Ben Graham’s Curse on Gold
February 21, 2012
This week we have a shorter Outside the Box, from my friend David Galland at Casey Research, with an interesting insight into why gold can be considered as a poor investment by some rather influential investors (like Warren Buffett) while others may see it as the core of a diversified portfolio. As usual when I use someone's material for an OTB, I include a link at the end, if you want to look deeper. The rather large team at Casey Research specializes in gold, natural resources, and energy-related investments, for those with such an investing bent.
As a quick note, the feedback on this weekend's letter on taxes has been substantial, and a great deal of it is quite good and worth thinking about. Many bring up real problems with the position I took in my letter, and I may surprise you by agreeing with some of them. My intention right now (barring something happening between now and Friday night) is to take some of the better statements and questions, and answer them. I am not married to any specific plan. I just want to solve the problem and am open to anything that is politically feasible and makes sense, as long as we solve the basic problem of the deficit. I think it will make for a very interesting letter. I do read your feedback, by the way. So if you wanted to respond and wondered if I might actually read it, the answer is yes I do, and this week will answer as many as I can.
And to answer a question I get a lot, I buy a little physical gold every month. I don't even look at the price. The check is written the same day each month, for the same amount. I take delivery. I hope the price of gold goes down so I can get more gold per dollar. I also hope it ends up being worthless, as that will mean everything else has worked out just fine. But my gold is there just in case my crazy gold bug friends are right and we can't actually trust the government to find a reasonable solution to our dilemma. And maybe because deep down I really don't trust the (insert your favorite expletive). Just a little insurance, you understand.
So, until we connect this weekend, have a great week!
Your I am not a gold bug analyst,
Is the US Monetary System on the Verge of Collapse?
September 12, 2011
This week we take in a piece that is somewhat outside my own box. There are a number of people who feel strongly that the US (and world governments in general) cannot pull out of the downward spiral they are in, that monetary policy is fixed on printing ever more money, and that the problems of fiat currencies are now coming to the fore.
I was interviewed last week by David Galland and Doug Casey of Casey Research. Those of you familiar with them know they (and especially Doug) have a strong libertarian bent and a distrust of government. Not all that unusual, of course, except that they work at finding ways to invest based on their philosophy. That has meant a lot of gold and natural resources, plus new tech, which has worked at rather well overall.
In the interview, I was the “optimist.” By that I mean I was the guy who thinks the US government will do what is necessary to bring down the deficit beginning in 2013. David pointedly asked, “So you mean your ‘optimism’ is based on your faith that the US political leaders will do the right thing?” And the blunt answer is, “Yes, because not doing it would be a disaster, and I think, based on conversations with some of them, that they actually get that.”
Which is the case I outlined in my book, Endgame. But if I am wrong and we do not deal with the deficit in a controlled manner, then all bets are off. Sadly, the guys at Casey would be right. So, today’s Outside the Box is an op-ed from David Galland.
If you like it you can click on the link at the end and, for the exorbitant price of your email address, you can see the entire webinar (and my part in it), or sign up now at http://www.americandebtcrisis.com?ppref=JMD420ED0911A.
I think this week we’re going to be focused on Europe. I am getting ready for my trip there at the end of next week, so I am reading more about the situation there to prepare myself. But right now let’s focus on the US.
Your wondering where the time goes analyst,
Shadow over Asia
November 23, 2010
This week we look over the Pacific pond to China and Japan, in an interview with my friend Vitaliy Katsenelson by David Galland, who is the managing editor of The Casey Report. Vitaliy is the chief investment officer of Investment Management Associates, Inc., and author of Active Value Investing. Profiled in Barron’s in September 2009, Vitaliy, who was born in Murmansk, Russia, and moved to the U.S. in 1991, is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado at Denver’s Graduate School of Business.
Long time readers know that I just don’t get China or Japan. I think both are bubbles, but as Vitaliy notes, many bubbles can outlast the reputations of those predicting their demise. Timing is everything.
For those interested in subscribing to the Casey Report, which focuses on special situations and natural resources, you can get a risk-free trial subscription by going to the following link. (http://www.caseyresearch.com/crpmkt/crpSolo.php?id=175&ppref=JMD175ED1110A) It is one of my favorite reads.
Have a great Thanksgiving week!
A 20-Year Bear Market?
