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Can gold be the ultimate hedge against a falling Dollar?

Gold is the chaos hedging premier monetary asset of the world. As geopolitical tensions, war, financial turmoil, geopolitial tension or virtually and global unrest manifests, gold responds directly. We will see gold rise higher in the future as the US and the global community keep spending too much. Too much much is being requested by banks and printed by the Federal Reserve and many other factors like a weakening Dollar, tensions internationally like the Middle East and also China and India’s furiously growing economies effect directly the price of gold.

If you watch the markets then you will see that gold, silver, oil, commodities and other tangible assets tend to rise together, they’re contra-cyclical to paper financial assets for 2/3 of a cycle. When stocks are doing well, then gold prices don’t move and when stocks are flat to negative on their rate of return in other asset classes, gold performs very well. People tend to step back from other financial assets and say, until the risk reward relationship is fair and even, I’d rather protect than speculate. That’s why, for 2/3 of the business cycle it is contra-cyclical.

In the past six years, gold has risen roughly 158%, silver, a bit stronger, has risen roughly 246%, Gold stocks 300% while the Dollar has dropped roughly 32%. Compair the the Dollar today to the Dollar in 1870 and it is only worth 1cent and compaired to the Dollar in 1919 it is only worth 2cent and the largest drop in the Dollar, since it has been unhinged from gold, has been since the 1970’s. There has been a long term decline of the Dollar since the birth of the Federal Reserve in 1913, ending over 100 years of Dollar price stability. The US is now running a total annual budget and trade deficits exceeding $1.5trillion Dollars and the Federal Reserve is creating annually $1-2 trillion Dollar liquidity out of nothing which has a massive effect on things like the DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE, the DOWN JONES TRANSPORTATION AVERAGE and the DOW JONES UTILITY AVERAGE which have all been moving well since 2001 -2002 however, when you divide their price performance by the gold price, which I beieve is real money, you have downward trends in all three averages of the DOW JONES.

So here we have it, US debt has grown 5.5 times, roughly, since 1980 from $8 trillion to $44 trillion which is the biggest debt explosion in world history.

How do we deal with this massive debt? One way to pay it off is to raise taxes. WE have seen that before and we will see it in the years to come. They can print money as in Weimar Republic Germany after World War II. They could sell off by privatizing National assets such as telecommunications, transport, water systems or real estate. Just as Russia rejected $110 billion, so could they reject the debt. Finally, they could simply resort to plunder by launching wars to acquire wealth such as the Roman Empire did, the Spanish Empire did, the Nazis did and the Japanese.

Large Dollar holders are now beginning to exit the Dollar since the latest decline. The Dollar became the world’s reserve currency in 1944, everything had to be related to Dollars, most international transactions were denominated by the US Dollar for the next 62 years giving America huge financial power economically and politically. The United Arab Emirates announced that it would cut its Dollar holding in half in October 2006 and Japanese life insurers with $1.6 trillion in managed assets announced they were to diversify out of their Dollar holdings. Central banks all across Asia (South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong) have all started to diversify out of Dollars. China with $1trillion in foreign currency reserves has begun to diversify out of its $700billion and to cut back on its purchases of U.S. Treasuries. Russia too has cut its Dollar holdings from 70% to 40%; Sweden cut its Dollor reserves from 37% to 20% and Italy cut theirs by 21%. China is pushing the world to rely less upon the Dollar for world trade.

If foreign banks holding roughly $2.94trillion of U.S. Dollars were to diversify even 10% of their assets, you’d see $294 billion dumped into the market. 20% diversification would make $588 billion thrown out there which has a very negative effect on the Dollars value and of course interest rates would rise.

Foreign commercial institutions like insurance companies, banks, hedge and pension funds hold between $7-8 trillion in U.S. Dollars. Again any diversification away from the Dollar will have the same effect of rising interest rates and inflation through the roof. The Euro is now taking the place of the Dollar, many of the world’s oil transactions have begun to be made in Euros. In mid 2006, the IMF director for the Middle East and Central Asia urged Persian Gulf countries to peg their currencies to the Euro instead of the Dollar. Worldwide the Euro is in greater circulation than the Dollar and so it is large enough to enable it to become the reserve currency of the world. Foreign Dollar holders are now switching to Euros, British pounds, Swiss Francs and other strong currencies, into gold and other commodities such as oil and minerals.

So as the Dollar collapses, gold has risen. They tend to move in the opposite direction if they aren’t attached. Over the last 36years, the US Dollar has declined 80%, while gold has risen 1900%. Today it takes five times more of the Dollar to buy the same amount of goods or services than in 1971.

We can conclude here that gold is a perfect hedge against the depreciating dollar.

As the Dollar is falling, now is the best time to move toward gold, silver or platinum to secure your future. You can start first by visiting my web site at http://www.wheretobuy-gold.com and to my blog at http://howtobuy-gold.blogspot.com/
Thank you for reading this article

Can gold be the ultimate hedge against a falling Dollar? / Author: TheSkyIsTheLimit

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Bad Credit Loans UK

There are many specialist loan companies today in the United Kingdom that deal with Bad Credit Loans. Once it was quite difficult to obtain a loan if you had a bad credit history, but now with as many as 1 in 4 adults in the UK have had some form of bad credit. The growing lists of lenders are, sympathetic to people who have had credit problems before.

