a99kitten's Musings

Been reading “Too Big To Fail” and the biggest nugget I have personally garnered so far (besides that Paulson TOTALLY allowed Lehman to go down in flames much like I always assumed) is that you can not ever trust anything said by the government or media. Now, I already knew that but wow – this really pushes that home. Yikes. It’s not like I ever felt the banks were 100% responsible because everyone had their hands in the cheap money pie, and I have about 4 blog posts in my head about mortgages, and banks and F the government AND idiot and unethical borrowers but we’ll see if I blast those out anytime soon or just let it simmer down inside. But grrrrrr. People that blame the banks and mortgage brokers solely for all the problems in their world need to get a fn clue (after looking in the mirror.)

Ok, cleansing deep breath….turning on my Zen music and finding my Chi (or is that Chew…bacca?! :) )

Another thing the book has done is make me re-evaluate my stock portfolio a bit. I have a 401k account that I check in on monthly but my stock account I watch daily. Not that I am a day trader because I am not. Do not have the time or energy to do that anymore. And most of what I own are companies that I know of due to personally liking them or brand recognition or some such thing. I did take a flyer on 2 small positions at the beginning of the year on companies that were not in the above categories and so far they are doing well. My intention is to keep them for the year though and not long term investing like the rest. I consider myself an investor and not a trader, even though that’s the way more fun side of it :)

I made a couple of small day (really several days) trades earlier this year and did well. But then I bought a teeny 100 shs of Pandora hoping for a quick pop and missed. Lost just over a point before I quickly flushed it but that annoyed me. I knew better. I know Pandora is crap (from an investment perspective – have never tried the service) but I thought it would be fun…like the old days! Was hoping for a 3-5 point in 15-20 minute turnaround to put in my Jimmy Choo fund :) Oh well. Wasn’t a big loss in cash but VERY annoyed by the fact that I did it even knowing 100% in my gut that it was a bad call. Like – totally knew it. Grr. Dummy. So I nicknamed my stock account DUMMY (online you can have a nickname) until I feel less dumb. And I hate feeling dumb.

No, this current market is making me keep my money in the safer stocks for the time being. Not that they can’t go down, but I have a fair degree of certainly they will all come back just fine short of Armageddon…and then I guess I will just need my gold and guns. Companies like MCD, YUM, TIF, AXP, BRK (B), AMZN, AAPL, SBUX, BP, VLO and some others. I also bought some fairly distressed GE and MS a short while back which hasn’t done too much but I think long-term they will also be fine and might even buy more under 20 and 24 respectively.

I do own some BAC and C which both stress me out a bit since they are technically too big to fail and yet totally can. But that’s the gambling side of my account I guess. I’m flat on both of them right now so we will see how I feel if I see much red. Although, I do tend to think they will go up somewhat at least, it will just take some time. That feeling thing. BUT, by the time I finish “Too Big To Fail”, I might change my mind and scream SELL MORTIMER as I can’t push the button fast enough!

I recently bought a healthcare stock – which I normally stay away far away from and also have a couple AG and commodity play stocks. I got rid of my ETF’s (except SLV) as I really prefer to own the underlying securities. ETFs are boring an way too many layers of even more people involved that you can’t trust. Though I do pat myself on my back for selling my USL at almost the very top of WTI prices. Genius oil speculator without even knowing it! I prefer to own the underlying asset in SLV too (and do) but I bought my shares at 17 so I’ll just keep it for now. Plus hoarding physical silver takes up a lot more space than gold so its OK to have both real and paper in that :) unless of course you believe all the conspiracy theories about silver (like the gold conspiracy theories) which honestly, after you read about the banks, are harder to just pushaw away. A good conspiracy theory keeps you on your toes anyway.

Yes, this investor went more Scrooge McDuck than Gordon Gekko during May and now June. Getting kinda ugly out there…and part of me says well, the fastest way to get Obama out of office is to keep it rather ugly out there so who knows….

From the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. Being live blogged by the WSJ: http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/04/30/live-blog-the-berkshire-hathaway-annual-meeting/#

“Gold bugs, don’t read this:

Buffett harps on and on about gold. He says it has no utility, and about how silly people are who are getting in now — when gold prices are near nominal highs. “There’s no question that rising prices…can start affecting behavior,” Buffett said. “People like to get in on things that are rising in prices. Over time, it has not been the way to get rich.”

