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Visualizing Silver As An Investment
Silver is like gold in many ways; both are precious metals with long histories as currencies. They are malleable, lustrous, ductile, resilient, and rare. However, as Visual Capitalist illustrates in this spectacular infographic, silver investors should be aware of the three main differences between silver and gold. From silver's relative volatility and correlation to industrial demand, track record, diversification benefits, and the three ways to get exposure to silver, this colossal image provides everything you need to know in one place.
Click image for massive (legible version).
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Is too manipulated and why price is stuck in a rut.
Is completely manipulated, keeping the price at a percentage of its' value, making it a steal. How many currency products can you say that about? No counterparty risk. It is like christmas every buying opportunity.
Silver fundamentals:
You mean they just print Monopoly Money on paper?
No, there are houses and hotels that back every single Monopoly dollar ever printed. They are admittedly rather small, and, come to think of it, are made out of red and green plastic, but they still back the money - which is something that can't be said for the US dollar.
Interesting graph of silver shorts showing the deception of the commercial futures shorts being beyond the physical available for delivery:
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2012/12/11/are-precious-metals-futures-heading-for-a-crisis?t=precious-metals&page=2
I buy my kids 100 ounce bars. They understand completely, more so than your average Zerohedge reader.
Threadjack here
This post is directed to Sacrilege or anyone else who knows.
Is there a method to determine if someone has responded to one of my posts? This used to be a feature on the old website, and if there is no method, I would like to request one. I am sure most people here value their time, and would appreciate some kind of notification mechanism.
"Is there a method to determine if someone has responded to one of my posts?" yeah, you're reading it..................
And how I wish I hadn't.
Sacrilege said something like 'we want people to view from the top' or some shit when I cornered him about it. Must be for the ads.
So best you can do is track yourself to see the posts you commented on and them use find and find next on your name
The gist of the piece imo is that the silver market is small, and the value is obviously dependant upon whether it is hoarded (saved) or just traded in passing. It is such a small market it could be cornered by HFs. And if the people loaded up prior to said HFs putting on pressure, the HFs would become the people champions, and this is fitting for such a astute bunch. Cooperation is such a manner would be fitting for their knowledge and aspirations being provided to all who wanted to participate. And this could theoretically happen, particularly in a situation where the government is trying to spend too much and tax too much.
in Aldo Raines voice:
And the gubmint would fear these HFs
And the people would appreciate these HFs
And the people would be prosperous
basically...not as good as gold
It is goldman Sachs NOT Silverman Sachs
If you limit your spam,
you can click on "My Account"
and then on "Follow this user's comments"
to get a listing of your recent spams.
You cannot see if any replies exist though. :-(
You then have to pull up each of your spams to see if anyone replied. :-(
I got both types of honest money... Silver and Gold.
90% of the people know the bansters/politicians are theives, but they feel more safe leaving their savings in fiat stored in their banks...makes no sense to me.
I pity those fools..
The lil green houses and red hotels were made out of wood in our Monopoly set when I was growing up. Later we added the money from other sets. The increased money supply allowed the game to go on longer. Imagine that :)
I remember wood houses and hotels from when I was very young (and metal pieces to represent the players), but I never tried to expand the money supply. I'm interested to know if you have any more details of what you learned from increasing the money supply beyond just making the game last longer, a useful insight in and of itself?
Yeah a couple things...keeping in mind this was late 50's and early 60's and I was like 12.
As the properties became "bought up", and privately owned with houses and hotels on them..."Strategic negotiations"(buying and trading properties) with other players became more expensive. Everyone scrambling for the better properties with higher rents bid prices up...because they had the cash....the money supply having been expanded and access to "cash" easier. Amazing huh?
I always wanted to be the "Locomotive" as a playing piece. And yeah the pieces were "pewter" or some silver/grey "pot metal" in our early game set.
:) :)
That is some serious hard core monopoly playing.
My older brother(by 6 years) was responsible for incresing the money supply and yes, the game did go on a long time. Not much TV back then and on rainy days playing Monopoly was what we often did.
Thanks hairball. I think it's fascinating how much the world resembles Monopoly (especially its money). I think my distrust in banking is partly due to that game.
And I think you're right, the older pieces were pewter. I remember the top hat, especially.
In the future, it'll be CHEAPER for Parker Bros to use FRN's (from the recycling center), than print Monopoly money...
~~~
PS ~ I always liked the wheelbarrow... I never understood the reason for that gamepiece [as a kid]... Now ~ it's EASY to understand...
Francis I am wheelbarrow guy for same reason.
