How to Buy Physical Gold and Why Not to Invest in Gold ETFs!
Gold: the ultimate store of wealth that has been used since time immemorial. A hedge or in troubled times, a 'safe haven' in the current crisis. If your wealth is stored in gold, then who really cares if the financial system implodes? Empires, currencies and rulers have come and gone... but gold has always retained value and purchasing power. Of the various precious metals, gold is probably the easiest, most liquid (easily traded) asset you can invest in.
Gold is a traditional hedge against inflation or deflation. Against currency devaluations. Against avaricious or incompetent governments or Central Bankers. Or shall I just say, in a less politically correct manner, that America is bankrupt and Gold is the only real money? If you invest in Gold, you no longer have to rely cheap meridia the "full faith and credit" of the US government - which is declining sharply.
If you're reading this article, you probably don't need me to tell you why you should buy gold. It's actually an obvious decision in the current economic climate. The question is not so much should you buy gold, as can you afford to hang on to assets denominated in a declining currency like the dollar or the pound sterling or the euro...?
The US dollar typically rises or falls inversely with the value of gold. Recently, although there's been a slight increase recently, the trend of the US dollaris downwards. My view is that the dollar will continue to decline until the US economic fundamentals look better - till America comes out of bankruptcy, that is - and that could take some years.
In terms of your savings or retirement portfolio, this means that if you invest in things like bank deposits (CDs) the net return is most likely negative. Since the beginning of 2003, US dollars held in 3-month US Treasury Bills have yielded less than 3% per year (Source: Global Financial Data). Considering that the inflation rate over this same period of time has averaged more than 3% annually (Source: US CPI), the cash accumulated had less buying power in October 2008 than it did half a decade before.
The carnage on Wall Street, and the fallout around the world, looks far from over - despite what the Feds or the mainstream media might have you believe. Every time there is a new panic like Viagra bank or insurer collapsing, a flurry of investors with dollars, euro and pounds start a new mini gold rush.
At the same time, demand for the yellow metal continues to significantly outweigh supply. The Chinese, for example, love gold and have plenty of dollars. China is keen to diversify its huge foreign currency reserves (by far the largest in the world) away from the dollar. A small increase in China's percentage of gold reserves would cause a huge increase in demand and consequently in the gold price. Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East (think Dubai) are also seeing large increases in domestic gold demand as disposable income increases. When people think that paper currencies will be worth less in the future, they have historically looked to place their net worth into a more stable vehicle. And gold is typically viewed as a safe form of currency, as its value isn't as affected by inflation.
Why Buy Gold Offshore?
So far, so good. There's nothing particularly new or controversial about the information above. But I have always believed in a more offshore, skeptical, pragmatic approach. Like it or not, we tell things as they are.
Can we trust government to manage our finances? I think the overwhelming evidence suggests no. History shows that gold is politically sensitive, and governments (read Central Banks, particularly the Federal Reserve) don't like to see individuals buying gold. Why? Because they can't control it. They can certainly try. For example, in an earlier article you will find here, we asked seriously Will the US Government Confiscate Gold?
Then suddenly, as of late September 2008, we saw the US Federal Government beginning to limit the access of ordinary citizens to gold bullion - by withdrawing new bullion coins from circulation. (Suddenly and unexpectedly in mid-crisis the IRS also introduced a new form FBAR for reporting of foreign bank accounts)
What we can see from all this is that the smartest strategy is to keep your gold holdings outside your home jurisdiction -- where they will be well protected against all sorts of threats from governments to predatory ex-spouses. So you need to know:
How to Buy Gold Bullion Offshore
Gold bullion is the most liquid form of gold. If you want to buy gold with the idea that you'll ultimately sell it, then you will want to buy gold bullion. Bullion means either bars or coins. Fortunately, you can easily buy gold this way and just as easily sell it again anywhere in the world. If you need to break it into smaller denominations, you can for example exchange gold easily for silver coins like Panama's old Silver Balboa or Mexico's silver coins.
You can buy gold bullion by looking for offshore dealers. If you have a particular kind of coin in mind - like the Canadian Maple Leaf or South African Krugerrand, to name a few of the most popular gold coins - then do a search for that particular coin, or find the official mint websites. For example, check out the South African Mint or the Royal Canadian Mint. An interesting and more private option for Americans is restricted circulation coins. When you want to buy gold, these sites all contain helpful tools for finding local and international dealers of gold coins.
Provided you don't 'look suspicious' and you can prove the origin of your funds with some documents, it is quite easy to buy gold bullion coins anonymously with cash. Some countries, like France, charge sales tax on gold and so should be avoided. Others place burdensome restrictions on export, like major gold producers Brazil and South Africa. Others, like San Marino, are simply too far from major gold markets for purchase there to be economical - you would be saddled with high transport and insurance costs.