He’s listing all the things he’d rather have than all the gold in the world, because all you can do with gold is admire it or, as he says, “fondle it.”

Munger repeats what he’s said previously that gold investors are preying on fears. Gold is considered a safe haven investment, because investors tend to flock to buying gold assets when they’re freaked out about the health of other assets and the economy.”

Umm…duh! :) I love you Warren but I want my gold and silver exactly so that I can fondle it on demand! And keep the value safely in a lock box and not a company’s balance sheet. It’s called a hedge for a reason. Also I want to do this someday:

Another hero :)

But yes, it is at an all-time high (well, not if adjusted for inflation – we are still way off of that number which is something to keep in mind) so it does seem silly to jump in with 2 feet now. Except that financial experts and the media have been saying that since gold hit $1000 (2009.) So who knows. It’s called speculation for a reason. And I happily did not sell any after all the “experts” said it will go down from here last summer (when it hit $1250.) It’s now over the big $1500 mark. Plus I do think that China especially is playing a huge role in its run up so it’s not just a bunch of crazed gold bugs stocking their underground bunkers with gold coins, guns and MREs (not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Between China and India, you have a lot of new money going into the purchase of it. And both cultures value it highly. So it’s not quite the same market conditions as when it went crazy in the late 70s only to crash (ish).

And yes, most of the ads for it are definitley aimed at cashing in on people’s fears. Kinda like the earthquake & flood insurers advertising after a disaster (cough *Geico*) or oil traders after some backwards Middle Eastern country has an uprising. Or flu shot ads at the drugstore right before flu season. As long as investors (buyers) understand that, it’s not a bad thing. And if they don’t understand it, they should keep their money safely in a barely-interest paying CD.

So Mr. Buffett, I love you and trust you. But I will happily disagree with you on this. I believe you don’t like technology companies much either (you and Bill must argue about that one!) So that’s why you are ONE of my investments but not all.

But please…stay alive for 50 more years. We do need you!!!

Oh J Crew…I really should just own some of your stock…

Wore these today. Loving them. I have always hated the idea of the “bootie” but have to admit that these are good for cold days when boots are good but your pants don’t allow for tall boots. Plus they are a fantastic shade of distressed brown.

I really want these, and now they are on sale….but when will I wear them…really? Wear with pants and you don’t see the coolness of them. But I cannot imagine choosing to wear them with skirts over my various other tall black boots due to their height (mid-calf?). But maybe? With cool tights? Hmmm…

I bought these but sadly had to return them. They looked so perfect in the catalog and could imagine them with a cool pencil skirt and crisp blouse. A bit Emma Peel-ish I thought :) They were gorgeous and the leather was awesome (plus they have a KITTEN heel) but the leather was so soft, they slouched at the ankle – boo. Great style, but needed to be a bit tighter around calf/ankle. Too bad – very cute boots. Anyone with bigger calves could probably make them work.

I would still love a pair of high heeled tall boots in a rich, cognac color. But I haven’t found any that I love that aren’t made in China. I love that J Crew has their shoes/boots made in Italy and NOT China.

So instead of a fantastic pair of cognac boots, I have been investing my money in my stock account. Silly rabbit….although I was up 26% on the year in my stock account (with NO retail stocks…well…not counting TIF) so I think still a fairly decent decision going forward. But maybe a little bit on the boots if I find the right pair :)

Whether you believe the conspiracy theory or not (not entirely impossible if you ask me…) – this should make you chuckle out loud. And you can learn a thing or two :)

The Hunt Brothers failed at this years ago but this is a different game and field. Plus I LOVE a good conspiracy theory!

At my old job, we worked with and managed money for Steinhardt Partners. Michael Steinhardt has long been considered a very smart money manager. My old boss always said he was brilliant, even if prickly.

He was on CNBC this morning. When asked what he would do if he just received a big allocation from the upcoming GM IPO: Sell. “As quickly as I can. I don’t think one should be a long-term holder in government securities, particularly government equity securities.”

Sad and pathetic that General Motors is considered that. But true. Same goes for GE, BAC, C and more. Ugh.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703431604575522434188603198.html

I heard this on CNBC last week and finally searched for and found the WSJ story tonight . While  it does not surprise me in the least, what surprises me a little is that the politicians/aides don’t even seem embarrassed by it (at least put on a show of “oopsie” when asked.)  It’s more of “Yeah, so what?” attitude.

