Gold was the Best Investment since 2000, says BMO Financial exec

"There are many serious reasons why I like gold, but one very important reason has to do with the shift in the share of world gross domestic product away from the highly industrialized nations toward emerging economies in Asia," Don Coxe of BMO Financial tells The Gold Report in a new interview. 

"For thousands of years, people in China and in India have respected gold. The Western countries, on the other hand, were captivated some decades ago by economists who claimed that gold had become irrelevant as money. But the Chinese and Indian people hoard gold as a store of value and trade it as a treasured commodity. ...

"Consider an art auction. If a bidder who 10 years ago only bought one painting suddenly buys 50 paintings, that bidder will greatly influence subsequent bids for the art. In China and India there are suddenly many more wealthy people than they've had for millennia. In a culture that values gold, newly rich middle class people will buy the yellow metal not only for personal adornment, but also as a form of savings that is safer than paper money. ...

"The Indians are the biggest consumers of gold in the world. The Chinese are moving up fast, though. Plus, there are simply more rich people in the world. Hundreds of millions of people now have some form of savings. The best single investment anyone could have made, since the year 2000 -- apart from buying Apple stock -- was in gold. It has gone from $300/oz to $1,650/oz. It's gone up every year, including this year. So every year in this millennium the price of gold has gone up. ...

"Probably the only commodity that can benefit from the euro meltdown is gold, because the euro is the first currency ever to be backed by no government, no tax system, no army and no navy. It is backed only by a theory and a set of rules, and the people behind it have violated the theory and the rules. I doubt there is any intrinsic value behind the euro. But take the exact opposite extreme from the euro and go to something that's been a store of value for as long as there has been civilization, gold. ...

"One of the biggest arguments used against gold is that gold does not pay any interest. The monetarists said you might as well keep your money in a bank account. OK, so now that we are getting zero interest on short-term deposits, the single biggest argument against owning gold is gone. As an asset class, gold has gone up every year of this millennium, and it seems to me that investing in gold makes much more sense than holding on to a lot of idle cash." 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

South Korea's central bank buys almost $1 billion in Gold Bullion

South Korea's central bank said on Thursday it bought 16 tonnes of gold in July, its second gold purchase in less than a year, boosting its total gold holdings to 70.4 tonnes as it aims to diversify its foreign reserves.

The total value of the purchase, made on multiple occasions during July, was $810 million, slightly less than $850 million it spent buying 15 tonnes of gold in November last year, the Bank of Korea in a statement.

A central bank official told reporters the purchases were made sporadically throughout the month in London, but declined to provide the exact net purchase price per ounce it paid for the bullion, typical of most central banks.

Gold accounted for 0.9 percent of South Korea's total foreign reserves in value at the end of July, up from 0.7 percent a month earlier, the central bank said, adding the total book value of its gold holdings was at $3.0 billion.

The South Korean central bank said it now ranked 40th in the world in gold holdings at the end of July, up from 43rd in June. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Dubai Gold Bullion Exchange hits new Trading Record

India, the world's major gold consuming country and Dubai, a top global gold trading city, have decided to strengthen ties with regards to trading of the precious metal. UAE gold traders were given a crash course in gold hedging recently with a workshop hosted by the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange for gold merchants. Gold futures, the Exchange's flagship product, grew 111% in June from the previous year. Heightened volatility and recent contract changes introduced by the Exchange were the key drivers of the gold futures growth.

The UAE already has historically strong trade ties with India. Major imports include gold, precious stones and gems among other items. Dubai has also been a popular gold shopping destination for Indians.

Gold futures, the Exchange's flagship product, grew 111% in June from the previous year. Heightened volatility and recent contract changes introduced by the Exchange were the key drivers of the gold futures growth.

Samir Shah, Director of Business Development at the Exchange was quoted by news wires as saying "Gold prices have had a phenomenal run over the last two years, but the distinguishing feature of the gold market in this period has been the extreme price volatility of the precious metal, which has consistently threatened profit generation." 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

5 Reasons to Own Gold Bullion

There are plenty of reasons to own gold without all the needless hype. Gold bullion for the clients of wealth managers is another option for investors seeking alternative but secure investments.

