Decius wrote:
Dagmar wrote:
So, I'm already looking into transferring a significant amount of my assets into gold. Anyone got any suggestions/pointers?
I think this is both too paranoid and not paranoid enough.
Its too paranoid because I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting that as an investment vehicle. In fact, stocks may perform well once the contraction in growth is priced in (which hasn't fully happened yet). The prudent thing to do is to work with a professional money manager, but of course you have to have a lot of money in order to get help like that.
Its not paranoid enough because the real reason to hold gold is because you are worried about total economic collapse of the sort experienced in Germany during the great depression. In such a case, a record in a computer indicating that you own gold is worth less than the magnetic disk it's printed on. You have to physically possess the gold. This creates a security and logistics problem...
I met an old German man on a plane a couple months ago who collects gold coins... Not because he is interested in them, but because he sees it as an insurance mechanism in the event of a cataclysm. I told him that I hope things like that don't happen anymore. When I got home I googled US gold coins. You'd be amazed what a single gold coin marked $5 goes for new.
Anyone else got any investment advice for Dagmar?
Actually Pat Buchanan (while not an economist) has stated he has already stated going that route (see McLaughlin Group 1st November show? 2nd? with Mort Zuckerman in the 4 chair).
This sort of train wreck is something previously discussed in threads about the end of the petro-dollar and the conversion to the petro-euro. Right now about the only reason to have dollars is to buy oil. OPEC makes that move and the dollar (and the US) just got shoved off the train.