“The aides identified by the Journal say they didn’t profit by making trades based on any information gathered in the halls of Congress. Even if they had done so, it would be legal, because insider-trading laws don’t apply to Congress.”

Of course not – why should laws for the simple folk apply to the government? That would be silly.

“A few lawmakers proposed a bill that would prevent members and employees of Congress from trading securities based on nonpublic information they obtain. The legislation has languished since 2006.

“Congressional staff are often privy to inside information, and an unscrupulous person could profit off that knowledge,” says Vincent Morris, a spokesman for Rep. Louise Slaughter (D., N.Y.), a leading backer of the “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act,” or STOCK Act. “The public should be outraged there is no law specifically banning this.” “

So all the fist-pounding, angry rhetoric by politicians about how evil Wall Street is and how billionaire corporate insiders and hedge fund managers have all the advantages and the little guy investor has no hope since he can’t get access to same the information is just more BS grandstanding by politicians (shocking I know) since they take advantage of the same type of insider information BUT it’s not technically illegal for them to do it (because they have made sure not to pass the law) so it’s OK…since the current law seems to exclude them.  Oh…OK…got it. (wth?)

If you work for someone who is voting on a piece of legislation that can effect an entire industry (or certain companies) you have absolutely no business profiting from that information. You cannot possibly tell me you think you aren’t acting on inside information.

And if you feel you’ve done nothing wrong, then you and your bosses have absolutely NO business being talking heads about the evils of corporate and Wall Street greed. Spare me.

This is what annoys/angers me the most. Not the fact that they did it. Most people, if they are being honest with themselves, would if they could…or at least have to think about it hard. But having to listen to and read all the anti-business crap spewed forth by politicians ever since the banking/mortgage melt-down (a melt down facilitated in part by politicians but they like to forget that little detail) is beyond ridiculous. And this is simply more evidence of just how deep that BS is up on the Hill.

From Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Definition of HYPOCRITE

Feeling good, Louis….

CHICAGO (Commodity Online): CME Group announced today that it will begin listing and trading rainfall futures, options on futures and binary options beginning October 31 for trade date November 1. The monthly and seasonal contracts will be based on the CME Rainfall Index and will be available March through October. These contracts will be listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of CME.

“We see the impact of weather every day in our lives and we know how it can influence regional and local business decisions – whether to raise prices, divert inventory or result in temporarily closures,” said Tim Andriesen, CME Group’s Managing Director of Agricultural Commodities and Alternative Investments. “A significant number of industries, from agribusiness to recreation, are reliant on good weather, but also are at the mercy of bad weather. Rainfall contracts, in conjunction with our existing suite of weather products, will allow these businesses to manage the resulting risk.”

“CME Group’s commitment to expand their product offerings in the weather space has enabled our clients to gain access to financial risk mitigation tools previously only available to large, commercial end-users in the over-the-counter market,” said Jeff Hodgson, President of Chicago Weather Brokerage. “The rainfall contracts are a viable hedging tool for large agricultural market participants, as well as smaller industries that are equally affected by weather.”

The rainfall contract locations include Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Des Moines International Airport, Detroit Metro Airport, Jacksonville International Airport, Los Angeles Downtown USC Campus, New York LaGuardia Airport, Portland International Airport and Raleigh/Durham International Airport.

The futures and options on futures contracts enable market participants to manage exposure to rainfall. The binary options enable users to manage the ramifications on businesses or other operations if rainfall is more or less than anticipated. Binary options provide the options holder with a fixed dollar payout upon exercise. If the option expires without being exercised, the holder’s losses are limited to the amount paid for the binary option.

CME Group’s weather product suite offers trading opportunities related to rainfall, temperature, snowfall, frost and hurricanes. The products are based on a range of weather conditions in more than 47 cities in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and Asia, with the hurricane products geared to nine U.S. regions., CME Group informed in a statement.

http://www.commodityonline.com/crops-weather/CME-group-will-launch-rainfall-futures-in-US-2010-10-15-32589-3-1.html

Wow. I *could* bet it all on black (or double zeros!) OR I could put it in futures contracts on rainfall…or frost. While I completely get how this effects other commodities and futures, betting on the weather sounds like a Vegas bet to me…

But then I think – at least the weather is the weather is the weather and you aren’t waiting around to hear corporate or analyst spin on earnings, or the Fed to make some decision that doesn’t really but does effect your stock, or politicians to say something stupid in a speech…it’s the weather.

