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Guest Post: Was 2011 A Dud Or A Springboard For Gold?
Submitted by Jeff Clark of Casey Research
Was 2011 A Dud Or A Springboard For Gold?
2011 was remarkable in many ways for the precious metals markets. Gold soared to new highs in early September, hitting at an intraday record of $1,920/ounce on the fifth. Silver screamed to within a hair of $50 on April 28. Corrections ensued, and the metals ended the year on a disappointing note for silver and an underwhelming note for gold. Equities for the sector were down, to way down for junior ventures, logging their worst annual return since 2008.
Here's a table of 2011 returns from most major asset classes:
(Click on image to enlarge)
Gold registered its eleventh consecutive annual gain, extending the bull market that began in 2001. The yellow metal gained 10.1% – a solid return, though moderate when compared to previous years.
Silver lost almost 10% year over year, due primarily to its dual nature. Currency concerns lit a match under the price early in the year, while global economic concerns forced it to give it all back later.
Gold mining stocks couldn't shake the need for antidepressants most of the year, and another correction in gold in December dragged them further down.
Meanwhile, those who sat in US government debt in 2011 were handsomely rewarded, with Treasury bonds recording one of their biggest annual gains. In spite of the unparalleled downgrade of the country's AAA credit rating, Treasuries were one of the best-performing asset classes of the year. The driving forces there are expanding fear about the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, combined with the Fed's promise to keep interest rates low through 2013.
But perhaps it would be more accurate to look at 2011 in a larger context. How did these investments perform over the past three years?
(Click on image to enlarge)
There's a lot to be said about the chart above, but we'll cut to the chase: Despite the higher volatility, we'd much rather be investing in the assets on the left side of the chart than those on the right.
But 2011 is now part of the history books. The important question before us is: Is gold still one of the best places for money going forward? Let's take a look at what we might expect in 2012 based on what we just left behind…
The Fundamental Case for Gold Remains Rock Solid
Gold demand from investment and central banks grew tremendously last year. Further, the geography of gold buying was widespread, with big purchases coming from Europe during the initial bouts of their crisis and Japan after the Fukushima accident. Small investors and monetary authorities alike purchased gold due to economic, financial, monetary, and political concerns. Quite frankly, we see none of these factors changing anytime soon.
Further, many countries continue to debase their currencies at phenomenal rates (see Bud Conrad's related article below). While US Treasuries may be a good temporary parking spot for cash, don't kid yourself about what's behind it all: nothing. The dollar is a fiat currency, no more. A true safe haven is something that cannot be debased, devalued, or destroyed by any government. After accounting for inflation, your dollars are worth less every year.
The reasons for gold's bull market aren't going away anytime soon. Make sure you have enough exposure to make a material difference to your portfolio.
Don't Be Deceived by Promises of Economic Growth
The US economy ended the year on a high note – the job market is improving, gas is cheaper, consumer confidence grew, real estate showed signs of recovery, and the holiday shopping season turned out better than most economists expected. So, can the US grow its way out of the debt burden? Can we forget about further money printing schemes that are bullish for gold?
We think there's little chance that growth will be sustainable in 2012. First, the biggest chunk of GDP growth in 2011 came from personal consumption – savings cuts and income growth in particular.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Strong GDP growth comes from production, not consumption. As Doug Casey has stated many times, it's also the secret to personal wealth: "Produce more than you consume and save and invest the difference."
Second, according to a recent Time article, "The government says that once you adjust for inflation, weekly earnings dropped 1.8% from November 2010 to last month" [November 2011]. As a result, "Consumers have used savings or credit cards to finance their purchases." This is hardly a sign of a strong economy.
Combining these facts with surging government debt and ongoing deficit spending means the "growth" in GDP is largely supported by… debt. US debt surpassed GDP last year for the first time since 1947, and if the Keynesians get their way, the cure for our massive debt overhang will be… more debt. Any such scheme, regardless of its name, is very bullish for gold.
Preserve your wealth with gold, not fiat currency.
The Gold Price Will Continue To Be Volatile
The average annual gold price in 2011 was $1,571.50/ounce, which was 28% higher than the prior year's average. As we outlined in a recent article about gold corrections, the average retreat in gold since 2001 (of those greater than 5%) is 12.5%. Declines of this degree are normal. They will happen again. Thus, expected price behavior leads us to get excited when gold and related stocks go on sale, not depressed about the dips.
