It is relatively easy to picture an ounce of gold, maybe in the form of an American Eagle or Canadian Maple Leaf. Even something like a kilo bar (32.15 ounces) is something you can see in your mind’s eye, even if you may never hold one. The amount of gold that is traded in the physical market and the derivatives market, however, is unfathomable.

Consider, for example, SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD), an exchange-traded fund backed by physical gold. The premise is that investors can buy into this fund and their money should track the price of gold. The problem is that since investors are buying into a company that owns gold and not gold itself, problems can arise. There is overhead to pay for and employees that need to be paid. It costs money to store and insure the metals, and when gold goes down the company sells some of those holdings.

SPDR has liquidated 300 tons – over 600,000 pounds, or 9.6 million ounces – of gold this year alone. The fund currently holds over 1,000 tons of gold in its vaults, but that figure is astonishingly lower than the numbers from a few years ago. SPDR used to be the premier gold ETF. Now, with a value of approximately $46 billion, it barely cracks the top five.

Yes, physical gold has gone down in value as well, but it is still an investment in a hard asset, unlike ETFs and other derivatives. Since you can hold it, use it and it doesn’t cost money to operate, physical gold investments are looking pretty good right about now.

This morning I received a great deal more emails than usual regarding the selling of gold investments. I seems as though the crash of the gold price on April 12-15, the recent trend of high-volume fluctuation during day-to-day trading and the dollar’s seemingly unstoppable strength as of late has spooked American household investors into considering liquidation of their gold holdings.

This is a shame, for two reasons. First, if you wanted to sell your gold and take profits from the market, I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this but you missed the boat. Savvy short-term investors sold their gold as soon as gold passed key support levels during the mid-April sell-off. Selling anytime between April 16 and today meant a loss for most investors who had not been in the market for a long time. I’m all for dollar-cost averaging but if you see the gold spot price fall by $200 per ounce in just a couple of days and you don’t sell then, you certainly should not sell a week or two later if prices are in the same range unless it is absolutely necessary.

The second reason I question individuals who think now is the time to sell has to do with the gold investment market variables. Think about what factors motivated you to buy gold in the first place. For me, the unholy amount of government (the United States now borrows 43 cents for every dollar it spends) coupled with the fact that gold was on a 3-year winning streak (I first bought in 2004) after remaining in a bear market for the previous 20 years. Other people buy because of inflation, deflation, interest rates or because they just don’t like the monetary strategy of our nation’s leaders, which is understandable. Have any of these factors changed or become less severe? Not at all. Therefore, unless you really need to create some liquidity, now is one of the worst times to sell your gold and silver.

And they said gold was through…well, it isn’t over people! January was a very profitable month for the precious metal and those who continue to invest in gold will keep on receiving well-earned yields. According to the LBMA PM fixings of $1,531 on December 31, 2011 and $1,744 on January 31, 2012, its monthly gain was 13.9%. So we’re starting out with a bang because even in all of 2011, gold hadn’t increased by that much.

Bloomberg published an article last week when gold was up less than 10% for the month about how wonderful gold began the year. The precious metal had not commenced that well since January1980, yet also it put in a nominal 27-year high that month. But, don’t worry; there are differences from that year to this one. Relentless inflation was the call of the 1970s. The way they dealt with that was via persevering advancement of interest rates. During January 1977 and April 1980, the Fed funds rate ascended from 4.61% to 17.61%. That’s 1300 bps in a just over three years. Just bear in mind that 20% prime. The uncertain soaring profits of US Treasuries basically drained everything out of every single market.

Nowadays, though, inflation is necessary…or so the Fed wants us to believe. The problem is that it really doesn’t matter what type of interest rates we endure; nothing will solve our problem because it’s basically out of our hands right now.

• Can we ever pay back our colossal $15.3 trillion Federal debt?
• Can we get the housing market out of stagnation? (In November they fell back to 2003 levels)
• Can we assist consumers with their credit card debt?
• Can we assist students who want higher education?

And, now, the Senate determined last week that it’s okay to raise the debt ceiling another $1.2 trillion hike to $16.4 trillion. We always reach it and continue asking for more. Will this time be the end?

