Its been another year of positive performance for the gold market, trading roughly 20% higher than where it began the year.  Stocks, on the other hand, have been largely flat.  Another year, another debt milestone, with the U.S. national debt crossing $15 trillion for the first time in history.  Europe remains in flux, with yet another agreement coming forward, yet no true signs of action to give the market any reliable sense of direction.  The result has been increased volatility within the range, both for gold and equities.  The failure of MF Global is being largely downplayed in the media.  Co-mingling investor funds with the firm's risky plays on credit default swaps has destroyed huge sums of private capital.  Jon Corzine, in his testimony before the House Agricultural Committee, stated very simply when asked where client's funds went, "I don't know."  As a major clearinghouse for commodity futures, MF Global's failure has put a significant dent in the perceived reliability of the futures market as a whole.  The erosion of confidence in this arena suggests large swaths of investment capital may seek physical ownership to gain safer (absent of counter-party risk) exposure to the gold market.  If this is indeed the trend, it won't take long for the broader market to realize just how little physical gold is actually available.  30 minutes, with George Cooper, Peter Grant, and Jonathan Kosares

To all of our clients and patrons, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

(August 23, discussion) Gold's ascent over the past few weeks has been remarkable. Following the downgrade of US debt by S&P, gold covered the distance between $1600 and $1900 in less than three weeks. Talk of gold being in a bubble quickly resurfaced as gold surged, though very little, if anything, in the bubble claims hold water. Net global investment in gold remains less than 1% of total assets, compared to levels as high as 5% in the 1960's. Perceived safe haven currencies such as the Yen and the Swiss Franc and being forcibly suppressed, while all other major currencies continue to decline. As Alan Greenspan said earlier this week, "Gold, unlike all other commodities, is a currency. And the major thrust in the demand for gold is not for jewelry. It's not for anything other than an escape from what is perceived to be a fiat money system, paper money, that seems to be deteriorating." Also discussed is Hugo Chavez' effort to repatriate Venezuela's gold from the Bank of England, setting the stage for other countries to attempt the same, raising questions about just how much gold is really out there to fill this kind of demand. Last week was also the 40th anniversary of Nixon closing the gold window.-- With Peter Grant, George Cooper, and Jonathan Kosares. 23min.

4.11.2011 Round Table

(April 11, 2011) -- An assessment of today's closing metals report and current news.

USAGOLD RoundTable (January 26, 2011) -- Has Anything Really Changed? Trends to Follow in 2011

USAGOLD RoundTable (November 16, 2010) -- QE2 +  G20 = Bright Future for Gold

Client newsletter published by USAGOLD-Centennial Precious Metals for November, 2010

USAGOLD RoundTable (October 19, 2010) -- QE2 & 'ForeclosureGate'... The Folly of Renewed Market Euphoria.