If you buy gold during corrections, your gain by the end of the year will be higher than the annual advance.
Gold Equities Are (Still) Dirt Cheap
Yes, precious metals stocks have lagged the underlying commodity price throughout the year. Yes, they were a disappointment in 2011 – but 2011 is only one chapter in this gold bull-market story. For most miners, margins are high, dividends are increasing, and valuations are extremely low, despite the recent fall in metal prices. We can't tell you exactly when the turnaround will begin, but we're confident that the time is coming when gold stocks will once again bring us leveraged performance, particularly when the greater investment community recognizes their value and clamors for increased exposure to the gold market.
The old adage to buy low and sell high still applies. When it comes to gold stocks, we're at the "buy low" part of the formula right now.
So, if you're feeling like 2011 was a dud for your gold portfolio, we suggest you shake off the funk. It is precisely when such feelings abound that contrarian buying opportunities are at their best. The way to buy low is to buy when others are selling. Using the current weakness in prices to get positioned for the next liftoff is the way to play this. Remember that volatility cuts both ways: just like dips, a springboard to the upside will come – of that we're certain. And given the tenuous state of global finances and the temptation to print, one of these liftoffs is going to be life-changing.
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This just in, Henry Blodget says Ron Paul is unelectable.
http://www.businessinsider.com/ron-paul-media-blackout-2012-1
The unemployable telling us who is unelectable. That is just too delicious.
Oh, Henry, you are sooo two ponzi schemes ago.
2011 Goes down as one of the Best GOLDMANIP Years I can remeber.
Kudos to the Cabale, it was smooth as Cutting Butter.
Can you do 2012 now , Pigs???
LOL. Dual nature is what the manipulators want everyone to believe. What was silvers' dual nature prior to 1960? Five margin hikes in 8 days has nothing to do with it either, I guess. Ag has been money for thousands of years. Get a grip.
It is because of our technological innovation and evolution over the last 60 years that has required us to use silver for its attractive electrical qualities. Thus, this 'dual nature' is only a current phenomenon, so let's not put the cart before the horse and dismiss what silver really stands for.
The only 'dual nature' that has affected the price of silver is the hypocrisy of the bankers manipulating the metal. They put on two faces, telling two different stories - depending upon whom they are trying to convince, and thus the price has been manipulated down in order to shake out the weak hands.
The real story is that with all their efforts they were only able to get it down 10%. That shows the strength of the metal in bullion terms.
I made some large purchases of silver over the last couple weeks. I am going to see if the DXY double tops (short term) or forms a massive head and shoulders formation (longer term) before I buy some more. It will likely take a few weeks for a double top and a few months for the head and shoulders as that bastard dollar seems to evade death every step of the way.
Silver and get rich quick silverbugz got smoked in 2011.
I said sell SLW at $40. If you are holding physical you do so for the long run. Anyone who is trying to flip silver doesn't know they are paying a 20% premium to hold it.
No matter what happens in the economy or with currency, silver will go up. Only about 750 million ounces are mined every year. 550 million of those ounces are used up in industrial purposes. That means only 200 million ounces are added to above ground supply to be used for coins and jewelry and what not. That's less than 1/60 of an ounce per person.
The world used to be run on silver coin and today its used nowhere. Most of that government coin had been sold onto the markets over the last 40 years since the demonetization of silver and now the governments very little to sell. Tech products are becoming more popular so industrial use is set to climb. Mining is growing too but 70% of silver comes from a by product of mining other metals, so it is difficult to increase mining quickly. Even if the economy tanks, silver mining will slow because 70% of silver comes from by products and the mining of the by products will slow.
Between the decorative use and the industrial use, silver will feel quite the pinch.
TheSilverJournal.com
Silver and get rich quick silverbugz got smoked in 2011.
Down 10% Bravo Foxtrot Delta.
Gold holdings up 10% BTW
So if someone's AG went down a little, and their AU went up a little, that to me proves they "got smoked." Obviously Tmos won't be back on, can no longer afford his ISP. Bye Tmos! I'm sure I won't be online much longer haven't paid my bills since I 'got smoked.'
