Doom, Gloom & Conspiracy Index Spot On Again!

[Virgil Showlion]

These guys have really painted themselves into a corner on this one. The only way they win is for America to collapse. They can never invest in stocks or bonds because they have sworn off them as "worthless."

I'm bullish on metals, but they're down to 15% of my total investable assets per my upcoming 2012 tax return.

Physical gold is a burdensome investment. It's illiquid. Profits are taxed at confiscatory rates. Storing it is a hassle.

But, should the doo inevitably hit the fan, it will hold its value where most dollar-denominated assets will not.

Just to clarify my position as a "doomer".

[frankq]

Virgil,

That's a smart play. I hold about 8% of my money in GLD spy trust. But again, to commit 100% to ANY ONE THING or even one sector is asking for disaster at some point.

[Deleted]

I think most on the board carry between 5 and 20% in their portfolio

Not having any metal for inflation is ludicrous...but having too much is also pretty scary depending on when you bought it

I havent bought silver since $ 25 and wont at these prices......at this point as the rest of my portfolio continues to rise...my silver part is down to about 8% and that is with it's rise in price

GE and MTW are both up BIG...and are two of my biggest stock holdings

[kman]

Mids viewpoint makes perfect sense for someone who believes that this is the end of the world.

The rest of us blind people have our balanced well thought out investments.

[Virgil Showlion]

The rest of us blind people have our balanced well thought out investments.

You, Gdgyva and I share that view from a "keep it balanced; diffuse the risk" standpoint.

But an alternative Middish view is that metals are either going to outperform the market RoR or they aren't. If all signs point to yes, putting all your eggs in one basket isn't an "unreasonable" course of action.

I know that fellows like Duffminster, MHFT, Max Keiser, etc. are bullish on silver for simple supply and demand reasons. Silver has many industrial uses; rich lodes are getting harder to find and much more expensive to mine. Given that metals have historically never lost value (looking over sufficiently lengthy time frames), which is a factor in mitigating downside risk, a full-in position on silver could turn out to be the investment of the decade.

Furthermore, the stories about gold wholesalers running out of gold and silver worldwide (my articles about the World Gold Council record sales numbers, Scotia Moc. selling out of all silver, the US mint selling out of silver, silver futures in backwardation, etc.) aren't just eye candy. They make a very persuasive case for a sustained positive move in silver.

Hence, time will tell if Mid's strategy happens to be better "thought out" than our own.

[kman]

Short sighted thinking . Industrial usage that is. Technology is getting smaller and smaller.

Music alone. My stereo from 30 years ago is the size of a stamp now and stores hundreds of recordings without a single moving part. film? What film? No more silver needed.

Show me more that hype consumption in silver. In 1972 Kodak was the worlds largest owner -purchaser of silver. What industry is using more than the film industry did in the past?

[decoy409]

I hold metal as a trade commodity. It has never let me down. I got in cheap I believe at 600. I have bartered with much gld quite a over the years.
I live very simple as a person. Whatever I have wanted,well somebody else is willing to barter. I am fine with that.
When gld explodes as it is now doing, I take some cake back. And I use those old notes from it to live more simple.

Frank Q. I have a 2 man Genz as example. The nicer model with swivel seats. Picked up a Jiffy 10" at the same time. Say about $1,000. or bettter just for the two things. But I look at it as costing me about $150.00 in trade or 1/4 oz. in gld. You can always find a gold bug to work with. I will swap anytime a buck fifty for a thousand. It has worked in other areas like a boat,car,etc. as well.

[Virgil Showlion]

Silver is an excellent conductor. Silver is used in photovoltaics, superconductors, nanomaterials, consumer electronics, and many of the newer LCD technologies.

Sure, it might only take a few milligrams. But multiply that by a few billion devices (silver bugs could give you actual numbers) and you need a reasonable supply of silver to keep up.

What's more, silver being used in minute amounts makes it relatively unsalvageable. Suppose a ton of electronic garbage for recycling yields 5 mg of silver. You think a recycling plant is going to put in a specific step to frac off 5 mg of silver? Forget it. That silver gets burned into slag along with all the other waste metals. Once silver goes into an iPod, it ain't coming out.