Now if only I was my second favorite X-Man…

Storm

“You’re all pretty much fu****. You don’t know it yet. But, you are the NINJA generation. No Income, No Job, No Assets. You got a lot to live for too. Someone reminded me the other evening that I once said greed is good. Now it seems its legal. But folks, its greed that makes my bartender buy three houses he can’t afford with no money down. And its greed that makes your parents refinance their two hundred thousand dollar house for two fifty. Then they take that extra fifty and go down to the mall. They buy a plasma TV, cell phones, computers, a SUV, hey why not a second home while we are it, cause gee whiz we all know the prices of houses in America always go up, right? And its greed that makes the government of this country cut interest rates down to one percent after 9/11 so we can all go shopping again. And they got all these fancy names for trillions of dollars of credits, CMOs, CDOs, SIVs, ABS . You know I honestly think that there’s maybe only seventy five people in the world who know what they are. But I’ll tell you what they are – WMDs, weapons of mass destruction! That’s what they are.

Its clear as a bell to those who pay attention, the mother of all evil is speculation, leveraged debt. The bottom line is borrowing to the hilt. And I hate to tell you this, it’s a bankrupt business model. It won’t work. Its systemic, malignant, and its global, like cancer. It’s a disease and we got to fight back. How are we going to do that? How are we going to leverage that disease back in our favor? Well I’ll tell you. Three words, “Buy my book!” Prices and profits work.”

Another great speech given by Gordon Gekko, in the new movie – Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

I liked the movie. I didn’t love it like I love the first one but I loved every second GG was on the screen. And I think Josh Brolin did a great job. And I didn’t even hate Shia even though I could have done with a little less him and a little more Michael Douglas.

I was worried Oliver Stone would try to make this some huge morality tale since Hollywood loves to blame Wall Street, the big, bad corporate monsters and rich people (unless you are rich from making movies or music that is) for all that is bad and evil in the world. And Hollywood is full of morality…Plus Stone seems so shocked, in every recent interview anyway, that he unleashed GG on the world (really Oliver?) when he meant to show him as a villain (more people love Darth Vader than Luke so he should have known that.)

But he didn’t – not too much anyway. A lot of green energy plugging. I guess this was the only way to make the new young buck trader “likable” to the masses. “See Wall Street isn’t so bad when they want to bring cold fusion into the world! But shale oil – those guys are bastards.” Makes Shia’s character’s greed and drive acceptable. Kinda like when Al Gore pumps alternative energy…the areas/companies he has stock in that is…

The main plot centered around a Bear Stearns/Lehman Brothers-like take down followed up by the mass banking and financial markets free-fall and hysteria that came after. If you have read anything about those firms, this plot will not seem far-fetched at to you. At all.

Stone threw in some quite typical macho, alpha-male scenes but guess what – those guys generally ARE like that. So again, quite believable. Some of the special effects which I can only assume were included to help people figure stuff out (give them pictures = easier!) were needless, in my opinion. Felt they were more distracting than helpful. But I guess every single movie ever made now has to have some kind of digital effect.

Some fun cameos by financial and news people. And a few from the first movie which were funny. As well as a song thrown in as a throw-back! But alas, no Frank.

One very good thing explained was GG’s jail sentence and the time line from the first movie to this movie. I have complained forever that there is NO way he would be in jail all this time for insider trading – even with the WORST lawyer which you know he didn’t have. So thank you Oliver for making that more clear. I find it highly offensive and disgusting that anyone convicted of a white-collar crime would receive more actual jail time than a person who commits a violent crime – but people need their bogeymen and their heads on pikes.

Martha Stewart received 5 months jail time and 2 years probation (29 months total of punishment) for what was basically insider trading (the actual charges were different I think but that’s what she did.) This was a pretty small trade in her own account where she had insider knowledge due to the fact she was friends with the CEO. The amount of people that do what she did every day without getting sent to jail would probably piss some people off…the ones who didn’t get the insider info and act on it that is. I am not saying it wasn’t wrong and she shouldn’t be punished somehow. But jail time?