Monopoly is truly timeless, other than inflation and if they made the game now there would be a new Chance card that whoever is the banker can just randomly fuck whoever he / she wants!
my guess is that if came down to that, EVERY 'Chance' card would be printed that way...
~~~
Well, I take that back, there still would be:
- Pay poor tax of $15 billion + Street Repairs (for the sheep)
- GET OUT OF JAIL FREE (for the bankers)
My Monopoly set has wooden houses and hotels and pewter pieces :)
The game started out as "The Landlord's Game" with the object of showing that rents enriched property owners and impoverished tenants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_board_game_Monopoly
The 1936 German edition of Monopoly was denounced (allegedly by Goebbels), perhaps because the high ranking members of the Nazi party lived on those sections of the game board with the highest property values.
Monopoly was also banned in the Soviet Union - they obviously didn't get the original purpose of the the game.
Edit: my favourite player token is the dog. Would be great if we could all meet up for a game sometime!
Hairball, we are of an age, yet I can not recall any locomotive game piece. Boat, Scotty Dog, Shoe, Hat, Thimble, Cannon, Race Car, Iron, and wheelbarrow.
No Coo-choo, sorry.
How Henry George's Principles Were Corrupted
Into the Game Called Monopoly
http://www.henrygeorge.org/dodson_on_monopoly.htm
Why would you want a Monopoly game to last longer?
Don't forget "The full faith and credit" of Hasbro International.
A house or hotel can become worthless or worse, and become a liability.
Haha! Excellent point.
Further, in the future you could use Monopoly money to start a fire for cooking your daily ration of a can of beans that the feudal lord so generously provide us for a 16-hour-day's labor. The vast majority of mass produced Federal Reserve electronic digi-dollars won't even provide that much value.
I think on another site it was theorized that Buffett's recent investment in a solar company will be a driver for buying up silver.
"Warren Buffett to build world's largest solar energy project
Billionaire US investor Warren Buffett is taking a $2.5bn (£1.5bn) bet on solar energy, acquiring what is set to become the largest photovoltaic development in the world."http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/9777016/Warren-Bu...
What happens first if the world economies tank?
Is it severe deflation? And what does that mean for copper and silver?
typing in the dark
If world economies tank then world markets tank. If world markets tank then the derivatives structure implodes. If it is allowed to implode, the entire worldwide financial system is toast. If it is not alllowed to implode and it is balied out... we're talking hyperinflation. Either way, the USD is worthless. There is zero hedge. Except PMs I suppose.
It seems to me that in a deflationary environment the relative value of "money" goes up. People economize and purchase fewer things, preferring to save &/or store money for emergencies that may come up.
Stocks would tend to go down as sales would go down, and they would be perceived as more risky than having "money".
But I think there's a very good chance that more and more people will begin to see gold and silver in their historical role as "money" over against fiat dollars that at one time were literally "as good as gold". As more and more of them flood the market, the realization that at the end of the day they are really green pieces of paper with pictures of dead presidents on them, and "the full faith and credit" of an insolvent nation isn't really worth all that much.
My sense is that even with the full-court press of fiat proponents, the concept that gold and silver is money cannot be eradicated. These ideas, as you point out, are long standing, to the point where "good as gold" and "silver linings" are part of our vernacular, even in a world of fiat. When fiat fails, good as gold will be right there to replace the void of confidence, followed by lots of silver linings.
as long as uncle sam has a shitload of carriers and bullets and can project power around the world then the dollar is worth something-"Fuck you -pay me"-Ray Liotta in Goodfellas. if the US is ripped apart internally-that's a different story-then I'm guessing 5.56 and 7.62x39 ammo is worth more than some shiny coins. last night my fave online ammo seller got about 125 1000 rd boxes of 7.62x39($100 more per box than a month ago) up for sale at about 9 pm and by 10 pm it was gone(I bought 1)-I refreshed the page every 5 minutes and another 5 boxes would be gone.
The take away then is to diversify. PMs are part of it, but so is Pb, food, potable water, etc. The PM market is feeling an awful lot like the ammo market of about 6 months ago.
if things get shitty, the world will let u rub your shiny silv, someone will shoot u with pb and take it for free.
sorta like the bankers only without force.
the time will come to bail and become mobile.
or take a stand and loose it all and your life..
be the wolve or die.
+1. Just don't expect PMs or anything else to make you rich in the process. Also, don't expect the term "rich" to mean the same thing in the future.
Centerline, some ZH`er said here long time ago (2 years ?)
"if an ounce of gold is $ 5000 this will be the least
of your problems " .
I haven`t figured out yet what I should wish for my stack
of poor-mans-gold , considered a highly speculative investment and entered into when the dealers where out
of the real thing back then.