That right?
I bought lots and lots @ $29,30,31
It pushed my stacks DCA up to $10-11ish
I'm feeling pretty good about 2011....and the future
you bitter bagholders keep telling yourselves that.
You were WARNED and not only did you choose to ignore the warnings, but you responded with violent anger and ostracism to those who warned you.
The dollars in your pocket, my pocket, everybody's pocket lost 33% over the past 3 years, based on 50% overall rise in food and gas prices (you know, those "peripheral" things not worth including in Fed's inflation numbers).
In that same 3 years gold gained 74% (926 - 1613) silver gained 122% (12.65 - 28.12).
I would be glad to be one of those gold and / or silver "bagholders".
And there's no call for anger and ostracism. By all means keep your Treasuries. Buy more even. Knock yourself out. :)
Of course Treasuries are tied to the (shrinking) value of the dollar, just like a CD at a bank, and I'm sure you know that, but it doesn't seem to matter to you paper currency "bugs".
You'll brag about making 20% ...when you really lost 13%. :)
The sheeple-bugs are too far gone with their government-induced brainwashing to ever be able to realize that simple point, not even as their paper wealth evaporates in hyperinflation and/or currency collapse in the coming years. Not one tear will I shed for them, either. And as for Trav, and all those willingly ignorant asswipes who support the Establishment, I will have a long and hearty laugh at his, and their, expense.
Schadenfreude: it won't be just for breakfast anymore.
why can't you people stop from constructing false dilemmas?
Is it because you can't admit the truth of a particular matter, so you construct a bullshit strawman dichotomy so you can say it's EITHER one or the other?
Silverbugz got smoked. I never said anything about holding fucking FiAT PAPER. Where the hell did you come up with this? Who the hell said I owned Treasuries?
My comment was aimed way beyond you Trav (aka MO-ron).
I thought you'd be smart enough to figure that out.
Hmmm.... maybe not :)
And silver gaining 122% over 3 yrs is "smoked"?
Nope, not very smart apparently. :)
I guess MO-ron is pretty spot on. :)
No COG, you have to understand the true message of trav: ALL silver holders, no matter WHEN or at WHAT PRICE they bought silver, are ALL "bagholders", have ALWAYS BEEN "bagholders", and will ALWAYS BE "bagholders", no matter how high the price (or more importantly, the value) of silver might rise in the future. It doesn't matter if you bought thousands of ounces of silver at $12 only three years ago, with silver currently at $29 --- all silver holders, by trav's definition, are losers, total losers, for all time, forever and ever, Amen. You can't argue with his blind hatred for those who hold silver --- his rage is faith-based and blindly uncompromising, and is like a religion to him.
That is the only semblance of fractured "logic" that I can glean from trav's hate-filled, utterly irrational, spittle-flecked, hydrophobic, microcephalic, psychotic, Nadleresque anti-silver diatribes.
Behold the sad, argentiphobic clown that is trav.
Says the bitter guy who responds to every comment with violent anger and attempts to ostracize any and all who disagree with him.
Your hypocrisy is really something to behold.
So, Mr. Eugenics, let's say that I bought silver well BEFORE last year's price spike, say, in 2010 and before, at an average price of say $18. Am I still a "bagholder" by your (tortured) definition? And would I not in fact be representative of the VAST majority of those who have bought silver in the last five years? If so (and all logic demands that this is the case), then shut the fuck up already, you disingenuous and specious junior Nadler troll.
While you're at it, why don't you remind us all again about how much all those people (all five of them) who bought gold at its high of $850 in January of 1980 lost in the following 20 years. Remember, though, you have to ignore the almost infinitely greater number of people who did NOT buy at the price peak, or anything close to it, and who did NOT sell at the exact price bottom in 2001.
let's say you had a pair of balls. That would make you a man.
unfortunately, you're just a bitch.
Just about the kind of cowardly response that I was expecting from you ---- or that I would expect from any other rabid animal similarly backed into a corner.
That was actually pretty funny!
But I too own silver, so STFU.
Rob McEwen see's $150-300/oz silver and $2000/oz gold in 2012.
http://goldandsilverlinings.com/?p=1813
$2000 gold in 2012, no timeframe for silver.
$2000 gold in 2012, no timeframe for silver.
