With gold now reaching it's highest price of the year, gold related stories seem to be popping up in more places. Here are a few gold related articles and blog posts from the past week that are worth the read.
German firm plans gold ATMs to meet growing demand
It seems like other countries are always creating new ways to make gold easier to purchase amidst growing demand. India started selling gold coins in post offices around the country. Now Germany, Switzerland, and Austria will have gold dispensing automatic teller machines in various public locations. In the United States, the response to high demand has been to ration the supply of gold.
Hedge Funds Making Big Bets on Gold
Hedge funds are waking up to gold. Paulson & Co bought 31.5 million shares of the gold ETF worth $2.8 billion. Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine bought 26.5 million shares worth $2.4 billion.
As I have explored in some other recent posts, the premiums for gold and silver have been contracting recently amidst the rising prices. Premiums are now back to normal for most gold and silver coins.
A recently published piece examining gold production in 2008. World gold production peaked in 2001 and has been on the decline ever since. Also, there have been some interesting shifts in top gold producing countries.
Money Magazine, gold, and hedge funds
Watching Money Magazine as a contrary indicator. They recently pass off gold as a "speculative play" that has delivered "lousy returns" since its below the peak reached in 1980. They conveniently ignore gold's 300%+ return since 2000.
Is it just me, or does it seem like mainstream publications all start publishing negative gold stories when the price starts rising? Forbes trots out some analyst zingers, "fundamentals not supportive", "crowded trade", and "ripe for correction". Excuse me while I go buy some more gold.
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