P.S. The commercial above presented as an editorial
advertises ETF`s and junior miners, we `ve been had,
Tylers troll trap...
So much of the 'presentation' is crap. To be offering paper assets as an option is laughable, including mining stocks in my opinion.
Musical chairs - 400 people dancing to the music, one chair left, and I'm already sitting on it.
There will "first" be:
Somewhat later comes hyperinflation, whereby the currency is rejected by sellers.
You mean the law of supply and demand still works? Send memo to FED. In a way this trend has been in place for some time now. I noticed that Filet Mignon has been excluded from the list of items for inflation since they the inflation board sicnce (their logic) folks will switch to cheaper cuts. Of course, Ribeyes are higher than Filet was just a few years ago and readying for another spike.
8. Barbaric relic
HHHMMMM, where have I heard that before? ;-)
There is no global warming other than the normal climate changes produced by the sun. Get a clue.
If that were true then the moon would see increases in temperature where the sun's radiance hits and it is not seeing rising wattage per meter squared, nor are the other surfaces (planets, moons) hit by the sun. It's us. It's the high infrared reflectance of CO2, methane & absorbance of H2O vapor. You're not fooling most of us.
In July of 1991 Mount Pinatubo in the Phillipines errupted ejecting a massive plume of ash. Within months the Earths temperature was almost 1 degree cooler. There are many ingredients simmering in this Global Gumbo. What God wants God gets, God help us all.
INDEED, and would that not be ironic if we were saved from unexpected massive cooling from having excessive heat early? Or would we get a double-whammy so that heat reduced our crops & food supplies and then excessive cold & lack of sunlight further depleted our growing capacity? My, that would be bad.
"volatility"... as in terms of a broken and shifting unit of measure referred to as the Dollar.
LOL <yawn>
Waitaminute, NO counterparty risk? Bull. Someone has to have something you want and be willing to exchange it for silver. That's called "counterparty risk". What if there are no counterparites that have something you need who want silver? Gonna use it to buy a blanket in the desert while dying of thirst because no one in the caravan you lucked into has any water they want to spare?
I hate that BS argument. To my cat, it's just a shiny rock, no more special than any other.
No, that's called TRANSACTION risk. COUNTER-PARTY risk is where you never hold the asset at all with which to buy because someone else holds it allegedly in your name.
They will keep on manipulating the price...until they can´t. In the meantime, I continue to ditch my fiat for as much phyzz as I can get my hands on. Simple as that.
With worldwide shortages, due to many years of downward price manipulation, silver is a bout to explode in value.
You may think prices are stuck in a rut, but that is what the powers that be want you to think. In actuality, most silver that is above ground, has been removed from the market forever, and what little that is left, is quickly disappearing.
It is literally now or never.
You may now all return to your previously uninterrupted Saturday evening.
EROI
There are VERY few exclusive silver mines.
Silver (the majority) is mined as a by-product of lead, zink, etc. mines.
Those silver mines that are exclusive, have experianced poorer and poorer ore grades, as the cost of extraction (energy/oil) has multiplied.
The industrial use of silver destroys it. No longer available for use.
The supply of silver (accessibility) is finite. When the EROI turns negetive for any particular mine - that mine will be shut down. Unless of course you have a revaluation of silver in the many hundreds of dollars.
But at that juncture, who will want to hold dollars?
"the cost of extraction (energy/oil) has multiplied."
~~~
You mean it costs $6 to dig it out of the ground now?
As a by-product of copper mining and the like, you can
arguably claim it is only 5 dollars to dig it out of the
ground, because your allocation of production costs
is marginal and even if it were 50 bucks you could
charge 45 bucks management fees against it.
If your junior picks up some in the sandpit, your marginal production cost drops even further, already priced into your reproduction calculations...
No, all the silver paint used to make conductive traces on my keyboards is still there, not destroyed in the least. And some people even know how to get it out of old used ones, and do, me being one of them.
The UK's equivalent of APMEX, bullionbypost is sold out of all silver greater than 100g. See
http://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/silver-bars/
Yeah, and my local coin shop (UK) hasn't had any silver maples for weeks. Yesterday the only gold coin they had left was one 1/10 Kugerrand!
Man, they really screw you with that VAT tax - 20% Tax????
Any black market going on there?
"It is literally now or never."
How fucking long is THAT dead and stinking horse corpse going to be beat upon? If I had a dime...........
The problem with end of the world prophecies is that sooner or later, one of them will prove to be correct. The question then is the timeline. The market for PMs at the retail level right now is oddly reminiscent of the one for ammo about 6 months ago. Six months ago there were some shortages of popular products, the prices were not too horrible but increasing. And look at the ammo market now. Ammo just isn't available in many instances and you have to wait in line and pay an extreme premium to get it where it is available.
