Showing posts with label buy gold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label buy gold. Show all posts

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Why is the price of gold so high?

Why is the price of gold so high?

The price of gold is at an all time high and looks set to keep going up.

The simple reason for this is because gold prices always rise at times of uncertainty such as war or economic crisis or depression.

Nobody wants to be left holding paper money and building kites out of their savings.

Keeping a pot of gold buried under the floorboards might seem archaic but in times of economic uncertainty, it might be the safest financial option!

Investors see gold as a stable asset that will hold value when other currencies have become worthless. This creates a greater demand for it and causes the price to rise.

The property market and interest rates of the banks also affect the gold market. Generally when property and real estate prices fall and confidence in the banks is low, the demand for gold and stable commodities rises.














In addition, for the investor, dealing in gold becomes the only game in town guaranteed to get a return.
With the current economic uncertainty, this trend seems unlikely to change. Today the standard used to price gold throughout the world is based on the London Gold Pool and the Gold Fixing.
 
The London Gold Pool was set up in 1961 and is the pooling of gold reserves held by eight central banks in the USA and seven European countries.

The Gold Fix or the Gold Fixing is a twice-daily meeting held by five members of the London Gold Pool, conducted by telephone. It takes place at 10.30 GMT and again at 1500GMT.

The original reason of these daily meetings was to settle contracts and accounts between the members of the Gold Pool. Although this is still the case, the Gold Fixing now sets the price of gold throughout the world

Gold is a unique natural mineral. Because of its high value throughout history, it is estimated that most of the gold ever mined in the World is still in existence and could enter the market at any time. This would have a potentially disastrous affect on the World economy.



gold and silver hallmarks main site

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Buy a Silver Testing Kit

If you are unsure about the purity of your silver or even if the metal you are looking at even is Silver, then you probably need a Silver Testing Kit.

A silver testing kit uses a mix of chemicals that react on contact with silver. The contact mark made can be then wiped off after you have identified the metal.

This kit provides an accurate, affordable and easy-to-use means of testing precious metals. The kits are produced in a specialist laboratory (fully compliant with ISO9001:2008 standards) This ensures that the products are always manufactured to the highest industry standards.

The kits are all supplied laboratory-fresh with a long shelf-life.

This is a special solution for testing only silver. Unlike other kits which use the same solution for silver and gold, this kit has been designed for users who have no need to test gold.
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Contents:
Silver Testing Solution.
Full testing instructions.
Miniature needle file.
Used to check whether an item is plated, by removing a small part of the surface in a concealed spot before retesting.
Magnet.
Allows the item to be identified as possibly steel if it tests negative for silver.

Just apply a small spot of the test solution to the metal and wait. The spot will change colour depending on the metal underneath. If it turns red you have Silver. You can use the file to test if the metal is plated.






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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Antiques Road Trip new series on the BBC

Popular Antiques Road Show spin-off, Antiques Road Trip, which is made for the BBC by STV, has returned for its new series. And this time you will be able to enjoy 15 extra minutes on every one of the 30 new journeys as they are extended from 30 minutes to 45.

The first series of Antiques Road Trip has proved to be hugely successful in its early evening BBC Two slot, attracting audiences of up to 2.6 million.

The series pairs Britain’s best loved antiques experts and sends them on a road trip across the UK. During the first series eight of television’s best known experts competed and put their knowledge to the test as they looked to make a fortune in the auction house, travelling the UK along the way.

The return of Antiques Road Trip will delight Anita, who previously said of filming the show, Anita said:  

“It was an utterly nail biting experience.”

“ I laughed a lot but there were also times when I could have burst into tears - on the way I made some huge profits and even bigger losses - but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”


The experts hit the road in their beautiful vintage cars, and with a sum of £200 they travel through the UK seeking out antique shops and buying low to sell high at auction at the end of each show.

Alan Clements, director of content for STV, said:  “We’re delighted that audiences are enjoying Antiques Road Trip and are thrilled to be producing a second and longer series for the BBC.

“It’s a fantastic format with some brilliant characters, which really appeals to viewers, and we can’t wait to get cracking on the next instalment.”

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Gold at highest price ever after Stock markets fall on fears over Europe

Stock markets fell on Monday as a healthcheck on banks failed to stem worries about Europe's debt crisis.

Financial shares were heavy fallers, with Royal Bank of Scotland down 3.8% and BNP Paribas 3.1% lower.

In early trading the FTSE 100 index fell 0.9%, France's Cac 40 shed 1.4%, and Germany's Dax was 1.3% down.

