Downside to Gold?
January 24, 2009
– Comments (4) |
RELATED TICKERS: GOLD
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I'm no Xpert in Gold, but from what I have read, there isn't much of a downside to the asset (long term). Please, feel free to correct me on any point here, I am learning about gold!
1) Your government is probably printing more money, so inflation is likely at some point in the future. As I understand it, owning gold is a bit of hedge against that.
2) More and more people are terrified about the economy and race to gold as a place of safety (and more will probably do so as they realize treasuries aren't as safe as they thought)
3) If the above people are wrong and the economy turns around, gold as a resource will be in high demand in the booming Indian/Chinese economies and we will likely see inflation as well
4) If the people in point number 2 are right, then, let's be honest. Think about human nature, how long will a recession/depression last before it turns into a war? Even the mildest of depressions have seen a rise in fascist groups (the 90's recession saw the rise of several neo-nazi groups here in Canada alone). If the war is a global one, we will not see the sick economic benefits of WW2. Weapons are a lot more devastating in 2009 vs 1939, single strategic weapons can wipe out a metropolis. Of course, if it got that bad, only food would be of value!
At the moment i'm not invested in gold on the markets, the only gold I have is a couple of coins in a safe, but I am considering it as a long term investment.
Please, your thoughts on this are welcome.