Dude it is so scarce that Apple can't produce a bloody iPad and werewolves are making a comeback in Oregon and Missouri.
It is going for $8 over spot at big retailers. Since they manipulate the price with paper and the relationship between paper and physical has broken due to backwardation the sky is the limit.
Buy it while you still can.
riddle me this-stock market drops precipitously-margin calls-dumping of metals to fulfill margin calls-metals drop in value-I'm sitting around with a shitload of FRNs(in hand) to buy the big dip and now I'm Goldfinger. I really see deflation as a problem before any kind of inflation.
So you're saying unbacked digital credits that can be created without limit are going to be more valuable while items of limited supply will be less valuable. I think that the decade long metals charts are showing this not to be true.
The digital price of metals can continue to be smashed-down, but ultimately there will be zero offers of metal. These central planners are fighting the markets and it doesn't work.
spy etf rolling chart forward - 2013 crash very soon
A market crash is NOT deflation. It's a market-crash.
Money isn't decreasing in supply & prices aren't going down so there's no deflation coming.
That's not what this says:
http://comparesilverprices.com/
however that normally also isn't filled with X's showing no inventory and now it IS filled with those x's and that's NOT good news either for those still looking.
Silver has beaten the pants off of gold recently.
http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/game-of-thrones-gold-...
Squirrel away the nuts and don't have one.
Silver Bitchez!!!
Silver, bitchez!
Tie goes to the runner.
That's like kissing your sister...
LOL, good catch!
So when does it hit $50 again..?
It will hit $50 this spring, and probably $100 by years end.
You could not possibly make a wiser investment right now.
Famous last words
Not disagreeing, just sayin...
The problem with the rise in the price of silver, is that it will probably be simultaneously timed with the collapse of Western society.
As Silver is currently disappearing from the market, (and so is gold), when people realize that the dollar is in a full fledged collapse, it will be too late to diversify out of it.
I am not looking forward to an explosive rise in the price of precious metals. But I am preparing for it.
It's relatively cheap, easy to buy, easy to store yourself in reasonable quantities. One way to approach it is to just buy a little every time the price gets knocked down, put it away and forget about it. Worst case, your emulating the basic wealth preservation/hoarding strategy followed by the wealthy since the beginning of recorded history, and you'll have something to leave your kids or grandkids if you don't need it. And if all the shortage theories turn out to be true, there's a nice upside potential.
The physical is being snapped-up.
Silver physical for delivery market crisis brewing (but you will always be able to buy digital SLV literally without limit).
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/1/18_Greyerz_-_We_Are_Now_Seeing_Massive_Shortages_Of_Silver.html
silver and copper looks tight.
I think anyone who owns a lot of silver & doesn't have a stack of NICKLES as well [as well as, of course, beans & bullets] needs some 'Dorothy Boyd' in thir lives...
"...when people realize that the dollar is in a full fledged collapse..."
"...when people realize that the dollar is in full retard..."
There, fixed it.
Indeed. Gold & silver are real money, they are not only inflation hedges but also disaster insurance. Once your insurance pays out therefore there IS disaster & that is NOT good.
Warner Buffert and Charlie Mungo hate gold and silver.
A reason to stack if there ever was one.
You would make more on firearms this year than silver........
"You would make more on firearms this year than silver..."
And not only firearms, but magazines and certainly ammo. Shelves in retailers that normally sell ammo are extremely low with mostly the very expensive, high performance stuff left... Cheap as Dirt and other online retailers have long waits for ammo and magazines alike. Buy it all when you can find it. Good for you if you saw this handwriting on the wall for firearms and such... Good for you if you if you see the writing on the wall re the PMs.
They are both necessary to the freedom of both this generation and the next.......if there is one.
Got 2 boxes of Sierra Pro Hunter coming. Probably the last of them I'll ever see at "normal" pricing.
Wow... Sounds too good to be true.
If it reaches $40/oz, I'd be satisfied.
If it acts as a store of wealth for hard times, I'll be happy. Anything on top of that is dessert.
Seeing as you already have to pay almost $40 are we not already there? Remember, the price of something is not some arbitrary number printed on a ticker tape but the price at which someone is willing to pay.
MR. Fix, just askin'
50/100 dollar nominal values based on scarcity; are these values currency debasement inclusive?
you are out of your fargan mind if you think silver is hitting 100 by years end...no way no how.....no chance......
Don't start with your contrarianism! It will cost you at least another turkey sandwich.
Just sayin'...