In over 20 currently spoken languages, the word "silver" is synonymous with "money."
Yes, polyglots have a unique perspective, to cut through the bullshit. I remember the debate a couple of years ago about who was allowed to say "nigger", and who wasn't. No one mentioned that "nigger" is in fact the word for black person in Russian.
okay, hold your fire....some of my best friends are niggers.
ain'ts it a bastardization of the spanish word "Negro" for brown; and I only think white peoples should be allowed to say nigga, case we invented the word.
Actually, the word for "black (person)" in Russian would be "chernye" (as close as I can transliterate it), very similar to the Polish word "czarnie" that I remember my grandparents using so often in reference to black people. Note that these are NOT considered pejorative words.
Chyornoye morye would be black sea. Black person is nigger....it's not a pejorative, it is the accepted form.
Are you telling me that Russians, IN RUSSIA, use the English slang word "nigger" to refer to black people? Somehow, I am rather skeptical.
Russians, in Russia, use the word "negr" to describe anyone from a Negro race. "Chernye" is a pejorative usually reserved to describe the peoples from the Caucasis region of the former USSR - armenians, azeri, chechens, etc.
Well, you learn something new every day!
I did not know that.
Man I'd love to learn Russian. Love hearing people speak it.
Especially when it's pillow talk!
I have a cat named Nigger.
Pure, totally black cats are very rare. They were killed in the "Dark Ages" due to superstition.
You'll find a lot of black cats with white on thier chests....
I still laugh every time I tell the cat --- "Good Nigger!"
Hehehehe, hell it's funny don't tell me you didn't smile :)
Also (I've researched it) the word Nigger is a compliment. Negus (approximately) is the formal term for the Emperor of Ethiopia. That's where the word actually came from.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_Ethiopia
History is way back on this one. Way back.
Starvin' Marvin is also from Ethiopia. That's probably not relevant here though.......
'Reach for the Sky' Spilt my coffee at that one...
Seriously, I paid a pretty penny for Nigger from a breeder. You try and find a pure black cat. You just can't. I drove to Nevada to get him. (It was a special case).
I live in the boonies mostly and tame feral cats when I can, there are way too many and it takes great patience. Wierd results. Different clothing, posture will run them off from 50 yards. Mostly, if I sit still and don't look at them (just the computer) they will eventually come to get some food. I *think* the clicking of the keys attracts them, or at least convinces them I'm not paying them any attention. It can take a year or more to get one of these guys to let you touch it. It's hard, so it's fun.
But try to find a true black cat. I've never seen one outside of a real breeder.
I love my Nigger, he's a damn good cat. Works hard. Not many mice or rats around here.
If I can find him a mate I'll be all set with a bunch of them little niggers running around the place.
:)
(No really I'm completely serious and making fun just for kicks...even the guys that work for me out here know I don't care about color. We respect each other. And they do work hard, and are paid well for it. My cat Nigger is real though, and even the guys (and girls to be fair) that pick up and load the eggs laugh about it.)
The Penson's have worked for my family for generations. It has come to me that they be looked to. I do. There it is.
wow, the klan is sure crawling out from under rocks on here tonight.
You people are unabashedly racist, eh? Like in a pretty unenlightened way...disturbing.
LOL!
Look who's calling the kettle .... well, that color.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger_(dog)
With that name, I am sure that trav would have had that dog immediately put down.
Eugenics and all that, you know.
Reminds me of french class (I'm in grade 10). L'argent en Francais means both money, and silver. Peut-etre les Francais savent quelque chose que nous ignorons?
En castellano, se dicen "plata" en lugar de "dinero" frecuentemente tambien.
En Sur America, los mendigos siempre pidieron "plata", nunca "dinero".
Si.
I've joined the "manipulation is a blessing" crowd. Fuck it.
Welcome to the dark side. Stand ready to dump your silver for gold on an industrial panic. I suggest cost averaging in, and cost averaging out.
why because COMEX isn't going to deliver the metal to industrial consumers?
ROTFL. hundreds of millions of ounces per year produced
......and over a billion paper ounces traded in a slow week. Go figure.
I now have more ounces thanks to the manipulators. I tell you what paper whores, you keep stacking your paper and I'll keep stacking my phyzz.
