BRICS Targeting the Dollar: <b>Invest in Gold</b> - Wealth Daily | How to invest in gold |
- BRICS Targeting the Dollar: <b>Invest in Gold</b> - Wealth Daily
- Precious Than <b>Gold</b>: <b>How To Invest</b> In Water - Commoditie Futures
- Jim Rogers Q&A: <b>Gold</b>, Oil, the USD, BRICS Bank & <b>How to Invest</b> <b>...</b>
- <b>How to invest in Gold</b> | Income Tax Slabs
| BRICS Targeting the Dollar: <b>Invest in Gold</b> - Wealth Daily Posted: 25 Jul 2014 08:47 AM PDT I continue to maintain that the U.S. dollar is slowly losing its status as the world's reserve currency. More steps toward this developed recently. A meeting between the leaders of the BRICS countries resulted in an agreement on a new financial system and currency pool. American dominance — including the dominance of the U.S. dollar — came about around the end of World War II. The Bretton Woods agreement set something of an international gold standard, under which other countries could redeem gold in exchange for dollars. But the Federal Reserve inflated the money supply to the point where there was not nearly enough gold reserves to make the dollar redeemable, and in August 1971, Richard Nixon abandoned the last remnants of a gold standard. While Nixon was part of the problem, he can't be fully blamed for this. It was inevitable based on the system that had been set up and the money creation that had taken place. Part of Bretton Woods was also the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. To this day, the U.S. government mostly controls these institutions. There are various reasons for U.S. dominance over the last 70 years. Some say it is because the U.S. has the most powerful military. Others say that it is because the U.S. has the largest economy, which it does. I think it is a combination of these reasons. The U.S. and Soviet Union were really the only two superpowers left after World War II, but the Soviet Union was under communism. The U.S. has also had the biggest economy of any country in history. There may be some tiny countries today that surpass the U.S. on a per-capita basis, but the U.S. economy remains number one among the world's large countries. In addition, while the U.S. dollar has had its problems over the years — particularly in the 1970s — it has generally been the most stable currency of the large countries. BRICS I used to refer to the top emerging economies as the BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. For this article, I refer to the BRICS countries, adding South Africa, whose president was part of this latest meeting. While I am down on the U.S. dollar for several reasons, it doesn't mean I'm impressed with these other countries. Brazil is a large country and not insignificant, but it is a relatively poor nation. South America seems to be the face of currency crises. It seems there isn't a moment when some country is not having some kind of near hyperinflation event. Brazil does not escape this criticism — its currency is terrible. It had something resembling hyperinflation in the 1980s and 1990s. The country would be better served if it used U.S. dollars, and that is coming from someone who frequently criticizes the dollar. Russia, meanwhile, is a former piece of the Soviet Union. It is better there today than it was 25 years ago, to be sure, but the country still struggles from its past. While it is rich in oil and natural gas, there is not a lot else to point to. Its economy is still quite small in comparison to the United States. India has a population of well over 1 billion, and you would think a country with such a huge population would have more economic significance. But it is an extremely poor country, plagued with bureaucratic regulations and a terrible currency. A good portion of the smartest people get out and move to the U.S. or somewhere else where property rights are more respected. I think India has a lot of potential in the future, especially as technology and communications continue to increase on a global scale. But as of right now, it is hard to take the country and its government seriously. It is a terrible place to do business. We speak of the top 1% in the U.S., but this is more exaggerated in India, where there is not much of a middle class at all. Most people are really poor, while a tiny percentage controls most of the wealth — which isn't a whole lot for a country of well over 1 billion people. The only real significance India has for me as an investor is the demand for gold coming out of the country. China is a country to take seriously. For the last 35 years, we have seen China somewhat liberalize its economy, resulting in one of the greatest gains in wealth in history over such a short time span. Hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of extreme poverty. We do have to remember that China is still a communist country, even if in name only. The politicians there may not follow the communist model, but they do follow a model of central planning. While it is better than it used to be, it's still not great. China's currency is not freely floating. This is a major problem, and it means the currency is not likely to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency, as some have predicted. China also has a massive real estate bubble that is about to pop. Its biggest leverage against the U.S. is the more than $1 trillion in U.S. Treasuries that it owns and continues to buy. As for South Africa, there is not a lot to say. The nation has major problems of racial division, and the crime rate is extremely high. It is certainly economically better than most other countries in Africa, but that is not really saying a lot. Property rights have been weakened there, and the country is quite insignificant in economic matters. Stay on top of the hottest investment ideas before they hit Wall Street. Sign up for the Wealth Daily newsletter below. You'll also get our free report, Gold & Silver Mining Stocks. A Currency Pool The meeting between the leaders of the BRICS countries resulted in the signing of an agreement to create a BRICS Development