Maybe in 2050, if silver hits $20,000, they'll send mining excavations to landfills to process millions of tons of garbage and centrifuge out the trace amounts of silver (a la U238). Until then, we're looking at a situation with sustained demand, dwindling supply, and highly limited options for recovery.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

How long do you think the industrial users are going to pay $30 an oz for something that used to cost them 1/3(and much less) of that? Especially for products that they are making less money on now, then when the price was low??

That is my biggest fear for the silver market. The producers will do what they have to, to keep their customers happy.

[Virgil Showlion]

kman's arguments about the small scale of silver uses comes into play there too, ham.

Suppose silver goes up to $200.00/oz. If Apple uses 1 mg of silver for your fancy $500.00 iPad touchscreen, are they really going to care about the $3.50 price increase?

Or 10 mg of silver in your new ultra-wide-screen LCD TV. Is Sony going to lose customers because their TV sells for $2,345 instead of $2,318?

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

are they really going to care about the $3.50 price increase?

You bet they are. Prices drop in the $100 on those kinds of products.. Volume. Like you were saying, is the key Virgil. Even more so with the T.V.s Visions has a 42" on sale for $488 that was $1200 at the start of last year. Margins on volume is what business is all about my friend.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

At this rate silver will $50 by the summer!

It very well could be. However, investor demand is only going to keep that price going higher for so long.. Industrial users have no interest in higher silver prices!

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Sorry, the exclamation marks are addictive!!

[kman]

I was looking for an old national geographic article and pics that showed the massive amount of silver Kodak used. Huge vault underground. I doubt anything being manufactured today even comes close to the amount they used...collectively.

Let's not forget that super conductivity comes from ceramics.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Good points kman... Maybe they will completely remove all silver from electronics and turn it into nothing but a trading market.... Silver $1,000 here we come!!!

[kman]

More k for the A.
Let's see. I'm a electronics manufacturer and my main component is ..ah...pricey. What do I pay you guys for? Find me something else.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Thaks bra!

You know first hand, what you would say if your suppler handed you a bill and there was a 300% increase on it.

[kman]

I would say...that Kman left the building and he left a back charge bill where they owe me money.

[kman]

When a supplier tries to inflate their service to you. You bill them for every lost billable hour that they caused. late delivery...no delivery..incorrect fabrication. This all has a time value...my time. I pay you to be correct.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Now that is what a savvy business person does right there. More K for the K!

[frankq]

Market Update:

It appears that investors have been buoyed by recent talk of imminent demise in recent days and have driven the markets to big gains so far today. At this rate we can see close to 2% or more in market gains today. Not so for the "metal heads" as the shiny stuff is taking a beating.

[frankq]

OH SNAP!!!!!!! Almost 2%.....UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[frankq]

So, V.L. is calling for a 1000 point drop tomorrow. If we can get Decoy to second this, it could be a terriffic buying opportunity!

[Driftr]

We haven't been able to day trade reliably since we lost Harbinger.

[Deleted]

omg....i almost forgot about him

we have had our share of "unusual" posters, havent we?

[usaone]

Sept 5, 2011 9:59:50 GMT -5 frankq said:

So, V.L. is calling for a 1000 point drop tomorrow. If we can get Decoy to second this, it could be a terriffic buying opportunity!

Not even close.

[frankq]

Hmmmmm......There's talk of "military train movements" on the metal head thread.... We could see a big move up if this kind of talk continues.....

[Steady As She Goes]

This just in.......

Hundreds of thousands of people across the west fled their homes this morning, jamming the freeways and roads in all directions. Several freeway cameras caught the traffic jams on film as proof that people were fleeing their homes in droves. One eye witness was heard saying that he has seen this happen before. In fact just last week he noticed as one person was fleeing, his children were crying and his wife (or significant other) was yelling and screaming that he better come back and he better bring food with him. Apparently, people all across the west crying and starving, pleading for food. Sending there men into the cities in search for food and water.

........ Oh wait!!!!
It's 7:30 AM and everyone is just leaving for work...........

.................... never mind!

[Virgil Showlion]

Sad when your society's status quo is indistinguishable from mass panic.

[Steady As She Goes]

Just goes to show you that everyday "normal" occurrences go on all around us ... but put it on the INTERNET with a twisted explanation and a percentage of the world goes ..........