Don't mind Trav --- he is just the resident racist troll, general all-around hater, and the official president of the Jon Nadler fan club, Silver Division.
I take more offense at his jabs at silver than his poltically incorrect remarks. :-)
Politically incorrect is fine. Hell, even racism is fine. But genocidal mania is not acceptable.
WTF, you aren't getting away with this you lying weasel.
I have NEVER called for genocide. Sterilization is NOT GENOCIDE.
No amount of lying, dissembling, and weaseling can change this.
"Really, tmosley, I don't want to kill ALL of them --- just most of them!"
Dance, clown, dance.
Oh, and don't forget: next Wednesday is the monthly meeting of the Jon Nadler Fan Club, Silver Division. As president, you are expected to show up at every monthly meeting.
Whatever you say, princess. You just want them all dead. You wish they would all do you a favor and just kill themselves.
You really are a clown. Like a midget with a Hitler moustache and a big red nose.
Gold bitchez!
I just cannot see how gold does not benefit in the longer term. There is such large scale thievery going on. There is so much debt that will NEVER be paid off (all levels, domestic and foreign).
NONE of our financial problems are solved!
NO ONE of significance has gone to jail!
Course not...
The Commander In Chief is Very Busy throwing Secret Lavish Parties At the WH...
Priorities man, Priorities...
+ 1 Very good!
Has the SRM (State Run Media) had anything to say about these parties? Or is it only Drudge and internet mentioning them?
The psychopaths running the show are rotten to the core.
Ron Paul 2012
I have only seen it on Drudge and of course, here. I'll hazard a guess it has been on FOX but not CNN......
You know why you won't hear about it? Because Wolf Blitzer was at the party dressed up as the Cheshire Cat, that's why!
The Commander In Chief is Very Busy throwing Secret Lavish Parties At the WH...
Occultic IMHO.
It's just TNB, nothing to get excited about.
Thank you Tyler. I read that post twice. I thought our blog is over.
LOL, what happened to that clown's post ? Should have left it for posterity.
-t
I posted this earlier but it’s more relevant here.
Analysis of the Gold and Silver markets by the very good Louise Yamada:
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2012/1/9_Lou...
Now if only technical analysis mattered.
It works if you want to have an idea about the medium term trend.
For the short term nothing works and for the long term, the trend is clear in the case of PMs.
Thanks for posting the article....
An excellent point that cannot be repeated often enough, especially to all those anti-PM naysayers like Jon Nadler and RobotTrader here, who will seize on any daily or short-term downward move in the precious metals to poormouth them and declare "the bull market is over" (well, Nadler has yet to even acknowledge its very existence), while stubbornly and/or blindly refusing to recognize the long-term upward trend coinciding with the downward trend in all fiat currencies.
Yeah, Brother. I've always wondered what "N'Addler's" motivation is? Is he trying to get people to sell back some supply to Kitco or what? And what is Kitco's motivation in keeping him on as their house barker? His constant barrage of pessimistic propaganda has an impact on people who do not know any better. And that's gotta be bad for their business.
There are a number of theories as to why Kitco employs a rabidly hate-filled, dishonest, disingenuous, pro-bankster, pro-fiat, pro-status-quo snake as their official spokesman, a man who regularly talks down, mocks, belittles, misrepresents and lies about their very stock in trade (gold and silver), and who has regularly insulted, mocked, and attacked Kitco's very own existing and potential customers. SOMETHING is clearly wrong with this picture!
My suspicion is that is has something to do with that fucker Nadler, who has an EXTENSIVE background setting up shady precious metals allocated and unallocated precious metal accounts (read: ponzi schemes) with such stalwarts of business integrity as Bank of America, having set up similar ponzi programs for Kitco under the guise of their "pooled precious metals accounts". "Pooled" = fractionally-backed by real metal, of course.
Makes sense. Personally, I stay out of the pool and go with the real thing.
Good advice.
If Kitco's gold pool has any real yellow in it, it is only because Jonny has been peeing in it --- again.
Nadler has been challenged for his consistent "bad calls"
Grandich named him 1 of the 3 Stooges and just recently upped the ante....by increasing the stakes of the "challenge"....and the price of the bet from 1 million to 2 million.