Bank, which includes a currency pool worth over $100 billion. The move is being seen as an attempt to move away from the IMF and World Bank. In other words, it is a move away from using the dollar in international trade. The countries may also consider allowing entrance to other countries in the future. While these five countries contain about 42% of the world's population, they represent a much smaller portion of the overall world economy. Still, the trade between the countries is estimated at 17% of the world's total. Ironically, if these countries would just stop destroying their own currencies, they probably wouldn't need to take such steps. But because they all continually destroy the purchasing power of their money, the currencies are not trusted and don't make for good trading. If China is buying goods from Russia — regardless of whether this is between individuals, businesses, or governments — why can't the Chinese just use yuan to pay for the goods? The Russians could instantly convert the money back in to rubles if they wanted. The problem here is that the yuan is neither a free currency nor a trustworthy one. These five countries have a horrendous record of monetary policy, so it should be no surprise that they can't do this and that they still rely on the dollar. There are no major countries that have far more stable currencies than the dollar (Singapore and Switzerland are not major). The yen and euro aren't terrible, but they aren't any better than the dollar. Your Money Despite my criticisms of the BRICS countries, their move is still significant. The world is slowly shifting away from dollars. In some ways, I see this as positive for Americans — after all, the government will not be able to run huge deficits as easily if other countries stop buying a good portion of the debt. The long-term key for Americans is what the Fed does, assuming it still exists in 20 years. If there is high monetary inflation like the past six years, then it will mean lost purchasing power and a weaker economy due to resources being misallocated. If the Fed keeps its money creation under control, then Americans will be fine, even if other countries stop using dollars in international trade. The ultimate answer probably lies in a return to the use of gold as money. Either way, gold should be part of your answer in hedging against a declining dollar. The U.S. dollar will decline in international trade, even if the other currencies are not much of an alternative at this time. Over the long run, a weaker dollar means gold will shine. Until next time, Geoffrey Pike for Wealth Daily Media / Interview Requests? Click Here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Precious Than <b>Gold</b>: <b>How To Invest</b> In Water - Commoditie Futures Posted: 13 Jul 2014 08:18 PM PDT (GSB) The world is running out of its most precious resource… not oil, but water. I am feeling this acutely in my home state of California. Technology is helping, but desalination remains very expensive and energy intensive. More than a billion people across the globe don't have access to safe water. The situation can only get worse as water gets evermore scarce. Are we approaching Peak Water or have we already passed it? If the idea of Peak Oil is scary to you, Peak Water would be many times worse. While oil plays an indispensable role in modern life, humans can only survive for 3-5 days without water. Simply put, life depends upon water and there is no substitute. As fresh water supplies decline and demand increases via a growing population, water prices are going to rocket significantly higher. The water sector has beat the S&P 500 by 11 percent annually since 2001 as the global water industry is expected to hit $1 trillion by 2020. Forecasts show global demand outstripping supply by a widening gap and this trend will only accelerate as drought conditions worsen. Agriculture is the source of most of the water demand and food prices are rising. As China, India, and other developing nations continue to industrialize, they will require more food and thus higher demand for water. In addition, the fracking revolution demands huge amounts of water in order to blast the oil out of rocks deep in the earth. Each fracked horizontal well uses millions of gallons of water to extract the oil from the ground. Fracking is exploding all over the United States and moving overseas as well. As this trend accelerates, demand for water will rise as well. So, we have a clear picture of the investment case for water stocks. Demand is climbing higher and supplies are dropping sharply. Anyone that has taken Economics 101 knows the impact this will have on the price of water going forward. Water is an undervalued commodity. I've been bullish on water investments for some time now, but there are only a limited number of pure-play water stocks. Some investors get exposure via ETF's such as: Guggenheim S&P Global Water (CGW) The largest of those funds is up an average of 16% per year over the past 5 years, but it is up only 1.8% YTD. I think investors can achieve better gains by selecting a few of the best managed water stocks. There are a number of ways to play increasing water prices, include drip irrigation, water efficiency technology for farms, companies that own desalination plants, water utilities and more. The following is a list of some of the water stocks traded publicly on the exchanges.
You can invest in rising water prices via one of the water ETFs or by performing your own due diligence on the dozens of companies mentioned above. However, if you would like to view our top water sector stock pick, along with our top gold, silver, energy and agriculture stock picks, click here to join the Gold Stock Bull Premium Membership. The film below delves into the importance of water and the battles that have erupted around the globe over water resources. It highlights the most water-rich regions of the world and who is buying up acreage around key aquifers. It also offers some solutions for conserving water and ensuring access to everyone well into the future.
