Gold Can Make You Poor! (This Guy Is Serious)

So this morning I had the pleasure of reading one of the worst articles written about how Gold can make you poor. He speaks of buying at the peak of the Gold price and being poor for the next 20 years. Earth to Ian McGugan: you lose money when you buy at tops, and especially at artificially created tops. You might want to research Nelson Bunker Hunt, and you might want to consider an artificially strong dollar tends to do that to commodities.

The problem with Ian McGugan's myopic post is that he approaches the subject like he is a Wall Street Investor, he prices everything in dollars. The problem is that most precious metal volatility is due to currency swings. Why is Gold setting records all the time? Because our currency continues falling in value! Gold isn't supposed to "make" you money in the long run, it can in the short run, but in the long run it is supposed to give you an inflation adjusted equivalent.

But Ian, you can have your paper. The chart below indicates that 77% of fiat currencies have failed in history, but Gold is still here. And the stock market that you champion so much is back to the same levels it was at in the late 1990's. So you'd still be waiting 10 years, or we can play your favorite game and say that if you bought at 14,000 you'd have lost a ton of money now!

Just remember Ian McGugan, many commodities follow a similar pricing pattern, and it is no secret that commodities have had it rough because of the Dollar's strength. If you can't see value priced beyond Dollars then I agree, you should stay as far away from commodities as possible because you will likely lose your butt. Here is a little something to think about, I bet all of the people who invested in Enron would have gladly taken half of their holdings in Gold, the same with Bear Stearns, Lehman's Brothers, Linens n Things, Circuit City, Bernard Maddoff, and hundreds of other companies that have failed in the last two years.

No one, in HISTORY has ever lost 100% of their money buying real, physical Gold. So, on that note I declare:

PAPER CAN MAKE YOU COMPLETELY, 100% POOR!

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2245143

H1N1 Watch: Over 50% of US Adults Say No!

According to CNN.com over 50% of US adults have said they don't want, nor will they take, the H1N1 vaccine, and with good reason: They are scared of side effects. Who wouldn't be worried when there's Mercury in them? I mean, we aren't even allowed to have thermometers with Mercury in it, let alone having it injected in us. Apparently Mercury is only no poisonous when CDC and WHO say that it is safe to be injected in you. Cheers to all who have awoken to the scam that is the H1N1 "vaccine." As far as we're concerned, this vaccine will protect you from one thing and one thing only: A longer life.

CNN Article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/18/poll.h1n1.vaccine/index.html

H1N1 Watch Articles:
Florida Forced Quarantine
President and NY Declare State of Emergency
Retired Chief Medical Officer Speaks Out About "Vaccine"
N95 Masks May Be In Short Supply

Cash4Gold And The Class Action Law Suit

A class action law suit was filed in California against Cash4Gold because their jewelry was either "lost in transit" and only insured for $100.00 or their checks were mailed too late for them to get their Gold back. This sounds awfully similar to the 10 Confessions of a Former Cash4Gold employee. Feel free to review an article we wrote previously exploring the question: "Is Cash 4 Gold a Scam?" We can't say whether it is or not. But like many Grandfathers once said "If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, then..."

More Info on the class action suit:
http://www.israelidiamond.co.il/english/News.aspx?boneId=918&objid=5980

GM Hearts eBay

That's right, GM is out of bankruptcy and full of cool and hip new ideas. GM will be selling their cars on a popular auction website. The pilot program is initially targeted towards California. When asked what they were thinking GM responded:

CEO: Well, GM is not a Dinosaur as many companies suggest. We're Hip, Rad, and Down With It like Toyota, Honda, and Datsun. We plan on selling these hot new pimped out rides to all of our homies representing the GM Company. We will now fill warranty claims via twitter, which should be neat. We are already following 10 people on twitter which appears to be slightly successful, and we have a new commercial coming out which features rap music.

We felt California was an ideal spot to test out because of how destitute they currently are. GM has balls and we plan on showing our Balls by going into the toughest market in America! Wuddup Wit It Fat Cat, Boo Yah!