1. Gold is a nice insurance policy against a currency crisis and I think one is coming. When or what country kicks things off that crisis, I don't know, but I suspect it is more likely to be the Japan, Italy, or some other country in Europe as opposed to the U.S.

2. Gold, contrary to popular myth, is actually a great hedge against deflation in the senior currency (clearly the US dollar).

3. Physical gold is a currency that is not someone else's liability and cannot be printed electronically. 

4. Central banks (not just the Fed) have been pouring on the liquidity as the global economy moves from one crisis to another. Odds strongly favor more coordinated central bank liquidity moves, and those liquidity moves tend to benefit gold in the long haul. 

5. Should the world return to a gold standard with a 100% gold-backed dollar, $1,760 an ounce will likely look like an extreme bargain.

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

McAlvany Financial chief forecasting $3,500 gold price

"Interim, $2,500, [then] $3,500," McAlvany Financial Group CEO David McAlvany says in affirming his gold forecast in a CNBC interview. 

"But as long as Ben Bernanke, Mario Draghi, and the other central bankers around the world are insistent on sort of these infinite quantitative-easing measures where there really is no limit in terms of either the time or the scale I think you have to wonder what the cap would be on an asset class like gold. You've got dollar holders over the world, including savers here in the United States, who have to look at their savings differently today than they did on Friday wondering just how much of a bite out of their savings will be taken as Ben and company are managing their savings at this point."

$2,000 gold "may be a 2013 event, but I think on the positive side it's at least possible this year; it's at least possible for 2012. But I would think it's a virtual guarantee in 2013 as we even test the $2,400-$2,500 level next year." 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Gold Investing Guide

Gold has proved to be the best value investment over the last 10 years, new research has disclosed.

Traditionally, gold has been regarded as an indispensible part of an investor’s portfolio. The answer to is gold a good investment varies according to the purpose of your investment. If you are a speculator or an investor aiming at playing the market, you have to be careful about investing in gold. On the other hand, if you are primarily interested in saving, gold can be the most viable option.

Throughout the ages, gold has been regarded as the universal store of value. It is highly stable. The value of gold does not depend on issuers promise to pay. It is largely protected from the unpredictable fluctuations in the market. Possessing actual gold bullions is regarded as one of the safest and best investments. It is not a paper asset whose value can become zero with some economic and geopolitical change. No government can suddenly confiscate actual gold. Hence, gold is the traditional refuge during any ‘flight to quality’.

Gold is regarded by investors as the best hedge against inflation and the falling value of currencies. As prices of goods and services rise, the value of paper money falls. In this situation, gold is the only thing whose value was found to be stable. In simple terms, while you require more paper money to buy the same number of goods as before, you need the same or even less quantities of gold to buy that amount of goods than before.

Research has shown that people who brought Euros to safeguard against the falling value of dollars got a return of 47% on their investment while those who bought gold got 131% return on their investment.

The unique answer:  gold is a good investment

There is one unique characteristic of the gold market which sets it apart from the other commodities of investment. The supply of gold is very inelastic while the demand shows wide fluctuation. The major gold producing nations of the world has seen the gold production to stagnate or fall. At the same time, the economic boom in the developing countries has driven up the demand for gold. The investments in gold have thus resulted in positive returns.

However, one needs to be careful of frauds while investing in gold. You can be sold shares in non-existent gold mines or counterfeit coins. You should also be wary of little known companies that buy gold for cash as some of them have been found to be money laundering mechanisms.

If you are still confused about is gold a good investment, you should know that gold must form a part of a portfolio because it imparts stability and growth. But it is best not to put too much of the investment in the form of gold. A share of 10% or less is recommended.

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

"You're going to see Gold Bullion take off faster than Apple"

"You will see the price of gold bullion explode," says iiTrader.com chief market strategist Rich Ilczyszyn in a Sept. 24 CNBC interview.

"QE indefinite. That money hasn't even hit the market yet. The Fed's going to be very aggressive here with $40 billion a month indefinitely keeping interest rates low until 2015. I think gold is still a good value here and a good bang for your buck, if you will. I also like the CFTC report which indicates for the last five weeks we've seen a net gain for large specs. So smart money is piling in. Unless we break $1,620 on the downside or perhaps even way down to $1,520, I think you buy the dips on this trade. ... 