The Fed’s revelation: it is strongly believed that the economy will continue staggering for at least 3 more years. Their latest approach includes an extension of their zero interest rate policy guidance from mid-2013 until late 2014. When they actually begin increasing the rates, they are expected to be moderate incremental hikes, which will have as its consequence maintaining real rates factored for inflation in negative territory until 2014 and beyond. In December 2008 the Fed first cut the Fed funds rate to 0-0.25%. We now await approximately 6 years of zero interest rate policy meaning more than half of this already wasted decade will be over. The Bank of Japan was as misguided as the United States believing they, too, could dig themselves out from the ZIRP conspiracy within ten years. Thirty years have glided by.

In their Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022, the CBO said that they anticipate economic movement to “remain below the economy’s potential until 2018.” The Federal Reserve should just give into our wasted decade now and expand their ZIRP guidance until 2018. To make matters worse, the Fed is presently focusing on inflation, core-PCE to be precise, at 2%. The economy is stagnant and the Federal Reserve believes it will remain like this for more than two years…the CBO doesn’t think we stand a chance. The Fed also forecasts that the high rate of unemployment will remain quite steep for some time. There are households aiming to make it, spending less to pay down debt. Whereas personal income rose 0.5% in Dec, PCE was flat. And let’s add the Eurozone crisis to the drama.

In the condition our economy is in it is highly unlikely that the Fed will be able to achieve 2% consumption inflation. We are not ignorant. We know that they are going to put the printing presses to run like crazy. What will occur is a 2% dollar devaluation so those of us who believe in wealth preservation will be up a creek without a paddle. If they do pull off 2% core-PCE, what will the alternative measures of inflation be like? How will food and energy prices react? What about the precious yellow metal?

Gold will probably continue its course as the 13.9% rally in January demonstrated. If that doesn’t convince you, nothing will. Think of wealth preservation…a prevaricate defense against the inflation the Fed is now compelled to produce. What’s more is that it most likely won’t stop at 2% once it’s in motion. If you believe in safeguarding your wealth, your greatest security against the Fed’s decision to stimulate consumption by deteriorating your dollar’s worth is to opt to invest in gold.

The gold correction is nearing its final stages. If at any time in your life you have contemplated entering the market of precious metals, now is the time…particularly a solid gold investment. Early in the week, gold surged to $1,667.90 which is the uppermost point since December 13th. It was the dollar’s slip which aided in a hike in gold prices by a total of 6.7% for the New Year. According to analysts, the combination of flaccid homebuilder data with reports that a default in Greece is fundamentally forthcoming aided in the collapsing dollar.

Concurrently, gold imports in India are steadily mounting.

• Gold imports advanced 2% with silver up by 6%.

The only thing one should be doing is observing the stock market as gold gradually, but steadily, tiptoes its way toward its rebound…up,up,up. The stock market is presently in the timing band for a downward move into a daily cycle low. This normally occurs every 35 to 40 days. Friday marked day 33. Add to that a bigger intermediate degree cycle that should get pretty low between March and April. An intermediate bottom will compel selling which will be much more powerful than a simple daily cycle stump. We are actually awaiting the middle of March or early April when things will go downhill and look pretty drab. It will probably be akin to escalating interest rates in France and possibly the UK along with all other nations which are enduring negative debt problems.

I will reiterate to all readers to do their research and look at the whole picture objectively. Professionals within the sector not only advise that this is the time to actually go out and buy, but they are also conveying that it is a good time to accrue a position for the long term. Gold analysts deduce that the next week and a half will produce a rush of selling pressure within the stock market, where gold markets will receive the strongest shock. It is the speculators who consider that gold could go further under the $1,523 mark which was achieved in December. Should that occur, the gold market may not really floor until late February or mid-March. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and should be acted upon while you still can afford to do so, before exorbitant prices follow.

For the naysayers who don’t believe that gold can surpass the unexpected, beware…it is coming. Gold investment should be pondered and scrutinized at the present time quite vigorously for those who are interested in wealth accumulation, as well as those seeking to preserve their wealth.

The shimmering ball is now in your court. Don’t use the excuse later that no one told you so.

For those seeking more great news about gold investment, metals consultancy Thomas Reuters affirms that the precious yellow metal is getting closer to the end of a 10-year streak that has seen prices swell more than 600 percent, but it anticipates the metal to reach a climax of $2,000 an ounce between October 2012 and March 2013. Since 2001, spot gold has been an excellent asset as portfolio diversification, uncertainty over sovereign risk, and extremely low interest rates have aided in the rising of prices from a low near $250 an ounce to a peak above $1,920 in September 2011. Gold is expected to exceed that level in the closing quarter of 2012 or the first three months of next year, GFMS said, conceivably springing through the $2,000 an ounce point.