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| Jim Rogers Q&A: <b>Gold</b>, Oil, the USD, BRICS Bank & <b>How to Invest</b> <b>...</b> Posted: 30 Jul 2014 06:45 AM PDT Puneet Wadhwa, Business Standard, Released on 7/30/14 What are the chances of the developing geopolitical situation creating a flutter in the world equity and commodity markets? Could it take investors away from allocating money to riskier assets? Wars always affect all markets. When there is turmoil or fear, people are less likely to take risk. War is not good for anything except commodities. In such a scenario, people prefer to put their money into commodities like into lead, copper and wheat because they know those are necessary for war. Likewise for gold. Thus war is not good for anything except commodities. It is less bad for the people who win the war but then it the meantime when there is uncertainty, people are afraid of investing and taking risk. Given the geopolitical situation, which geographies or economies would you still consider safe from an investment perspective given the road ahead for the next 6 – 12 months and why? Well, there is no such thing as safe if you ask me. In the investment world, there is always risk of everything even if one holds cash. You need to put your money in the right asset. I certainly would think that anything in Africa, South America or even parts of Asia might be safe and considered less dangerous than parts of West Asia. I don't expect geopolitical problems in Asia; but who knows as the future remains uncertain. Politicians, as history suggest, have done very foolish things and probably will continue to do foolish things. So, some parts of Africa and South America appear less dangerous – but no place is absolutely safe. What about the Asian region? As I think about it, I don't really think that there are any Asian countries that are absolute safe bets should Asia breakout into some kind of conflict with the Japanese or the Chinese or the Koreans or the Philippines. In that case, no place in Asia would be less dangerous. How do emerging markets appear as an investment destination now as compared to the developed markets? Which amongst the two is relatively better insulated, why and on what counts? America, Germany and many other developed markets are near all-time highs and most undeveloped markets are not. I would prefer to invest in places like Japan that is still nearly 65% below its all-time high. I would rather invest in Japan rather than in New York. China, too, is around 65% below its high levels. I would much prefer to judge each situation based on its own merit and invest in China or Japan given that they are depressed rather than Germany or America. Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in 1973, helping to steer the fund to a 4200% return before "retiring" at age 37. He is considered to be one of the greatest investors of all time. Rogers has made two record-setting journeys – once by motorcycle and once by car – and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for doing so. In between his frequent travels, he has served as a professor at Columbia University, started his own commodity index and is a frequent media commentator worldwide. Rogers has also authored six books. He currently lives in Singapore with his family. Jim has authored a half dozen books, including: Investment Biker: Around the World with Jim Rogers (NYTimes Bestseller) Share this: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <b>How to invest in Gold</b> | Income Tax Slabs Posted: 14 Jul 2014 05:22 PM PDT   Gold is an integral part of Indian life. And it plays a prominent role as an investment option. Over the years people have purchased gold, in form of Jewelry, coins and bars. Today's development of economy and trading options has introduced new ways to invest in gold. Currently there are 4 different ways in which you can invest in Gold. // ]]> So let's have a look at the different investment options in Gold and how they weigh against each other.
Pro:
Cons:
Cost Involved:
// ]]> Investment In Gold Option 2: E-Gold: This investment avenue is provided by 'National Spot Exchange'. Any broker who is affiliated to this exchange would be able to help you invest in E-Gold. E-Gold is very similar to what an ETF is, in the manner that you can trade (buy/sell) your E-Gold electronically easily. However what differentiates E-Gold from ETF is that; you can convert your E-Gold into physical Gold. In case of ETF you cannot do any such conversion, ETF can only be traded electronically. How do I invest in E-Gold? - You need to have a demat account with that broker who is affiliated to 'National Spot Exchange'. – Via this demat account you can buy E-Gold like you would buy a stock. Cost Involved: – brokerage and transaction costs – stamp duty – demat account charges – cost of converting the units into physical gold Pros:
Cons:
Brokers affiliated with National Spot Exchange: -
Bottomline: If you are looking at very long-term then E-Gold is a good option to use. E-Gold has an easy ability to convert to physical gold, so it could be used if you want to take it out in physical gold. Investment In Gold Option 3: Gold ETFs: Gold ETFs are units representing physical gold, which may be in paper (in case you do not own a demat account) or dematerialized form. These units are traded on the exchange like a single stock of any company Pros:
Cons:
Cost Involved: - Broker Charges Bottomline: If you are looking at short term investment then gold ETF is the best option. Investment In Gold Option 4: Gold mutual fund: Are mutual funds that pursue capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of companies engaged in the mining, distribution, or processing of gold and other precious metals. Gold mutual funds are viewed as "specialty funds" because of their portfolio's focus on gold mining stocks, though some do own small amounts of gold bullion. Most gold mutual fund portfolios concentrate on gold mining stocks, but some have significant exposure to silver, platinum, and base metal mining stocks as well. Pros
Cons
If you own a demat account go in for Gold ETF, they are the safe and provide best returns. If you are not fully comfortable with the paper format of Gold, you can go in for E-Gold; which you can convert in physical gold as need be. If you do not have a demat account and find trading to be a trouble, Gold mutual fund are the best bet for you. They are managed be professionals so you can rest assured you investment is in safe hands. And finally if you are looking to buy jewelry only then invest in physical gold. Gold coins and bars are not the best of the investment avenues. Share and Enjoy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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