Gold

[Nikkijah]

I'm watching a report on channel 7 about gold theft & fraud and it started me thinking about gold...

My partner told me that when she was young her aunt used to buy 1 Baht of gold for about B800 but now it's worth B12-15,000(I've no idea!)

I asked her if she thought gold would ever decrease in value but she didn't think so...

I can't stand the stuff, I think it looks cheap, especially if I see a lot of it draped over someones neck or rattling around some wannabe-Hi-So's wrist, anyhow...

Is it worth investing in gold? buying the odd solid bracelet or even tiny bullion and keeping it somewhere VERY safe, like in my old shoes

[londonthai]

you have to turn your money around to get the biggest profit - so buy gold cheap at bulk and sell piece by piece.

saying it - you have to know what are you doing and you have to find customers who will trust you

[VegasVic]

I'm watching a report on channel 7 about gold theft & fraud and it started me thinking about gold...

My partner told me that when she was young her aunt used to buy 1 Baht of gold for about B800 but now it's worth B12-15,000(I've no idea!)

I asked her if she thought gold would ever decrease in value but she didn't think so...

I can't stand the stuff, I think it looks cheap, especially if I see a lot of it draped over someones neck or rattling around some wannabe-Hi-So's wrist, anyhow...

Is it worth investing in gold? buying the odd solid bracelet or even tiny bullion and keeping it somewhere VERY safe, like in my old shoes

Gold has had its day, it is currently dropping like a rock and with a worldwide recession as a very real possibility and deflation along with it, gold is the last place you want to be.

[englishoak]

Gold has had its day, it is currently dropping like a rock and with a worldwide recession as a very real possibility and deflation along with it, gold is the last place you want to be

Hardly, Gold has been moving sideways for the past 3 months. Currently $646 today with the highest drop for weeks. This is on the back of the global stocks plunging.

With all the chaos in stocks ATM you will see a selling off in Gold, BUT over the medium term it will more than likely resume it's upwards march. At least it is tangible and is normally a fairly safe bet over time, it has risen from $275 in Aug 2000 to $ 646 today. Quite a climb. In the event of a currency collapse it will sky rocket.

One other thing to bare in mind about Gold ....... The Indians and Chinese LOVE IT !......... And as they are big savers you can bet with economic progress Gold will be pushed higher. Especially when a billion or so extra people begin to buy it.

Now is a good time to pick up a bit as the prices are likely to drop for a while..... leave it in your shoes and forget about it .......... Nothing wrong with spreading your options.

[lannarebirth]

With economic progress Gold always gets pushed lower. That money is spent on cars, houses and other investments that were previously out of the gold owners reach. I have no opinion about it one way or the other, but them's the facts.

That said, you can have investment manias in anything.

Edited August 16, 2007 by lannarebirth

[JaiGuru]

That said, you can have investment manias in anything.

I've got a garage full of tulip bulbs, and nothing but time...

[up-country_sinclair]

any thoughts on gold ETFs like GLD or IAU?

[Naam]

you have to turn your money around to get the biggest profit - so buy gold cheap at bulk and sell piece by piece.

would you please be kind enough to tell me where i can buy gold "in bulk and cheaper"?

[Naam]

With all the chaos in stocks ATM you will see a selling off in Gold, BUT over the medium term it will more than likely resume it's upwards march. At least it is tangible and is normally a fairly safe bet over time, it has risen from $275 in Aug 2000 to $ 646 today. Quite a climb. In the event of a currency collapse it will sky rocket.

with gold you can never lose! it goes up and up and up and up. of course... for the poor buggers who paid 860 dollars per ounce TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS AGO it was a bit of bad luck.

[Carmine6]

With all the chaos in stocks ATM you will see a selling off in Gold, BUT over the medium term it will more than likely resume it's upwards march. At least it is tangible and is normally a fairly safe bet over time, it has risen from $275 in Aug 2000 to $ 646 today. Quite a climb. In the event of a currency collapse it will sky rocket.

with gold you can never lose! it goes up and up and up and up. of course... for the poor buggers who paid 860 dollars per ounce TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS AGO it was a bit of bad luck.

Yeah, all the people hyping gold now did not own it for those 20 years when it basically went down in value. Or they did own, but it took 20 years before they could brag. Since that period you could have made out like a bandit in stocks and most other assets. Or for that matter, done ok in a savings account.