In the second update to its Gold Survey, the company said, “A combination of factors will ensure that sufficient demand from investors and to a lesser extent official sector institutions comes into the market for it to clear at higher levels. Concerns over nearly all currencies’ long-term value remain acute, and this includes the U.S. dollar, which to a large extent has found favor simply as the ‘least bad’ option, especially in light of growing fears over the break-up of the eurozone.”

Despite this, things should stabilize which will affect gold negatively. GFMS confirmed, “The report does acknowledge that the gold market is nearing the closing stages of its decade-long bull run and that, once the macroeconomic backdrop changes and investment in gold fades- probably some time next year – a secular retreat in the price will unfurl.”

According to the company, in the first half, the price of gold will have a medium of $1,640 an ounce, somewhat similar to what we are seeing now. A growing dollar and aggravating risk aversion, which in past months has constrained gold and could deter short-term price increases.

In the first half of the New Year, GFMS understands that jewelry demand will lessen by 3.1 percent to 1,027 tonnes, in line with a 2.2 percent abatement in overall claim to 2,199 tonnes. China and Turkey will most likely be the main propellers of jewelry demand, and China may pass India as the world’s major gold buyer from January to July 2012. Philip Newman, GFMS’ precious metal’s director said, “In terms of calendar year 2011, India was ahead, but…it does seem as though China, in terms of our data for the first half of the year, may just tip ahead.”

Apparently, central banks are purchasing less, though, with official sector acquisitions believed to have ascended to their peak levels since 1964 last year are now beheld as falling some 7 percent to 190 tonnes in the first half, still an historically superior point.

Following a surge by more than a third last year to 1,194 tonnes, physical bar sales are anticipated to go higher another 1.4 percent in the first half. As the debt crisis emerged, demand for gold bars was predominantly powerful in German-speaking Europe in 2011.

A warning from GFMS:

Not all areas of investment are expected to be buoyant. Official coin and bar investment might continue to grow a fraction, but the implied (investment) figure should swing to net disinvestment…as a result of eurozone travails, dollar strength, and constrained liquidity.

According to GFMS, it will be the rising dollar that will be gold’s biggest hindrance. Global investment is anticipated to reduce by some 250 tonnes in the first half of 2012 from the first six months of last year, to 680 tonnes.

From the point of view of the supply side, mine production is presumed to increase 3.2 percent in the first half of the year, despite the fact that most new supply will emerge from prevailing, instead of recent, undertakings. Gold scrap supply is perceived to be falling 3.1 percent, in spite of most available material hitting the market after a prolonged period of gold price strength. New sellers may also be put off by expectations of higher prices, it supplemented. The shorter term foundations are not as unstable as might be thought for gold investment. It’s still one of the best places to park your money.

Why would it be wise at the present time to invest in gold? Because history has proven that holding the precious metal is a sure way in which one can balance out the entire disparity that has been created at the hands of our inefficient government. This year has also proven to be worse than what occurred in 2008 and it should only worsen with the weak tactics that have been imposed upon us. The printing of money has only lowered our independence levels and has developed a chain of events from which there is no return.

The world is at a level of rupture from seam to seam. The levels of debt have risen too high to ever be overcome. And if they are using monetization to try and aid it, you can just imagine where we will end up. Energy prices are at their highest which means we are up against something monstrous.

The deadline is nearing and what will accompany it is a mystery to us. All we know is that something big is bound to occur and the smarter ones will be intensely guarding their assets as well as supplementing their foundation to be able to bounce back with well sought after security.

There are many obstacles that we are facing at once: Europe and its problems are affecting the entire world; China’s circumstances are fragile at the moment which is why we can not include it in our plan of action; the sluggish GDP growth should have been higher but, unfortunately, what is higher is the price of oil. All of this has led us to lose what little security we have felt towards our financial system. And without that, our system has pretty much culminated. How has it lasted so long? How has it lasted with all the funding that is required to make it run along with the debt that is piling up at an exponential rate: $10 trillion will be very hard to find. Remember China has their own crisis and will not look our way.

Lamentably, it is oil that has not ceded in its course. With this comes a drooping economy which does not have the strength to overcome. Oil prices are currently $30 more than in 2009 and $10 more than in the previous year. The economy can not swim to the surface with this pushing us further into a depression.

