Wednesday, September 15, 2010

George Soros on Gold

September 15, 2010
Gold Prices Drop From Record as Dollar’s Rebound Curbs Demand

"I called gold the ultimate bubble, which means it may go higher, but it’s certainly not safe, and it’s not going to last forever."

Although I have stagflationary in my name and I have owned physical gold and silver in the past (from 2004 to 2006), I have absolutely no interest in owning gold compared to TIP at these prices. I believe gold's "safe haven" status has been very much in question since it broke $1,000. No asset is good at any price.

Heck, I even sold TIP recently because I felt it was slightly overpriced. I'll either buy it back if the price comes down and/or bypass it entirely by participating in the 30 year TIPS auction this coming February.

I do not believe in "sure things".

14 comments:

EconomicDisconnect said...

You may like this graphic:
http://www.thereformedbroker.com/2010/09/15/modern-modern-portfolio-theory/

Maybe we can make one with SPAM, Toilet paper, and foil instead?

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

VERY AMUSING CHART!!!!

Here's a link to your link.

Modern Modern Portfolio Theory

Here's the scary part. I could make a chart using photos of my actual hoard, lol.

I have enough aluminum foil to last me many decades. I have about 8 years worth of toilet paper. My SPAM collection is good for about 3 years and has been augmented with...

Libby's Vienna Sausages!!

Woohoo!

EconomicDisconnect said...

How do you make those links in the comments!!!!!!! I have no idea how.

Stagflationary Mark said...

An example is probably worth a thousand words.

Try deleting the 5 underscores ("_") from the following text.

<_a href=www.google.com_>Woohoo!<_/_a_>

That should produce:

Woohoo!

Replace "www.google.com" with any website and "Woohoo!" with the description of any website and you are good to go. :)

Stagflationary Mark said...

It appears I needed a full website address. Oops.

<_a href=http://www.google.com/_>Woohoo!<_/_a_>

That should produce:

Woohoo!

mab said...

Stag,

I still don't get gold at these prices. But this one (symbol AU) is a real puzzler:

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=AU+Interactive#chart1:symbol=au;range=my;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

Anglo used to pay a nice dividend. For some reason though, the dividends have really shrunk during the recent run-up in gold prices. Unlike other gold miners, Anglo has figured out how to lose money during the recent gold boom.

And notice that Anglo got absolutley pwned during the 2008 Autumn deflation scare/financial bust.

But here's where it gets really sureal. Pauslon & Company (that's John Paulson, the hedge fund guru) is the largest shareholder at ~ 12%:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=AU+Major+Holders

I can guarantee that Bernanke won't be there this time to bailout Paulson's counterparties if his "investment" sours.

mab said...

Woohoo!

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

Preserve Your Capital With Gold, Silver - Bob Chapman

This went on 2.5 years ago when the government said that inflation was 5.5%, when in fact it was over 14%. It's two different worlds. The proof of that is when you see gold and silver run up like they did 2.5 years ago before deleveraging took place.

Meanwhile, back on planet earth, I'll be substituting hamburger for steak (much to the amazement of his beloved shadowstats no doubt). QFC is selling Certified Angus Beef Top Sirloin for just $3.77 per pound this week.

Live Cattle (LC, CME)

I turned bearish in 2004. Where's the inflationary beef?

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

You successfully recreated my broken link! It's good enough though. You did it right. Just needs a full website address to not be broken.

My "www.google.com" example was missing the apparently needed "http" part.

EconomicDisconnect said...

Thats why I have not bought miners in years, they screw things up royally no matter what.

mab said...

Stag,

You successfully recreated my broken link!

Thanks for the kind words. ;) I really have a knack for computer errors.

Stagflationary Mark said...

I expected better from The Market Ticker.

The Market Ticker: Inflation Lies - From The Consumer End

This is how you get "zero inflation" reported by the government lie office:

First, the "government lie office" is not the party responsible here. They did not change the quality/quantity of the toilet paper as seen in the photo.

Second, the "government lie office" should account for the change he points out. It's called hedonics and it works equally well for both improvements and declining quality. There's definitely been a quality/quantity change here. Hedonics applies.

It's just one more example of CPI myths being needlessly propagated on the Internet.

BLS: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

During each call or visit, the economic assistant collects price data on a specific good or service that was precisely defined during an earlier visit. If the selected item is available, the economic assistant records its price. If the selected item is no longer available, or if there have been changes in the quality or quantity (for example, eggs sold in packages of ten when they previously were sold by the dozen) of the good or service since the last time prices were collected, the economic assistant selects a new item or records the quality change in the current item.

That's very straightforward. Get less of something for the same price and the government will consider that to be inflationary.

However, it isn't all bad. As seen in the comments it can be determined that I am not the only toilet paper hoarder, lol. Woohoo! What you won't see in the comments, at least so far, is the link I have provided to the BLS. Big surprise.

EconomicDisconnect said...

Maybe the rolls were just wrapped tighter? LOL

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

Hahaha!

Perhaps it expands back to its true size when wet. It says "Now Stronger". Wood is certainly stronger. Unprotected wood expands when wet! It all makes sense now.

It's not 1-ply. It's one plywood! ;)