These Bad Credit Loans aren’t quite as appealing as loans offered to customers with good credit ratings that have built a good level of trust. The loan companies who offer these loans know that you will accept their high interest levels as they are the only ones who will approve your loan. A bad credit loan can have an interest rate up to 3 times higher than that of someone with a good credit rating.
Lenders are now providing loans for people who were listed as bankrupt, had a CCJ, or a history of defaults, so you can get on with repairing your credit history and establishing yourself as a reliable customer.

It maybe that you have a poor credit rating through no fault of your own. Many people have legitimate reasons for bad credit ratings. It can be from a divorce settlement, an unplanned medical expense or even a redundancy which are quite common in this day and age. But the truth is that most people looking for a bad credit loan are doing so because of their bad habits.
If you have had a bad credit history for awhile you may find it difficult have legitimate reasons for bad credit ratings. It can be from a divorce settlement, an unplanned medical expense or even a redundancy which are quite common in this day and age. But the truth is that most people looking for a bad credit loan are doing so because of their bad habits.
If you have had a bad credit history for awhile you may find it difficult to obtain a loan. Most lenders see these people as a bad risk. If you have only had a short history of bad credit they will see you in a better light.

There are many bad credit loan lenders online these days, and there are a few who will arrange loans for people who have had CCJ’s for previous bad debts. Doing your research online you will be able to find a rate of interest that suits you, as it is quite a competitive market now.
You may also like to look for a lender that rewards you for being a good customer and paying before due dates. Some will lower your interest rate after a period of time if you have made your payments on time. But your greatest benefit from paying on time will be restoring your credit rating.
Whether you require a loan to consolidate debts, buy a car, pay for a holiday, home improvements or a wedding, help is available to get the finance you require. If you are looking to consolidate your existing debts into one simple monthly payment, you might be surprised just how much you could save with a secured loan or a remortgage.

Bad Credit Loans UK / Author: Gary Jeffers

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Understand all the terms of a Washington mortgage loan

It is possible for you to take a Washington mortgage loan for your personal purchase or to settle dues for development of your business. However you have to place something as security for the loan to the lender, which could be your home or car. In Washington, this is called a Washington mortgage loan.

Basically, buyers prefer using the short term Washington mortgage loan to invest in real estate. These mortgage loans run for 5 to 10 years as people are not ready to extend their mortgages for more than 30 years, with the present inflation rates. It is better to repay the Washington mortgage loan in a shorter span of time instead of taking a long mortgage loan.

Understand the terms of the Washington mortgage loan

With so many lenders and financial institutions like www.vuemortgageloan.com
offering different types of Washington mortgage loans, it is better to understand the basic terms of a mortgage loan before shopping for one. The term of the mortgage loan is usually 30 years, but can also be the more popular 15 year ones too.

There are some mortgage loans that have a fixed interest rate for the term of the Washington mortgage loan and some that have variable rates which changes monthly or annually. There are also some Washington mortgage loans that have a fixed interest rate for a short time, which is later continued with a variable rate.

Clarify that all fees and additional costs are mentioned in the loan

Make sure you are aware of the interest rate and annual percentage rate of the Washington mortgage loan. The annual percentage rate includes fees and other charges of the loan, and if you find that the interest rate changes, ask how often it changes and how high your monthly payments can reach because of the changes.

The fees are something that is seldom clearly specified in a Washington mortgage loan. so ensure that all fees like origination or underwriting fees, transaction costs, broker fees and closing costs are all clearly specified in the mortgage loan.

Remember that these fees are usually negotiable in a Washington mortgage loan, and that the interest rates for a ‘no cost’ or ‘no fee’ mortgage loan are usually higher. With these points in mind, you will be able to shop around for the best Washington mortgage loan to buy your dear home with.

F.J.Yanie is the owner of www.vuemortgageloan.com, the best mortgage loan sites dealing with all varieties of mortgage loan for you .For more information on Washington Mortgage Loan ,pls visit his site at http://www.vuemortgageloan.com

Understand all the terms of a Washington mortgage loan / Author: F.J.Yanie

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Japanese Candlesticks - Investment Supercharger

Investors and traders continually search for a sure-fire method of enhancing their efforts to make a profit in the stock market. There probably is no such thing as a “Holy Grail” in this respect, but it is possible to improve investment results by going back in time to a very old method of price recordation and applying it to current events.

Centuries ago, a rice trader in Japan devised a simple method of recording the ups and downs of bid and asked prices for quantities of rice as they were traded daily in the open market. He had searched for a simple way to depict the ebbs and flows of prices in a way which would reveal the underlying psychology of the traders with whom he was competing, and he found it. Instead of simply showing the price record of a day’s trading by a simple vertical line showing the opening price, the closing price, and the upper and lower extremes of prices for a given trading day, he expanded the line into a cylinder – he simply “fattened it out” – and he would fill the open space within the cylinder with information. Quickly stated, if the closing price was higher than the opening price, he would mark those prices and then leave the space between the opening price and the closing price vacant, or “white.” Conversely, if the closing price was lower than the opening price, he would fill in the space between opening and closing – he would “black it out.” This made it easy to see at a glance what had happened to prices that day; and of course the ominous nature of the black fill-in told in an instant that the overall mood of traders was to “sell” on that day.