"It plays a good part of a balanced portfolio. Commodity prices have not hit the super cycle. If we keep rates relatively low for a long time, inflation at some point will creep up. And, listen, this is a great way to balance many people. Buy the dip, Simon, take the trip. ...

"I think 11% is a heck of a gain. And, listen, another fundamental part is central bank buying gold to the tune of 400 metric tons per year and that's a gain of almost 100%, according to the World Gold Council. I think these guys are buying gold and it's always going to be a currency, so I think the analogy with the S&P, the Apple and the gold really doesn't hold. I think at some point you're going to see gold take off faster than Apple, if you can believe that." 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Bank of America predicts $2,400 Gold Bullion by end of 2014

Gold prices will reach $2,400 a troy ounce by the end of 2014 on the Federal Reserve's third stimulus program, and aren't likely to drop below $1,500 amid support from consumers in emerging markets, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said. ...

"The Fed's announcement was on the aggressive side of expectations," analysts at BofA Merrill Lynch said in a report. "Given the new open-ended nature of QE3, the upward pressure on gold prices should continue until employment is strong enough to require a change in policy. In our view, this is unlikely to happen until the end of 2014," they said.

The bank introduced a 24-month gold price target of $2,400 a troy ounce in response to the Fed's easy-money efforts, which would signify a 36 percent jump in the metal's price. The new price target reflects expectations that the Fed will continue QE3 until the end of 2014, as well as extend Operation Twist beyond December 2012, the bank said.

BofA Merrill Lynch also reiterated its six-month price target of $2,000 a troy ounce.

Moreover, gold prices are unlikely to dip below a "floor" price level of $1,500 a troy ounce over the next decade amid supportive demand from buyers in emerging markets, BofA Merrill Lynch said. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Gold Bullion "still targeted to reach $4,500," says Jim Sinclair

Alf Field, the favorite technical chartist of chief gold bug and veteran trader Jim Sinclair, who got the recent correction from the $1,923 all-time high right last September, is forecasting that gold is going to head rapidly upward to $4,500 an ounce. ...

For that to happen there would need to be a major financial disaster. Something like a massive stock market crash followed by a huge global money printing exercise to flush debt out of the system. That would impact hugely on the price of gold and silver as monetary metals that cannot be printed by central banks. ...

"The bottom line is that we now have a really strong probability that the correction which started at $1,913 on 23th August 2011 has been completed both in terms of Elliott waves and also in terms of time elapsed. If this is correct, the gold price should soon be expressing itself in violent upside action as it moves into the third of third wave which is still targeted to reach $4,500." 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

India's Gold Bullion Reserve jumps to $26 Billion

India's Gold reserves surged to $26.24 billion at the end of August, climbed by a whopping $524.7million, said country's central bank, the RBI.

India's gold reserves remained unchanged for the past few months.

According to a Reserve Bank data country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $282.3 million to $290.46 billion on the back of a healthy increase in the gold reserves.

The total reserves had risen $1.26 billion to $290.18 billion in the previous reporting week.

Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, were down by $252.4 million to $257.62 billion for the week ended August 31, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves, the apex bank said.

For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) were up by $16.2 million to $4.393 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF was down $22 million to $2.209 billion, the apex bank data showed. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Central Banks Buying Gold Bullion at Record Pace

Central banks are hungry for gold bullion and there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that suggests gold bullion prices are about to head higher. The demand for gold bullion from central banks has increased; China in particular has been making more news in this area.

Central banks’ appetite for gold bullion doubled in the second quarter of 2012. The central banks bought 157.5 metric tons of gold bullion in the second quarter. The reason for this recent spree of gold bullion buying was to diversify their foreign exchange reserves. (Source: Market Watch, August 17, 2012.) Central banks don’t seem to be relying only on the U.S dollar as much—and I wonder why.
Gold bullion accounts for 1.6% of China’s $3.2-trillion foreign exchange reserve, compared to the international average of about 10% of foreign exchange reserves in gold bullion. (Source: Financial Times, August 17, 2012.)

There is speculation that China’s central bank is planning to buy at least 5,000 to 6,000 metric tons of gold bullion over the next two years and it will start purchasing that gold bullion this year. Keep in mind that the average production of gold bullion mines is about 2,602 metric tons per year, according to World Gold Council.