Does 'catfood' come in turkey flavor?... I always wondered why there wasn't any MOUSE FLAVORED catfood...
And I would have called you crazy a year ago if you said that .22LR ammo would be fetching upwards of .10/round. That's IF you can find it.
you must be my local coin dealer he says that everytime i see him...for the last 3 yrs
http://flic.kr/p/dvDHfM to http://flic.kr/p/dvDHf2 to http://flic.kr/p/b3yn5r (not updated but it's a 2.72x slope right now) - 2400 gold & 75/oz silver in Sep. This is right at the peak, however, of the 52-week ROC so some combined analysis of the 52 & 277 week ROC at that time will be needed to determine if we're seeing a rise to 100 silver & beyond 2400 gold, or if it's time to go sideways again as is the pattern after the sharp rise from 277 weeks prior (one pattern) and 52-weeks ago (sawtooth-wave pattern, http://flic.kr/p/bNoznc )
notice how the infographic touts ETFs as an acceptible vehicle for investing in silver? better be sprott's pslv.
maybe visual capitalist can do an infographic on ase sales and mint shutdowns.
apmex is out of eagles and selling for $4-$6 over spot now: http://www.apmex.com/Category/160/Silver_Eagles___Uncirculated_2013__Pri...
provident's out till jan 23rd: http://www.providentmetals.com/2013-1-oz-american-silver-eagle-bullion-c...
tulving is sold out: http://tulving.com/
sdbullion has under 500 left: http://sdbullion.com/shop/silver/2013-silver-american-eagles/
gainesville appears to be the only retailer with stock on hand...but they're $4.45 and up! http://www.gainesvillecoins.com/products/162421/2013-1-oz-american-silve...
CNI has stock. Spot plus 3.00
http://www.golddealer.com/
APMEX showing about +2000 ASE's unsold from previous years, premium is a different matter. Will have to see how fast the 2013 stock will sell out on Jan 31st.
2012's are empty.
2013 ASE 20 tube: 955
2013 ASE-SF 20 tube: 697 = 13940 ASE
2013 ASE 500 Monster Box: 28 = 14000 ASE
2012 ASE: Out of Stock
2011 ASE: 847
2010 ASE: 567
2009: 431
2008: 731
2007: 93
2006: 44
2005: 190
2005 20 tube: 17 = 340
2004: 495
2004 20 tube: 10 = 200
2003: 53
2002: 58
2001: 237
2000: 208
1999: 181
1998: Out
1997: Out
1996: 210
1995: 199
1994: 87
1993: 1
1992: 276
1991: 285
1990: 96
1989: 4
1988: 35
1987: 192
1986: 205
I'm gonna give my nephew a 1945 Walking Liberty silver half dollar for his 12th birthday.
Will it be worth more than his iPod Touch in 5 years?
It depends.
iPod may help him generate value (eg with it he may listen to audio books and learn more than the coin's worth).
iPod Touch will be worth ZERO in 5 years [cept for the grams of silver that can be melted out of it], so yeah, you're prolly right...
No. After the global currency meltdown, i-devices will be the new currency due to their ubiquitous nature and international recognition.
If you can afford the batteries.
iVibrators
It cums in lots of colors!
doubt it. They need a working telecom & power infrastructure to be of any use.
All of my Nieces and Nephews get silver eagles for Christmas and graduation events (birthdays they get toys or knives or bow and arrow sets...the fun stuff). The older ones now have stacks 25 high and the younger ones are getting there. My hope is that they will eventually investigate for themselves why their weird uncle keeps feeding the stack.
I used to buy silver eagles for friends and family for Christmas, birthdays, etc. Now at $35 a pop, I can't afford to do that. I can only hope I was able to prime the pump with some of these folks as I explained why I was giving them the Eagles as gifts...
So I take it that everyones RELATIVES are in to boating?
More likely they will turn 'weird Uncle' into the Stasi where he will be beaten.
I'm somewhat fearful of that but I believe that the US is currently more adept at the tyranny game than the EU. At least torture and execution is out of the picture over here and you have to mass murder a few people to get 25 To Life.
I'm not worried about that yet, most of them are still worried about zombies and being that I'm the only one in the family with offensive capabilities (or defensive for that matter) they are still firmly under my wing. We'll just have to see what the California University system will do to them, though I have faith as one of the older ones (from Lib family) showed a lot of interest in Ron Paul this last go around.
Your being and actions has a bigger influence on their development than you can ever imagine. Circumstance allowed my grandfather to raise me during part of my childhood. I can't find words to describe my love and appreciation for him. God rest his soul.
