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On The Gold Price - StockReserchPortal.com

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January 25, 2010

Good Morning:

On The Gold Price

Five More U.S. Bank Failures

Following from my e-mails last week on prospective 2010 U.S. bank failures, it was reported this past Friday that 5 more U.S. Banks failed, bringing the total to 9 for the first 3 week of 2010 - click here.  2 of these 5 banks are reported as having assets of more than U.S.$1 billion.

On The Gold Price

An article January 22 titled 'Is gold price set for crash below $1,000?' written by David Lew (a precious metals commentator with Commodity Online. You can contact him at info@commodityonline.com) asks the question "is (the) gold price climbing down to $1,000 per ounce, to confirm to the controversial prediction that noted economist Nouriel Roubini made some weeks back?  Lew comments that "It looks so as gold is going bearish, in the weight of economic nervousness coming from the two important countries that matter - United States and China", and says that "Now, as gold sank to a three-week low on Friday (January 21) across the global markets and commodity bourses, some bullion analysts warned that gold price could plunge below $1,000 per ounce if the talks on property bubbles from China and financial risk taking concerns in the US are going to intensify".  He also references 'overhype' by some bullion analysts and commentators - where that hype lacks "basic fundamentals like gold mine supply, demand and possible emergence of other commodities like platinum, palladium and silver as equality challenging investments like gold."

Lew attributes three reasons the gold price dropped in the days preceding January 23:

·    there are more paper gold (ETF's and the like) traded in the world than there is adequate physical supply to compensate for it;

·    gold has been under pricing pressure as President Obama's plans to limit financial risk taking raised concerns about diminishing capital flows from banks - which banks have provided liquidity for gold investors;

·    the gold price fell prey to what may be a property price bubble in China - where some analysts have warned Chinese real estate investments have ballooned without any proper fundamentals and demand.

While I find all this to be interesting, and worth thinking about, I see it all as of short-term interest.  That does not mean such things, and a volatile gold price, are unimportant to those who trade physical gold on its short-term price swings.  I don't do that.  I see physical gold as nothing more or less than a 'safe-haven' longer term 'purchasing power' protectorate in uncertain and volatile economic times.  Several years ago - when the equity markets were booming, and if you knew what you were doing, you only had to get out of bed in the morning to make high annual returns - a wealthy friend of mine told me:

I have always owned physical gold (not paper representing physical gold, but the 'real stuff') and kept it in a safe place.  While the amount I hold varies from time to time, I always hold an amount that I believe will enable me to have a serious chance of rebuilding my wealth if I lose everything else.

Obviously only a few people are in the fortunate position of my friend, but to me that does not mean the concept of 'holding some physical gold' as a safe haven or 'rainy day fund' in uncertain economic times is something investors of more modest means ought to overlook.

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Best Regards,

Ian R. Campbell's Signature

Ian R. Campbell
President
StockResearchPortal.com

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