I had some gold stocks that I held for maybe 4 years that went nowhere even though their production was growing. Luckily one had lots of real estate and started selling that off which juiced the stock. Had I bought physical gold back then I don't think I would have made money until 2 years ago. In the same period, just eyeballing the graph, the S&P is up 700% to 800%.

[Nikkijah]

Mixed responses, so why did gold reach $860 and then fall again? Was it at an unrealistic price at $860? Or did something else happen to make the stocks fall?

It seems that if I want to save for the long term that gold is a fairly good bet, is it less volatile than other stocks? Or pension funds for that matter? Can anybody tell me?

[Naam]

It seems that if I want to save for the long term that gold is a fairly good bet, is it less volatile than other stocks? Or pension funds for that matter? Can anybody tell me?

a picture tells more than ten thousand words. if you want to starve put all your money in gold.

[lannarebirth]

It seems that if I want to save for the long term that gold is a fairly good bet, is it less volatile than other stocks? Or pension funds for that matter? Can anybody tell me?

a picture tells more than ten thousand words. if you want to starve put all your money in gold.

minus inflation loss, minus return on investment, minus insurance and storage cost. etc. Now, let's see if that chart becomes a big cup and handle formation.

[Nikkijah]

Point taken, it would be a different story if I'd bought, say, in December 1998 and sold it now

So are all these people in Thailand(and elsewhere) buying gold and sticking it in their 'safe' misguided?

[Naam]

Point taken, it would be a different story if I'd bought, say, in December 1998 and sold it now

So are all these people in Thailand (and elsewhere) buying gold and sticking it in their 'safe' misguided?

people who hold "some" gold as investment are definitely not misguided. it's also a matter of individual investor's taste what percentage of total net to hold in gold.

personally i like gold very much... around the neck, the wrists and the fingers of my wife.

[Carmine6]

Mixed responses, so why did gold reach $860 and then fall again? Was it at an unrealistic price at $860? Or did something else happen to make the stocks fall?

It seems that if I want to save for the long term that gold is a fairly good bet, is it less volatile than other stocks? Or pension funds for that matter? Can anybody tell me?

Owning gold and owning stocks of gold companies is two different things. The gold company stock prices can move opposite to the price of gold itself. It's basically a mining company that happens to mine gold.

If you're not an active investor, gold may ok. I think financial assets like stocks and bonds are a much better bet long term, but if you like to have gold bars sitting in a safe you'll probably at least keep up with inflation over the long term.

Gold at $860 was clearly an unrealistic price. What is a realistic price? I don't have any clue since the market for gold is so complex that I wonder who can keep up with it. There's always some government making big buys or selling gold, some special season in India, some crisis in the Middle East or Africa. You're also having to look at changing inflation rates and currency exchange rates around the world.

And then there are strange things like banking legislation in the US that can affect the price. When the US governement increased scrutiny of wire transfers suppossedly lots of oil profits began being moved around in gold instead of wire transfers. That has coincided with some of the run up. Who would have seen that coming? I don't even know if it's true although it makes sense. Problem is there're stories like that all the time to explain the movement and they come from all over the world.

[sonicdragon]

In my opinion gold and other precious metals deserve a place in balance diversified portfolio along with other commodities such as agriculturals. As just mentioned by Carmine6 investing in the gold mining companies is a different thing entirely. If you want to have exposure to precious metals I would suggest a bullion fund or an ETF.

[AlexLah]

Gold will reach astronomical hights in a few years from now.

I advised a friend of me with a lot of money to buy gold 2 or maybe 3 years ago when you could buy One Bath for about 7-8000 Bath.

Now it is 10.750 or something.

The US economy is going to collapse and the USD will be worth nothing.

M3 figures are not being published anymore so that the FED can keep printing money.

Iraq, Iran, Venezuala, China and other countries are backing off on dollars and some want/wish the oil be paid in Euro.

Next will be some kind of US, Canada, Mexico Euro and revaluation.

Then an Asian Euro and finaly one global currency.

I will be long dead when the last happens but I am sure I will see the others happening.

Just follow the financial trends and not only the mainstraem because they are mostly controlled by the people in place.

This world is about to collapse.

[Naam]

Gold will reach astronomical hights in a few years from now.

This world is about to collapse.

The merchandise of gold linked notes, and silver hedges, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of structured trading vessels of ivory, and all of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

And the high yield fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

:D

[AlexLah]

Amen....

[j_cheung]

Point taken, it would be a different story if I'd bought, say, in December 1998 and sold it now

So are all these people in Thailand (and elsewhere) buying gold and sticking it in their 'safe' misguided?

people who hold "some" gold as investment are definitely not misguided. it's also a matter of individual investor's taste what percentage of total net to hold in gold.

