Whether you have been watching the trends as they have followed and exceeded the trail of my expectations recently or are just taking notice of the possibilities that have gone so far as to surpass my optimism, there’s no question that the metals market is in a class by itself. Now, let’s take a look at the reality of what lies ahead for those who are interested in this volatile market that continues to bear remark and amazement. In my opinion, the first eight days of this December have been nothing short of the best case scenario for the future of the precious metals trend in terms of the consolidation in the commodity prices during this time.

You must bear in mind, however, that the recent consolation was fueled by what I believe was an attempt by the U.S. government to encourage a sense of improvement in consumer confidence. As many brace for what could be a weaker holiday spending season than last, the consequences of short cuts by the “powers that be” will prove more detrimental in the long run, particularly to their agenda. This does not completely delete the strength of the consolidation but as with any government PR tactics, there are long reaching considerations which extend well beyond the current season. Some of which may come to bear upon the very consolidation efforts made recently in a direct way.
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Silver’s a severely undervalued ‘investment opportunity of a lifetime’

TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Silver’s not so much a poor man’s gold anymore and investors may soon realize that the white metal’s the real treasure.

True, at $17 per ounce, silver is cheap — trading around 60 times less than gold’s record price of more than $1,100. But year to date, it’s climbed 52% in value compared with gold’s rise of around 25%, according to data from FactSet Research.

Silver is a precious metal, after all, one that has historically outperformed gold in a bull market and doubles as an industrial metal — and supplies of it are depleting at a much more rapid pace.

“Silver is unique in terms of being both a monetary and an industrial metal,” the Bullion Services Team at GoldCore said in a recent report, pointing out that it’s severely undervalued. “Silver remains the investment opportunity of a lifetime.”

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Managing your assets can be tricky at times. There is always a need to strike a balance between high risk products and low risk products. In the current economic turmoil, where there is a huge amount of uncertainty, many investors are learning how to protect their investments by diversification. Having a more balanced portfolio reduces the risk of their assets eroding. In addition, there is also the issue of inflation to ponder over. Ideally, your investments should outperform inflation. Otherwise, you are losing money.

One way to overcome the above challenges is to invest in precious metals such as gold, silver or platinum. This is not a new investment strategy. For decades, savvy investors have been investing in precious metals to hedge against uncertain economic times. Today, many investors are still using gold as a safe investment vehicle. Whenever they feel that they needed some protection, they start investing in gold. You see the demand for gold going up when the market is volatile and behaving in an erratic manner.

Even when times are good, precious metal can still be a valuable investment option. Most investors tend to put a large portion of their assets in stocks and bonds. However, some of these investments (especially stocks) have the tendency to fluctuate greatly due to sharp changes in market sentiment. To manage such risks, it is always wise to place 10% to 20% of the assets in other investments such as gold.
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By the time the economic dominoes were in full motion and the Wall Street giants began to crumble beneath the weight of the recession, many were left questioning what could be done to make tracks of financial stability in the aftermath.

Today we see that precious metals are standing their ground even as the economic downward spiral has many of the nation’s top financial analysts predicting that hundreds more banks will fail in the next three to five years. The losses expected to tally more than $15 trillion dollars around the world. Many investors have reacted by choosing to bury their nest eggs as deeply as possible, hoping to emerge with their savings unscathed by the soaring rate of inflation, increased rate of unemployment and increased pressure on paper-backed industries.

While the end of the recession is not quite in sight, one thing is certain: investment leveraging of precious metals presents ample opportunity to hold ground in these challenging financial conditions. Silver and platinum are both the mainstay of the world’s financial markets and the scarcest metals respectively. A minimum investment of 20 percent with the balance financed creates a solid foundation for multiplying a relative price change that is five times the equivalent of making an all-cash investment purchase.

Last year’s highs for silver and gold may pale in comparison to the potential safe haven that precious metals are predicted to provide. The potential for silver to reach $25 an ounce and gold to peak at a staggering $1250 per ounce makes precious metals the way to go to create a leveraged investment portfolio that self insulates against the volatility of today’s financial market and subsequent economic woes.

Whether you want to convert to instant liquidity upon repayment of your financing or keep your metals in storage, gold, silver and platinum provide the added safety of knowing every investment dollar leveraged into these precious metals is one well spent. So the unequivocal answer is yes, the recession can be thwarted with smart investments in precious metals and Lloyds Asset Management can show you how.

We have entered into a financial crisis that affects the financial markets around the world. The U.S. Dollar continues to decline in value, and many in Congress want the decline because they believe it will help the U.S. economy. A weak dollar lowers the price of U.S. exports relative to foreign goods, making our products more competitive. In fact, the decline in dollar value is credited for improvement in the trade deficit in 2007.

As long as the dollar remains under pressure due to falling risk aversion, then gold should go higher.

An editorial headline on Bloomberg proclaims:
“Dollar is dirt, Treasuries are toast, and AAA is gone.”

Even CBS News is warning:
“Inflation could be coming to a U.S. dollar near you.”

To me, it seems just like a typical overreaction in the short-term. The long-run trend for the dollar is down as the Fed keep printing more and more paper money to monetize government debt, and the prospects for gold get brighter and brighter with each passing week.

But there’s no reason to lose your head here. It’s going to take a few years for all this to play out. The window of opportunity is still wide open to buy precious metals, real assets, and assets not denominated in the dollar (like ADR’s).

That’s why, despite the strong interest in gold at the moment, I encourage you to continue to look for value in the sector. Right now, there seems to be some exceptional value in an asset which is so undervalued, it could outpace gold by 400% or more.
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If you are living and breathing today, and an adult in the work place, there is simply no way possible you do not know what is going on in the economy. You either have a job, or you don’t. If you have one, chances are you’re worried about losing it. With the “ripple effects” of what’s going on in the economy, every company, every person, is potentially not immune from coming in one day with their double-latte in hand only to get a pink slip, or hear their department or division is being cut.

That’s how it seems to be going. Not one or two layoffs, but huge divisions of company’s we’d never think possible would ever go out of business are going out of business.
Unless you’ve just awakened from a 50-year cryogenic freeze, you couldn’t possibly not know what is happening or feel what is going on in the market. And, if you did just thaw out, you’d probably want to crawl right back into your state of sub-zero frost-bite for another round of freezer burn and wake up when the president’s stimulus package kicks in.
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