Gold

[DesertCat]

[ QUOTE ]
Look at your dates for this statement. He later became a HUGE silver investor. Market realities change; ditto for informed opinions and sentiment. The best are quick to change beliefs quickly in the face of new realities.

Buffett is one such.

UNDERSTANDING BUFFETT'S SILVER PLAY
http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_diges...use020998.html

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Your link explains why he invested in silver (it has tangible value and uses, and he thinks he knows what it's reasonable equilibrium value is). It also explains the differences with gold, which is why he'll never change his opinion on gold.

What if Bush decides to help reduce our national debt by selling all the (now unnecessary) gold from our central bank? What happens to gold prices then?

[buriedbeds]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Look at your dates for this statement. He later became a HUGE silver investor. Market realities change; ditto for informed opinions and sentiment. The best are quick to change beliefs quickly in the face of new realities.

Buffett is one such.

UNDERSTANDING BUFFETT'S SILVER PLAY
http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_diges...use020998.html

[/ QUOTE ]
Silver is a key input to film. When silver prices went up it really hit companies like Kodak hard. Silver has utility which creates tangible value. Other than jewelry I don't think much is made with gold, though I may be wrong.

If that's what your link said, I'm sorry for being repetative.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gold is actually used in a lot of electronics, fwiw.

-bb.

[dandy_don]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051209/...ts_precious_dc

Had to post this...

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Gold fever rages as price tops $530

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[Evan]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Look at your dates for this statement. He later became a HUGE silver investor. Market realities change; ditto for informed opinions and sentiment. The best are quick to change beliefs quickly in the face of new realities.

Buffett is one such.

UNDERSTANDING BUFFETT'S SILVER PLAY
http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_diges...use020998.html

[/ QUOTE ]
Silver is a key input to film. When silver prices went up it really hit companies like Kodak hard. Silver has utility which creates tangible value. Other than jewelry I don't think much is made with gold, though I may be wrong.

If that's what your link said, I'm sorry for being repetative.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gold is actually used in a lot of electronics, fwiw.

-bb.

[/ QUOTE ]
How much is actually used? Are you talking about things like the end of headphones where it's (I would assume) extremely small amounts? I would guess, and this is definitely a guess, that silver prices are driven much more by tangible forces than gold prices.

[buriedbeds]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Look at your dates for this statement. He later became a HUGE silver investor. Market realities change; ditto for informed opinions and sentiment. The best are quick to change beliefs quickly in the face of new realities.

Buffett is one such.

UNDERSTANDING BUFFETT'S SILVER PLAY
http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_diges...use020998.html

[/ QUOTE ]
Silver is a key input to film. When silver prices went up it really hit companies like Kodak hard. Silver has utility which creates tangible value. Other than jewelry I don't think much is made with gold, though I may be wrong.

If that's what your link said, I'm sorry for being repetative.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gold is actually used in a lot of electronics, fwiw.

-bb.

[/ QUOTE ]
How much is actually used? Are you talking about things like the end of headphones where it's (I would assume) extremely small amounts? I would guess, and this is definitely a guess, that silver prices are driven much more by tangible forces than gold prices.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have no idea one way or another whether silver or gold is driven more by investment. However gold is definitely used extensively in electronics as it is an excellent conductor and is very resistant to corosion; the more high-end the device, the more that is used (see: the space shuttle). I was just bored enough this morning while running a couple of free (partypoints) tournaments this morning to do a (very) little bit of research on the web about this, and I found one site that may or may not be accurate, but which seemed the best resource vs. the others I found in this basic check...

For more on the industrial uses of gold:

http://www.gold.org/discover/knowled...ses/index.html

A breakdown for consumption:

http://www.gold.org/value/stats/stat...and/index.html

Which, if it is accurate (and my calculations are correct), shows industrial use at around 12%, use for jewelry at about 78%, and investment use at about 10%.

If you do the same kind of research for silver, we can find out the answer to the "which is driven more by investment" question.

If not, I'll live. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] These freebie tournaments are just really boring...I started them to do in the background while I was working on something else, but then I finished the other stuff I was working on and was left staring at 2 tourneys that even if I win I don't care... [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

-bb.

[Evan]

I will check up on price drivers for silver if I get a chance tomorrow.

On a realted note, here is a link to a presentation given by a friend of mine last year for a club at school. It's a pitch for Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM) but it's got a very good insight into world trade factors that preceded the rise in gold prices. The guy in the presentation is one of the smartest people I know in finance so I think it's a pretty interesting/worthwhile video to watch.

NOTE: You need RealPlayer and you can skip the video to the 52:20 mark in order to avoid the dead air/administrative issues earlier in the meeting.

Edit to point out that I know the girl is an idiot, just bare with her because the guy really is very bright and worth listening to.

One more edit, for context, to say that this presentation was given on January 28, 2005.

[Dan Mezick]

This gold rally is predicated on staying above the 500-510 price area on a closing basis. It looks like it will deliver on that pretty easily. It hit $540 in Asia on Monday.

When price gets higher than a historical significant top, all the miserable people (holding at a loss) are gone, having sold "too get even", and most all new and remaining holders are anticipating higher prices.

Many traders buy after price closed above 500-510 for this very reason.

A close below 500-510 would likely be bad news for gold short-term.

[Dan Mezick]

follow trends, avoid prediction.

[Dan Mezick]

Newmont Mining is a good example. A close over 51 would be special.

[Evan]

[ QUOTE ]
follow trends, avoid prediction.

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Alternately...listen, don't think?