Blanchard Gold Investing News Blog

"Premature" tapering of QE carries "substantial risk" to recovery, Bernanke warns

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:23:43 +0000

The main message to take away from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's testimony before Congress is that unless the central bank continues to pump billions of dollars a month into U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, the economic recovery is at risk of "slowing or ending." Despite the record-high stock indexes, does that sound like a self-sustaining economy to you? No, and that's why gold remains an important hedge in any well-diversified portfolio. Sudden inflation, a weakening dollar, and an overdue stock correction are all potential factors that could revive gold's fortunes.

"You have to own $100,000 of GLD to translate that into actual gold"

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:13:00 +0000

"The interesting thing about speculators is they're traders, and they bought the paper gold. In other words, GLD, SLV for silver, and the ETFs, whereas the long-term investors tended to buy bullion and to a lesser extent but still in aggregate a huge amount of gold coins," Euro Pacific Capital consultant John Browne tells Fox Business in a May 21 interview.

1811 Capped Bust Half Dollars "very popular with collectors"

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:03:13 +0000

Though more than two hundred years old, Capped Bust Half Dollars of 1811 are or recently have been available, in many grades.

University of Texas endowment fund still bullish on massive gold stake

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:50:41 +0000

Gold's slump has saddled the second-largest U.S. college endowment with more than $300 million in paper losses. But the swoon hasn't shaken the faith of Bruce Zimmerman, who since 2007 has been chief executive of University of Texas Investment Management Co.

Gold bar premiums hit new records highs in Asia on demand-driven shortages

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:42:30 +0000

Premiums for gold bars hit a record high in Asia on Wednesday as lower spot prices lured more buyers, mainly in China, the world's second biggest consumer of the precious metal, amid tight physical supplies.

"People still believe in gold, they still want it," notes fund manager

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:35:32 +0000

At a time when gold is in a bear market amid record outflows from investor holdings, bullion remains relevant in portfolios as inflation may accelerate, the U.S. dollar weaken and global economic growth stall, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.

Gold selloff "actually healthy for the long-term secular bull market thesis"

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:28:13 +0000

It is not news that gold prices have suffered a painful drop this year, especially in April. This is to be expected since gold has not had a single down year in more than a decade.

Fed exit from QE endangers global economy, says Bank of Korea chief

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:21:11 +0000

South Korea's central bank chief said a U.S. pullback from monetary easing would spur risks worldwide from rising bond yields, adding to a global debate over how to manage costs from exiting record stimulus.

CNBC's Jim Cramer: Super-rich should hold gold to beat inflation

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:38:52 +0000

"If you're rich, you have to worry about inflation eating into your wealth," said the "Mad Money" host. Therefore Cramer recommends the following: high-end real estate and paintings. "Both of these investments have held their value in times of hyperinflation," Cramer explained. "I'm talking works of art and property ranging from beachfront property and raw land to farmland and more."

Fed should keep printing money, St. Louis branch head says

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:31:22 +0000

Gold investors are awaiting Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's testimony before Congress on Wednesday, as well as the release of the central bank's April meeting minutes, to gauge how much longer the Fed might continue its debt-monetizing stimulus scheme known as quantitative easing. On Tuesday, two Fed branch heads both said QE and low interest rates might still be needed.

Gold will roar back when inflation re-emerges as "primary theme" in 2014

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:26:42 +0000

"I'm still going to favor gold and silver (over platinum and palladium) mainly because of their monetary component," McAlvany Financial CEO David McAlvany says in a May 20 CNBC interview.

SS Central America shipwreck gold: "Nearly all of the treasure items have increased in value"

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:17:56 +0000

Writing at Coin World, rare coin expert Q. David Bowers recalls his involvement with the sale of gold relics from the SS Central America shipwreck:

George Soros is "extremely bullish on gold," ex-Treasury official argues

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:11:43 +0000

You know that gold bear market that the financial press keeps touting? The one George Soros keeps proclaiming? Well, it is not there. The gold bear market is disinformation that is helping elites acquire the gold.

Gold's "double bottom" could signal fresh run to $1,500

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:42:44 +0000

Gold futures may rebound to $1,500 an ounce in June after hitting a "double bottom" Monday, according to technical analysis by R.J. O'Brien & Associates.

Gold has nowhere left to go but up, contrarians argue

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:37:16 +0000

Pessimism on gold is so extreme that sometimes even the bears worry it might be overdone. Monday the price jumped a little more than 1 percent after news hit the wires that was perceived to be bullish: Moody's Investors Service reported that U.S. policymakers must do something about the government debt to avoid a rating downgrade this year.

Platinum to gain 16% and finish year at $1,690, poll predicts

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:33:24 +0000

At a time when diminishing faith in gold is spurring investors to sell record amounts of the metal, demand for platinum and palladium is strengthening as mining companies curb supply.