A simple calculation would show that, if the central bank of China is planning to buy 5,000 to 6,000 tons of gold bullion and the total gold bullion production of the mines is 2,602 tons per year, this suggests that the Chinese central bank will be buying more than a two years’ supply of gold bullion produced.
China’s appetite for gold bullion is as strong as ever. In the first two quarters of 2012, China’s inflow of gold bullion from Hong Kong increased six times! In addition, the imports of gold bullion from Hong Kong were higher by 65% in April, compared to March. (Source: Mineweb, August 9, 2012.)

More evidence of China adding to its gold bullion reserve: China National Gold; a state-owned miner, is looking at buying Barrick Gold Corporation’s (NYSE/ABX) interest in a major African gold mine. This would be the biggest gold bullion deal that China National Gold has ever done. (Source: Reuters, August 17, 2012.)

The Chinese central bank will never say when it’s going to buy gold bullion and how much, but from the looks of it, it is certainly spreading its wings.

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Morgan Stanley: "Fed action is a game changer for gold"

Morgan Stanley's top commodity pick has long been gold.

"We remain convinced that the interest rate outlook, the likelihood of continuing risk aversion because of the Eurozone debt crisis, and strong physical market fundamentals justify exposure to gold," writes commodities analyst Hussein Allidina.

As a base case, Morgan Stanley sees gold rising to $1,750/ounce in Q4 and averaging $1,816/ounce in 2013.

With the Federal Reserve now embarking on QE3, or unlimited quantitative easing, Morgan Stanley is only more convinced that the yellow metal will continue to head north.

Here's what they wrote in a note to clients this morning:

The adoption of QE3 is positive for gold, and reinforces our long-held bullish view on the metal. In a significant monetary policy development, the Fed's move was not only supportive of risk assets in general but is likely to undermine the value of the USD, diminishing a key headwind to higher gold prices evident in 1H 2012. ...

Recent Fed action is a game changer for gold. The size and strength of the recent upside move in gold is reflective of decisively changed perceptions of Fed policy going forward, in our view. Effectively, QE3 for as long as it takes and close to zero interest rates for another three years is, we contend, markedly different from Operation Twist and only two more years of ultra low rates. The Fed also made it clear that it would pursue easy monetary policy "for a considerable time" even after the economy strengthened. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

North Korea secretly sells $100 million in Gold Bullion to China

North Korea has been secretly selling gold bullion to make up for shortages of hard currency after it spent millions of dollars celebrating the 100th birthday of its founder, a news report said Tuesday.

The Chosun Ilbo daily quoted sources in China as saying that the impoverished communist state had cashed more than two metric tons of gold bullion worth $100 million in China over the past year.

"North Korea has been exporting not only gold bullion ingots it had obtained from mines or stored in government agencies but gold trinkets it had collected from ordinary people," an ethnic Korean businessman told the daily.

"North Korean trading companies in China have been cashing the gold bullion in secrecy," the source said. "For this purpose, North Koreans are compelled to sell gold bullion trinkets to government authorities." 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

$2,000 gold, Motley Fool analyst says

 For all those investors out there who remained uncertain about the forward trajectory of gold and silver prices, Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, has just offered you a hand-written, embossed, and gilded invitation to participate in the greatest secular bull market of our time.

With his open-ended pledge to purchase additional mortgage-backed securities at a rate of $40 billion per month, and his simultaneous extension of the zero-bound interest rate through at least mid-2015, Bernanke has launched his third QE rocket to send gold and silver on yet another explosive ride to the upside. ...

Although it may be difficult to predict the precise scale of QE3 given its open-ended structure, I think we can make some safe presumptions about the program that render fresh new all-time high prices for gold and silver an extremely likely near-term outcome. For starters, I think it's safe to expect QE3 to eclipse the $600 billion scale of QE2, and in fact I consider BNP Paribas' anticipation of a $1.17 trillion tally quite reasonable under the circumstances (even if any follow-on announcement may be dubbed "QE4"). Second, I expect related monetary interventions from other major central banks to add more fuel to gold's fire.

And finally, I think it won't be long before public consensus grows around the inevitability of additional global monetary easing since few seem to view this latest set of moves as a quick fix for an immensely challenging global economic condition.

