Latest news with #goldbugs
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
3 Different Ways to Add Gold to Your Portfolio
Gold has been on a tremendously strong run since 2024. That momentum has accelerated in 2025 with the yellow metal cracking the $3,000 per troy ounce level. It hasn't stopped there. Recently, the price of gold touched $3,500 before falling back. Many investors may wonder if they should buy gold at these prices. The short answer is yes, and it's because of the reason why the price of gold is rising so sharply. Even though consumers can buy gold bars at Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), retail investors haven't turned into wide-eyed gold bugs. The driving force behind gold's strong move is central banks around the world. They're gobbling up as much gold as they can. Demand is down from its peak levels between 2022 and 2024, but it's still at historically high levels. This modern-day gold rush started as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, in 2025, the move to gold is a calculated move by central banks against a devalued U.S. dollar. In fact, some governments may be hedging for a world in which the dollar may not be the world's reserve currency. Many technical signals show that the spot price of gold may be in a consolidation phase. That could be setting the stage for a jump higher. That's leaving some investors in a quandary. They may want exposure to gold, but they don't want to own the physical metal. Here are three ways to capture some upside in gold without dealing with the logistics of owning physical gold. Gold Miners Still Look Undervalued [content-module:CompanyOverview|NYSEARCA:GDX] Gold prices have gone up, but prior to 2025, gold mining stocks have lagged behind other basic materials stocks. That's because, much like oil companies, gold miners need gold to be at a certain price to make extracting it a profitable activity. This is showing up in the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA: GDX), which is up 46.7% year-to-date. That's one way to play mining stocks. Another approach is to buy the best, which can lead investors to Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM). Newmont is one of the world's largest gold miners. In fact, it's a top holding of the GDX fund with a weighting of 11.5%. In its most recent earnings report in April 2025, Newmont's revenue came in 24% higher year-over-year (YoY). However, it was the earnings growth that really got investors' attention. Newmont beat analysts' estimates by 37% and the $1.25 in earnings per share (EPS) was 127% higher YoY. As of this writing, NEM stock was within 5% of the analysts' consensus price. However, at least two analysts have raised their price target on NEM stock with a price target of over $60 per share. Own Gold and Trade It Like a Stock [content-module:CompanyOverview|NYSEARCA:IAU] Fund investors have several options that give them exposure to gold. The GDX fund is one way. Another is the iShares Gold Trust (NYSEARCA: IAU). The fund owns gold that is transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust. It's a way to own the right to physical gold without any of the logistics that come from owning the metal (i.e., storage and insurance). Another obstacle to owning physical gold is what happens when investors want to sell. Owning shares of the IAU makes accessing your 'gold' as easy as selling shares. As you might expect, the performance of the IAU fund closely approximates the performance of gold (it's up about 25% in 2025 as of May 28). Investors also benefit from an expense ratio of just 0.25%. That means less money taken out by fees and a better total return over time. A Strategic Way to Make Gold Even More of an Inflation Hedge [content-module:CompanyOverview|NYSEARCA:GOLY] One of the most cited reasons to own gold is that it works as an inflation hedge. If you believe that, the Strategy Shares Gold-Hedged Bond ETF (NYSEARCA: GOLY) deserves close attention. This is a fund that tracks an index that provides broad exposure to investment-grade corporate bonds (in U.S. dollars) while using near-term gold futures to hedge inflation risk. The mix is about 90% investment-grade corporate bonds with 10% in Treasury bills. Fund manager David Miller explains the benefit of the fund in this way: "The idea behind this is we think we could make gold better by adding a yield, or we think we can make bonds better by making them inflation protected." The GOLY fund is up about 18.75% in 2025, which lags gold slightly. Still, the fund is up 27.75% in the last 12 months and could be headed much higher if inflation does ratchet higher. Where Should You Invest $1,000 Right Now? Before you make your next trade, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. Our team has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and none of the big name stocks were on the list.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The bad economic vibes are causing more people to stock up on gold