Three years ago we had more stamina, flexibility, and, above all, cash. The world is different today. Priorities have been altered with bank bailouts holding the highest rank and that is not being achieved, so what else can we expect? Across the seas, things aren’t any better so who will we turn to?

Normally we would just look within our own government and issue policies that would help ourselves to progress in the right direction. The problem with that is the burden of debt will not allow us to stand on our own two feet. And, no, it’s not the oil prices flooring us. It’s the decisions that were made for us that were ineffective and permitted incomes to be lower than the debt level. This is a problem that runs through the veins of the OECD by virtue of the way in which central banks have been treated worldwide. Governments have been too permissive and now it is the people who will pay.

Not even our GDP can help us. We basically evened it out with $5 trillion which did not aid us, as expected, in increasing GDP. In other words, our size is the same but our debt load has increased. It looks like we’re going down very quickly. Our GDP hasn’t even increased in the past year which is another factor against us. Our deficit is heightening and is an ugly 10% more than GDP.

The Eurozone is also deteriorating quite rapidly. The debt downgrades they are snagging are nothing to be proud of. A concerted constructed rescue could possibly make headlines for them, yet because that would mean they would have to grow as well as fix their economy, it is not the best solution at the present time. In reality, this will not materialize and, thus, The Eurozone is falling down, falling down, falling down…my fair lady. I smell defaults a comin’.

The commendable way in which the European Central Bank works is embodied throughout poor Ireland. They were under strict watch by the ECB and now they will disappear along with many others from the Eurozone. Maybe it’s true that austerity’s best function is to shrink an economy and Ireland must thank the ECB for that. If they would have maintained the fixed government rate at 3%, their chances at recovery would have been higher. With the rate at 3% the necessary rate of GDP development will historically create support for the economy. It is somewhat normal if deficits swell with the economy; there is a dilemma, though, when the economy takes a step back from the rate of interest that is necessary for the government. When this happens, either deficits become erratic or there must be a surge in taxes. That’s how the ball bounces. Period.

Bottom line is that we still are experiencing astronomic quantities of outstanding derivatives as well as small investors backing out of the market. I won’t even begin with China. They need to sort out their own affairs before they can come to anyone’s aid. In the pursuit of happiness and inflating away the nastiest of our debt load, an intensive devaluation of the world’s currencies is expected. Isn’t it clear now why you must invest in gold?

2011 has been a very interesting year for gold investments because it marks the 10 year anniversary of massive increases in value that have been primarily driven by inflation, failing traditional investing markets and an overall weaker United States Dollar. As you may already know, The US base national debt is over $14 trillion, a staggering number poised to continue increasing as the government continues stimulus and quantitative easing measures. All of these negative economic factors are very influential to gold investments because many investors tend to buy gold as a store of wealth when they feel that their dollar-backed investments are no longer safe.

The future of gold investments will be primarily dependent on the strength of the United States economy. If the United States Government continues its current overprinting of US Dollars, this could result in major hyperinflation down the road, which in turn pushes investors away from dollar-backed assets like stocks and bonds. Fortunately for gold investors, gold and the United States Dollar have a very unique inverse relationship. As dollar-backed assets weaken, investors tend to flock to physical possession bars and coins in order to protect their wealth with an asset that historically thrives during inflationary economic environments.

Many expert gold investment analysts believe that the metal’s current $1,550 per ounce spot price could reach anywhere from $1,780 per ounce up to $2,100 per ounce before the end of the year. These are very realistic estimates, especially since gold has already increased in value more than 25% this year alone (2011).

Investors interested in more information can contact Gold-Investment.info directly for helpful assistance and experienced investment direction.

Zachary A. Pew

Business Week recently reported that gold climbed, once again, in both the US and international markets while the interest from investors remains steady around the world. Even amidst a shaky global economy it seems the interest in gold remains high and will only continue to rise as it becomes more publicized in the mainstream media.

Many investors are beginning to realize that a gold investment equals a smart investment. So why are there still so many who have not added gold to their investment portfolio?

Gold Is Only For the Wealthy

Until recently, gold seemed out of reach to smaller investors who believed it was more an investment for the wealthy. Many individuals did not understand the process of obtaining the metal or were led to believe they could only invest in large quantities.

