Buying gold

[R Wray]

Since gold might be considered Objectivist money, some (especially older) Objectivists undoubtedly consider buying gold in an attempt to preserve the purchasing power of some of their paper money savings. I ran across a new method to buy gold. It’s a gold exchange traded fund listed on the New York Stock Exchange as “GLD”. Each share represents 1/10 oz. of gold stored in a London vault. The fund is about two-months old and hasn’t been advertised much because of SEC rules. This method of “investing” in gold provides convenient purchase and liquidity.

Considering inflation, deficit spending, and the decline of the dollar, gold looks to be a good hedge. The price of gold, however, is determined to a large extent by short-term technical factors. In December gold reached a peak that was the same as it was 16 years ago. Unless one has had exquisite timing, gold has been a lousy investment over recent times. Nevertheless, gold seems to deserve consideration for a portion of one’s savings for the long term. (I am not an investment advisor and have no special knowledge in this area.)

I haven’t bought any GLD shares yet because the short-term price seems headed downward, but I am going to be watching the price as national and world events unfold.

[Durandal]

Alan Greenspan -- once a friend of Ayn Rand -- wrote an excellent, excellent essay about the Gold Standard, and the use of gold in general as a substitute for government-backed cash. You may access the piece here:

http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/Greenspan.html

I highly recommend reading it, as it speaks directly to the topic at hand.

[plaintext]

Gold has been the subject of at least one previous thread:

Is Gold Catching On

I think there are better places to invest money.

[kuuipo]

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