With those and a host of additional factors in mind, I am following up on my successful prediction of the impact of QE2 on gold and silver prices by offering $2,000 gold and $50 silver as comfortably conservative interim targets for this latest major rally of the ongoing precious metals bull market. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Gold-Dispensing ATM Machine now in the United States

Shoppers who are looking for something sparkly to put under the Christmas tree can skip the jewelry and go straight to the source: an ATM that dispenses shiny 24-carat gold bars and coins.

A German company installed the machine Friday at an upscale mall in Boca Raton, a South Florida paradise of palm trees, pink buildings and wealthy retirees.

Thomas Geissler, CEO of Ex Oriente Lux and inventor of the Gold To Go machines, says the majority of buyers will be walk-ups enamored by the novelty. But he says they're also convenient for more serious investors looking to bypass the hassle of buying gold at pawn shops and over the Internet.

"Instead of buying flowers or chocolates, which is gone after two or three minutes, this will stay for the next few hundreds years," Geissler told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The gold-leaf-covered machine at Boca Raton's Town Center Mall sits outside a gourmet chocolate store and works much like the cash ATM beside it. Shoppers insert cash or credit cards and use a computer touch-screen to choose the weight and style they want. The machine spits out the gold in a classy black box with a tamperproof seal.

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Hong Kong gold exports to China rise 12% to hit 3-month High

Hong Kong shipped 75.841 tonnes of gold to mainland China in July, up 12 percent from the previous month, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department said. The department also said 29.869 tonnes of gold entered Hong Kong from China, up 11 percent from the previous month's 26.997 tonnes. 


Zero Hedge commented on the recent Chinese statistics: 

The last time we looked at monthly Chinese imports of gold from Hong Kong in 2012, the comparable country in question was Portugal (whose citizens, if not central bank, incidentally have run out of gold to sell), because that is whose total gold holdings (at 382.5 tons) Chinese imports had just surpassed. Fast forward a month later, and the update is even more disturbing. In July, Chinese gold imports from HK, after two months of declines, have picked up once more and hit a 3-month high of 75.8 tons. While it is notable that this number is double the 38.1 tons imported a year prior, and that year-to-date imports are now a record 458.6 tons, well over four times greater than the seven month total in 2011 which was 103.9 tons, what is far more important is that in the first seven months of 2012 alone China has imported nearly as much gold as the total holdings of the hedge fund at the heart of the Eurozone, elsewhere known simply as the European Central Bank, and just as importantly considering the import run-rate has hardly slowed down in August, which data we will have in a few weeks, it is now safe to say that in 2012 alone China has imported more gold than the ECB's entire official 502.1 tons of holdings. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

How to Buy Gold Bullion

Investors have always viewed gold as a safe place to put your money, and with good reasoning too. Gold has always been a way to preserves ones wealth due to its stability especially during times of economic instability. It is also considered a low risk investment by most and is universally accepted around the world. Buying gold can be a great way to provide a hedge against inflation and currency crises. However gold, unlike stocks, don't produce any earnings (no dividends or interest) and it has limited industrial uses. Not to mention gold's value has been historically volatile and has not always kept up with inflation. You will have to decide for yourself if the benefits outweigh the risks.

Ways to Invest in Gold

Buying gold isn't quite as straightforward as it sounds as there are several different ways that you can choose to invest in gold. You can purchase gold in its physical form, add gold ETFs(Exchange-Traded Funds) to your portfolio, or buy gold certificates through a bank.

Buying Physical Gold Bullion

One of the more popular ways to purchase gold is to buy it in its physical form. Buying physical gold is considered the best and safest way to purchase and own gold. Gold has different physical forms such as coins, jewelry, and bars. If you’re looking to invest in physical gold, buying bullion is the best option. For smaller investments, buying gold coins are great due to the lower investment cost and smaller size. For investors looking to add a large tangible asset to their portfolio, gold bullion bars are the perfect fit. However owning a large amount of gold is risky, you should keep such items in a safe or a bank safety deposit box. Most investors say you should devote at least 10% of your portfolio to gold. 