Today, however, gold is becoming more of a mainstream investment – providing even the novice investor an opportunity to possess this precious metal. Gold Bullion is no longer the most commonly recognized form of gold investing. Gold coins have become more widespread and provide a reasonable investment option to the beginner.

Not Enough Information

Prior to the internet age an investor would have had to deal with a local broker or investment manager in order to learn more about gold and their investment options. They may have relied on a friendly referral or simply utilized someone local since it was convenient. Having only limited options and information available to them, coupled with brokers who may have been less than reputable, it made the process of investing in gold extremely intimidating to many.

This is no longer the case for today’s investors. The web now allows them easy access to an abundance of information on the subject. More and more websites are offering potential investors step by step tutorials on the process of investing while outlining the gold investment options. This lifts the veil and allows them to understand the investment strategies so they can become a more educated buyer or seller, bringing knowledge and the power to make better investing decisions.

I Prefer Paper Assets

There was once a time when a diverse investment strategy involved investment in Stocks, Bonds, and various other forms of paper assets in order to distribute the risk an investor would face. However, as we have been painfully taught, paper assets are extremely volatile in today’s market and investors need to diversify their portfolios in order to secure the future of their investments. Gold investments give the investor more options and allows for further diversification.

An investment in gold does not have to be an intimidating undertaking nor is it inaccessible to even the household investor. By conducting ones own research and speaking with qualified and reputable firms this metal can become a lasting investment for you and generations to come just as it has been a solid standing investment to the generations before. If you are looking to diversify your current portfolio or just start one, a gold investment is an option any investor should seriously consider.

Zachary A. Pew

The school of life teaches all of us that there will always be people who will do nothing but complain about the status quo, and that there are those who will distinguish him, or herself, and actively do something that is within their power, to enhance their own situation. Investing in gold is one such option for today’s dissatisfied, and disillusioned investors, and many are capitalizing on that option to both gain complete control over their own finances, as well as to potentially flourish throughout what are otherwise tragic economic times that are about to become worse for multitudes of unfortunate others.

Many believe that our nation’s economy will require at least several years to recover from its’ current quandaries, and experienced investors know that investing in gold is historically an advantageous strategy to implement during such times. Gold backs the value of every printed currency in existence, so it’s logical that the gold spot price historically rises during extended times of speculative dollar values. Years of overprinting, and irresponsible banking, and brokering practices, have decimated our badly hemorrhaging economy, and pragmatic individuals are investing in gold, as a privately held, liquid asset that has maintained its’ relative value for nearly five-thousand years.

Those who are interested in learning more about investing in gold, are encouraged to contact one of our friendly specialists, who offer institutional discounts on gold bullion, and rare coin to household investors like you.

Eric Osborne

Physical gold investing in bullion and rare coin is beneficial for financial institutions like banks and insurance companies, and is growing widely in popularity among dissatisfied household investors in stocks and bonds. These banking, and Wall Street investments generally tend to under perform during tumultuous economic cycles like the one we currently face, and household investors nationwide are researching the short-term and long-term advantages to physical gold investing.

Bullion investments are commonly used as short-term profit vehicles, because bullion contains no numismatic value like rare coins do, and because bullion prices generally hover slightly above the current gold spot price. Some household investors purchase 24-karat, one-ounce bullion bars, because they carry the lowest premiums, and investors are advised to purchase reputable bullion bar brand names, like Johnson Matthey, PAMP Suisse, Credit Suisse, or Engelhard, for guaranteed purity.

Bullion coins carry slightly higher premiums, and are minted in both 22, and 24-karat purity. Naturally, 22-karat bullion coins like American Eagles carry lower premiums than 24-karat coins like American Buffalos, or Austrian Philharmonics, but both types of coins contain exactly one full troy-ounce of pure gold. As mentioned, bullion is a widely used short-term profit vehicle, but it is also an effective diversification for long-term, rare coin holdings.

$20 Lady Liberty, and $20 Saint Gaudens, 22-karat, rare gold coins are also known as “Double Eagles”, and are proven long-term safe haven assets. They are among the most widely sought items for long-term financial protection, because their numismatic value generally tends to appreciate over time.

Investors can avoid paying mind-blowing retail prices for their American Eagle bullion, and Double Eagle rare coin by contacting one of our friendly specialists, who offer institutional discounts on bullion, and rare coin to household investors like you.

Eric Osborne