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Money is routinely defined by what it does, rather than what it is. That is unfortunate because its modern definition overlooks money’s important – but now forgotten – fourth function. Aristotle observed that money is a medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value. This definition omits the fourth function needed to explainRead more

“The Earth speaks to us through the elements of nature. In every natural thing, we can find a hidden, powerful message.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Every natural element to which the earth has been endowed has a usefulness – a purpose. If we listen to gold, one of the earth’s natural elements, its message is loudRead more

Every bull market for each type of financial instrument has three phases: accumulation of an undervalued asset by so-called “smart money” that recognizes the undervaluation, growing public participation as the uptrend gains increasing attention, and inevitable speculation that leads to overvaluation of an asset and eventual resumption of a new downtrend.   Gold is nowRead more

Leverage is the use of credit or borrowed capital to increase the earning potential of your investment portfolio. But like everything else in finance, higher returns mean higher risk, so leverage is not for everyone. Nevertheless, leverage can be a useful tool for those accepting the risk. If you choose to use it to maximiseRead more

Transferring Power to the People Of the many significant statements made by President Donald Trump in his inaugural address, I believe the following stands out: Today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it backRead more

Here’s a question that might have you pondering: Is gold a commodity? More importantly, are we doing a disservice to the gold industry by calling gold a commodity? These may sound like silly questions, but hear me out. Last month I participated as a keynote speaker at the Asia Mining Conference in Singapore. There wereRead more

In an interview on July 8th in King World News I noted how gold that day had slipped into backwardation. Since then I have read a lot of commentary on various websites about backwardation, which made clear to me that this term and, more importantly, the implications to the gold price when backwardation appears areRead more

An article in The Wall Street Journal a few days ago caught my attention. It reported: “Gold prices dropped on signs that demand for the precious metal is sagging.
Global gold demand fell 11% during the third quarter compared with a year ago.

The Grexit, or Greece’s exit from the euro, is becoming more likely, judging by how frequently it is mentioned these days. Unfortunately, preparing for it may be more difficult than many believe. Before addressing that point, I would like to first illustrate the extent of the problem.

Six months ago I wrote that the gold mining stocks were on the runway and ready for take-off. I expected the gold mining stocks from that point to start outperforming gold bullion itself. Since then, however, little has happened.