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Re Post: Vietnam suspends gold imports (23 Jun 08)

June 25, 2008 – Comments (1) | RELATED TICKERS: GLD , SLV

From the Financial Times June 23 2008: Vietnam suspends gold imports

 “Vietnam’s communist authorities have temporarily suspended all gold imports in a bid to tackle the country’s spiralling trade deficit and help support the depreciating local currency, the dong.

With Vietnamese investors rushing into gold as a hedge against skyrocketing inflation, Hanoi – which sets an annual quota for gold imports – has withdrawn licences for further imports, traders said on Monday.

The decision comes as record imports of gold bars have made Vietnam the world’s biggest market for gold bullion, surpassing India and China and helping to deepen Vietnam’s trade deficit…. Hanoi has regulated gold imports for years. But the recent collapse of the local equity and property markets, inflation which hit 25 per cent in May and concern about the weakness of both the US dollar and the dong have spurred a big increase in local demand for gold.”

MY COMMENT: I saw this in the Financial Times, and I wanted to write about it. However, Mish Shedlock beat me to it here.

I think Mish nails it, but I might add a little.

The Vietnamese are not stupid, but have been long term victims of bad government. They fought out the Japanese, French, Americans, and Chinese in the last 60 years. They understand a war economy, inflation and paper money. They buy and hold PHYSICAL gold.  There is an extremely valuable lesson there; you do not want to learn by incident.

1. You should own a safe or two.

2. You should own some PHYSICAL gold or silver.

3. The older you are the more important it is to have physical wealth. The US debt is significant and the US dollar has been in trouble. The War is not over and it can get a lot worse.

4. You should read all the links and sraw your own conclusions.  

Cannot happen in the US?

Lets Read:

1. The Roosevelt Gold Confiscation Order Of April 3 1933.

2. The End of Dollar Hegemony

It all ended on August 15, 1971, when Nixon closed the gold window and refused to pay out any of our remaining 280 million ounces of gold.

3. Central Bankers Against Gold - The Demonitisation Of Gold 1933-1980.

On August 1971, Mr Nixon closed the "Gold Window". The last link between Gold and the Dollar was gone.

Or video: Nixon Ends Bretton Woods International Monetary System

What about London?

Again Mish Shedlock has a great post 6 June 08: Minyan Mailbag: How Safe Is My Gold?

Safe Deposit Boxes Raided

The article to which "SC" is referring is Safety deposit box raids yield £1bn of drugs, cash and guns. (2 Feb 08)

 “Police have seized a potential £1 billion “treasure trove” of cash, drugs and guns in an unprecedented raid on concrete vaults holding 7,000 safety deposit boxes.

More than 300 officers and staff were involved in simultaneous raids at three depots in London’s Park Lane, Hampstead and Edgware. Officers have secured the concrete and steel vaults and will take several weeks to remove each box, using angle grinders, to a secret location where they will be prized open with diamond-tipped drills.”

Shocking Raid In California

The raid in California that James Turk referred to is quite shocking. Let's take a closer look at Not-So-Safe-Deposit Boxes: States Seize Citizens' Property to Balance Their Budgets.

The 50 U.S. states are holding more than $32 billion worth of unclaimed property that they're supposed to safeguard for their citizens. But a "Good Morning America" investigation found some states aggressively seize property that isn't really unclaimed and then use the money -- your money -- to balance their budgets.

Mish offers final thoughts:

"Final Thoughts

I am highly suspicious of the claim that terrorists are hiding out in gold. It is not that easy to move around, controls are amazingly tight, and with every government nosing around in it, it would seem to me to be the one of the last places terrorists would attempt to hold money.

Regardless, make no mistake about this: Gold Is Money. Proof is easy to find. Gold acts like money, it is money. And governments sure are treating gold as if it was money, aren’t they? Actions speak louder than words. "

I highly recommend the article here:

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/06/minyan-mailbag-how-safe-is-my-gold.html