Each week, our investment team looks to provide Investor Alert and Advisor Alert subscribers with a special window into a key event, development or trend we’ve spotted in global markets. We also update Frank Holmes’ blog “Frank Talk” several times a week with similar observations from portfolio managers on the road to insight from other market voices we follow are saying about the markets.
This week we thought we’d take a moment to reflect on the eventful year it’s been for gold, natural resources and commodities by highlighting this year’s most popular commentaries and Frank Talk blog entries.
1) What Gold Bubble? (April 22, 2010) As gold reached record highs earlier this year, the groundswell of television, radio and online ads led many to proclaim a gold price bubble. We disagreed and explained gold still had room to run. Read the article.
2) Why More Investors Like Gold (May 17, 2010) In this commentary, we explain the connection between the explosion in sovereign debt levels around the world and record gold prices. We also discuss how central banks such as China and India have been adding to their gold reserves. Read the article.
3) Chart of the Week – Gold’s Breakout (April 13, 2010) The price of gold can vary depending on which currency it is priced in. Back in April, we highlighted that the struggles of both the U.S. dollar and the British pound had pushed gold prices up much further when priced in those currencies. However by early June, gold priced in euros had caught up with the dollar due to the flailing fiscal situations of Greece, Spain and others. Read the article.
4) What’s Driving $1,300 Gold? (September 24, 2010) Gold broke through the $1,300 mark for the first time in late September as the risk of “competitive currency devaluation” spread across Japan, the U.S. and the European Union. In addition, the Federal Reserve began floating the idea of a second round of quantitative easing, which has buoyed commodities since. Read the article.
5) Nine Bullish Arguments for Gold (September 10, 2010) Dr. Martin Murenbeeld, chief economist for Dundee Wealth Economics and one of the smartest gold minds around, published his nine best arguments for higher gold prices. Like Dr. Murenbeeld, we feel that global fiscal and monetary reflation, investment demand, central bank attitudes toward gold and a handful of other factors support long-term gold prices. Read the article.
You can see that there’s been one story which has kept people’s attention all year…gold. But that’s this year, what market story do you think will hog the headlines in 2011? Don’t see your favorite commentary? Let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. Closer to the end of the year, we’ll be sharing with you some of our key things to watch for in 2011 and we’ll include some of your feedback.
The S&P 500 Stock Index is a widely recognized capitalization-weighted index of 500 common stock prices in U.S. companies. BRIC refers to the emerging market countries Brazil, Russia, India and China.