The pawn shop is probably the last place you want to go if you find yourself strapped for cash. But an interesting article in a Filipino publication reveals a problem millennials face if they find themselves in a cash-crunch. They may have a harder time liquidating assets than their parents because they primarily spend their money on electronic gadgets and don’t tend to buy gold.
The head of one of the Philippines largest pawnshop operators told ANC’s The Boss that gold can be pawned at much higher prices than smartphones, laptops, and other electronics.
There’s nothing like buying gold and using it. It’s a great tool to use to save. Millennials today, they buy their gadgets, their Androids, their bags, but there’s still more value in buying gold jewelry than buying all those.”
Last month, the Nikkei Asian Review reported on a move by China that could take a first step toward dethroning the US dollar. The proposed launch of a gold-backed, yuan-denominated oil futures contract got a lot of attention in alt-media circles, but didn’t make much of a splash in the mainstream. But now the mainstream is sitting up and taking notice.
During an interview with Bloomberg TV Tuesday, Graticule Asset Management Asia CEO Adam Levinson said China rolling out a yuan-denominated oil contract within the next few months will be “a wake-up call” for investors who haven’t paid attention to the plans.
The move potentially creates a way for oil exporters to circumvent US dollar-denominated benchmarks by trading in yuan. The contracts will reportedly be priced in yuan, but convertible to gold.
The price of silver is at extremely low levels compared to gold. That makes this a perfect time to invest in the white metal.
Indians seem to recognize this buying opportunity. According to the Economic Times, silver demand was up 15% during this Dhanteras and Diwali festival season on increased purchases of coins, idols, and silverware. Analysts attributed the surge in silver buying to lack of consumer confidence in the economy and silver’s relatively low price.
SchiffGold has the perfect way for you to take advantage of this silver buying opportunity. We have obtained a limited supply of 2013 and 2014 1-ounce Silver Britannia bullion coins minted by the British Royal Mint. These beautiful coins are ready to ship right now for as little as $1.49 over spot per coin.
This is a bullion coin at better than bullion coin price but has the upside of potentially garnering collectible value in the future. Because they have a mint privy mark on edge of the coin the 2013 has a snake on the edge and the 2014 year has a horse on the edge.
Australia is moving toward regulating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum under new anti-money laundering legislation.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Parliament will vote on the measure this week. If it passes, it will place Bitcoin and other cryptos under the auspices of Australia’s financial regulatory agency.
An increase in the import duty hasn’t dampened Indians’ appetite for gold. It’s just pushed the market underground.
Gold is such an important part of the Indian economy, people will do whatever they have to in order to get their hands on the yellow metal – including skirt the law. According to a recent report by the Hindu, occurrences of gold smuggling have risen rapidly in the wake of higher import taxes.
Ever since the import duty on gold was raised to 10%, the country has reportedly witnessed a rapid rise in the quantum of gold brought into the country illegally. Currently, government levies total 13%, including IGST of 3%.”
Harry Dent is a long-time gold bear. He used to say gold would fall to $250. He’s revised that prediction up a bit, but still calls for a steep decline in the price of the yellow metal – perhaps to as low as $700.
Peter Schiff took on this notion during a recent interview on RT’s Boom Bust and explained why he thinks Harry is wrong.
The bottom line is Dent has too much faith in the US dollar.
The SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast combines a succinct summary of the week’s precious metals news coupled with thoughtful analysis. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
How would you celebrate the birthday of a government building?
Maybe send out a press release? Perhaps hold a little assembly and let some politician ramble for a while about how great the building is? Maybe host an open house for the public? Or here’s an idea. Just ignore it. After all, it’s a government building. Who really wants to celebrate that?
Well in India, they go for a little more swanky soirée when it comes time to celebrate their government buildings. The Karnataka Assembly building will turn 60 this month and the state assembly secretariat proposed a lavish 2-day festival complete with a gift of gold biscuits for each lawmaker.
Last week, we asked an important question about Trump’s tax reform plan: Can it deliver?
Despite rampant optimism about tax reform, there are a number of problems. In the first place, it remains uncertain whether or not Congress can even get anything done. Second, as Peter Schiff pointed out, the plan as presented won’t likely create the economic growth it promises.
Peter focused on the fact that the plan isn’t truly reform. It’s tax cuts masquerading as reform. Then there is the issue that it promises to decrease revenue without actually cutting spending and shrinking the size of government. There is strong evidence showing high debt levels retard economic growth.
In a recent article published on the Mises Wire, economist Frank Shostak explains precisely why cutting taxes without accompanying decreases in government spending won’t spur economic growth over the long-term.
Thirty years ago today, the US stock market had its worst single day in history.
On Oct. 19, 1987, now known simply as “Black Monday,” the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 508 points. That represented 22.6% of its value.
Over the last couple of year, stocks have enjoyed a meteoric rise. The Dow closed above 23,000 for the first time this week. But in recent months, bankers and investors around the world have expressed started expressing concern about the rapidly inflating stock market bubble and its future impact on the world economy. Just last month, Tiger Management co-founder Julian Robertson unequivocally called the US stock market a bubble and blamed it on the Fed’s interventionist monetary policy.
At some point, the soaring market will fall back to earth, and MarketWatch columnist Howard Gold says the next crash may prove worse than Black Monday.
