Originally posted by tricky
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" Which defeats the purpose of holding gold?" - which obviously justifies it at certain times.
" Is the price of gold manipulated?" - it sure is. If you accept/agree with that, then you must ask yourself why.
" Can the 'evil empire' control the price?" - they have done. It was fixed at $35/oz for a while, before they released it, and then it shot up towards its market value. I'm not sure they are "evil". The 2nd article I just posted suggests they are just misguided. Even someone with high ideals can make a mess of things.
" If so, isn't it risky to hold gold?" - IMO there is risk in everything. The question I ask in reply is "Isn't it risky having your wealth 'stored' in a fiat currency as a liability of a bank".
After all, when you put your hard-earned money in a bank, it's not in a box somewhere is it. They lend it to someone else. Your asset, their liability, all dependant upon the counter-party risk associated with the person who ended up with it, and their ability to repay it.
If that's someone with a 100% mortgage, will they be capable of repaying it ?
IMO the requirement of any safe haven is the exclusion of counter-party risk. That excludes many things, including a house with a mortgage, because you suffer the risk of losing your job, or going into negative equity.
Possible safe havens:
1. Food
2. 100% owned property
3. Gold/silver (not ETFs etc)
4. Other physical assets (antiques, jewellery etc )
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