So where should or can you go to buy gold offshore? The undisputed capital of the business is Zurich, Switzerland. There you can buy and store your gold in the free trade zone at the airport. Major Swiss banks like Credit Suisse will sell you gold directly from their branches in Zurich Airport.
Most countries in mainland Europe are good for buying gold. Luxembourg, for example, is a friendly little place where privacy is still respected in precious metals transactions.
In the Americas, Mexico is another country where you can simply walk in to a casa de cambio and buy gold 'centenarios' over the counter for cash. Mexico has suffered from so many devaluations and is also a major producer of gold and silver, so investing in bullion coins has become popular there. There has been a serious effort in Mexico to introduce silver coins as legal tender. (For info on Mexican gold coins, known as Centenarios, visit here...
Urgent Warning: Here's why you should absolutely NOT Invest in Gold ETFs
In September 2008, shareholders in ETF securities were left high and dry - unable to trade popular commodity securities, due to concerns over the future of their backer, insurance giant AIG. Overnight, banks and brokerages stopped making markets in the Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs) backed by the troubled insurer. The price of the stoc
Gold ETFs are vastly different to holding real gold. Turbulence, such as the above in the market, can affect the value of those gold ETFs markedly. When you buy an ETF you are buying electrons on a screen. It is not the same as buying real solid gold. What if the bank or fund manager goes out of business? What if trading in the shares is suspended, as for example short selling was just suddenly banned? What if the whole exchange is suspended as has happened in the past? Shares can be subject to massive manipulation and liquidity problems. I believe we will see dual gold prices from now on - one 'official' spot price, and another price dictated by pure supply and demand which will dictate what you can actually buy and sell real gold for in the real world.
If you own stock in an ETF, that means you own a stock that depends on the price of gold, rather than gold itself. No matter that corporations such as ETF Securities own gold. How much gold they own is not clearly discernable by the average "Joe Sixpack" who may own ETF stocks.
Even a downgrading by credit agencies like S&P or Moodies can drastically affect the share price in ETF Securities - as it has done! In September 2008 shares in ETF Securities products, which were backed by AIG, were down as much as 50% in one morning after the US insurer was downgraded by the rating agencies. The cold hard reality is that if the issuer of an exchange traded note goes bankrupt, investors holding exchange traded products backed by these notes will join the ranks of other creditors hoping to get their money back. With any gold ETF one does not own actual gold and cannot automatically or instantly redeem gold from the fund.
Indeed, to buy gold ETFs is adventurous and courageous - one might almost say dangerous - activity, in today's economic climate, with so many Wall Street firms going under.
The same is true, in my personal opinion, to the Perth Mint Certificate Program (PMCP). This program is run by the government of Western Australia, and is offered by many gold dealers and investment advisors around the world. The problem is, when you do due diligence on the Perth Mint program, you will see that you are not really buying physical gold. You are just buying papers or 'notes', and redeeming those notes later could involve substantial bureaucratic hassle. You are also reliant on the Australian government. If, for example, the US tried to confiscate all gold held by its citizens, do you think the Australian government would co-operate? Most likely yes!
Also be aware that if you hold shares in an ETF they are reportable for tax purposes. Physical gold however is not reportable. That's just another reason to consider real gold bullion bought offshore, rather than exchange traded funds.
Peter Macfarlane is an author and lecturer on offshore finance, investment, due diligence and wealth creation matters. He is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report www.qwealthreport.comhttp://www.qwealthreport.com
Hypnosis - How Does "It" Work
When sell structured settlements know that hypnosis works, you may start wondering how it works. As several hypnotists and hypnotherapists out there say about hypnosis, "There is no 'it.'" What does that mean?
That simply means hypnosis is a natural state of mind people experience everyday several times a day. This state of mind is common. You experience it when you daydream or watch a movie. Then you're left to wonder how does hypnosis work.
In Your Mind: What's Going On Here?
There are two viewpoints based on the works of Dave Elman and Milton Erickson. Followers of Milton Erickson believe that hypnosis is a process of communication with the "unconscious" mind. The suggestions which the client hears or sees get internalized within the unconscious mind which finds meanings from the past or present experiences and are acted upon unconsciously. Dave Elman taught about the "subconscious" mind as a part of the mind where suggestions work along with beliefs based on past experiences. Both describe what you could call models of learning that bypasses the conscious mind. Both models are useful for creating the change you want.
You may know the saying, "As a man thinketh, so shall he be." or in modern language, "As one believes and thinks, so one will experience life." What you believe about the world and yourself determines the results you get.
Mind-Body Connection
You can begin to understand how hypnosis works when you think of the mind-body connection. The subconscious mind interacts with the autonomic nervous system. Exactly how they do so is beyond the scope of this article. You can tell they do by the research and amazing results people like you and doctors talk about.
