San Francisco Hard Assets

Some Miner & Not-So-Minor Issues

tcaudill@sbmedia.com — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:47:29 +0000

Precious metals markets started the new week with a bit of a mixed picture last night in overseas trading. Spot dealings showed gold falling $2.40 to $1,640.00 and silver down a dime to $31.60 per ounce. Platinum and palladium each advanced $1. The US dollar climbed 0.14 to 79.28 on the trade-weighted index. Monday morning’s New York trading action opened amid intensifying waves of selling in the complex. The principal moving agent for the decline in metals was the dollar-oil trend.

Source: http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2012/04/23/some-miner-not-so-minor-issues

Gold/Platinum Ratio & the Coming Depression

tcaudill@sbmedia.com — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:46:41 +0000

During the gold bull market of the 1970s, the Gold/Platinum Ratio was in a significant uptrend. It went from about 0.2 to 1.4 over a 12-year period. That is a seven-fold increase. At the start of the current gold bull market (2001), the Gold/Platinum Ratio was just a bit higher than 0.4. If the ratio was to emulate its performance during the last gold bull market, it could reach 2.8 (that is gold being 2.8 times the value of platinum).

Source: http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2012/04/23/gold-platinum-ratio-the-coming-depression

Gold on Track to Fulfill Multiple Roles

tcaudill@sbmedia.com — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:55:57 +0000

On Thursday gold futures had the biggest one-day rally of 1.22% since Feb. 21. This week gold has rallied more than 3%, helped by the re-assurance by two US Federal Reserve governors that US interest rates will remain low until late 2014 and the US recovery is not 100% certain. Since the April trough at $1,613 gold has climbed $67.

Source: http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2012/04/13/gold-on-track-to-fulfill-multiple-roles

Gold & Silver Wait Patiently for More Easing

tcaudill@sbmedia.com — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:55:26 +0000

After having a strong performance the prior day, the markets experienced a broad pullback Friday as growth data from China disappointed investors. Gold prices fell more than 1.5%, while silver dropped 3.3%.

The National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing announced that China’s economy grew at 8.1% in the first quarter of 2012, its slowest pace in about three years. Economists were expecting growth of about 8.3% and the whisper number was around 9%. In comparison, China grew at 8.9% in the previous quarter, and 11.9% in the first quarter of 2010. Song Yu, China economist at Goldman Sachs explained, “Growth in the first two months was weak. We had some loosening of monetary and fiscal policy in March, but it wasn’t enough to save the quarterly number,” according to theWall Street Journal.

Source: http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2012/04/16/gold-silver-wait-patiently-for-more-easing

As Weather Gets More Destructive, Insurers Grow Wary

tcaudill@sbmedia.com — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:55:01 +0000

As weather disasters strike with more frequency, homeowners first get hit with the destruction or total loss of property. Then many are hit with the unexpected loss of homeowners insurance policies as insurance companies re-evaluate their financial liabilities.

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47017274

Commodity Prices More Likely to Fall: IMF

tcaudill@sbmedia.com — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:54:26 +0000

Commodity exporting nations should prepare for a future in which commodity prices are far less likely to increase at the pace of the last decade and could in fact decrease, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report warned on Tuesday, in an update to its World Economic Outlook.

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47003861

Ron Hera Korelin Economics Report

tcaudill@sbmedia.com — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:53:53 +0000

Click here to listen

Source: http://www.heraresearch.com/radio/20120414_Ron_Hera_Korelin_Economics_Report.mp3