Bad vibes in the economy are making gold a more attractive investment. Demand for physical gold jumped 13% in the first quarter, according to the World Gold Council. Gold dealers say clients are worried about the dollar's decline, a debt crisis, and other scenarios. Marc Faber, a longtime investor who says his nickname is "Dr. Doom" (not to be confused with this Dr. Doom), has been buying gold for decades and telling other people to stock up for just as long. The gold bug regularly appears on videos extolling the metal's virtues while sounding alarms about economic collapse. He's eyeing a litany of crises coming our way: a debt crisis, a plunge in asset prices, and soaring inflation round out his list of concerns. "My sense is that a debt crisis is inevitable," he said, adding that he buys gold regularly, with the metal comprising 25% of his overall portfolio. Faber's clients also hold a significant portion of their wealth in gold, but the scramble to own more of the metal that's helped drive prices higher this year is spreading to more everyday investors. Blame the bad energy in the economy in 2025, with "soft data" like consumer sentiment and inflation expectations souring even as the economy continues to hold up. Some of what these buyers are worried about—which, among Faber's clients range from hyperinflation to the start of World War III—are unlikely. But forecasters don't expect the heightened demand from nervous buyers to end anytime soon. Gold bugs having been popping up in the US and abroad. Global demand for gold bars climbed to 257 metric tons in the first quarter of 2025, up 13% in a year, according to the World Gold Council. This embedded content is not available in your region. Joe Cavatoni, a market strategist at the World Gold Council, said he believes concerns about the US dollar, economic weakness in the US, and the government's debt and deficit are several reasons gold demand is rising. This year, Google search interest for "gold bars" has spiked on market-moving events, like the announcement of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and Moody's downgrading the US debt. This embedded content is not available in your region. Genesis Gold Group, a gold dealer that commonly works with clients it describes as "homesteaders" or "preppers," says it's seen intense interest in gold in the last few quarters. Demand for gold has been so hot, the company rolled out a prepper bar, a gold bar that can be broken off into pieces, making it easier to trade in the event of a crisis. Jonathan Rose, the CEO of Genesis, says demand for prepper bars briefly surged after the presidential election and then jumped 20% in the first quarter of 2025, around the time President Donald Trump began to iron out his tariff policy. More clients who have invested in gold have also been requesting that the gold be sent to them, Rose said, estimating that the number of the firm's clients who insist on holding physical gold has risen to 70%, up from 20% in past years. Most of Genesis's clients are off-the-grid types who desire to be self-sufficient in the event of a collapse, Rose said. But not all of them are as extreme. More everyday people have come to him over the years, with fears about the dollar, inflation, and volatility in risk assets like stocks. "They have a preparedness plan, you then find out — you kind of peel the layers back — that these people also have dry food, they have water supplies, and it doesn't mean that they're tinfoil hat people and they're living off the grid and they're listening to shortwave radio. These are just general people looking for a hedge," he said of their interest in gold. On the subreddit r/preppers, where membership has soared 354% since 2020, according to historical subreddit data, questions about stocks up on gold regularly flow in from users. "It helps when a currency collapses. Cash is always king, until it collapses, then that's where gold and silver step in," one user wrote. It's been a good time to own gold. The price of bullion has climbed 25% in 2025, handily beating the S&P 500, which is down by about 1% year-to-date. This embedded content is not available in your region. Analysts say that some of the worries driving gold demand could be overstated. While the risk of a US recession is elevated, Wall Street forecasters don't expect the economy to enter a serious downturn. Goldman Sachs recently lowered its recession outlook from 45% to 35%, while Barclays recently removed its forecast for a mild recession. Trump's tax bill has also stoked more concern about the US debt and budget deficit in the last week. But those worries will likely ease, especially if policymakers amend the bill to appease investors in the bond market, Michael Brown, a senior research strategist at Pepperstone, told BI this week. "There's definitely a feel that there may be a little bit excessive influx," Michael Boutros, a senior technical strategist at StoneX, told BI. "There's a lot of fearmongering going on in the markets right now." Still, Boutrous thinks the demand for gold will remain strong as long as people feel uncertain about the economy. Even when trade agreements get hammered out, he believes investors will still be jittery as they wait to see the impact of tariffs on the economy. "The rockier things get, the more this is going to find footing," he said of gold's price momentum. "It's just really hard to justify a strong bearish, a bear sentiment on this." "We see the price support and the upward trajectory very well positioned for 2025," the World Gold Council's Cavatoni added. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The bad economic vibes are causing more people to stock up on gold