How does the mind and body work together to achieve the remarkable effects we hear stories about? Just what magic occurs in our bodies and minds when we heal or accomplish seemingly miraculous feats? Scientists are still puzzling over these questions, yet they have shown that hypnosis, guided imagery, meditation/prayer and what we eat affects our immune systems, our resistance to cancer and our recovery from surgery. Other research shows how hypnosis activates the same brain centers that block our perception of pain. It is well known that hypnosis helps people change unwanted behaviors and establish home mortgage refinance tip habits. How should we explain the placebo effect when inert ingredients and the power of suggestion cause recovery and cures? What about its opposite, the nocebo effect, when pessimistic expectations and pronouncements by professionals can result in ill health?
More correctly, the human system is a "body-mind" connection rather than the "mind-body" connection. You are a body first and a mind second. So many highly intelligent people forget that. Why do we claim you have a body-mind connection? Your body controls your mind. As a quick test to prove this to yourself, just take a deep breath in and hold it. Hold it as long as you can. After a few minutes your body will override your conscious will to hold your breath and force you to exhale and take another breath.
Powerful Emotions
Naturally we all want to minimize harm and maximize health and vitality. Let's consider our emotions. Our emotions have both a biological and psychological basis. We can change our emotions by changing what we think about. Our emotions change as our bodies change during adolescence. Clearly our minds and bodies are part of the same system and what affects one inevitably affects the other. Any separation is artificial. So worry, fear, certain harmful automatic thoughts and habits will affect your health negatively. Also happiness, mental flexibility and variety along with helpful automatic thoughts and habits will improve your health.
Suppose that the mind and body are one system, and that what happens in the mind has a corresponding result in the body and vice versa. We can easily notice that what happens with the body affects the mind when we consider that our experience of the world is conducted through the five senses of the body. Our emotions and thoughts can change when we experience pleasurable or painful sensations.
It only makes sense that our mind affects our body when we remember about the placebo effect, that is the fact people with a disease get better when taking sugar pills or injections of saline solutions. Pharmaceutical companies confirm this placebo effect with every study of a new drug. Their goal is to prove a drug is better than a placebo while their results show the placebo helps a surprising number and sometimes a substantial portion of the group who take it.
Take note, we're not saying that placebos are better than pharmaceuticals, just that they work because the mind influences the body as part of the same system. The mind has much more to do with your physical health than you were probably taught. The reason for this lies in the power of the subconscious or unconscious mind. This inner conscious mind is in control of your heart rate, breathing, smooth muscles like those around our organs. You can think of it as the part of your mind that's below the surface.
What's Inner Mind?
If you want to get more specific, the inner mind uses the parts of your brain beneath the cerebral cortex where neuroscientists have identified structures that are responsible for feeling emotion, normal body movement you know so well they become automatic like walking and processes necessary for survival such as breathing. Because the subconscious mind both influences what you perceive and changes as a result of your perceptions, it involves the rest of the nervous system beyond the brain. This subconscious or inner mind is the seat of your emotions, habits and beliefs, and it involves your memories and experiences in creating your wellness.
That principle of the body and mind affecting each other in one system is one of the presuppositions of neurolinguistic programming (NLP), a method of reproducing excellence based on observing others. It includes strategies of changing oneself, helping others, selling and communicating.
The earliest work on NLP was based on studying the work of the hypnotherapist Dr. Milton Erickson and other excellent therapists in order to teach their colleagues how to achieve remarkable results more quickly and easily. Because NLP and hypnotism are intimately related and have various applications, many people study and use both in their clinics.
(c) 2006 Michael Glowacki
Michael Glowacki of Capital Hypnosis is a Professional Hypnotist with in-depth experience in hypnosis. You can learn more by visiting www.capitalhypnosis.com/Capital Hypnosis in Madison, Wisconsin. He provides custom programs with individualized sessions. Capital Hypnosis teaches people how hypnosis works and provides custom CapitalHypnosis.com/hypnosis-articles/hypnosis-training-programs/hypnosis training. His clinic offers a Written Service Guarantee. He specializes in helping people with weight problems, smoking cessation and various health conditions. To reach Mr. Glowacki about coaching or hypnosis training call his office at (608)288-9800.
Some Simple, Yet Effective Forex Trading Techniques
Experts will always assert that one of the surest ways to succeed in currency trading is knowing and implementing forex trading techniques. Foreign exchange is truly a dynamic and demanding investment avenue and there is the need to understand and truly comprehend such trading if you want to make your capital grow from it.
What are forex trading techniques? To begin with, such strategies are special and are schematic processes or styles of trading that are designed and implemented with the principal aim of generating higher revenue or income. Just like in any other form of trading, there is also a need to know and implement proper and working techniques to make your money grow through currency trading. Thus, it would be Idaho Lemon Laws if you would be familiar with several simple, yet proven effective forex trading techniques.
