Gold and oil are both taking a hit as we write... albeit only
slightly.The bulls are seeing red today. The markets are holding their
muletas, and agitated investors are charging at full speed, intent
on taking everything down.
“Bank of America was the biggest drag on the Dow, after it missed
first-quarter earnings estimates, despite an uptick in revenue.
Higher investment banking revenue was offset by lower mortgage
banking income.
“Other bank stocks followed Bank of America’s lead, with shares of
JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs all down more than 3%.”
Others see the panic hitting Apple, and seem to be panicking
themselves.
“Wall Street Slumps in Broad Decline, Apple Sinks,” reads one
headline.
“Fears Over Weak Earnings Hit Apple,” reads another.
Lots of negative sentiment, in other words. And lots of reasons to
be fearful. And when that’s the case, we can’t help but turn to our
favorite investment in uncertain times... regardless of how the
markets may be viewing it: gold.
Love it, hate it or just plain indifferent to it, you cannot deny
that gold has existed as a form of wealth for thousands of years.
And, perhaps more importantly, will likely be valued as such for
thousands more.
Of course, that’s just speculation. But then, so is the belief that
any paper currency will be around that long. Or any stock,
corporation or government. Like most things, those entities are
fleeting. And any naive faith in the contrary is as misguided as
those things are transitory.
Now, you may be confused. Just this morning, in your Rude Awakening,
Greg Guenthner vehemently recommended you don’t buy gold.
“I can’t make this any clearer,” Greg wrote. “You shouldn’t even
consider trying to buy gold right now.”
And that’s fine... if you’re someone who decides to buy gold based
on the current market price.
We prefer to purchase gold regardless of what the market thinks it’s
worth. Because to us, and countless others throughout history, it
will always be worth something. Which is more than we can say for
the world’s plethora of flimsy fiat currencies.
