‘Buy gold’, says Anthony Bolton – MoneyWeek

‘Buy gold’, says Anthony Bolton – MoneyWeek.

Anyone piling into commodities now has missed the boat, says respected fund manager Anthony Bolton – unless they are buying gold.

“The best time for commodities was in 2006, when the whole world was growing above trend”, he told The Daily Telegraph. But with “anaemic” demand from the Western economies, emerging market growth may not be enough to “keep commodities going”.

Gold, however, is the exception to the rule. No other commodity is held by central banks: “it is more like a currency than a commodity”.

“Almost every country has a big budget deficit at the moment so it is in their favour to see their currency depreciate.” That will encourage more people to buy gold. He points out that Chinese investors have already begun switching from dollar-denominated bonds to gold.

His bearish view on commodities is quite contrarian at a time when most are now at record highs. Many fund managers expect further price rises as a ‘supercycle’ of economic growth fuels demand.

But Bolton feels that these price rises are partly due to the weak dollar. “The US dollar has been weak for the past couple of years. If commodities were measured in a stronger currency, the recent rallies might have been different.”

As for the Western world, he doesn’t see the situation improving anytime soon. Bolton, whose Fidelity Special Situations fund consistently outperformed the market for almost 30 years, reckons that we are probably “two years into a five-year cycle”.

Emas kini lebih RM4,284 satu auns

2011/02/22

Ahmet Davutoglu

Ketegangan Afrika Utara, Asia Barat pengaruhi harga

HARGA emas meningkat melebihi AS$1,400 (RM4,284) satu auns semalam, pertama kali dalam tempoh hampir tujuh minggu, berikutan ketegangan yang terus memuncak di Afrika Utara dan Asia Barat.

//

Ketegangan kini merebak dari Mesir dan Tunisia ke negara Asia Barat dan Afrika Utara lain apabila penunjuk perasaan berkumpul membantah pemerintahan pemimpin yang sudah memegang kuasa begitu lama.

// //

Harga emas sesi dagangan semalam naik sehingga AS$1,400.40 (RM5,041.44) satu auns daripada paras AS$1,388.58 (RM4,249.05) satu auns ketika didagangkan di New York Jumaat lalu.

Harga kontrak hadapan emas bagi April naik AS$11.70 (RM35.8) satu auns kepada AS$1,400.30 (RM4,284.91).

“Tidak dapat disangsikan lagi bahawa kenaikan logam berharga itu yang berlaku sejak kebelakangan ini berikutan ketegangan di Asia Barat,” kata Daniel Major, Penganalisis di RBS Global Banking & Markets.

“Jika (pembelian) tidak dibuat menerusi dana dagangan bursa atau di Comex, ia kemungkinan besar dibuat menerusi pasaran dagangan fizikal iaitu pembelian syiling atau jongkong emas kecil, dan saya tidak menolak kemungkinan adanya pembelian lebih besar oleh individu kaya jika dilihat daripada keadaan ketegangan yang belum berkesudahan,” katanya.
Menteri Luar Turki, Ahmet Davutoglu, semalam berkata revolusi di Tunisia akan menjadi model kepada lain-lain negara yang ingin melakukan pembaharuan politik.

Tentangan terus diberikan kepada pemimpin Libya, Muammar Gaddafi yang terus merebak di ibu negara, Tripoli kelmarin dan anak lelaki berikrar untuk terus bertahan ketika semakin ramai penunjuk perasaan terbunuh di timur negara itu.

Harga minyak pula terus naik hampir sebanyak AS$3 setong kepada paras tertinggi dalam tempoh dua setengah tahun ketika peniaga melihat berlakunya ketegangan yang tidak berkesudahan di negara pengeluar minyak utama, Libya.

Harga saham di Eropah turut jatuh berikutan krisis itu.

Dalam dagangan semalam, harga perak naik setinggi AS$33.46 (RM102.38) satu auns, platinum pada AS$1,844.25 (RM5,643.4) satu auns manakala palladium pada AS$859 (RM2,628.54) satu auns. – REUTERS

Apa kaitan Defisit US dengan Ekonomi

Dear Reader, This letter was published in the Daily Breeze, a Los Angeles area newspaper on 2/6/11.

Our nation is on the brink of financial disaster. For every dollar our government spends, it brings in just 60 cents! The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last month said the U.S. deficit will hit $1.5 trillion this year, and there is no end in sight to these deficits. Already, every man, woman and child in America owes $45,300 and that number is growing fast. Just to pay the interest on our nation’s current debt takes $200 billion a year and that’s at all-time low, near-zero interest rates.

Why should you care? Because as an American you will pay it through much higher taxes and cuts in essential programs such as Social Security, Medicare and education. The alternative to higher taxes and slashed spending is for the U.S. government to keep printing money out of thin air, which will lead to rampant inflation and will wipe out the value of your savings.

Politicians are talking about “freezing” some costs and even cutting as much as $100 billion in spending. But don’t be fooled. Our debts are now so big, even cutting $100 billion amounts to just a half-cent on the dollar. Although we are going broke, politicians don’t even talk about the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan or the massive weapons programs because weapons and wars mean jobs and corporate profits.

