion hedge funds and mutual funds…are poised for an explosion.   This would create a total reversal of the thinking of every "gold-is-a-barbarous-relic" Wall Street MBA who has now looked around and realized that normal "diversification" didn't do squat to help them on the 777 down day on Monday, and that maybe, just maybe there's something to this gold as an insurance policy story. (…)

September 19, 2008

September 17, 2008

  • Breaking News: Lehman To Be Acquired by Tooth Fairy

    I can't improve on the sentiments of this one from www.321gold.com:
    Author - Anonymous
    Posted Sep 16, 2008
    The market responded with enthusiasm to reports that the Tooth Fairy has agreed to acquire Lehman. (…)

August 26, 2008

  • Blind Pigs and Jim Cramer

    Dear fellow investor:
    I'm not a fan of Jim Cramer on CNBC…I figure he's a high priced shill
    - to get you trading.
    However, even a blind pig gets an acorn once in a while. (…)

July 5, 2008

March 13, 2008

February 28, 2008

  • Hedge Funds, the New Beatniks

    Hedgies these days are racing into commodities.  Even big institutional institutions, such as Cal Pers, are rushing into commodities.  CalPers and Cal State Teachers Pension Funds are trying to get their allocation up to $7.5 Billion in their centabillion endowments.  Where have these people been?  The rise in commodity prices began in the first quarter of 2001.  The cut rate Greenspan plan of the 2001-03 era spawned a multitude of raw material price spikes.  There were articles on the web.  Morningstar dug up its old research in the early 1980s showing that bull equity markets and bull commodity markets were inverse…and we'd just done a half gainer off of the Y2K tower, splat onto the pavement.  Where were all these brilliant MBA and PhD types, the financial rocketeers of our time, with all their brilliant computers and the ability to type out a quadrillion number without breaking into an emotional sweat.  Huh?  Where? (…)

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