Back in May of 2012 Nouriel Roubini (aka Dr. Doom) predicted that slowing growth in the United States, growing debt troubles in Europe, a slowdown in China, and intensifying political gridlock with Iran would come together to create a “Perfect Storm” for the world economy. Below we outline three ETFs that could thrive as global economic growth expectations deteriorate, keeping in mind that virtually no asset class will be safe if the “Perfect Storm” actually strikes. Words: 606
Read More »Asset Allocation: How Sound is the Foundation of Your Portfolio Pyramid? (+2K Views)
Regardless of the size of your financial pyramid, without a core-holding foundation, you are building it on sand. Core holdings are for protection, not for profit. They function as insurance against a catastrophe. [Let me explain.] Words: 754
Read More »Platinum is Downright "Cheap" Relative to ALL Other Precious Metals! Have You Any in Your Portfolio?
If this precious metals bull market continues over the next couple of years, I think one would [be well served to] diversify some assets in gold/silver into platinum. [Let me explain the present relationship between platinum, gold, silver and palladium and why I make the aforementioned recommendation.] Words: 832
Read More »"Gold is Useless!" and 6 Other Reasons To Hate Gold As An Investment (+3K Views)
Over the past few years, pretty much every investor has become familiar with gold. The shiny precious metal has surged in price and has managed to hold strong while broad indexes have slipped, highlighting its appeal as a diversification agent and safe haven investment. This has prompted many investors to ramp up their allocations to the space in order to take advantage of these favorable trends and lead their portfolios to broad gains...[but] there are a number of other issues that investors need to be aware of when considering allocating capital to the space, as there are several reasons to avoid the precious metal from an investment perspective. Below, we highlight seven reasons for why investors may want to temper their expectations for the metal and consider a more diversified approach that doesn’t include such a large allocation to the ‘barbaric relic’. Words: 2030
Read More »What Does Current Global Crisis Comparison with Those of '08 and '10 Mean for Stocks, Bonds, Currencies and Commodities?
How does the current behavior of the global financial markets compare with the two recent crises, namely the great financial crisis of 2008/2009 and the minor one in 2010 when the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone developed? [I have analyzed 15 aspects of the markets and have concluded that over the next 2/3 months we should see, among other things, increased volatility, declining S&P 500 and MSCI World indices, a bottoming in the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield, renewed U.S. dollar weakness, renewed strength in the price of gold and silver with silver outperforming that of gold. Take a look at the 19 charts below to see for yourself.] Words: 825
Read More »Precious Metals: The Place to Be in This Economic Downturn – Here’s Why (+2K Views)
According to Barclays Capital, gold, silver, platinum and palladium, as well as other commodities, generally stand a better chance of handling a global economic downturn than other types of investments [because] commodities "are on a very different footing" from two years ago [which they explain in detail below.] Words: 350
Read More »Want to Invest In Silver? Here are 25 Ways to Do Just That (+3K Views)
Now that Q4 is underway, investors are scrambling to find the right asset class for this rocky environment. Last quarter wreaked havoc on a number of investments and portfolios alike, as the global economy seems to be on a downward spiral. Given the current environment, various investors have flocked to their favorite safe havens to wait out the storm. Gold is perhaps the most popular safe haven in troubled markets, though its actual use as a metal is relatively low. As such, there has been much speculation over whether or not the metal is overvalued, scaring a number investors out of gold and into another precious metal, silver. Words: 3422
Read More »Platinum:Gold Ratio Suggests Platinum Will Do Even Better Than Gold in the Future
These days there's so much interest in gold and silver it can be easy to forget that there are a number of other precious metals out there that investors should be considering for their portfolios. While gold and silver should form the core of any metals portfolio, there's at least one other metal that merits serious attention and that is platinum. [Let me explain why.] Words: 493
Read More »Your Savings and Investments Will Be in Dire Jeopardy Going Into 2012 Unless….. (+2K Views)
The United States is now so far in debt, it will never be able to pay it off, that is, without hyper-inflation. That subject alone will require many more articles than this. The sky is not falling (yet) but your savings and investments are in dire jeopardy going into 2012. You might wish to now do something to protect yourself. [May I offer the following investment ideas.] Words: 1648
Read More »Which is Riskier? Investing in Gold & Silver or in the Dow 30 Stocks?
While gold is slightly more volatile than the Dow 30, on average, all of the individual components are more volatile than gold and only half are less volatile than silver and platinum. [So much for] the prevailing myth...that they are risky investments due to their volatility. [Let's take a closer look at the specifics.] Words: 250
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