Bad vibes in the economy are making gold a more attractive investment. Demand for physical gold jumped 13% in the first quarter, according to the World Gold Council. Gold dealers say clients are worried about the dollar's decline, a debt crisis, and other scenarios. Marc Faber, a longtime investor who says his nickname is "Dr. Doom" (not to be confused with this Dr. Doom), has been buying gold for decades and telling other people to stock up for just as long. The gold bug regularly appears on videos extolling the metal's virtues while sounding alarms about economic collapse. He's eyeing a litany of crises coming our way: a debt crisis, a plunge in asset prices, and soaring inflation round out his list of concerns. "My sense is that a debt crisis is inevitable," he said, adding that he buys gold regularly, with the metal comprising 25% of his overall portfolio. Faber's clients also hold a significant portion of their wealth in gold, but the scramble to own more of the metal that's helped drive prices higher this year is spreading to more everyday investors. Blame the bad energy in the economy in 2025, with "soft data" like consumer sentiment and inflation expectations souring even as the economy continues to hold up. Some of what these buyers are worried about—which, among Faber's clients range from hyperinflation to the start of World War III—are unlikely. But forecasters don't expect the heightened demand from nervous buyers to end anytime soon. Gold bugs having been popping up in the US and abroad. Global demand for gold bars climbed to 257 metric tons in the first quarter of 2025, up 13% in a year, according to the World Gold Council. This embedded content is not available in your region. Joe Cavatoni, a market strategist at the World Gold Council, said he believes concerns about the US dollar, economic weakness in the US, and the government's debt and deficit are several reasons gold demand is rising. This year, Google search interest for "gold bars" has spiked on market-moving events, like the announcement of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and Moody's downgrading the US debt. This embedded content is not available in your region. Genesis Gold Group, a gold dealer that commonly works with clients it describes as "homesteaders" or "preppers," says it's seen intense interest in gold in the last few quarters. Demand for gold has been so hot, the company rolled out a prepper bar, a gold bar that can be broken off into pieces, making it easier to trade in the event of a crisis. Jonathan Rose, the CEO of Genesis, says demand for prepper bars briefly surged after the presidential election and then jumped 20% in the first quarter of 2025, around the time President Donald Trump began to iron out his tariff policy. More clients who have invested in gold have also been requesting that the gold be sent to them, Rose said, estimating that the number of the firm's clients who insist on holding physical gold has risen to 70%, up from 20% in past years. Most of Genesis's clients are off-the-grid types who desire to be self-sufficient in the event of a collapse, Rose said. But not all of them are as extreme. More everyday people have come to him over the years, with fears about the dollar, inflation, and volatility in risk assets like stocks. "They have a preparedness plan, you then find out — you kind of peel the layers back — that these people also have dry food, they have water supplies, and it doesn't mean that they're tinfoil hat people and they're living off the grid and they're listening to shortwave radio. These are just general people looking for a hedge," he said of their interest in gold. On the subreddit r/preppers, where membership has soared 354% since 2020, according to historical subreddit data, questions about stocks up on gold regularly flow in from users. "It helps when a currency collapses. Cash is always king, until it collapses, then that's where gold and silver step in," one user wrote. It's been a good time to own gold. The price of bullion has climbed 25% in 2025, handily beating the S&P 500, which is down by about 1% year-to-date. This embedded content is not available in your region. Analysts say that some of the worries driving gold demand could be overstated. While the risk of a US recession is elevated, Wall Street forecasters don't expect the economy to enter a serious downturn. Goldman Sachs recently lowered its recession outlook from 45% to 35%, while Barclays recently removed its forecast for a mild recession. Trump's tax bill has also stoked more concern about the US debt and budget deficit in the last week. But those worries will likely ease, especially if policymakers amend the bill to appease investors in the bond market, Michael Brown, a senior research strategist at Pepperstone, told BI this week. "There's definitely a feel that there may be a little bit excessive influx," Michael Boutros, a senior technical strategist at StoneX, told BI. "There's a lot of fearmongering going on in the markets right now." Still, Boutrous thinks the demand for gold will remain strong as long as people feel uncertain about the economy. Even when trade agreements get hammered out, he believes investors will still be jittery as they wait to see the impact of tariffs on the economy. "The rockier things get, the more this is going to find footing," he said of gold's price momentum. "It's just really hard to justify a strong bearish, a bear sentiment on this." "We see the price support and the upward trajectory very well positioned for 2025," the World Gold Council's Cavatoni added. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
