Tough Sledding Ahead, Surviving A Coming USD Collapse
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REWahoo
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About the author:
Christopher Laird is regularly published on Kitco, Gold-Eagle, FinancialSense, TheBulliondesk, and many other gold and financial sites. He has been qouted in Newsweek on gold. Chris publishes the PrudentSquirrel newsletter, a financial and gold commentary.
Chris Laird has been an Oracle systems engineer, database administrator, and math teacher. He has a BS in mathematics from UCLA and is a certified Oracle database administrator.
Chris Laird is not an investment advisor/professional....
Christopher Laird is regularly published on Kitco, Gold-Eagle, FinancialSense, TheBulliondesk, and many other gold and financial sites. He has been qouted in Newsweek on gold. Chris publishes the PrudentSquirrel newsletter, a financial and gold commentary.
Chris Laird has been an Oracle systems engineer, database administrator, and math teacher. He has a BS in mathematics from UCLA and is a certified Oracle database administrator.
Chris Laird is not an investment advisor/professional....
ahh, thx guys. I haven't followed this gold stuff much at all. But I have been worried about the general economic collapse ongoing and also worried about what will happen to the dollar when the U.S. consumer stops buying.
I have a lot (to me anyways) of cash I've liquidated from two real estates I sold over the last couple of years. Been waiting for this market to further bottom out before diving back in. So I'm worried about holding U.S. dollars if it might collapse.
I have a lot (to me anyways) of cash I've liquidated from two real estates I sold over the last couple of years. Been waiting for this market to further bottom out before diving back in. So I'm worried about holding U.S. dollars if it might collapse.
If you are really worried about the USD, then you should start looking at diversifying your cash into foreign currencies (you can buy foreign currency CDs, and unhedged foreign bonds and stocks or even open an account abroad to hold your Euros, Swiss Francs, British Pounds or what have you). Off course Gold is not a bad thing to hold (in moderation though).
jimnjana
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
along these lines you may want to look at GIM. I haven't bought into it yet, but it appears to be one step ahead of other similar funds.
Jim
I would worry about foreign currencies perhaps even more than the USD. I was reading about Iceland is all but officially bankrupt and the fact British can't get their money out of Iceland now. A more recent NYT article on Iceland: Iceland, Mired in Debt, Blames Britain for Woes
But then I read this: "Where does the crisis go next? Most exposed are countries with large amounts of external debt relative to the size of their economy. A quick calculation suggests that by this measure, the U.S. is relatively well off, with external debt about equal to GDP. Japan’s external debt is about 40-50% of GDP, as is Canada’s (these numbers may change as I refine my calculations). Italy is at about 100%, and Germany and France are in the 140-150% range." [source] and maybe the USD isn't so risky.
I guess if currencies are going to fail, and real estate keeps dropping, maybe things like Gold and Silver are logical.
But then I read this: "Where does the crisis go next? Most exposed are countries with large amounts of external debt relative to the size of their economy. A quick calculation suggests that by this measure, the U.S. is relatively well off, with external debt about equal to GDP. Japan’s external debt is about 40-50% of GDP, as is Canada’s (these numbers may change as I refine my calculations). Italy is at about 100%, and Germany and France are in the 140-150% range." [source] and maybe the USD isn't so risky.
I guess if currencies are going to fail, and real estate keeps dropping, maybe things like Gold and Silver are logical.
That's what I have been arguing for a while, but that's just me... But who really knows what's going to happen? That's why I hedge my bets and keep about 1/3 of my investments abroad and about 2% in physical precious metals (gold and silver).
NW-Bound
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Ah hah! Meaning coins buried in your backyard?
A purist gold bug wouldn't buy ETF like GLD, or SLV. In case of "real trouble", who's to say you would be able to log in your Internet brokerage account to get at that shiny metal?
FANOFJESUS
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Look what happened here
Global Crisis? This is the real crisis! | Love, Life, and Relationships Blog
Global Crisis? This is the real crisis! | Love, Life, and Relationships Blog
Ah hah! Meaning coins buried in your backyard?
A purist gold bug wouldn't buy ETF like GLD, or SLV. In case of "real trouble", who's to say you would be able to log in your Internet brokerage account to get at that shiny metal?
That's right, I own a few gold coins (Canadian Maple Leaves) and about 30 lbs. of silver (in the form of silverware which I will use for Thanksgiving dinner). Nothing buried in the backyard though.
I am not a gold bug... I prefer income producing assets. But I think that small amounts of precious metals do have their place in any portfolio.
NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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People hiding treasure around their property better leave a treasure map to their heir, lest it becomes lost like in the following story. A man hid $182,000 in the wall of his home during the Great Depression, to be discovered by the present homeowner. This windfall bounty caused a lot of grief, however.
Cash found in Ohio house's walls becomes nightmare - Yahoo! News
Cash found in Ohio house's walls becomes nightmare - Yahoo! News
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Here's a thread on that same news item: http://www.early-retirement.org/for...sion-of-some-found-cash-40451.html#post744584
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Given our ongoing budget and trade deficits, I think it is inevitable that, over time, the USD will decline in value against many other currencies. And, to a certain extent, demography is destiny. Brazil, India and China all have growing populations that are younger than ours and their economies are expanding at at faster rate than ours. I would expect their currencies to appreciate. The euro? probably not so much.
However, FOREX is notoriously volatile and unpredictable in the short run, as we have seen in the great USD reversal this year, so you would need to ensure than your investment horizon is long before taking steps in this direction.
However, FOREX is notoriously volatile and unpredictable in the short run, as we have seen in the great USD reversal this year, so you would need to ensure than your investment horizon is long before taking steps in this direction.
Gone4Good
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Hmmm, the worse things got, the stronger the dollar has gotten (so far). The USD is up something like 20% against the Euro since the beginning of the crisis and even more against the Pound. The US is still seen as a relative safe haven investment. I don't think we have much to worry about in the short to intermediate term. Meanwhile the collapse of credit availability is deflationary which isn't good for commodities (as we've seen).