Buying Gold Certificates

Another simple and safe way to invest in gold is to purchase gold certificates. A gold certificate is a certificate of ownership that a person carries instead of handling the gold themselves. It allows investors to buy and sell the security without actually dealing with the gold. Investing in gold certificates is very safe because you have ownership of gold that is safely locked away. These certificates are issued by financial institutions who store the gold for you. Typically they require minimum purchases and have a few fees on top of that. You have to pay to purchase the gold, pay for the certificate, and pay when you want to sell. It typically adds up to around 3% of your total transaction. Investing in gold certificates is simple, you can buy the gold at the current spot price, and you typically don’t have to pay a storage fee.

Just make sure that you understand the difference between unallocated and allocated gold certificates. Unallocated gold certificates don't guarantee an equal exchange for the gold if there's a run on the bank's gold on deposit. Allocated gold certificates on the other hand are correlated with specific numbered bars. 

Buying Gold Exchange Traded Funds

Exchange Traded Funds are another way to invest in the value of gold without purchasing it physically. ETFs are investment funds traded on the stock exchange and are similar to stocks. The great thing about ETFs is that they are easily bought and sold; you can perform these transactions as long as the stock market is open. Although investing in ETFs is easy, it is just as risky as investing in stocks. The share price fluctuates as the price of gold changes, which is very often. But because it is traded in the market environment an ETF is quick to buy or sell if needed.

Buying Gold Safely

Like any big purchase, you should do plenty of research before making your first gold purchase. Whether you decide to buy physical gold, a certificate, or an ETF; you should do plenty of research on the seller. When buying from a business always check their Better Business Bureau rating. See how long they have been operating, and if anyone has issued complaints against the business. Always be cautious when buying physical gold and make sure you are up to date with the current spot price of gold. The price of gold changes constantly so make sure you are dealing with a professional dealer that sells based on the current price.

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Vaulted Gold Investments

Vaulted gold means that the investors gold bullion is stored in a private vault with a top level of security. In addition, the investor owns the gold and has the right to have access of the gold at any time which means the gold would be sent to the investor and leaves the vault. 

Professionally vaulted: Gold centrally vaulted by a reputable security services firm or bank. Similar to other investment products like investment funds, the vault operator should be independent from the product provider, i.e. the vault operator should be a custodian (e.g. bank) that safeguards the clients gold.

Providers of vaulted gold typically buy gold in bulk in the form of large gold bars. This enables the providers to buy bullion gold at lower mark-ups compared to the premiums usually paid on smaller bars and coins which can be purchased through bullion dealers.

Often overlooked costs of physical gold include costs related to the safe storage of the gold. A professional safe is very expensive and may expose oneself to robbery. It is not advised that investors store significant amounts of gold at home without a secure safe.

The cost of storing gold in professional vaults is often low, down to a fraction of a percent. This regularly makes the annual costs for storage of vaulted gold cheaper than the annual management fees of gold ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) which are among the cheapest investment products.

Since vaulted gold is normally kept in professional vaults, no verification of the bullion or transportation is required should an investor decide to sell the gold. This feature makes vaulted gold much easier to handle compared to other similar investment products.

It enables investors to easily sell their gold holdings at low mark-down prices and makes vaulted gold much more liquid than privately stored physical gold or gold bullion in safe deposit boxes.

Many investors will want to sell their gold someday, be it for consumption purposes or other reasons. And every investor wants at least to be able to sell it in the future without any hassles or a high discount.

Vaulted gold is insured against common risks. Reputable vault operators are accredited, e.g., with the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the organization of the professional gold market in London, United Kingdom.

Several providers of vaulted gold offer customers a choice between different vault locations, e.g. vaults in Switzerland, Great Britain, the United States or locations in Asia like Hong Kong. Investors can choose one or several vaults to store their gold investment. This allows investors to own gold in several jurisdictions around the world thereby mitigating potential country risks.

Investors, who buy vaulted gold, become legal owners of their gold – they acquire outright ownership. A potential default on the part of the provider does not impact their ownership rights.

There are many advantages of vaulted gold bullion and the investor should explore all options. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

$5000 Gold Bullion Prediction - at Denver Gold Forum

In an upbeat presentation at the Denver Gold Forum, Rob McEwen forecast that gold is going to $5,000, while setting out the path forward for the company which now bears his name: McEwen Mining. "Now is the time to commit" says McEwen. "Gold is going higher -- to $5,000."