I'm beginning with the .36 oz half dollar (which costed me 12.50 euro's at a coin shop). Don't want to give 1 oz coins only to see him trade them in for fiat to buy sweets or chink crap. If I get him and/or the other nephews interested I may give them more silver.
Last year I bought my twin nephews each a roll of American Eagles and got lambasted by my Family. I, as I always do, explained why their 'crazy' uncle bought them PM's instead of another worthless new North Face jacket.
This year I bought them Kindle Fire HD tablets.
After dinner, both of my nephews asked why I didn't buy them silver this year.
Baby steps.
So next year it's silver again, I guess. Wish I had an uncle like you when I was young. I did get a Dutch 10 Guilder gold coin from my grandma when I was a kid but foolishly traded it for cash in 2006 when I was scrapped for cash. It did serve its purpose, I have much more bullion than I had back then now. Only thing is that I lost it when I was sailing over the Mariana Trench. Damn those Pacific storms! Maybe James Cameron will retrieve it for me when I ask nicely..
Interesting speculation:
http://www.silverdoctors.com/is-ted-butlers-silver-panic-imminent-apple-...
It's worth more than that now.
It just costs less.
Backfired on me, they got used on those coins doubling up
in value and accepted them rather grudgingly thereafter until telling me they want real presents instead last Christmas. Aaand ... they LOST the stack they had accumulated all those years...
Same with AR type things I kept in stock for family members,
friends and multiplies thereof in imaginary quantities if need be . Ridding myself of those, despite the boom they
only net less than half in gold as what they were purchased
for...
If we can just interconnect globally, the FUND membership revenues will collectively restore all failing international economies. /sarc
Comments received on the consultative report "Recovery and resolution of financial market infrastructures"
http://www.bis.org/publ/cpss103/comments.htm
Already there, bitchez.
I have to correct you, silver is not an investment it is a bet. An investment is the exchange of capital to another for a potentially productive venture.
I "invest" in my education because it will provide a greater return through a more productive job
I "invest" in my cousins pizza shop because the extra seating and oven will provide for a material return over time
I buy an oz of silver because I hope/believe that someone will pay me more for it in the future or that the government will devalue the currency.
There is an important distinction here. The word "investing" and "investor" are thrown around way to easily these days.
One does not "invest" in credit default swaps...they bet
One does not "invest" in options or derivatives...they bet
One does not "invest" by buying a share of stock from another individual...he bets that someone will pay him more for it in the future
Trading is not investing. Pair trades and iron condors are not "investing"
Orange juice futures are not "investments"
The e-mini is not an "investment" vehicle it is a betting device
A scratch ticket is not an "investment" nor is a chip on red at the casino
I wish people would insist on honesty of language as this mythology of "investing" perpetrated on the general public as an alternative to savings and genuine investment is a very large part of the problem
And also the way the governments steal from you by making you 'invest' in pensions that 'invest' in the stock 'markets' that give you little real return in the end because of the skimming off of profits by the 'managers' of said funds and by inflation caused by said governments and banksters
Go to cnbc or any of the other propaganda sites and note how many articles have a similarity to "how to trade apples earnings" or "fast money" or the guy who honks horns and screams advice to idiots who call in. The entire financial fraud community has made it priority #1 to encourage the churning of money. When did trading currencies from your living room in your underwear get classified as "investing"? How can anyone call trading corn futures "investing" or for that matter food stuffs as an "investment" class? It is perverted. It's a concerted effort to turn a nation of workers into a nation of speculators and gamblers for the sole purpose of fee generation. When you had to put down $500 in commission on a stock buy instead of $1.99 people gave careful consideration to their purchase. Now you can open an account and get 100 "free" trades...more enticement to be a gambler and rapid mover of money. This is why I am so adamant about clarity in word usage and why I am so outraged at a system that spawns this kind of degenerate behaviors. A nation of speculators and bettors is a nation not long for this world
i like your point alot.
And how people like to gamble.
We Aussies are NUTS on it.
The Chinese bananas.
I've been to Vegas - it looked busy.
Gambling made easier and easier.
With the dice stacked more and more out of your favour.
Reminds me of those roulette wheels in the westerns where the ball would be popped out of the winning slot.
TPTB know the ordinary mans weaknesses
When i look around the world my kids will inherit i see that ANY weakness is ruthlessly exploited.
Its getting tougher out there.
. . . and the greatest weakness is the one taught by your culture, the story of who you are, and what your "worth" is.
the "weakness" is a learned group behaviour - humans aren't born worshiping the game(s), they learn to spin the wheels, they learn what to desire for group approvals. . .
which is why it's a good idea to keep them away from the massive cultural institutions that train obedient. . . consumers.
