With in a week of starting I spent $11 on 10 little tiny 5 grain bars of silver on Ebay thinking that they weighed more than they did and were worth more. WHAT WAS I THINKING, they were so small I lost all but one within a couple months!! I'm guilty when I share this story,
This is exactly why I don't mind trading my FRNs in for gold and silver. Most investments these days can be completely wiped out. Gold and silver will ALWAYS be worth SOMETHING. My dad had to watch his company stock at GM plunge all the way the down (of course he wasn't allowed to sell his stock like the higher-ups). Even with the plunge in the past few years, PMs are still very valuable. Luckily I am in no hurry and am ready to wait 5,10,20,30 years before I cash in (or better yet spend them like the money that they are!)
Very true GoldFinger. Probably a bad example. My point is that companies and their stocks vanish into thin air, gold and silver do not. Again, I think it's best to diversify and there is money to be made in the financial markets.
Sometimes that happens, ASE....when you have a cyclical company like GM or a high-flyer like a Tech or Internet company, you MUST sell periodically. You can't be seduced by the mathematics of greedy wealth. I had a friend who worked for a big tech company. He made a few hundred thousand a year as a sales guy -- great income. He also got loads of cheap stock in the 1990's and then watched as the stock went up like 3,000%. He had a few million in stock and could probably have sold over half of it. Instead, he kept doing the math as to how much it would be worth in 2005 if it went up another 30-40% a year from the 1999 and early-2000 levels. So he never sold a share. And then watched it plunge about 85% from peak-to-trough. And again, this wasn't a small tech or internet company, it was a big one, one of the Top 20 or Top 30 or so (at that time, late-1990's). My friend was lucky -- he didn't lose his job, just alot of paper wealth. But when you have both your job and your wealth tied up in the same company you MUST sell even if you leave $$$ on the table. Otherwise, you're doubling-down with both $$$ and a steady paycheck.
Check the LBMA analysts forecasts. 6/31 gold analysts did NOT anticipate 'lows this low' and of the 'lowest' quartile prediction, call it the 'avg Low Low,' we're looking at $982. If we blow thru 1,145 I'd conclude "even the experts were shocked!" http://www.lbma.org.uk/assets/Forecast 2015_FINAL LINKED.pdf fwiw: only 1/29 Silver analysts' Lows was breached. The lowest quartile of forecast Lows is around $11.95/Ozt Ag.
Look at a ten year price chart for silver and gold. It looks like prices will keep falling, but I wouldn't be too sure. I stopped buying bullion ten years ago but do buy collectable coins every month. If gold drops below $800 and silver $10 that will get me off the sidelines again.
Of course, you can do whatever you want, but none of the professional analysts polled are forecasting those Lows in 2015. Do you have a rationale for those targets in 2015? Value buyers see discounts when Lows are breached; that's the time to incrementally purchase whatever depressed asset, even if lower lows lie ahead. Annually, isn't late Feb and July when Gold is typically cheapest?
No, I do not have a rationale for those targets. They are strictly numbers that I have decided to start buying again. My personal opinion is that the prices are being manipulated so there is a real possibility that those targets could be reached later this year.
I think the smart thing to do is to buy gold/silver bit-by-bit for every 5-10% drop. Otherwise, you are gambling/betting on being able to call the bottom. I've called a few bottoms in my life -- feels great. But I've missed a helluva lot more, and I watch the markets 24/7 practically the last 30 years.
Of course it is manipulated , every commodity is as the market is made by offsetting buy and sell orders, just like is happening with the upcoming Mayweather- Picquiao fight. If someone wants to bet a million on Mayweather, the odds have to change to offset any loss by the oddsmakers and visa versa. If someone buys future long options on gold or silver, the base price has to change up, and visa versa. Margins also will change as the amount of borrowed money goes up compared to the true money ( full price demanded for delivery options). Retailers call it manipulation but the PM pros , bullion wholesalers, marketmakers, etc. calls it business as normal. The only thing that can throw a monkey wrench into it, is a black swan event such as unexpected wars, volcanoes, earthquakes, 10%+ rise of the USD, etc. of such magnitude to prevent the normal and regular retail buy/sell ratios. The large gold companies such as GoldCorp, Barrick, etc. spend money during time they expect gold price to go down to try and consolidate and 'vulturize' smaller companies that will be cash strapped. If you read stock reports you can find out when this is occurring, the POG will drop relatively. When it stops, expect the big increase to come about a year or two later. Many base their decisions on just the spot price of gold~ Wrong. The wholesellers look at the number of long/short contracts to predict where gold is going. Yea for manipulation!
While you have elements of fact here, the point you are trying to make is....how shall I put this kindly....horse poopie. If anybody could 'manipulate' or predict the gold market, it would be the Central Bankers and the gold companies who have the largest inventories and production of the metals. Instead, they have been notoriously WRONG on their predictions going back years if not decades. Barrick Gold, hailed as the most savvy, has destroyed tens of billions of dollars on idiotic CAPX and gold expansion.
does anybody believe the prices will start rising with gold and silver I believe they will in a couple weeks.