PCGS certifies unique Chinese coin as Asian interest in numismatics grows

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:22:08 +0000

The Hong Kong Submission Center of Professional Coin Grading Service has certified a unique Chinese coin, the only known Kirin Province 1910 Hsusen Tung branch mint silver 1.44 Mace (1 Mace, 44 Candareens) with an incuse "Ki" and the dragon's tail in the design pointing to the right. Its pedigree includes the Chang Foundation Collection.

"Many bullion dealers are sold out of gold coins"

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:14:57 +0000

As far as a lack of confidence in gold and silver, it's as I said before: Markets fluctuate. Nothing goes straight up or straight down. But you certainly shouldn't credit anything you read in the mass media about whether there's confidence in gold or not.

Gold, silver get a lift from latest threat to U.S. credit rating

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:44:23 +0000

Remember that gold powered to its all-time nominal high above $1,920 back in September 2011, amid debt-ceiling wrangling in Washington, D.C., that led to an unprecedented downgrade to the U.S. credit rating in August 2011 by Standard and Poor's. Now another big ratings agency is threatening to slash the U.S. rating.

Gold: "The most important fundamental data as well as the sentiment backdrop clearly remain bullish"

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:26:18 +0000

Not a day passes without the financial media denouncing gold as an investment option and hailing the bureaucrats heading the world's monopolist monetary central planning agencies as superheroes.

Rare coins with CAC stickers can enjoy higher liquidity, higher prices

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:03:24 +0000

Let's take a look at a few of the ways the rare coin market is far, far different in 2013 than it was in 2008 or 2003.

Treasury Department notes "tremendous demand for gold among private Iranian citizens"

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:51:54 +0000

The U.S. is trying to stop the gold rush to Iran in a bid to undermine the Islamic Republic's plummeting currency, but critics say the move is more likely to hurt ordinary citizens than the rogue regime's leadership.

Gold bull is wounded but will recover, says Aden Forecast

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:34:17 +0000

For now, this drop has sparked a lot of controversy between the gold lovers' camp and the gold haters. It's a passionate situation. And depending on your outlook, you could say both are right.

Singapore's freight airport luring gold and other high-value cargo

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:27:33 +0000

Changi Airport, Southeast Asia's largest freight airfield, plans to attract more gold bars, tuna and vaccines to Singapore as it seeks to increase handling of high-value cargo to make up for slowing trade.

U.S. faces downgrade this year despite rosy budget projections, Moody's warns

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:22:37 +0000

U.S. policy makers must address debt loads projected to rise later this decade to avoid a 2013 downgrade, even as the latest budget projections are "credit positive," according to Moody's Investors Service.

Gold dip: "Investors around the world seeing this as a huge buying opportunity"

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:10:45 +0000

"The amazing thing is if you look at the figures for the first quarter and the anecdotal evidence we have for April, this is going to be a good year for gold in terms of tonnage," World Gold Council managing director Marcus Grubb tells Bloomberg in a May 16 interview, noting the "huge consumer demand response around the world" to April's price correction.

5 reasons why the gold bulls are right

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:01:27 +0000

From Wall Street Journal MoneyBeat blogger Mike Weir. Click here to watch Weir debate colleague Francesca Freeman:

The most superb rare coins are "dramatically higher and trending up"

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:50:46 +0000

Good quality scarce or rare date issues are dramatically higher and trending up. Will this be a new asset bubble? At some point it will be, but I believe we are only at the beginning of the up phase.

Record-breaking coin and art sales prove currencies are being debased

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:36:28 +0000

Pater Tenebrarum's Acting Man site recently commented on a blockbuster art sale. "The effects of the global race to devalue money were starkly demonstrated this week at an art auction in New York. An abstract painting by New York artist Barnett Newman sold for $43.8 million on Tuesday. ... As the NY Post remarks, the painting entitled 'Onement VI' looks like 'a canvas version of the video game Pong.'"

"Gold is a buy, and the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan policies will drive the metal to new highs"

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:13:36 +0000

Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital has been bullish on gold for a long time, but now he has a new reason to buy: Japan.

Central banks buy more than 100 tonnes of gold for 7th straight month

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:03:07 +0000

Gold prices are down about 12.5% since the start of April. But global central banks have been increasing their reserves of the yellow metal.

Gold guru James Turk: "We are headed for hyperinflation"

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:48:45 +0000

You have to keep a couple of things in mind. One is that the inflation numbers released by the U.S. government and most governments around the world have been massaged and doctored to make inflation look lower than it really is.

Gold demand won't suffer from new curbs in India, World Gold Council says

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:43:21 +0000

A day after C Rangarajan, head of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, stressed the need to bring down India's gold demand to 700 tonne from the present 1,000 tonne, World Gold Council emphasised that government measures to curb the metal's import are unlikely to affect the demand at a retail level as the factors behind the desire of Indian consumers to own gold remain unchanged.