McEwen does have a pretty good track record in this respect. One remembers that when gold was sitting at around $700 only a few short years ago, he was adamant that it would soon hit $1,000 when to non-gold believers this seemed unlikely, yet only a few short months later the gold price did indeed rise above that level. (MineWeb)

Several other mining executives followed suit to comment on the Denver forum as well as the direction of gold and their industry: 

AngloGold Ashanti: "I think we will hit $5,000," CEO Mark Cutifani told CNBC on Sept. 11. "It's just a matter of when. In the shorter term, I think certainly $2,000 is very likely, given political uncertainty and what's happening across both the U.S. or North America and Europe. So I'm more likely talking about $2,000 in the short term."

Goldcorp: CEO Chuck Jeannes told CNBC on Tuesday that he is "very positive on long-term trends."

Newmont Mining: The world's No. 2 gold producer said Tuesday the price of gold could top $2,000 per ounce, which would benefit Newmont shareholders whose dividends are linked to the price of the precious metal. 

"Up is good," Chief Executive Richard O'Brien told participants at the Denver Gold Forum, as the gold price rose toward six-month highs above $1,700 per ounce. ...

"And at $2,000, which is not unreasonable, the dividend would be $2.70 per share, which is a 5.4 percent yield," he said. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Casting Good Delivery Gold Bullion Bars

Characteristics of a good delivery bar of gold bullion for the London Bullion Market are the most widely known and followed standards because the London market is the world's primary market.


The process and technique of casting gold bars is fairly consistent. All that's important is making sure your product can pass the required tests to meet gold bullion good delivery standards. First the gold needs to be melted. To do so, pure scrap gold is collected and placed inside a vat or pan. After this, a specially made melting furnace is fired up to heat the gold and turn it into its molten form. The molten gold is then poured into the ingot (mold). The gold bullion bar is then cooled, either naturally by air or by using the quicker option of dropping the bar into cold water. Once cooled, the bars are carefully cleaned with a towel. This process must be done carefully because the gold bullion won't be completely solid at that point. Before it has solidified, the bar is stamped to show the date manufactured and the weight of the bar.

All gold bullion bars are subject to the same testing to determine their authenticity and acceptability standards. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Why is Russia's Vladimir Putin stockpiling so much gold?

I can't imagine it means anything cheerful that Vladimir Putin, the Russian czar, is stockpiling gold as fast as he can get his hands on it. 

According to the World Gold Council, Russia has more than doubled its gold reserves in the past five years. Putin has taken advantage of the financial crisis to build the world's fifth-biggest gold pile in a handful of years, and is buying about half a billion dollars' worth every month. 

It emerged last month that financial gurus George Soros and John Paulson had also increased their bullion exposure, but it's Putin that's really caught my eye. 

No one else in the world plays global power politics as ruthlessly as Russia's chilling strongman, the man who effectively stole a Super Bowl ring from Bob Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, when they met in Russia some years ago. ... 

We may be about to enter a much more turbulent and dangerous era of power politics and international competition. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Reasons to own Gold Bullion

Gold is undervalued. Why? The main reason is inflation. Rising prices eat away at your income and purchasing power whether you know it or not. Gold that sold for $850 per ounce in 1980 would be worth approximately $4,000 to $5,000 today when you adjust for inflation. So Gold today is a steal by historical standards. Another way to determine the real value of Gold is to compare it to the stock market. In October of 2007, Gold was selling for roughly $750 an ounce. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to approximately 14,000. Do the math. This means you needed 18.66 ounces of Gold to buy the Dow. Now fast forward to the present. If Gold sells for about $1600 an ounce while the Dow trades around 13,000, then it only costs 8.12 ounces of Gold to buy the Dow. It’s just one more reason why Gold is cheap by historical standards -- and why Gold will continue to rise.

Gold is a life preserver for investors when prices rise and currencies decline as well as during periods of economic crisis. With the United States and other nations now printing money to spend their way out of recession, conditions are ripe for rising inflation and a declining dollar. That’s why more and more investors are going with Gold to protect and grow their wealth.

Demand for Gold is growing. It’s not only because smart investors are turning to it as the best way to protect and grow their wealth. There are many other reasons as well. Demand for Gold is also rising because millions of people in China and India are buying Gold as they join the ranks of the middle class at an unprecedented rate. Meanwhile, many central banks are buying Gold as a way of reducing their exposure to a declining U.S. dollar. That’s what’s happening on the demand side. Now consider supply. Gold mines can’t dig enough of the stuff out of the ground to keep up with rising demand. It’s Economics 101. It’s supply and demand. The conditions are now in place for Gold to spike.

