Gold As A Hedge Against Inflation

By Garrett Strong

Gold is a hedge against inflation and a way to preserve your wealth. The movements in gold have been huge lately. The rate of inflation is about currently about 10%, and its essential to be invested in gold coins, gold bars, and gold bullion.

For one, the official inflation rate is about 10%, and investors are getting out of dollars and into gold coins, gold bars, and gold bullion as a hedge against inflation. Buy gold bullion, gold ingots, and gold bullion coins to protect yourself during inflation.

The demand for gold is going through the roof. The demand in 2008 was up 64% as scared investors searched for a safe haven for their money. Countries like China, India, Russia, and Arab states have been steadily increasing their gold reserves. India just made a huge purchase of 200 tons from the IMF.

There is currently about 23 grams of gold available per person on earth. Thats about $840 worth of gold per person. The existing value of all the available mined gold on earth is $3.7 trillion.

There is around--0,000 tons of gold above ground, and that number increases each year by 2,600 tons. That is an increase of about 2% per year, but that doesnt even come close to satisfying the demand.

The demand for gold each year is about 4,000 tons, so the mines are coming up short by about 1,400 tons. Until the recent gold price highs, gold has been selling for around the cost of production.

The gold and silver mine supplies have plummeted by 10% due to the low prices. If you add up all of the fundamentals, gold should be much, much higher.

Supply and demand have not played a part in these markets since price manipulation has been occurring. Even though the price of gold has risen to current levels of $1,140/oz, the inflation adjusted price puts gold at around $7,000/oz.

Paper gold is a source of price suppression. Paper gold includes futures contracts, ETFs, and other investments. These give you the exposure to the price of gold, and not the real gold.

Paper gold like exchange traded funds (GLD) and COMEX contracts only give you price exposure to gold. With these investments you do not really own the gold. Some investors have even complained that the COMEX is defaulting when customers request physical delivery of their gold. The COMEX does not have the gold they claim to have.

You are left holding paper rather than gold in COMEX contracts or ETF shares. These paper gold investments serve a purpose for the government, and that is to help prop up the falling dollar.

This paper gold market is a bubble waiting to burst. Steer clear of these investments if you can help it. Keep your money safe by buying American Gold Eagle Coins, American Gold Coins, and gold bars.

You have every reason to buy gold now due to the falling dollar. Just look at the gold price in the past month. The price of gold per ounce one month ago was $1,058/oz, and the current price of gold is at $1,140/oz. Smart investors are going crazy for gold coins because gold is the only safe investment right now. Educate yourself about the benefits of investing in gold and how to buy gold. You wont be sorry! - 23196

About the Author:

To learn more about whygold is a hedge against inflation then check out my site.

Energy Futures (Part I)

By Ahmad Hassam

Again crude oil prices have started rising. The recent price of crude oil was quoted as $ 80 per barrel. It is being predicted that the price will soon reach the $ 100 per barrel mark. One thing should be clear to you. Energy markets will be a major focal point in the global financial makers and the global economy for many years to come. The key to understanding energy trading is to understand oil, natural gas, gasoline and heating oil futures.

NYMEX trades futures and options contracts for crude oil, natural gas, heating oil, gasoline, coal, electricity and propane. NYMEX is also home to trading in metals. Trading in energy futures is centralized at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange.

For smaller traders NYMEX offers e-mini contracts for oil and natural gas that also trades on the GLOBEX network of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Trading in NYMEX is conducted in two divisions: 1) The NYMEX Division and 2) The COMEX Division.

One of the most important variables for any economy is the interest rates. Very high interest rates can make the economy come to a screeching halt as most businesses won't be able to afford high interest rate loans. On the other extreme, very low interest rates can make inflation too high in the economy. Now there is a relationship between the oil prices and the interest rates. The relationship between energy and interest rates is very important to understand. This relationship ties together the two most important aspects of the global economy: energy (the fuel for growth) and the interest rates (the catalyst that powers borrowed money to do things). Next to interest rates, energy and especially oil is the center of the universe not only for the industry but also for the financial markets.

As a trader, you should know this fact that oil price rise often tends to slow down the economy and lower retail sales as well as consumer confidence with lower traffic on the highways. Sometimes the rise in oil prices leads to the increase in interest rates through the bond market and the actions of central banks and the other times the opposite happens. Rise in oil prices if often inflationary.

No new major discovery of an oil well has been made in the past two decades. This means that the supply of oil is dwindling while the global demand for oil is on the rise. Now you need to understand the Peak Oil Concept. Peak oil is the concept that the world oil production has peaked and the production of oil will never be as high again. Oil prices and the interest rates generally move in the same direction when viewed over long periods of time.

In any case, most of the experts now agree that in the next 10-20 years, the oil production will peak and after that it will start declining. Now you should keep these facts in the background of your mind as a trader.

1) The world runs on oil and any threat to the supply of oil often leads to rising prices. 2) Demand fluctuates but supply of oil is finite. As an oil trader your primary goal is to consider the effects of events on the supply of oil and correlate this effect with your charts. - 23196

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. Trade Dow Futures . Learn Commodity Trading !

Ideas To Uncovering A Currency Exchange Market Broker Without Possessing Any Uncertainties

By Herman Castro

Locating a reputable forex broker can sometimes be a daunting task. There are a lot of brokers in America and throughout the world with a wide range of experiences. Brokers offer a series of competitive deals and attractive platforms designed to give you the investment edge.

You can find a good broker on the internet. There are plenty of them with great reputations. However, there are scam artists out there too. You need to know how to avoid the scammers and pick a currency broker that you can have complete confidence in.