I don't know if Nadler has taken him up on the offer/bet....but it is Grandich's personal funds and the prize is meant to go to charity.
Deadline Jan. 9th I think
http://www.grandich.com/2011/12/i-now-have-2-million-reasons-to-be-bullish-on-gold/
What if you woke up one morning and found out the banks were closed?
The week before, something was really wrong as the markets were swinging wildly both up and down on extraordinary volume. But surely this couldn't be "the end of the line" because in the past we had seen wild volatility and huge volumes yet we always got through? Most people would say to this, "the government will never let this happen", the governments have been trying to avoid this scenario for going on 6 years now.
It was Feb. 27th 2007 when the first ill winds came blowing through with Bear Stearns gagging on CDO exposure... almost a full 5 years into the Greatest Financiaal Crisis.
For 5 years now it has been anything but "business as usual" as government treasuries and central banks have done everything in their powers to rewrite the laws of Mother Nature.
New plan after new plan has been trotted out to "fix" things, but they have all been basically the same and have had the same results. Each new plan has failed because the "fix" was for the same malady. Each fix targeted a "lack of liquidity" rather than the core problem, too much debt.
"Liquidity" was not the problem, the problem was solvency.
Central banks and treasuries rode in to save the day and added liquidity by borrowing more and putting their balance sheets on the line. In short, they added to the problem rather than fix it. Yes, they bought "time" but nothing else and in fact compounded the problem.
Which brings us to where we are now, namely at the doorstep of a financial lockup with no more White Knights left to save the day. When "they" finally give up and "allow" the collapse to happen, there will certainly be some sort Black Swan event that will be pointed to as the cause. No matter, the lock up is going to happen. The system will have to be reset which can be done quickly, slowly, in an orderly or disorderly manner. It must be done. Pure mathematics says so.
This is not "new stuff", you have read before and the world has seen many many paper currencies (literally 1,000's of them) exterminated in the past.
Think forward not backwards. Think "what if" because the "if" IS going to happen. "When" the banks close, when the markets close, when the stores have no more goods left on their shelves, when people with "stuff" won't accept Dollars, Euros, Yen, Pounds or any other paper currency, "WHAT" are you going to do? Think about this now while you can do it in peace and quiet. Do it now while goods of all sorts are available and plentiful. Do it now while your credit cards, debit cards, and cash still "work"!
5 years ago smirks were common. 3+ years ago when governments were bankrupting themselves trying to deny Mother Nature's cleansing process, smirks were still common but there were some raised eyebrows.
Now, it seems as if "individually" everyone KNOWS that the system is broken and governments are bankrupt but "collectively" they still deny it. Panics have always occured when enough "individuals collectively move in agreement in one direction or the other". The mathematical (not to mention common sense) bankruptcies of sovereign governments is now so obvious to so many individuals that "we" cannot pass 2012 without the "collective" moving in a panic.
The demonstrations witnessed this past year were merely a precursor to what is coming. Some were peaceful and some were violent. Have they accomplished anything?
Have the cost of rice and beans been lowered to allow the masses to feed their families? Has gasoline, electricity, health insurance premiums or taxes been lowered?
No, the " official" response has been the same remedy that got us here. Pile on more debt and create more inflation has been and is the official response. Rather than camping out at a demonstration and freezing your ass off to "show your displeasure", why not use this time wisely.
Make a plan, fill your cupboards and prepare. Do you really want to leave the confines and safety of your house if stores are closed? Do you really want to "hit the streets" searching for toothpaste or peanut butter? You are better off hibernating until the storm passes which it surely will.
"What if" is not really the question, the real questions are "when and for how long".
www.lemetropolecafe.com
Word.
So, the Mormons are right?
Well, they're the 13th tribe, so yes they'll inherit everything.
They do have a history of persecution, and have incorporated the lessons from that into much of their religious doctrine.
And they do have that cool magical underwear that promises them an entire universe to rule after death.
I mean, what's not to like?
My to-do list:
Try to get my head around the fact that my sizeable (IMO) 401k can at anytime disappear or morph into a pile of shit, as long as I have my job and it is held hostage.
Keep said 401k in cash until the mini-crash that I guess is coming.
Sell my house in the Spring without sinking 20-30 grand for the obligatory bathroom fix-ups etc. Market to a handy-man/contractor. Break even (value down 30% in 2 years).
