'The real cost of owning gold' - Bloomberg article

http://www.bloomberg.com/consumer-spending/2012-05-30/the-real-cost-of-owning-gold.html#slide1

I thought that there were actually some valid points in this article, despite its evident bias. Keen to hear some perspectives from forum members.

 

People with something to hide and conspiracy nuts... :|

point #2 Dealer Markups are usually retained at POS
point #3 Transporting Gold - Dell will ship me a server worth over 6k no insuance
point #3 Assay/Appraisal - Buy PM coins, no need to assay them
point # 8 Taxes on Gold - Anything the Gubbermint incentivises will be inflated in value at that point in time - So buy gold it's cheap
Point # 9 Opportunity Costs - Non ZIRP is impossible with the debt that is out there.
Point # 10 Guns and Gold - Australia forums rule
Point # 11 Anxiety - Is the most ridiculous point as by far, the GFC/PIIGS type events that cause people to own gold are far more prevalent.
Point # 12 Alternatives to Gold - The punchline "don't buy gold buy paper"

Just keep stacking just keep stacking

 

Hehehe, I own both, I will leave it up to you to figure which one I have more of, oh and the silver stack is to make bullets for warewolves

 

Hmmmm....Should have got my hand gun license years ago? Glock 9mm Mmmmmm!

 

Premiums... funny, I bet the premiums for switching from paper to physical after the paper leveraged system crashes would be pretty damn high. Around about infinity?

The rest of the points all talk about security (or nonsense). Because banks are super safe places to put your money? It's not like they're insolvent or anything... oh wait.

However... I like articles like that. They either a) make people think about gold, which is a starting point, or b) turn people away from it, allowing a bit more time for us lowlifes to stack.

 

Is there a way of having the whole article on one page?

The only reason these people spread a story across 13 pages is so they get 13 clicks for each article and thus make their pathetic article seem more important than it actually is. Or so I have been told, it is apparently a way to game Google.

Anyway page one was enough to make me ignore the other 12.

 

It's mainly an advertisement revenue thing. Cheap tactic to get more 'page views'.

 

Typical one-sided article for the masses who have others do their thinking for them. For those of us who think, my view on each of their claims below.

1. "For others, it's a religion. The latter aren't satisfied with a gold fund. They need to own the metal itself."

As investors of MF Global their view on being in a gold fund rather than having the metal.

2. "The typical premium is in the 2 percent to 5 percent range for bars, but it's higher for coins because of fabrication costs."

And if when you want to sell you sell privately then you can sell for a % above spot rather than % spot if you sell back to a dealer.

3. "If the shipment is worth more than $100,000, Kitco requires an armored truck and will deliver only to a bank or Brink's vault, not a home. That delivery costs more than $1,200."

Buy in smaller lots than $100k a time - spreads your delivery risk and avoids the need for armored cars.

4. "Storage costs include insurance, in case the gold is stolen or lost. You can also put your gold in a bank safe deposit box, although it won't be insured because this is considered separate from your bank account. If the bank goes bust, it may take some time to extract your gold from behind locked doors."

Storing your bullion in a bank? BIG assumption there. Many other and better options often at zero cost.

5. "If you decide to store gold at home, you may want a safe."

True but often people have a small safe at home that's fireproof etc and own no precious metals. They put in it title to the house, passports and other important documents. Sticking some gold in an existing safe you have costs you....nothing.

6. "Most home insurance policies won't cover more than $1,000 of gold."

What's the obsession with insuring precious metals ?!?! My money invested in the stock exchange is uninsured and a company could go bankrupt anytime leaving me with a 100% loss.

7. "To sell your gold, you may need to get it appraised, or "assayed," to verify that it's genuine."

Umm really? Bullion coins dont need assaying. And if you sell to a bullion dealer, most have an xrf machine or similar to verify your metal at no cost to you!

8. "Unlike stock capital gains, which are taxed at a maximum rate of 15 percent for long-term investors, profits on gold investments are taxed at a maximum 28 percent rate, as collectibles."

And if you sell privately who's to know? And to keep each sale to a dealer below $5k (in Aust) no ID needed.

9. "With interest rates near zero, bank accounts and CDs yield virtually nothing. If rates were to rise to 6 percent, would you still want to own your gold--which yields nothing?"

Rates will be 6% in the US in.... 2025 perhaps? While waiting for your rates to go up to 6%, your money is getting 0% which with inflation factored in is actually a capital loss for each year you wait.

10. "Guns and gold go together like peanut butter and jelly. "

Bulls!t. Some lame attempt to make out those who own precious metals as some right-wing nutters.

11. "Hoarding gold at home can make you paranoid. But even investors who don't keep their gold at home tend to worry."

Really? As opposed to those who are considered "sane" by putting their hard-earned $ into government bonds of say Greece? Spain?

12. "An exchange-traded fund such as iShares Gold Trust holds bullion in foreign vaults for investors at a cost of 0.25 percent of assets a year."

Uh huh. Possession they say is 9/10ths of the law....