On Friday, eight European banks failed a stress test on their finances, while another 16 were said to be near the danger zone.

The European Banking Authority published the results of the stress tests after European stock markets had closed on Friday.

Meanwhile, the price of gold topped $1,600 an ounce for the first time as investors put money into the haven commodity. The spot gold price hit $1,600.40, before pulling back slightly to $1,598.76.

Concerns among investors have also been fuelled by the Obama administration's failure to agree a debt-ceiling deal.

The US risks defaulting on its debts unless Congress can agree new rules that will allow Washington to borrow more money.

On Thursday eurozone leaders are due to attend a summit to put together a second bail-out package for debt-laden Greece.

“Investor concern will remain over the credibility of the tests given that the tests did not include an assessment of the impact of sovereign defaults”

Lee Hardman Bank of Tokyo analyst

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants clear commitments from private investors that they would contribute to the bail-out.

On Sunday she described the summit as "urgently necessary" and said she wanted "a result", 'Pull together'

The head of the European Central Bank (ECB) Jean-Claude Trichet called on governments to speak with one voice, saying they can overcome the debt crisis if they stick together.

He said: "It is a question of will and determination. The countries of Europe have always demonstrated that they pull together when the challenges are very high."

But he repeated that the ECB will not accept Greek bonds as collateral for loans if the country defaults on its debts.

However, some economists believe an orderly default is the only way Athens can resolve its debt crisis.

The results of the stress tests failed to ease markets' worries because they did not take into account the impact of any country defaulting.

"On the face of it, the tests highlight that the European banking sector is in better health than expected, although crucially investor concern will remain over the credibility of the tests given that the tests did not include an assessment of the impact of sovereign defaults,"

said Lee Hardman, an analyst at the Bank of Tokyo.

In a further sign of scepticism in the financial markets, yields on Italian and Spanish bonds rose.

The rate on ten-year Italian bonds spiked up 0.19 percentage points to 5.88%, while the Spanish equivalent rose 0.18 percentage points to 6.26%.

The euro also fell as dealers bought up Swiss francs and yen. In trading in Asia the euro fell at one point to a record low against the Swiss franc of 1.1365.

Continue reading the main story

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The legend of King Midas and all he touched turned to gold

The story of King Midas has had many variations that have been retold and added to many times. This version of the story taken from the ancient Greek adds some modern variations.

An old Satyr “Silenus” a teacher of gods and head of the satyrs had been drinking wine and had wandered off for one of his extended walks!

The drunken Satyr was later found in a ditch by some peasants and taken to their king. Their king “King Midas” recognized the Satyr and gave him rooms and food and invited the satyr to stay at the palace until he wished to leave.

Silenus entertained King Midas and his friends with his great songs and stories. After 11 days King Midas took Silenus back to his king “Bacchus”. Bacchus was so pleased to have Silenus back he offered King Midas a wish as a reward.

King Midas wished that: "Whatever he touched would turn to gold".

Midas rejoiced in his new power and quickly touched an oak twig that transformed itself into gold. Then he touched a stone that quickly turned yellow and also changed to gold.

As soon as the king arrived home he ordered the servants to create a feast.

"So Midas, king of Lydia, swelled at first with pride when he found he could transform everything he touched to gold; but when he beheld his food grow rigid and his drink harden into golden ice then he understood that this gift was a bane and in his loathing for gold, cursed his prayer.”

Midas now hated the gift he had wished for so, he prayed to Bacchus, begging to be delivered from starvation. Bacchus heard, and consented by telling Midas to wash in the river Pactolus.

Midas went to the river and when his hands touched the waters, the power flowed from him and into the river, and the sands of the river Pactolus were forever turned into gold.


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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Buying Gold for beginners

Gold has been sought after for its unique blend of near indestructibility, beauty, rarity and because of its status as a means of exchange and universal currency par excellence for centuries.

Empires and nations have sought to possess gold as a medium of international exchange, as a store of wealth and in order to increase and preserve power. Individuals have used gold as a store of wealth and as insurance against the fluctuations and depreciation of paper money and to protect against other macroeconomic and geopolitical risks.

Throughout history, perhaps no other asset in the world has had the universal appeal of gold and this appeal has increased in recent times due to the very significant macroeconomic, geopolitical, monetary and systemic risk facing our modern global financial system and economy.

Successful investing is about the diversification and management of risk. In layman's terms this means not having all your eggs in one basket. We know from history that markets can and do crash and if you are not properly diversified your nest egg can be severely affected.