Or.fr ™ https://goldbroker.com/news/authors/or-fr-tm In order to provide ever more complete information on gold and silver prices, Goldbroker.com has recently deployed new charts and tables : Live gold price table in 9 currencies: https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/gold-price#gold_prices_today Comparative table of annual gold performance in 9 currencies since 2005: https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/gold-price#annual_performances Live silver price table in 9 currencies: https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/silver-price#gold_prices_today Comparative table of annual silver performance in 9 currencies since 2005: https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/silver-price#annual_performances Gold/silver ratio: https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/ratio/gold/silver​ Gold/platinum ratio: https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/ratio/gold/platinum​ Gold/palladium ratio: https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/ratio/gold/palladium Sun, 01 Mar 2020 23:11:27 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/new-precious-metal-prices-comparison-tables-ratios-1768 By Delphine Denuit and Matthieu Pelloli The former number two of the New York Stock Exchange is certain. We must prepare for an unprecedented global financial crisis before the end of 2020. At 74, the current Belgian president and CEO of the consulting firm Galileo Global Advisors, Georges Ugeux, sounds the alarm and deciphers the reasons behind it in his latest book, "la Descente aux enfers de la finance". Even more devastating than the one that shook the world in 2008, this crisis would no longer be caused by poor investment by banks but by the extremely high level of government debt. He explains to us what makes him fear the worst. Ten years after the 2008 crisis, what makes you think we're running into a wall? GEORGE UGEUX: For years, governments have been able to take on debt under excessively favorable conditions and have not deprived themselves of it. So much so, that countries such as Italy, France, the United States and Japan have reached a le... Wed, 10 Apr 2019 17:15:29 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/georges-ugeux-former-wall-street-n2-announces-financial-crisis-by-2020-1507 "Crisis". The word keeps coming up in the mouths of experts. This Thursday, it was the IMF's Managing Director, nothing less, who used it. For Christine Lagarde, the eurozone is not sufficiently prepared to face the next crisis. She urged to strengthen the banking system. "The currency union is more resilient than ten years ago. But it is not resilient enough" to emerge unscathed from "unexpected economic storms," she stated at a conference organized by the Banque de France (BdF), issuing a warning all the more serious as the global economic outlook is deteriorating. Christine Lagarde recalled that the eurozone braved a massive storm during the global financial crisis, and another a short while later in the euro area sovereign debt crisis. "These events left painful economic scars on many households and companies, sowing the seeds of economic disparity across member countries and within," she said. "Its banking system... Thu, 28 Mar 2019 14:23:52 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/lagarde-imf-eurozone-not-sufficiently-prepared-face-next-crisis-1508 As we continue to enjoy the "Yellen gold standard," now in its Powell phase -- who knows how long it will last -- let's look at why the gold standard system worked so well for so many centuries, including nearly two centuries of U.S. history before the rupture in 1971, during which time the United States became the wealthiest country in the history of world. In 1971, the economist Arthur Laffer -- he was the chief economist of the Office of Management and Budget at the time -- was asked what he thought the consequences would be of Nixon's "closing of the gold window," which effectively ended the Bretton Woods period when the dollar's value was fixed at $35/ounce of gold. "It won't be as much fun to be an American anymore," Laffer reportedly replied. And he was right. But why? Why is it that the collective intelligence (let's be generous) of today's central bankers, and indeed all the central bankers since 197... Mon, 18 Mar 2019 16:30:13 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/why-gold-still-best-basis-for-money-1500 After China's official gold reserves rose for the first time in around two years (since Oct 2016) in December, Beijing appears to have joined the global gold rush, increasing its gold reserves for the third month in a row in February to 60.26 million ounces. As we previously noted, China has long been silent on its holdings of gold as many countries are turning away from the greenback. The value the country’s holdings of the precious metal reached US$79.5 billion, increasing by more than $3 billion compared to the end of last year. Goldman Sachs has flagged central-bank buying as a plank supporting its bullish outlook for gold, which it expects to rally to $1,400 an ounce over six months. China is also trying “to diversify its reserves” away from the greenback, according to Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at currency broker OANDA. The analyst told the South China Morning Post that the state of affairs in global politics, including a... Mon, 11 Mar 2019 15:57:28 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/china-gold-buying-spree-extends-to-third-month-1497 By Angelo Amante and Steve Scherer Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday that the idea of plugging budget holes by using the country’s gold reserves, which are held by the Bank of Italy, could be a good idea. Earlier, La Stampa newspaper reported the government was considering using part of the country’s gold reserves to avoid a budget correction for this year and a VAT increase in 2020. “It’s not an issue that I am following, but it could be an interesting idea,” Salvini told reporters in Rome after being asked about the possibility of tapping gold reserves. Italy minister never heard talk about using Bank of Italy gold Italian Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio, responding to a newspaper report, said on Monday he had never heard anyone in the government speak about using gold reserves held by the Bank of Italy to plug budget shortfalls. “I’ve never heard talk in cabinet meetings or any other political settings about getting our han... Mon, 11 Feb 2019 19:04:48 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/italys-salvini-suggests-using-gold-reserves-to-plug-budget-holes-1482 By Zhou Xin, Karen Yeung China has joined a global central bank gold rush in the last two months by increasing its official gold reserves, even though the purchase remains modest compared to the volume of the mainland’s foreign exchange reserves, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China on Monday. The country’s gold reserves rose slightly to 59.94 million ounces (1 864 tons) at the end of January from 59.56 million ounces at the end of December 2018, marking a second straight month of increase. The latest gold purchase by the world’s second-largest economy came at a time when global central banks are hoarding the precious metal. According to the World Gold Council, the amount of gold bought by central banks in 2018 reached the highest annual volume on record since 1971, the year that former US President Nixon Richard scrapped the dollar’s peg to bullion. China, the world’s largest foreign exchange reserve holder, has been reluctant in diversifying its... Mon, 11 Feb 2019 17:54:18 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/china-joins-global-central-bank-gold-rush-by-increasing-its-official-reserves-1483 Gold is a highly liquid yet scarce asset, and it is no one’s liability. It is bought as a luxury good as much as an investment. As such, gold can play four fundamental roles in a portfolio: a source of long-term returns a diversifier that can mitigate losses in times of market stress a liquid asset with no credit risk that has outperformed fiat currencies a means to enhance overall portfolio performance. Our analysis shows that adding 2%, 5% or 10% in gold over the past decade to the average pension fund portfolio would have resulted in higher risk-adjusted returns. Why gold, why now Gold is becoming more mainstream. Since 2001, investment demand for gold worldwide has grown, on average, 15% per year. This has been driven in part by the advent of new ways to access the market, such as physical gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but also by the expansion of the middle class in Asia and a renewed focus on effective risk management following the 2008–2009... Wed, 06 Feb 2019 17:08:33 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/relevance-gold-strategic-asset-investment-portofolio-1481 By Peter Hobson A surge in gold purchases by central banks to the highest since 1967 helped push global demand for the metal up 4 percent last year, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday. The world consumed 4,345.1 tonnes of gold in 2018, up from 4,159.9 tonnes in 2017, the WGC said in its latest quarterly demand trends report. Driving the increase were central banks which bought 651.5 tonnes - 74 percent more than in 2017 and the second highest annual total on record - as countries including China and Poland joined Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan in adding to their reserves, the WGC said. Jewelry demand was relatively unchanged at 2,200 tonnes, with rising consumption in China, the United States and Russia offsetting a steep decline in the Middle East and a very slight fall in India. Retail investment in gold bars and coins grew 4 percent to 1,090.2 tonnes - helped by a sharp 222-percent rise in demand in Iran to almost 62 tonnes, according to the WGC. In... Thu, 31 Jan 2019 23:57:28 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/central-banks-bought-more-gold-in-2018-than-any-year-since-1967-1476 By Ranjeetha Pakiam After a hiatus of more than two years, China is adding to its gold reserves again. The People’s Bank of China increased holdings to 59.56 million ounces by the end of December, or about 1,853 metric tons, from 59.24 million ounces previously, according to data on the central bank’s website. They had been unchanged since about 130,000 ounces were added in October 2016. The world’s biggest producer and consumer boosted holdings of bullion in a month marked by mounting concerns that China’s trade dispute with the U.S. is threatening economic growth. Spot gold had its strongest month in almost two years as those fears spurred gyrations in equities and the dollar and boosted demand for the precious metal as a haven. Speculation that the Federal Reserve may pause its interest rate hikes has given further strength to gold’s rally into the new year and assets in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds are at a seven-month high. Spot gold was trading... Mon, 07 Jan 2019 15:16:26 +0000 https://goldbroker.com/news/china-adds-gold-reserves-for-first-time-since-october-2016-1458