Meanwhile, our job market is a disaster. Small businesses, which are our nation’s job engine, are sputtering and real estate foreclosures are rapidly rising. States, counties and cities are wallowing in debt with no idea how they will continue some essential services or how to pay pensions promised to their employees, even with massive potential layoffs.

What can you do to protect yourself? If you haven’t done so already, slash your overhead. Pay off or pay down your credit cards and if you can’t afford them, negotiate a settlement and lower payments from your credit suppliers. Sell any toys you don’t need such as an extra car or an unused boat or motorcycle. If you are planning to sell your home, do it now. Don’t wait for prices to fall further. And make yourself more valuable at work by cross-training and by finding ways to help your company make more money. Whatever happens, you need your job.

But if you are well off financially and can afford your home, then lock in today’s record-low interest rates with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. And if you have other investment financings, lock them in as well, at long-term fixed rates.

America is in unchartered waters.

– Dick Kazan

Dollar Drops Versus Euro on Speculation Fed Won’t Raise Rates

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) — The dollar fell against the euro for the first week in almost a month as the Federal Reserve signaled its dissatisfaction with job growth, bolstering speculation it will be slow to increase interest rates.
The greenback dropped against most of its major peers as lower-than-forecast retail sales and a rise in jobless claims damped demand. The Swiss franc surged as investors sought safety amid Middle East turmoil, while the pound rose against the dollar and euro on speculation the Bank of England will raise interest rates. The U.S. economy grew faster in the last quarter of 2010 than first estimated, data next week may show.
“The Fed reiterated that they will maintain a high bar for rate raises,” said Aroop Chatterjee, a currency strategist at Barclays Plc in New York. “Diminished expectations for rate hikes have been U.S. dollar negative.”
The dollar fell 1 percent to $1.3693 per euro in New York, the first weekly loss since Jan. 21, from $1.3554 on Feb. 11. Europe’s shared currency rose a second week versus the yen, gaining 0.7 percent to 113.90 and touching 113.92, the strongest level since Jan. 27. The yen had its first five-day advance against the dollar since Jan. 28, gaining 0.3 percent to 83.18.
The euro gained yesterday against most major counterparts after a European Central Bank Executive Board member, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, said policy makers may need to raise interest rates as global inflation pressures mount.
‘Degree of Accommodation’
“As the economy gradually recovers and global inflationary pressures arise, the degree of accommodation of monetary policy has to be monitored and, if needed, corrected,” Bini Smaghi said in an interview with the daily newsletter Bloomberg Brief: Economics.
The ECB has held its benchmark interest rate at 1 percent since May 2009.
U.S. policy makers “continued to express disappointment in both the pace and the unevenness of the improvements in labor markets,” while also judging the recovery to be on a “firmer footing,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in minutes of its Jan. 25-26 meeting, released Feb. 16. They were divided over whether further evidence of recovery would warrant slowing or reducing $600 billion in U.S. debt purchases to spur growth.
The central bank has left its key rate at zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008 to support the economy. Analysts forecast the rate will rise to 0.5 percent by year-end, according to the weighted average in a Bloomberg News survey.
The dollar had the biggest loss this week, 1.4 percent, among 10 developed-nation currencies in the Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes.
Krone, Franc Gain
Norway’s krone, a currency linked to oil exports, and the Swiss franc, considered a haven currency, gained the most, the indexes showed. They rose 2.1 percent and 1.9 percent as unrest surged in the Mideast and oil prices climbed.
Egyptian state television said yesterday Iran won permission to sail two naval ships through the Suez Canal in a move Israel called a “provocation.”
“The warships can increase tensions potentially between Iran and Israel, and since Israel is one of the U.S.’s closest strategic allies, that can weigh on the dollar,” said Joe Manimbo, a market analyst in Washington at Travelex Global Business Payments, a currency-exchange network.
Crude oil for March delivery increased 0.7 percent, the most in five weeks, to $86.20 a barrel in New York on concern supplies may be disrupted.
The franc gained for the week versus 15 of its 16 most- traded peers. It rose 3 percent, the most since Dec.3, to 94.46 centimes per dollar and was up 1.9 percent to 1.2935 per euro.
Top Performer
Norway’s krone was No. 1, climbing 3.2 percent to 5.6684 per dollar and touching 5.6654, the strongest in 13 months. It appreciated 2.2 percent to 7.7609 to the euro.
The 17-nation currency rose against the greenback on Feb. 17 as Labor Department data showed applications for unemployment benefits rose to 410,000 in the week ended Feb. 12, exceeding the 400,000 median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.
Retail purchases in the U.S. rose 0.3 percent last month, Commerce Department data showed on Feb. 15, the least since a drop in June. A Bloomberg survey forecast a 0.5 percent gain.
The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.3 percent annual rate from October through December, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey before Commerce Department data due Feb. 25. The rate was estimated in January at 3.2 percent. It was 2.6 percent in the third quarter and 1.7 percent in the second.
Yields Fall
The yen strengthened versus the dollar this week as investors sought the safety of U.S. Treasuries, driving yields down and dimming the attraction of dollar-denominated assets. Yields on U.S. two-year notes decreased nine basis points, the most since the five days ended Sept. 17, to 0.75 percent.
Sterling climbed as pressure increased on the Bank of England to raise its key rate from a record low of 0.5 percent. A Feb. 15 report showed inflation accelerated to double the central bank’s 2 percent target. Bank Governor Mervyn King said the next day inflation will peak this year and ease in 2012. The pound strengthened 1.5 percent to $1.6253.
“Most commentators are at least mildly bullish on the pound,” said John McCarthy, director of currency trading at ING Groep NV in New York. “I’m not sure if it’s justified, because it’s based on rate expectations and King moderated that.”
China’s yuan reached a 17-year high versus the dollar on speculation the nation will allow faster appreciation to tackle inflation and appease trading partners who say it’s undervalued.
The yuan gained 0.21 percent to 6.5732 per dollar as Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers opened a summit in Paris yesterday in an effort to agree on a common approach to global economic imbalances.
To contact the reporters on this story: Catarina Saraiva in New York at asaraiva5@bloomberg.net ; Allison Bennett in New York at abennett23@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