I know, you know, they know. *taps nose*
When i was a kid i loved -the river- by springsteen and the line that really got to me was'
í come from down in the valley, where mr when your young, they bring you up to do just what your daddy done...'
it seemed so sad
i haven't thought of that for a long time.
i'm going to think on your weakness thoughts and give you a worthy response.
('-')
Thanks for this post CA. Great stuff...
Hmm
the lure of the farm.
but being nice to the cows.
Trust Yourself,
then you will Know how
to live.
~ Goethe
(someone posted this here recently, I wrote it down because it's so true, and I could use the nudge to remember it, daily)
'This above all: to thine own self be true'
Goethe was a big fan of shakespeare...
How to live... isnt that the big question?
i've made most of the big decisions now in my life.
i moved country from scotland to australia for several reasons, but i wanted away from britains stifling class system and culture of dependancy. the weather is better now. Brill.
as one of the posters below says - i am in a lucky position - i know it because i maneuvred it so.
while i've got a lot of small things wrong i' think i've got the big stuff right.
i think i'm a good judge of character and a loyal friend.
i could bore you with more.
how do you live?
ps my little tip for peace.... if ever things are going a bit crazy and frustration is creeping in...
just start humming the 'benny hill' theme
in case you're thing wtf is benny hill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpc5_3B5xdk\
it makes me smile when things are totally NUTS.
fukin'ell, yer a SCOTSMON!!
I must have missed that confession somewhere, and in case you've also missed mine, I spent my formative (in that the time in-formed "me") years in that amazing land, it's never left me, even though I eventually chose to leave the UK, many the reasons. . .
yes, your tribe is prone to wandering off, as are the Aussies you traded spaces with. . . sometimes I regret not jumping ship for New Zealand (Scotland down Under I've been told, landscapes at least), but mostly I just acknowledge I can't be everywhere in this life(time).
people need to travel more, and I'm not talking "vacations" where they just drink, shop, sunbath, and drink some more - I like how the Aussies/NZ'rs saved for a two-year working holiday, or they used to, back when I ran into them all the time, in Europe, UK, etc. - Commonwealth (lol, very descriptive, eh) passport kind of thing with regards legal working pass. . .
particularly amrkns, many of whom don't even have a passport *jaw drop* - taking the time to see other countries and how people live in differing environs is such an important part of informing oneself first-hand, not via some one else's opinions, but direct experience, over time. . . 'course, would be harder to get 'em militarised, etc. afterwards. . .
how do I live? lightly, slowly, with intent. I've spent most of my time as a gypsy, with time settled in occasionally. . . royalties earned, eke'd out over time, occasional work-gigs for fiats, never long tho' - I'm mostly settling down now, as the global situation isn't as appealing as it once was, possibly another decamp if things get too edgy, but I like the environment I'm cultivating of late, and I like adding to the flock, fields, growing stuffs, etc.
but sure, a good puff of wind could set this dandelion floating again, y'never know!
and you? if you ever feel up to sharing.
this was playing while I typed, wean yersel' off teh bennies lad! (jk jk, truly)
thanks for the reply, pure dead brilliant! take care big yun
Heh, i was a scot but i've never mentioned it here. i dont get dewy eyed about the place although i'll always love it.
and i help the economy there by sipping a scotch most weekends and mentioning it in about half my posts on ZH.
doing my bit..
you are so right about travelling - my aussie friends have all travelled - it opens the mind. i cant think of a 'new' friend out here that hasn't travelled well
when i meet aussies who haven't travelled, there is a disinterest that can hold you back and i'd guess the USA embodies that.
most of my ancestors were in the military - its how the scots travelled and saw the world long ago - and maybe that got the wanderlust out of them
you're going to see some amazing times over there ,
i was thinking about the 'farming of humans' clip - there is something else
when i was growing up 'a job in service' was the only job worth having.
To serve your fellow man or woman was the noble ideal.
these ideals are eroded now but they can live and be aspired to.
the chase of the dollar and rat race undermine it and it can be a tool to take advantage of the naive... but if we are to move on from the sticky porridge we are in just now then it may need to be ...cherished again.
Have you cultivation? its so true that something you grow yourself tastes better and i remember a great comment on ZH once
'in the future growing your own food will be seen as rebellious..' makes me want to do it more.
i harbour fantasies of having an avocado plantation (dont laugh) - australia has this gorgeous area in northern NSW called Byronshire. its lush , warm and has a little place called Nimbin. its incredible as it was founded by hippies and is very alternative, i used to visit a lot... nice cookies and coffee. :o nowhere like that in scotland!
maybe one day but for now my life is intense.
high impact but fulfilling and in service i suppose, i'm doing what i love and i feel lucky that i fell into it.
i'm actually a lazy person who fell into a busy lifestyle and family demons and work ethics (and ego) keep me going.
you live with intent... now i will think on that.
you take care too CA
I'm not sure where the days between your post and this one went - lol - but I really wanted to make a quick reply anyhow. . .