Michael Vick got 21 months of jail and 2 months home confinement ( 23 months total punishment) for his hands-on part in a dog-fighting ring. I recognize that I have a very strong opinion on this that not every one shares, but really? 23 months in total for showing us how cruel and inhuman you actually are? And then back to his high-flying football career being a hero to kids. Puke.

Bernie Madoff got 150 years for his multiple financial crimes. Horrible – yes. Deserves punishment – of course. But 150 years? How many murderers, rapists and pedophiles get off with 5 or 10 years – if that? But again – a head was needed, his rolled. End of story.

I am of the opinion that white-collar criminals should be made to do more community service as sentences. Real service – not give a lecture to at-risk kids. And no – not live in their penthouses while they do it. But how much are these guys fined for their crimes and hand over to the government? Use some of that to get them to work and keep them in a different facility (not tax-payer funded.) They are incredibly smart guys, make them use it for “good”.

But thrown in with drug dealers, gang members, rapists? No – sorry (contrary to popular belief they do not all go Camp Fed.) And those same violent criminals should be in jail longer than ANY white-collar criminal. My personal opinion only. But it’s my blog so my opinion rules :)

Anyway, went a little off-topic….back to the movie! If you liked the first Wall Street at all, then you will probably like this one. And there are so few movies pumped out nowadays that are worth the price of admission and hassle of going to the movies (rather than wait for DVD) to me.

I did feel the ending was a cop out. I wonder if Stone didn’t actually know where to go with it to keep morality in play? But I think he knew what people wanted and knew it was going to be hard to present it. So he went typical Hollywood. I won’t spoil what happens because I did find myself wondering most of the way through. It’s the last bit of the movie so it’s ok I suppose.

All in all, this one is not as fun and crazy as the first one but hey – this isn’t the 80s anymore.

I originally posted this back in January….anticipating and excited about the new movie back then! Still excited! Sadly, I won’t be able to see it tonight or this weekend as I can’t really leave Storm that long since he still needs to wear his cone if I’m not right there watching him (so he doesn’t pull out his surgical staples.) Going to coordinate a time early next week though!!

The stock market sure welcomed GG back with open arms today though ;)
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You know…if you read this speech…if you truly listen to what he is saying…he is right. Look past the trendy “hate Wall Street” rhetoric being bandied about by our current President and media. Look at what is being said here and think about what is *truly* being said….

Gekko: Well, I appreciate the opportunity you’re giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest shareholder in Teldar Paper, to speak.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’re not here to indulge in fantasy, but in political and economic reality. America, America has become a second-rate power. Its trade deficit and its fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. Now, in the days of the free market, when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the stockholder. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men that built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake. Today, management has no stake in the company!

All together, these men sitting up here [Teldar management] own less than 3 percent of the company. And where does Mr. Cromwell put his million-dollar salary? Not in Teldar stock; he owns less than 1 percent.

You own the company. That’s right — you, the stockholder.

And you are all being royally screwed over by these, these bureaucrats, with their steak lunches, their hunting and fishing trips, their corporate jets and golden parachutes.

Cromwell: This is an outrage! You’re out of line, Gekko!

Gekko: Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents, each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can’t figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I’ll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents.

The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated. In the last seven deals that I’ve been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. (applause) Thank you.

I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them!

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed — you mark my words — will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA.

Thank you very much.”

This movie was done in 1985. Still holds true today. One could argue that you can apply this to all of the life-long politicians that have never held a real job, a job where they have been responsible for creating anything, for making sure payroll is met, making sure that shareholders receive a return on their investment. They collect their giant salaries (look it up) and benefits that our paid by us…the taxpayers. Do you really think they are any better than the purported “criminals” of Wall Street or the banks? Really? If you do, than you are truly naive…

Are there criminals on Wall Street? Of course. Are there criminals in every single line of work? Yes. Are there criminals serving as your Congressman, as your Senator, or even your City Manager? Yes. If you don’t think so…you are truly naive…

This country was created, built on and made into the greatest country on earth because of the entrepreneurial drive to be successful. And our current government wants to destroy that. Put everyone on a level playing field. Everyone doesn’t belong on a level playing field. Face facts – there are smarter people, harder-working people…not everyone “deserves” the same thing. Period.

