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The Goldwatcher

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The Goldwatcher

Demystifying Gold Investing

Wiley,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

All that glitters is not gold, but gold might keep you financially safe in economic crises.

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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Gold continues to cast its spell on investors, particularly in the wake of difficult and uncertain economic times. Gold market analysts John Katz and Frank Holmes seek to shed some light on this “stateless money,” mining its history and technical details in order to guide curious potential investors. Published in 2008, their book predates the subsequent global financial crisis and gyrations in gold prices, but it is still spot-on with many of its predictions and comments. Though pockmarked with grammatical errors and a bit out of date, it offers good information on websites and references, as well as reams of charts and graphs that readers may find useful. getAbstract suggests this book to those wondering whether to take the gold plunge, particularly those who want an expert perspective on this valuable but volatile precious metal.

Summary

Golden

Gold has fascinated people throughout history. Its value as an adornment in jewelry, its use in coins as a currency and its storied hold on the imagination still make it “magic” in advertising and marketing. Yet its importance as “stateless money” rises and falls depending on how markets and pundits see prospects for the dollar, other paper currencies and the global economy in general.

The worldwide supply of gold does not diminish because gold never physically deteriorates. Estimates suggest that all the gold mined since ancient times totals about 150,000 tonnes and still exists in the forms of jewelry, coins and bars, among many others. Roughly half that amount could make its way to financial markets, if gold’s price climbed high enough to justify everyone selling their gold. The other half, though, would remain unattainable; this gold is in art masterpieces and artifacts that are part of the world’s treasure. Even so, all the potentially available gold for sale still makes up only 1% of all financial assets, so gold’s scarcity will continue to make it a valuable commodity.

Gold’s value as an inflation hedge and protection against financial calamity ...

About the Authors

John Katz is a financial analyst and writer based in London. Frank Holmes is CEO and chief investment officer at US Global Investors, Inc.

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