Nimbin!! I'd heard it mentioned before, as I tend towards similar places wherever I travel - so I did a quick search, and oooh my, that would be a longstay choice were I to land downunder! while I'm not so "hippy" -ish, having had that beat outta me by my scots-friends back in the day, oh the mocking I took! - I still favour the live-n-let live types who tend towards creative dwelling spaces, and mellow hangs (cookies 'n' coffee, etc.). . . I was going to mention permaculture to you, since Bill Mollison is "local" in your environs, and he's been a longtime inspiration to my way of being in the world, albeit the time it took to extricate myself from major cities was lengthy. amazing what age does to one's desire to be constantly surrounded by activity/stimulations. did you ever make it to Findhorn on the east coast of Scotland? bit more lala than I normally am drawn to, but yet another interesting space in the world. . .
anyhow, I won't go on as I usually do - just wanted to send back a smile at some synchronous thoughts, and encourage you to make plans for that avocado plantation - they're a wonderful food, and the trees can be bountiful - I grew up where folks had them in yards, and would share them by the paper bag full, was horrified at how spendy they were in the UK, ha! make plans, even while you work hard at serving what you love - any eventual "retirement" should include growing things, most contemplative ^^ I'm with you on the service idea - I include peoples, but I'm most drawn to the land/animals, co-existence with respect, radiates outward. (and yes, I can lose perspective, it's good to be re-minded, drop out of the anger-pose, which I tend towards even though I know it's a loss)
a toast! Mair frien's, and less need o them!
Nimbin was my most visited place when I arrived in oz 15yrs ago.
I liked it for the vibe and my record of scoring bushbuds with one foot out of the landcruiser.
The good times couldn't last and nimbin got invaded with heroin but the last time I was there , maybe 3 years ago, it was rebalancing and it was less seedy. Families were back and it felt good.
Hey anyways this is a relaxing chat with no timeframes.
If we gasbag too much the chat will end up a thin one word line anyway..
Ps. If you are looking for a business idea you could combine a few interests into hydroponics... I have an associate who is making a stack with the added bonus of being given interesting 'things' in return for equipment
I bore people with my nutty ideas because I'm a frustrated farmer....
:p
BigDuke
You are in such a better position than most of us. You're on an island with tons of resources and a pretty small population that can "right the ship" When you see the rest of the world going to hell. You are sitting pretty in my opinion. Feel lucky.
Well, since you want to be so anal about it, buying silver is savings. Savings are the basis of investment or capital. Choosing to hold your savings in an exchange mechanism that never loses value because of currency debasement is a good investment for your ability to invest in the future.
From the infographic:
'Silver is more volatile than gold, but for the strong-willed investor, this presents an opportunity to buy low and sell high.'
... or to buy high and sell low, as the case often may be.
Basic portfolio theory says that the best investments offer the highest return for the least risk. If gold and silver produce similar long-run returns, then gold is the better choice because it is much less volatile than silver (as the infographic clearly shows).
In other words, gold has a superior Sharpe ratio compared to silver. In terms of risk-adjusted return, gold absolutely and comprehensively kicks silver's scrawny ass.
Volatility is unequivocally not the same as risk.
An asset can be both relatively non-volatile and yet high risk (*cough*, equities, *cough*), or conversely highly volatile AND low risk (silver). Where does the idiotic idea come from that volatility = risk? Risk pertains to the final destination or outcome (one's ultimate profits), while volatility pertains to the journey to that destination or outcome. How does it logically make sense to automatically equate the one with the other?
I would not trust the advice of anyone who can make such a fundamental error in logic.
i have to correct you, as well.
silver is neither an investment nor a bet - it, like gold, is money.
and it is a far superior vehicle of savings than fiat paper money, as it cannot be indiscriminantly printed, and does not carry counterparty risk.
Silver is NOT a bet. Silver is guaranteed not to rot, despite tarnish, guaranteed to be useful as an anti-biotic, no matter the evolving super-bugs, guaranteed to remain ductile, malleable & conductive and highly reflective, all useful properties and silver is guaranteed to be barter money as it has in all history where available and I've already done this myself.
There's no betting there. My only uncertainty is the entry-price in work-hours as translated via the uncertain medium known as fiat currency.
You call it a bet...I call it SAVINGS. Savings in honest money.