One of my most favorite movies ever…

…because I love gold AND only in the will-never-be-repeated-ultra-cool early-to-mid 60s could you get away with a movie character named Pussy Galore that’s NOT in a porn movie…

Gold spot closed at $1269.20 today. December’s contracts closed even higher ($1271.70). That puts it well over it’s previous high. Silver closed over $20. Gold closing above it’s previous resistance is a big deal if you are chart/technical trader. I am not. I used to love to trade commodities but it will give you gray hair and an ulcer. This is what makes it both fun and unhealthy long term :)

I have been buying gold and silver as an investment for years now. I don’t buy the ETFs, I buy the physical coins. I do buy mining stocks too but for the metals – I want something I can hold. I’m not a crazed goldbug (although I love a good government conspiracy theory!) but I’m a firm believer in wanting the physical metal in my possession (well..at least in my safe deposit box’s possession) and not in the form of a piece of paper. Plus then you can take it out and play in it like Scrooge McDuck

I started buying gold and silver coins a long time ago. A few a year – not like I own Fort Knox or anything (THAT would be cool!) I like the reality of it. I can hold it in my hand. And I can sell it anytime. Stocks are fun, and I am a huge believer in the capital markets, but they don’t have this exact quality. I do not buy coins for their numismatic qualities – I know less than nothing about coin collecting. I buy for the pure commodity of it. But I stick with gold and silver. No platinum (except jewelry!!), copper, palladium, etc.

For sure, gold has had a HUGE run up. Many nay-sayers believe it will come back down and point you to the run-ups of the past. “It’s topped out, will crash, blah, blah.” But this is a different world and economy that we live in than 10 years ago. Than in the 70s. China and India are fast becoming very large economies with a growing upper and middle class that has disposable income and culturally they both love owning gold.

At sushi lunch a few months back, a retired lawyer was talking to my husband and me about the economy. He scoffed at gold buyers because he said the only reason the price went up is because of the paranoia of goldbugs over the economy. When I pointed out that the fact that China also just started allowing, and even advocating, its citizens to buy and own gold, all he had to say was “oh…really?” Yeah. Not just for the Mulders or Lone Gunmen out there anymore…

But yes, I’m sure plenty of people bought into gold for economic fear reasons. It has been the safe haven hedge for a long time now. And also to ride the wave up as retail buyers tend to do after fund managers take huge positions in anything. You can tell from all the ads for gold on TV, the radio, online that it’s aimed at the little guy now. I’m also sure there was a lot of short covering today after it blew through previous resistance of $1260. But it’s simply a different market (and world) now too. More buyers equals more demand.

Might it go back down from today’s newly-minted (see what I did there?!=geek on multiple levels!) high – likely. Funds take profits. Fact of life. Might it create new highs after that? Probably. (see…I can totally be a money-honey on CNBC too – never say it WILL, only it MIGHT or COULD!) So far the overseas markets are flat – keeping spot as it’s high. Of course, in commodities this changes fast so who knows where it will be when I wake up.

Oh, but please do not liquidate your portfolio or take out a loan to buy it (actual questions I get asked as our company’s 401k administrator…) It’s still speculative. This isn’t the California gold rush people (see why I like my 49ers!) But if you want to hedge your stocks or other investments, I personally have always felt it was a good one. I’m like Yukon Cornelius – always looking :) (totally love the song Silver and Gold too!)

And what will happen if the Republicans don’t get the little known detail that was “slipped” into Obama’s HEALTHCARE (?) bill that will require brokers to file 1099s for gold and silver bullion/coins purchases over $600 scratched? Who knows? But I don’t see it slowing down any demand. Just might create a shadow market.

I don’t trade my gold like my stock account (so usually only check open and close prices but today was a hot day.) I buy it and hold it like my 401k. And someday, I might sell it. So I watch these daily ups and downs and listen to the analysts dissect it and just smile and think to myself that I am happy I started buying it before it was “the rage” with a little “well done” pat on my back. Husband used to think my “little hobby” was silly and likely a waste of money that could be invested elsewhere. Then recently a very successful investment banker friend of his told him he does the same thing. Now I’m not so silly after all. Pfft. Men…

Now if I could just build my panic/safe room, I could move it from my bank’s safety deposit box to my house and play it in…just like Scrooge McDuck… ;)

My father used to read me those Disney stories as a kid and Scrooge McDuck was always one of my favorite Disney characters – maybe we are formed from a young age :)