 More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

Gold is a buy, Barclays tells clients

Commodities rose higher on the announcement of more quantitative easing. But have fallen back. One commodity, weak all year, still has room to run, Barclays Capital analysts said in a note to clients Tuesday. Gold is a buy, the commodities team of the London investment behemoth said Tuesday, joining a growing chorus of bullion bulls.

QE3 weakens the dollar. That's good for U.S. export companies and good for the U.S. government. Exports become cheaper to overseas buyers, and the U.S. gets to pay lower interest on its debt to bond holders. But with dollar debasement moving back to center stage, QE3 is likely to support the recent pickup in gold buying and that should help to bring to an end gold's position as one of the weakest commodity markets in 2012, Barclays forecasts.

"Without fundamental support, liquidity-driven rallies are likely to fade fast for most commodities, especially since prices of many of them are already much higher than at the start of previous QE events," Barclays analyst Kevin Norrish from London said in the note.

"A price of $15,000 an ounce for gold would not be absurd"

Storied investment guru Jean-Marie Eveillard says frenzied money printing by central banks and Neo-Keynesian stimulus programs adopted by governments around the world could jointly push the price of gold to $15,000.

In an interview with King World News the value investor who oversees $60 billion in funds says that the vast amount of money printing and stimulus spending by major economies around the globe has failed to prevent world markets from weakening, with Asia the latest to succumb to economic malaise in spite of "Neo-Keynesian policies."

In Eveillard's opinion, the aggressive monetary policies pursued by the US Federal Reserve and the ECB as well as ubiquitous Keynesian spending programs of dubious efficacy will continue to provide gold with tremendous upside. 

In the French investment veteran's own words "a price of $15,000 an ounce for gold would not be absurd."

How much gold is there on the planet earth?

  

How much gold is there on the planet earth? Well according to most geological experts there is enough to fill two Olympic swimming pools or about 167,000 tones that equals 35273 ounces per ton, times 167,000 equals 5,890,591,000 or 5.9 billion ounces of gold which is not enough for one ounce for every child, woman and man on earth.

About 89% of gold ever mined during the 5000 years of recorded human history happened from 1849 to 2012. In 1849 gold was discovered east ofSacramento along the American River at a famous location called Sutter's mill. Most geologists say there is no more surface gold that can be found.

Peak gold production could happen in the next ten to 15 years as it becomes harder and more expensive to mine gold. In 25 years, there will be half as much gold left to mine but the expense to mine gold could quadruple. 

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com

$10,000 price of gold ?

In this week's issue of Barron's, Jim McTague spoke to Guggenheim Partners Scott Minerd:

Hedging against the most pessimistic case without crippling the upside potential of a better or even miraculous case appears to be as unsolvable as the proverbial Gordian knot. Alexander the Great "solved" the intellectually challenging knot riddle by severing it with his sword. Scott Minerd, chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners, offers a more reasoned but equally simple solution to the hedging conundrum: gold. In extreme circumstances -- like miscalculations regarding inflation by the Federal Reserve -- the metal could hit $10,000 per troy ounce, he asserts. Thursday, after the Fed disclosed its latest financial-stimulus scheme, the metal rose about 2% to $1,768.

The ultra bullish forecasts for gold aren't without precedent. Applying the "Pareto principle" -- the idea is that 80 percent of the effects of something come from just 20 percent of the causes -- Erste Group analyst Ronald-Peter Stoeferle argued that we could see $8,300 gold by the spring of 2015.

Citi's Tom Fitzpatrick also has an extremely bullish gold scenario out there. "We see no reason why this gold trend cannot perform as well as the last bull market in gold between 1970 and 1980," he told King World News. "If you replicated that move exactly, it will take gold to $6,300."

Inflation and technical pattern aren't the only ways to get to extremely high values for gold. Richard Russell and QB Asset Management's Lee Quaintance and Paul Brodsky have proposed pegging the dollar to gold at $10,000 per ounce. Bottom line: expect more gold bulls to present their ultra bullish cases for gold.

More information can be found online at http://www.goldbullionadvisors.com