Jim Rogers started trading the stock market with $600 in 1968.In 1973 he formed the Quantum Fund with the legendary investor George Soros before retiring, a multi millionaire at the age of 37. Rogers and Soros helped steer the fund to a miraculous 4,200% return over the 10 year span of the fund while the S&P 500 returned just 47%.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Jim Rogers on Sky News The Pound is Terribly Flawed


Leading American investor Jim Rogers is certain Britain's economy will be downgraded in the forseeable future.
Speaking exclusively to Sky News Business, his gloomy outlook comes just a day after premier ratings agency Standard and Poor's revision of Britain's AAA rating to a negative outlook.

"Of course it's going to come, it's going to come in the US as well," Mr Rogers told Sky's Nina de Roy.

"The US should be downgraded already if you ask me, and the UK as well."

Singapore-based Mr Rogers, 66, has generated billions for his clients investing with hedge fund legend George Soros - who later made a billion betting against the pound.

"Both the US and the UK unfortunately both have gigantic debts, and both sets of politicians are making mistakes," Mr Rogers said.

"They're pouring huge amounts of money into the economy which is going to make some things look better for some people for a while, but it won't last."

Crucially, Mr Rogers believes the famous rating agencies are scared of revealing the dire state of American finances.

"I'm still not that optimistic about sterling or the US dollar, I find both of these currencies terribly flawed"
"I think the rating agencies are probably afraid to do it because Congress will come down hard on them and maybe the same with the UK," he said, adding that traders know the true state of affairs.

"It's not going to have that much of an effect because the market knows the situation so it doesn't matter whether I say you're AA or AAA or A."

Although the pound has rallied recently against the dollar, Mr Rogers insists problems are endemic for both currencies.

"We've already had a very nice rally over the last three or four months, if you compare to the US dollar - not necessarily compared to other currencies," he said.

"Even in 1930 the stock market went up 50% on it's way to going down 90%, but rallies are normal and I don't think that it's much more than just a normal kind of rally in a bear market."
Mr Rogers simply cannot get enthused for the pound.

"I'm still not that optimistic about sterling or the US dollar, I find both of these currencies terribly flawed," he said.

The banking system bailouts have saddled both countries and Mr Rogers insists it needs to stop.

He added: "The poor US and UK taxpayers have stupendous debts being forced on them and we are going to be faced with gigantic tax and debt problems very, very shortly because of what the politicians in Washington and in Whitehall are doing."
Source

German firm plans gold ATMs to meet growing demand

* Gold ATMs intended to whet appetite for physical gold

* Private investor inquiries doubling every six weeks

* Plan is for 500 gold ATMs in Germany, Switzerland, Austria

By Peter Starck

FRANKFURT, May 19 (Reuters) - Private investors should hold up to 15 percent of their wealth in physical gold, according to a German asset management company which plans to set up 500 "Gold-To-Go" ATMs in Germany, Switzerland and Austria this year.

A gold-dispensing automatic teller machine (ATM) was on display at Frankfurt's main railway station for a one-day marketing test on Tuesday.

A one-gram (0.0353 ounce) piece of gold, the size of a child's little fingernail and about as thin, cost 31 euros ($42.25) -- a 30 percent premium to the spot market price .

The flat rectangular piece, bearing the imprint of Belgian metals and speciality materials firm Umicore (UMI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research), came out of the cash-only ATM in a tin box, including a certificate of authenticity.

"This is more than a marketing gimmick," said Thomas Geissler, chief executive of TG-Gold-Super-Markt.de, the company planning to set up the 500 gold ATMs at a cost of 20,000 euros apiece.

"It is an appetizer for a strategic investment in precious metals. Gold is an asset everyone should have, between 5 and 15 percent of your liquid assets in physical gold," he told Reuters in an interview.

DEMAND

Private investor demand for gold is on the rise in Germany and elsewhere as a result of the financial markets crisis, which has made many investors wary of holding traditional assets such as equities, bonds or mutual funds investing in such securities.

"In absolute numbers, the demand for physical gold is still tiny in Germany," Geissler said. "But in relative terms, the growth is explosive, inquiries have been doubling every six weeks," Geissler said of the trend in recent months.
Read entire article:

Silver more rare than gold, the price will explode


Silver more rare than gold, the price will explode
GATA board member Adrian Douglas, publisher of the Market Force Analysis financial letter (http://goldbasics.blogspot.com http://goldsilver.tk), was interviewed for a half hour yesterday by TheFinancialTube.com about the gold and silver markets, and you can listen to it here:
Jim Rogers "the 19th century was the century of the UK , the 20th century was the century of the US , the 21 st century is going to be the century of China "
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