Silver Rises to 30-Year High, Gold Gains on Middle East Unrest

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) — Silver extended a rally to a 30-year high, and gold climbed to a one-month peak as mounting unrest in the Middle East spurred demand for precious metals as a haven. Palladium jumped to the highest in almost 10 years.
Egypt approved a request from Iran to send two naval ships through the Suez Canal on their way to Syria, while Israel called the passage a “provocation.” Bahrain’s security forces attacked protesters for a second day. Gunfire broke out in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, as pro-democracy demonstrations spread to Libya and Iran.
“If you see violence, you would buy precious metals for a safe haven,” said Peter Fertig, the owner of Quantitative Commodity Research Ltd. in Hainburg, Germany.
Silver futures for March delivery rose 72.6 cents, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $32.296 an ounce at 1:25 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the price reached $32.87, the highest for a most-active contract since March 1980. This week, the metal gained 7.7 percent, the most since early December.
Gold futures for April delivery gained $3.50, or 0.3 percent, to $1,388.60 an ounce. Earlier, the price reached $1,392.60, the highest since Jan. 13. The metal climbed 2 percent this week.
Demand for gold bars and coins in the Middle East jumped 39 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, World Gold Council figures yesterday showed.
Rising food and commodity prices have contributed to uprisings in the Middle East.
‘Talk of Inflation’
“There are still flare-ups and people getting hurt,” said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago. “There’s more talk of inflation, and no one wants to be short of precious metals heading into the weekend.”
Dennis Gartman, an economist and the editor of the Suffolk, Virginia-based Gartman Letter, prefers gold over silver,
“Silver’s fundamentals are clearly better than those of gold, but we will not accept the randomness and the violence that is the silver market,” Gartman said in his newsletter.
Silver traded as low as $26.30 on Jan. 28.
Palladium futures for March delivery climbed $14.70 or 1.7 percent, to $857.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price reached $858.25, the highest since March 2001. The metal advanced 5.3 percent this week.
In the past year, silver has doubled, and palladium jumped 97 percent. Gold is up 24 percent, and platinum has gained 21 percent.
Platinum futures for April delivery fell 70 cents to $1,843.30 an ounce. The metal gained 1.6 percent this week.
Markets will be closed on Feb. 21 for the President’s Day holiday.
To contact the reporters on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net ; Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

2012 ????

Is it true??  whether is true or not…. We should be ready for the worst . Tanda2 kecil semua dah ada bila tanda besar??

Krisis Ekonomi: Patut Ambil Perhatian

Makin banyak artikel, forum malah news coverage membincangkan tentang masalah ekonomi US. Kita seperti biasa yang sudah terbiasa dalam didikan sistem Yahudi untuk stay calm sehinggalah bila kita tersedar semuanya sudah terlambat. Namun tiada siapa yang patut dipersalahkan. Check out some videos membincangkan topic krisis ekonomi sekarang yang kebanyakkan pakar menjelaskan tiada apa yang mampu dibuat lagi dan its forecasted soon…..

INGAT!! Jika US Collapse maka Globally will impacted.

Jangan Sampai Anda Terlewat:

Kejatuhan Ekonomi Amerika

Saksikan video di bawah tentang keyakinan Rakyat Amerika yang mula sedar tentang sistem ekonomi mereka yang sebenarnya tidak dikawal oleh mereka sendiri. Animasi yang menerangkan secara lanjut dan mudah faham tentang bagaimana sistem ekonomi Amerika berfungsi dan penjelasan bagaimana sistem wang FIAT diperkenalkan kepada dunia. Animasi juga menjelaskan kenapa JFK dibunuh. Dan secara tersiratnya… Ekonomi dunia dimanipulasi oleh sesebuah pertubuhan yang dinamakan Freemason atau Illuminati… Saksikan