June 29, 2009
Long time readers know that I am a huge fan of the work of Neil Howe. His book, The Fourth Turning, was one of the seminal pieces of my reading over the last 30 years. And it has turned out to be stunningly prophetic. Uncomfortably so. A roughly 80 year cycle has been repeating itself for centuries in the Anglophile world, broken up into four generations or turnings. We have begun what Howe called many years ago The Fourth Turning.
Neil Howe is the co-author, with the late William Strauss, of a number of seminal works on the impact of generations on cycles of history. Howe is a founding partner of LifeCourse Associates (lifecourse.com) which provides research to institutions looking to capitalize on generational research.
The June 2009 edition of The Casey Report, the flagship publication of Casey Research, featured a comprehensive 23 page interview with Neil Howe as well as suggestions on how to position your portfolio to profit during a Fourth Turning crisis. I persuaded my friend David Galland to at least summarize it for my Outside the Box this week, and he graciously did so. David is the managing editor of The Casey Report and has had a long career in the financial services industry; as a founding partner of the successful Blanchard Group of Mutual Funds and, before joining Casey Research, as a founding partner of EverBank, one of the big success stories in independent online banking.
Casey Research is offering readers of Out of the Box the opportunity to read the full edition of The Casey Report featuring the Howe Interview, and receive the publication for the next three months with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. For details click here... http://www.caseyresearch.com/crpmkt/crpSolo.php?id=144&ppref=JMD144ED0609A
I trust you will find this week's Outside the Box to be helpful. The more things change.....
Foundations of Crisis
December 29, 2008
This week I have a special Outside the Box for you. My long-time friend Doug Casey wrote a very prescient piece back in 1997. He has updated it somewhat for today's times. The critical part is a summary of the work of Richard Strauss and (friend) John Howe and their book The Fourth Turning, which I consider one of the more important and prescient (that word again) books of the last 25 years. (Amazon.com). It should still be read today. It is seminal to understanding the times we live in.
Doug summarized the book and makes some observations based on that understanding, many of which turned out to be true and some of which may well be in out future. I think you will find this to be very useful and enlightening if you are not familiar with their work, and a great review if you are.
Doug is chairman of Casey Research, author of numerous best-sellers over the last 25 years, raconteur and a certified expert in resources stocks. If you are investing in natural resources stocks, energy or gold without reading Doug and his team at Casey Research, you are missing the boat. They have a special offer for readers of Outside the Box. You can learn more about it here.
Here's wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year.
A Trip Back in Time to Profit from the Unfolding Crisis Today
October 8, 2007
I get more questions about gold than other single topic. The fascination for the "barbarous relic" among my readers is clear. This week in Outside the Box we take a look at the gold market, its growth-to-date, and potential future investment opportunity. Doug Casey and David Galland of Casey Research provide an intriguing analysis of the gold market today.
I have known Doug and David a very long time. They take their research on gold stocks very seriously, and have been quite successful over the past years. While they are more bearish on the economy than I am, their analysis of the natural resource markets and gold stocks in particular has been spot on. In the mid-80's I wrote my first newsletter which focused on gold stocks. I sold it after about a few years as I became bearish on gold, but kept up the interest in the stocks.
But one thing I learned. If you are not on the ground talking to the men who are doing the work, getting into the behind the scenes facts, you are going to have a hard time making money even in a gold bull market. Doug is one of the few guys that truly knows what is going on in the market. He knows the difference between those who are serious about mining and those who are simply promoters.
If you are interested in specific gold stocks and gold stock investing, I really suggest you subscribe to Doug Casey's letter The International Speculator. They will send you his recent update which covers in-depth all the stocks he likes and a few he says to avoid. For more information on how to subscribe, please click here.
Seasons of Gold
April 10, 2006
Today we look at gold. I made my first dollar on gold stocks back in the mid-1980s when Doug Casey personally called me up and told me to by a particular stock. It was quite a home run and I have paid attention to what Doug says on gold stocks ever since. Lately he has been on a roll in his newsletter as well. 32 of the last 35 stocks he has recommended are up as of the latest issue.
I am pleased to be able to send you the introduction from Doug's recent edition of International Speculator. Doug talks about the seasonality of gold and speculates on future price movements. If you are interested in specific gold stocks and gold stock investing, I really suggest you subscribe to Doug's letter. They will send you his recent update which covers in-depth all the stocks he likes and a few he says to avoid. Below is a link to information on subscribing to his letter.
http://www.caseyresearch.com/crpmkt/crpSolo.php?id=30&ppref=JMD031EA0406A