This method of price presentation has become known generally as “Japanese Candlesticks.” It was brought to this country and to other financial centers a few short decades ago, and is rapidly gaining acceptance because of its very simplicity and, at least as importantly, because of its ability to depict the psychology which underlies the markets as well as its quite uncanny predisposition to predict changes of price trend.

One of the beautiful aspects of the Candlesticks is their total adaptability to all financial markets – stocks, bonds, indexes, commodities, and foreign exchange. Further, they do not conflict in any way with so-called “Western” indicators such as the RSI, the Stochastics, Momentum, Bollinger Bands, or MACD. Rather, they are mutually reinforcing.

Many short- and long-term investors successfully use the Candlesticks every day in their trading; and once having adapted to them, would never give them up because they so powerfully enhance their own approach to the markets and increase their trading profits.

Japanese Candlesticks - Investment Supercharger / Author: candleman

Occupation: investor; retired attorney and corporate CEO
The author is an experienced investor; a retired attorney and corporate CEO; the creator of the “Candelaabra” technical analysis system for use in all financial markets; and has passed the NASD Series 65 Investment Adviser exam. He publishes investment recommendations three times per week to help guide you to profit in the financial markets regardless of the direction of price trend. Find out more about making money in any economic climate. Free information and sample up-to-date recommendations are ready and waiting for you, without any cost or obligation, right here at http://www.candlewave.com

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Earthquake In China Reveals Archaic Life Insurance Schemes

More than $20 billion dollars worth of destruction was the result of the most damaging earthquake in China since 1950, unearthing the realization that the nation’s insurance industry is years behind those of the world’s biggest economies.

One official from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, who refused to be named, stated that only 5% of the cost of the overwhelming mass of damage in Sichuan Province was covered by insurance.

When compared to the U.S., and their handling of Hurricane Katrina, the most costly storm in their history, which was insured by companies and the federal government, resulting in around 50% of the $120 billion damages being covered, there is something quite obviously wrong in China.

“The earthquake underscores how much room insurers have to penetrate into rural China,” said Zhang Ling, who oversees $1.1 billion for ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co. from Beijing and holds Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. shares. “There’ll be much more momentum and government support to do that after this year’s natural disasters.”

Even the nations largest insurers China life insurance Co. and Ping An have no managed to expand across China. According to statistics found by KPMG international, out of a nation of 1.3 billion people, only 4% have insurance. Again worrying in comparison to America, where 77% have some form of life insurance policy.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.9, has effected around half of the 20 million people living in Sichuan, obliterating their homes and buildings, leaving 30, 000 people still under rubble, and with a death toll of around 20, 000.

“If a disaster like this happened in Europe or the U.S., the claims situation would be very different,” said Michael Spranger, a Hong Kong-based earthquake analyst at Munich Re, the world’s No. 2 reinsurer, after Swiss Re. “Natural disaster coverage rates are very low across Asia, in the single digits.”

The chief economist for Swiss Re Asia in Hong Kong, Clarence Wong has stated that the Niigata earthquake, which hit central Japan last July, resulted in a cost of $3 billion, 10% of which being the insured losses.

The earthquake in China happened 4 months after the country’s most powerful snowstorms in 50 years, so damaging that 1 million citizens had to evacuate.

This means that insurers will be becoming far more competitive when it comes to finding sales in rural areas, with their wages endangered by the years 26% decline in China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index threatens earnings growth.

The company China Life has had an overall profit fall of 61% in the first quarter, with Ping An’s yield rising at its slowest since opening.

“The earthquake is not expected to have a material impact on the balance sheets” of Chinese insurers, wrote Hong Kong- based Fitch Ratings analysts Stanley Tsai and Jeffrey Liew in a May 15 report. “That said, the losses arising from the tragic event, coupled with the poor performance of the A-share market in the first few months of 2008, will put pressure on the insurers’ earnings for the year.”

It is now clear that getting its rural and natural disaster insurance better is a prime concern for the Chinese Government. The industry regulator official in Beijing believes that China may be planning to set up a natural disaster insurance system, which would be paid for by the government as well as involving the private-sector.

Zurich based Swiss Re have announced that the insurance penetration in China, a measurement of premiums as a percentage of gross domestic product, turned out to be around 2.9% last year, coming 49th in the world ranking

“Earthquake insurance penetration is generally very low, and for residential covers practically non-existent,” says Peter Zimmerli, a vice president in Swiss Re Asia’s property and casualty group.

Catherine is an author of several articles pertaining to Life Insurance. She is known for her expertise on the subject and on other Business and Finance related articles.

Earthquake In China Reveals Archaic Life Insurance Schemes / Author: Catherine Moody

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