Or appetite for risk & volatility!

P.S. I prefer to buy fractional ownership of companies that hoard that stuff and make value-added items with it instead

[sonicdragon]

Gold will reach astronomical hights in a few years from now.

This world is about to collapse.

The merchandise of gold linked notes, and silver hedges, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of structured trading vessels of ivory, and all of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

And the high yield fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing

[Nikkijah]

Great reply Naam

j_cheung, what kind of figures are we talking about when you 'buy fractional ownership of companies'? Because I'm talking about buying small amounts of gold each month, say B10-15,000, could this amount of savings be better put into 'buy fractional ownership of companies'? I think not, but correct me if I'm wrong...

[VegasVic]

Gold will reach astronomical hights in a few years from now.

I advised a friend of me with a lot of money to buy gold 2 or maybe 3 years ago when you could buy One Bath for about 7-8000 Bath.

Now it is 10.750 or something.

The US economy is going to collapse and the USD will be worth nothing.

M3 figures are not being published anymore so that the FED can keep printing money.

Iraq, Iran, Venezuala, China and other countries are backing off on dollars and some want/wish the oil be paid in Euro.

Next will be some kind of US, Canada, Mexico Euro and revaluation.

Then an Asian Euro and finaly one global currency.

I will be long dead when the last happens but I am sure I will see the others happening.

Just follow the financial trends and not only the mainstraem because they are mostly controlled by the people in place.

This world is about to collapse.

How many times have you been abducted by aliens again?

[AlexLah]

ha ha ha haaa you are so funny!!!!

Look at this naaaaaa.

Take care and have a good time, ha ha ha

[Naam]

ha ha ha haaa you are so funny!!!!

Look at this naaaaaa.

Take care and have a good time, ha ha ha

i'm having a good time Alex and i pity any investor who has ONLY achieved an identical meagre yield that gold raked in during the last five years. but we can't be all winners, can we?

[AlexLah]

It Is OK Dr. Naaam please tell all of us with what you got a bigger yield, na. Or is that your big litlle secret?

.

Edited August 17, 2007 by AlexLah

[Naam]

Gold at $860 was clearly an unrealistic price. What is a realistic price?

nobody can answer that question Carmine. the lovers of gold claim is possesses intrinsic value. i claim that gold -like any other commodity- is worth what an interesting party is willing to pay for it.

suppose both of us are shipwrecked on a remote island with no food and no water. you managed to save a bag of cold coins and i salvaged a few barrels of beer, some huge big pieces of ham, german country style smoked sausage and twenty loafs of bread.

now... after you hungered and thirsted for 48 hours and approached me to buy some ham, bread and beer from me... how much gold would you offer in exchange and how much would i accept for a sip of beer and a slice of bread?

[Naam]

It Is OK Dr. Naaam please tell all of us with what you got a bigger yield, na. Or is that your big litlle secret?

Alex, since nearly three decades i am an investor in a rather small and specific niche of the markets and that is emerging market bonds. until a couple of years ago i held only sovereign debtors, then i switched to corporates. believe me that the results beat investing in gold hands down although this year i am looking (more or less) at red figures only. but something similar happened to gold. an ounce was 669 dollars on 2nd of january and today's price is 657 dollars. so... where's the beef?

the problem with gold is that there is no cash coupon paid twice a year. to make a living you need the price to go up continously, sell a part for cash which the wife needs to buy food and drinks in Tesco and Carrefour and to pay for your other daily expenses (not to forget the mia noi).

[Carmine6]

Gold at $860 was clearly an unrealistic price. What is a realistic price?

nobody can answer that question Carmine. the lovers of gold claim is possesses intrinsic value. i claim that gold -like any other commodity- is worth what an interesting party is willing to pay for it.

suppose both of us are shipwrecked on a remote island with no food and no water. you managed to save a bag of cold coins and i salvaged a few barrels of beer, some huge big pieces of ham, german country style smoked sausage and twenty loafs of bread.

now... after you hungered and thirsted for 48 hours and approached me to buy some ham, bread and beer from me... how much gold would you offer in exchange and how much would i accept for a sip of beer and a slice of bread?

Correct, which is why my next sentence was "I don't have any clue since the market for gold is so complex that I wonder who can keep up with it."

If the world as we know it is really coming to an end, start hoarding firearms and gasoline.