The internet is a vast sea of merchants of all kinds. More than likely, if you pick your broker from a website, it will be your first contact with them. While this thought may lead to may unanswered questions and uncertainties, the tips in this article will help guide you.

The first thing you should consider when looking for a broker is their offer. Examine all of the details of the offer and see if they meet the standards of a reputable trading firm. This means you will have to examine their trading platforms, value added features, and any special terms that they may have. Even more so, always check to see if they have negative reviews online.

Moreover, the type of reputation that a broker has is important too. The forex industry is regarded as a deregulated financial industry since countries throughout the world take part in it. Here in the United States the closest agency that monitors that monitors the activities of brokers is Commodity Futures Trading Commission of the United States. Reputable brokers will usually register with this agency.

If there is any business where customer service should be regarded as premium, it is with your forex broker. The level of support you receive from your broker will make or break you. Consequently, you broker should have multiple channels of support. This could be a ticket system phone contact and email support.

The currency trading platform that your broker uses is the pinnacle of all trading activity. It is of paramount importance that this platform be easy to use with no unnecessary complications. You should have access to a broker's trading platform free of charge.

Trading platforms can either be web-based or downloaded as software to your computer. In either case, you should have unfettered access to your trading platform so you can make trades any time of the day or night. There will be times when you want to actively trade or just practice to improve your trading skills. - 23196

About the Author:

Learn more about forex accounts on our website.

When is a Loan a Bad Idea?

By Sara Ferguson

Personal loans arent always the best way to borrow money. You might want to think about it if:

You need to borrow only a few hundred dollars: The smaller the sum you borrow, the higher the rate of interest you pay. Borrowing an amount under $2,000 is extremely expensive in terms of interest charges. Most lenders also have a minimum that you can borrow: If you need less, you may find yourself taking out a bigger loan simply in order to get the money in the first place. This isnt a wise move. You may be better off borrowing smaller sums on a credit card or extending your overdraft instead of opting for a loan.

You can repay the money in a couple of months: The shorter the loans term, the bigger your monthly repayments, so work out whether you could afford them if you take a loan out for just a year or so. If theres a chance that youll be able to clear the loan even sooner, you may be charged a redemption penalty for doing so. If this is the case, you may be better off borrowing on a credit card with a 0 per cent introductory period for several months instead. This may be enough time to repay your borrowings " without having to pay any interest at all.

You're borrowing $40,000 or so to improve your property: If you already have a mortgage, it might be better to ask your mortgage lender to extend your home loan rather than take out a personal loan particularly if you need money to build an extension or otherwise fix up your home. Although interest rates on personal loans have fallen, they still tend to be higher than mortgage rates (the cheapest loan is around 7 per cent compared with mortgage rates of less than 6 per cent). So you pay less interest if you increase your mortgage instead. This is easier to arrange than a personal loan because you already have a relationship with the lender.

Think carefully before extending your mortgage and overburdening yourself. Your home is at risk if you cant keep up the repayments on it, whereas if you take out an unsecured loan to pay for your extension, your home is safe. Dont gamble with your home. Before you decide to take a loan, make sure you really need it, the worst thing to do is to borrow when you have other options. - 23196

About the Author:

Learning how to invest is a life long process. How to Invest Today is an educational blog dedicated to teaching how to invest.

Participating in the UK Lottery

By Susan Renolds

National lotteries like the United Kingdom's allow citizens to participate in raising funds for community causes in return for the opportunity to win cash prizes. The focus, however, tends to be on the winnings rather than the giving. Take a moment to learn who is benefiting from the UK National Lottery.

You may already know that 28p from every 1 raised by the lottery goes to Good Causes through lottery grants, a total of over 22 billion to date. In fact, most UK residents live within a few miles of a lottery-funded project. Good Causes are chosen as recipients of lottery funds because they serve a charitable or socially beneficial purpose. The Big Lottery Fund is the largest distributor of lottery funds in the UK. It handles more than half of all the funds the lottery brings in for good causes. A wide range of projects benefits from the Big Lottery Fund, including large-scale community revitalization projects, charities, health, education and environmental projects.

In addition, Good Causes have three specific categories: arts, sports and heritage. Each of these categories receives 16.67% of the Good Causes funds.

Group of four National arts councils and two film councils are Granted ,for funds awarded related to the arts and cinema.For example, a grant to the Yorkshire Film Archive will improve the accessibility of this highly popular collection of historical amateur and professional video via an online database,3m was granted to myfilms.com,high-quality website that will help individuals ,non-mainstream films from the past and present.

The lottery distribution entities, five in number, and the Big Lottery Fund disburse the funds to the sport category. Expenses for purchase of land, building and equipment and construction are met from the grant funds. Local community needs are fulfilled by these projects and it is also intention that the source of funding cannot be only from the lottery. The Inclusive Fitness Initiative is a project devised with this intention and is responsible for making facilities and services available to the many disables persons.

Since'94, the Heritage Lottery Fund has granted more than 39 billion to thousands of heritage projects. These projects are related to preserving the heritage of the United Kingdom through natural heritage, museums, buildings, language or tradition. The Archives Network - Wales received 365,000 to collect historic manuscripts, records and archives from- local governments, universities and national institutions into an online site.

Go to the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport fo a total list of projects that are funded by the lottery.

Opponents have few reasons with the truth that lottery generated money go to charity. Many claim that coloring is a contribution apposed to gambling and encouraging more to gamble. While it is true that positive causes create a powerful marketing message, these types of monies do help fund these charitable causes. - 23196

About the Author:

Tom Martens is the marketing director for UKlotterytickets.co.za. South Arica's primary portal to the UK Lottery.