Conan, on the contrary, gold is always a bad investment. There is no real need for gold, it has no societal purpose other than vanity. It is not a consumable commodity by strict definition. Oil has a use, a real definable purpose that sets its price. Gold hedges against inflation because it is a psychologically driven price. To say that gold in any form, ETF or other, will exceed a rise that matches the percentage of decline in the dollar is crazy talk. We may see gold hit $1,400 or even $2,000 - but when the dollar comes back and the recession is over and we're not at war, gold will go back down to the level it was at in the mid '90s - between $400 and $600 an ounce. That's a step though - we've been at war for the past 8 years, and in a recession for the last 18 months or so. Look at the charts on gold from 1801 to 1991 and then from 1992 to current. Compare those to the stock market charts for the same period. You'll see that the gold spikes when the stock market hits it's valleys. They have a converse relationship. Hence why I wouldn't want to be holding onto gold when this market turns back to being a bull. It would seem infinitely wiser to spend your money on discounted stocks and mutual funds than on gold.
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