News.com.au
07-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Through the roof': Why you need to start investing in gold
ANALYSIS Ugh, why is it always the weirdos who do so well. First it was the bitcoin bros and their Lamborghinis, now it's the gold bugs sitting on top of their hoards and cackling with glee. The price of gold has gone through the roof recently, as the next chart shows. We are out here breaking our backs to make a dollar and they have doubled their money by owning metal The gold forums are full of boasting. 'Got back into gold when it was $1700 to $1800 an ounce and I had friends saying 'you're nuts to buy at $1700 that's way too high!',' one said on Reddit's gold forum. The profits the goldbugs are making are huge. You can buy gold online and have someone store it for you. But people who are into gold tend not to trust anyone. For them there's no substitute for having the actual precious metal at home. They buy tiny little bars of it. Much smaller than a Mars bar, and much heavier. (If you had a Mars bar size bar of gold, even one of the new small shrinkflation ones, the gold would weigh almost half a kilogram and be worth about $100,000.) They buy a safe to put it in. Then they open the safe and admire it. 'Something about a lump of gold that is so aesthetically pleasing,' they say. The nerds who like to hoard gold are disproportionately likely to be doomsday preppers. Many also keep a large supply of tinned beans and bottled water and fantasise about how useful gold will be after civilisation collapses. After all, that's why gold has risen recently. Gold goes up when the world looks unstable. And thanks to Donald Trump's reign of confusion, the world is more unstable now than it has been in a long time. Even during the pandemic gold didn't rise this much. People are getting nervous about traditional assets like stocks and bonds, and they are buying gold instead. In fact, some people are calling it the 'signal tells us that investors may be starting to lose confidence in big US companies'. The ratio of gold to stocks has just bottomed out, and that is something that has happened only three times in the last century – 1929, 1966 and 2000. This is actually good news for Australia, as we have more gold miners and fewer of the big tech stocks that have outperformed in the last 20 years. More neckbeards in Porsches There's worse news too. For a little while there Gold and Bitcoin were doing opposite things, gold was up while Bitcoin was down. But in just the last month, Bitcoin has bounced back. Now both kinds of investment nerds are making a killing. It's enough to make you weep. Especially since your superannuation has probably been falling recently. Mine is down so much since Christmas I can barely even look at it. The Australian stock market had a nice start to the financial year but recently retraced all those gains and went back to around where it started. As the next chart shows, Bitcoin has outpaced stocks this financial year, by a lot. The big picture The global financial system depends on safe assets. For a long time the US dollar was king. Everyone wanted to own US dollars, and when they owned them, they put those dollars into US government bonds. Bonds are IOUs. A promise to pay you back. This promise was backed by the biggest most powerful government in the world, backed by the biggest nuclear arsenal and backed the biggest richest economy. US bonds were a safe haven to end all safe havens. It is not people like us who own bonds, not directly. It's the big money funds. Japanese retirement funds used to just casually buy $10b worth of US bonds. American retirement funds too. Sovereign wealth funds from rich oil producing countries as well. The kind of places that have to manage hundreds of billions of dollars deal in bonds. That's why the US bond market has a trillion dollars in daily turnover. Absolutely crazy amounts of money move through it. But US bonds are suddenly out of fashion. People are selling them off because the idea that once looked crazy – that America can't be relied on – is now plausible. The safe haven seems less safe now. 'The haven status … is increasingly in question,' said one bond market expert quoted in the Wall Street Journal. If you can't rely on America, at least you can rely on the laws of chemistry. Gold does not easily react with anything because of its atomic properties. It doesn't rust, it doesn't fade, it doesn't dissolve in water. It gleams quite nicely and is worth a startling $180 per gram. It has been a wonderful investment for those who were sceptical of Donald Trump and sceptical of America. The rest of us just need to hope that, somehow civilisation doesn't actually come crashing down. It'd be a very optimistic sign if the price of gold were to fall again.