Bear market? Gold-bar premiums at all-time highs in Hong Kong, Singapore

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:17:42 +0000

Premiums for gold bars rallied to all-time highs in Hong Kong and Singapore on Thursday after bullion's steepest drop since its April sell-off fuelled another round of buying, constricting supply.

Soros' gold ETF sale doesn't mean he turned his back on bullion -- rather, he upped the ante

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:57:01 +0000

Billionaire investor George Soros joined Northern Trust Corp. and BlackRock Inc. in cutting holdings of exchange-traded products backed by gold before a bear market in prices last month, while John Paulson maintained a stake that lost about $165 million in the first quarter.

Collectible Coin Protection Act reintroduced in Congress

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:50:21 +0000

On May 7, 2013, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas introduced H.R. 1849: Collectible Coin Protection Act. This bill seeks to broaden the existing Hobby Protection Act by making it unlawful to support or assist anyone who violates the act and adding trademark violations to the act.

"Economics 101 tells you the prices of all tangible assets -- including gold and silver -- will eventually increase"

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:25:44 +0000

The core bullish argument in favor of nibbling on gold and silver at today's low prices lies in their value as an alternative store of purchasing power, given that currencies are being diluted at an unprecedented rate, financial markets are frothy and real-estate and farmland prices aren't exactly at rock-bottom levels.

Silver American Eagle coin sales soar to 20 million

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:19:57 +0000

In another milestone, American Silver Eagle bullion coins crossed the 20 million milestone. That has never happened so soon in a year.

China's gold demand jumped to record in 1st quarter, trade council confirms

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:14:42 +0000

China's gold demand jumped to a record in the first quarter as sentiment regarding the country's economy underpinned consumption during the Lunar New Year, according to a report today by the World Gold Council.

"Physical gold buyers and ETF buyers have different mentalities"

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:06:31 +0000

Just a month after gold suffered its biggest one-day drop in three decades, the precious metal has once again fallen victim to heavy selling pressure. But a tug of war between physical buyers and institutional sellers will put a floor under the precious metal, said analysts.

Worrisome new U.S. economic data call recovery's health into question

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:00:21 +0000

The U.S. economy showed worrisome signs as jobless claims rose sharply last week while ground-breaking at home construction sites tumbled in April and a gauge of underlying inflation pointed to weak demand.

Early American copper coins to get new grading guide

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:51:40 +0000

The Early American Coppers Board on May 4 voted to sponsor a project to produce an EAC grading guide for copper Colonial coins, half cents and large cents.

"Conditions remain in place for a secular bull market in gold"

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:36:20 +0000

"We believe the conditions remain in place for a secular bull market in gold. This does not mean that it will be a pleasant ride," Sebastian Lyon says.

Physical gold demand explodes but fails to offset ETF outflows

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:14:18 +0000

Investors didn't buy enough physical gold to offset outflows from gold-exchanged traded funds in the first quarter, but total ETF gold holdings were still higher than a year ago, and demand for jewelry, bars and coins grew a lot thanks to China and India, a report from the World Gold Council released Thursday shows.

Gold to rise over next 6 months, poll of Swiss investors finds

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:03:55 +0000

Swiss investor confidence fell in May, signaling the economy may struggle to gain momentum as the neighboring euro area stays weak.

"Booming stock markets and weak currencies" signal future hyperinflation

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:57:27 +0000

Stock markets worldwide are booming, but these booming markets have nothing to do with economic prospects. Prospects in the world are worse than ever, and this includes the US, Europe, Japan and China. None of these countries have a booming economy. What they have is massive debt and accelerating deficits.

Top gold coins scarce and in high demand, report on National Money Show suggests

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:46:55 +0000

A field report from CoinWeek on the American Numismatic Association's National Money Show in New Orleans last week suggests that top rare coins are in high demand, especially those carrying the green sticker from the CAC, founded by renowned numismatist John Albanese:

Eurozone recession "reinforces pressure on the ECB" to cut rates further

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:40:03 +0000

The euro-area economy shrank more than economists forecast in the three months through March, extending a recession to a record sixth quarter and increasing pressure on the currency bloc's leaders to spur growth.

NGC touts 3 coins that topped the $100,000+ mark at April sale

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:20:50 +0000

The most impressive transaction associated with the Central States Numismatic Society meeting last month was the 1913 Liberty Head nickel, which sold for more than $3 million, plus three other coins that topped the $1 million mark.

Do South Africa's "unusual" gold imports from U.S. suggest shortages?

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:11:25 +0000

Examining US trade data, we were surprised to see that South Africa's $402 million trade surplus with the United States in January had turned into a $689 million deficit by March. Why?