The first simple technique would be buying low, selling high. In general, this is the principal principle that should be practiced. Through this, anxiety disorder should always strive to buy currencies that have lower values than what your currency form is. Thus, you would realize that you are actually making your capital valuation instantly. Then, you should wait for sometime until that currency appreciates and when it does, it would be the perfect time to sell it, which would return your money into your base currency, but this time in higher value.
Another simple technique is to convert your capital into US dollar as a base currency. If you are already having the dollar as a base currency, you could stick to it, but otherwise, it would be advisable if you convert into dollar. From there, you could easily convert into other currencies. Almost all currencies have direct dollar conversion rate, making it easier for traders to determine and actually run transactions.
Lastly, trade currency based on to market and economic factors. This technique employs the value of research about the factors and risks of the economy of particular countries. For example, if you want to trade into Japanese yen, it would be helpful if you would first understand what is going on in the business environment in Japan. This way, you could easily foretell if your converted money would rise or fall.
As an investor or trader, it should always be your goal to make your capital grow. Know and adopt effective forex trading techniques and see how your money could attain its real growth potential in no time.
Learn everything about forex trading from Davion's wildly popular blog to www.ForexTrading-MadeEasy.comlearn how to trade forex - from mastering the basics of foreign exchange trading to discovery of new trading tips, strategies, tools and more. Also, read this informative article about 6 ezinearticles.com/?6-Forex-Trading-Terms---Forget-Them-and-You-Are-Out-of-The-Game!&id=1029406forex trading terms you need to know!
Video and Conferencing - Can it Really Replace Travel?
I am the absolute proof that video and conferencing can replace travel, in fact it changed my life to such an extent that I reduced my travel costs by 90%. This resulted in me spending more remortgage back home and allowed me to expand my business but at the same time my relationship got back on track because I was not in a hotel on the other side of the world. I used to hate traveling but the difference is I am now able to choose when I travel and that has put the fun back into traveling.
Let me be clear video and voice conferencing is not the answer to everything, there are always going to be meetings that you need to travel to. But is it possible for you to meet online and video conference with colleagues, customers and friends? The only way is try it out yourself but first lets explore in broad terms what type of systems are available and if you might find them useful.
Video and Voice Conferencing Systems:
There are many different types of video and conferencing but principally this is divided into two main areas;
- The dedicated and purpose built equipment for large corporate organizations and government organizations that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This sector has developed virtual reality technology called telepresence which emulates the sensation of actually being at the other location. Although this is offers a superior experience it is complexed and the costs are prohibitively high.
- For the likes of me and most other people we want a easy to use inexpensive video and conferencing experience. The standard desktop or laptop with a good quality camera or webcam and a phone or audio headset with an wide band internet connection like broadband fits this criteria, after all we use them every day. Recent advances in video streaming technology and internet band widths have made the use of the humble computer possible, improving reliability, security, quality and costs. The result is it is not only possible but affordable for virtually everyone to be on the web and video conference.
These huge advancements have really changed my life and will probably change how we all communicate with each other in the future. I do not have to fly or drive anywhere now and have reduced my traveling time to one month a year.
Video and Conferencing Use and Adoption:
Most of us do not readily data recovery service something has to happen that forces change, for me it was traveling eleven months of the year and never seeing my family. The world is currently in a crisis with falling share prices, companies going to the wall and the highest oil prices ever. Business and general living costs including travel is already costing a whole lot more and this may be the catalyst that some of us will need to try out video and voice conferencing.
But what of our resistance to change due to complexity? By using the existing equipment that we are already familiar like a PC and ensuring video conferencing is simple to set up and easy to use will allow us to experiment with this technology. I acknowledge that some of the video and voice conferencing services are not very good after all you get what you pay for. But advances in the technology constantly improvement the quality and experience, in fact each month there seems to be a new or improved video and conferencing service being launched.
When I first started to use videoconferencing I anticipated that my customers would resist video conferencing. Surprisingly the majority after testing a desktop PC based systems started using the technology and continue to utilize it throughout their organizations. The main reasons for this are cost savings on travel but also the increase in productivity and convenience of being able to quickly have a meeting with anyone, anywhere.
Which service is the best:
What desktop or laptop and video conference service is ideal for you or your organization? Well you have to spend what you can afford and it should be tailored to your needs.
- The free services may be OK for casual one to one conferences but restrictions like the number of users and quality issues with the video, audio and reliability make them generally unsuitable for business use.
- Many of us will end up using the subscriber video and conferencing services with small monthly charge which can be offset against the savings on the travel costs and time. These services offer a proven high quality experience with secure, reliable connections with multi participant capability, in session control of the remote PC, text chat, file transfer and video conference recording.
Eben Haezer changed his life and put back the fun into traveling. You can get more details by visiting this link www.videoandconferencing.com/Video and Conferencing