Rent a place with considerable storage space.
Research shelf life and nutritional value of staples.
Get guns back from my relative's house.
Teach my son to shoot the pellet gun I bought him. (not a pice of shit shooter from video games, a NICE break-barrel". Attatch scope.
Squirrel/rabbit hunt.
Continue looking for some In-the-woods real estate that we can purchase. Near water and with some flat land.
Take my kids camping there. Often.
Continue to throw 10oz of silver in the big Mac and Cheese boxes weekly.
"In-the-woods real estate..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRj7N1zSOls
They are waiting for the flat landers...........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gLN3QoN-q8
You might want to speed things up there and get that stuff checked off the list. Better to be early then late as they say.
Your point about the 401k is a big part of the reason why I quit a "good, safe" job 5 years ago. People thought I was crazy, but its been just fine.
If you can't quit and roll it over into a self directed IRA, you might want to start withdrawing it part at a time, taking the hit on tax and penalty and putting what's left into more tangible investments. 401k's may be forceably directed into treasury securities soon enough(like next year after the elections) on the way to that feces pile you're talking about!
BTW, leaving the "safe" job led to more fun and money at the day job too.
Nice post DP
For those who need world activity and have an hour to kill -- I recommend IMF latest report.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/gfsr/2011/02/pdf/ch1.pdf
First paragraph tells the whole story.
For those who want country by country info I suggest the WEO page--as a heads up Italy and Spain have no info- portugal is a derivatives nigtmare and well Italy is just 6 lines.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/weodata/index.aspx
Good hunting
September 7, 2008 was the day one woke up and found out that every US bank was bankrupt, regardless of what the sign on the door said, when the known de facto insolvency became de jure.
Depends on how much more the Maniacal Monetizers want to further monetize every debt under the sun.
Restraint is not part of their reality, their like crazed junkies reduced to flicking scabs
The time is slowly but inexorably coming when 43-101 reserve estimates will include those that are less than 2 grams/ton for either gold or silver. These will be totally uneconomical grades to mine unless the PMs are many multiples over todays prices.
SCARCITY BITCHEZ!!!!!
and thats just at todays oil prices. guess what happens when gas is over $6/gallon
wait wat?
Dud.
Consumer credit expands (autos), savings decreases, median household income falling. Obama's only solution to the US is ... Get on The Debt Train!!!!!!!
http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/consumer-credit-incre...
what did it cost Bernake to Buy Down the Price of Gold and Silver?
How much Tax Payer Money was or will be used to pay for Bernake Buying Down the Price of Gold and Silver?
How much will Gold and Silver go up in Price once the debt ceiling is reached?
like last summer? where it crept up every day.. more and more...
You get another little red arrow.
When are you going to understand that prices do not decline because they are "bought" down. Try "Sell down" or "offer down" and show a little literacy here.
The 2011 "Financial Miracle" continues into 2012:
1) Stocks levitating with horrid economic results and so many companies warning
2) Bonds going parabolic despite the biggest deficits and debt levels on record
3) Commodities crushed in order to control "inflation expectations"
Anyone see the insane move in muni-bonds today?
Everyone has been hookdwinked into "clamoring for paper".
Basically, a 100% success for TPTB.
What is this --- some actual insight and common sense struggling to gain a foothold in the mind of RobotLemming?
RoboRoach, you must have suffered a cranial injury recently. Wait until everyone wants to exit the paper game at the same time...
The Reagan 1981 Gold Commission's conclusion was that the US Treasury does not own any gold. The gold in Fort Knox is owned by the Federal Reserve as collateral against US Government debt. I ran across that little snippet tonight from a couple of googles after it was mentioned in passing by Ben Davies' his article linked at GATA.
Since anyone holding dollars has a claim against the Fed, now might be a good time to demand gold redemptions. The Fed has a clear criminal conflict of interest in encouraging increases in US government debt while simulaneously suppressing gold prices. Clearly gold is not a barbarous relic to the FED and neither is any of the other natural resource on US territories which they will try to lay claim.
The Treasury still lists it on their books
The FED's portion is a seperate line item on the ledger
All of it is booked at $42.2222
http://fms.treas.gov/gold/current.html