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/10/autos/gm_ebay/index.htm?postversion=2009071016

The Truth Shall Set You Free

Well here it is straight from the mouth of a guy on the trading floor. There is market manipulation on the part of the government. Not to say it was a well hidden secret though!

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1173-And-Here-It-Is-On-CNBC-Manipulation.html

Let The Bonds Begin!

Uncle Sam wants your money, and in exchange he'll hand you a nice IOU. The problem is that there are an awful lot of IOU's out there that he is supposed to honor, and some are questioning his viability. If you are in the market for a house, then maybe you've noticed a sharp uptick in the mortgage rates, that's directly tied to the current issues that the Treasury Department is experiencing with issuing record numbers of bonds.

I can only hope that things don't continue to crumble, but I fear that if we continue on this current path the Fed will need to print, purchase, and thus monetize our debt in amounts only seen by post World War 1 Germany.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-petruno6-2009jun06,0,3556163.column

And the market goes wild!

Today GM declared bankruptcy. I did you the favor of grabbing the latest news headlines from money.cnn.com. I'm highlighting the good news in green and the bad news in red:

• Stocks start June with a bang
• America's 10 biggest collapses
• JPMorgan to raise $5 billion
• Oil jumps on stock rally
• Time Warner's well-timed tax break
• Is the bank stock rally over?
• Bailed out banks lending less
• Why the market doesn't care about GM
• Manufacturing index hits 9-month high
• Xerox bets on pricey printers
• Shrinking salaries: Why we're saving more
• Trillion dollar health-care fix

So, as you can see there was a mix of news. Let me highlight the most "important" piece. This would be the manufacturing index. Why is that in red? I mean, the index did hit a 9 month high. Yes, the index did hit a 9 month high, but it is still in contraction. So while it is optimistic news, it's not good news. It's like when you think 500 people have died, then you find out it was "only" 450. Better, but still not good. And it is this news that sent the market spiraling up and 221.11 points. Forget that one of the largest companies in American history, GM, is filing bankruptcy (which, ironically enough, will affect Manufacturing.). Now, I by no means am a GM sympatheizer, but this just strikes me as gambling with emotion.

I understand that this is supposed to signify a recovery, but if you're crossing a mine field, and someone waves you on, are you just going to run sprinting across? If you're getting into a shark viewing cage and someone says "You'll be fine" are you just going to start throwing chum in the water and hop in happily (some of you might :-/)?

I just feel like the markets have lost all sensibility and are just running full steam on gut instinct and emotion. That's a very dangerous game to play. If you're going into the stock market, proceed with caution, because emotion creates volatility.

CNBC - The Bottom Is In! L.O.L.

Last night I was feeling slightly down and depressed, I really needed a good laugh. So I switched on the only thing that can do that. Not Comedy Central, not Night at the Apollo, not even Richard Pryor Stand up, I switched on CNBC. I was intrigued as some talking heads jabbered away similar to South Park's depiction of a Canadian (I intend no offense with that reference.). There was a man; his name escapes me, making large claims. He was talking about how the recession will officially end in the next quarter. Quite a broad claim when you see reports of increased foreclosures, etc, etc. Keep in mind these are the same talking heads that denied we would be in a recession. But what really intrigued me was not what this man was saying, but what the Fast Money people were doing. They were playing a game of reverse psychology with the viewers.

There was an Asian Lady on the show who literally acted like she was hanging on this man's every word. She actually asked this: "Are we too late to get in the markets to take advantage of this recovery?" And many of the others chattered to the same effect. They tried to hint that you were, in fact, too late to take advantage of the recovery, but they tried to not push this notion too far as to convince the viewer's they were too late. The man spoke of a stock that had doubled in value recently, but was still down 90% from its high. He spoke of the value, and all I could think of was a sheep herder rounding up the viewers.

At that moment, it was quite hilarious to watch, in hindsight, quite scary. I feel bad for all who are being misled by these people they place their faith in. Perhaps I shouldn't, as some would say, they choose to follow these people.

US Ranks 15th in Creditworthiness!

According to Institutional Invest or magazine, the US has hit a new record low: 15th on the list of 177 of the most credit worthy countries. You can view the article at http://www.iimagazine.com/rankings/rankingsRankCCMaGlobal09.aspx