It’s The year 2004 had enough
excitement for any year, and for the gold market it was the
fourth year in a row of a net year-to-year price increase versus
the US dollar. Our sources in the Middle East are a little hazy
about the current market in Frankinsense and Myrhh, but our gold
business this year increased not only in dollar terms, but also
substantially in terms of gold weight sold.
Ordinary Americans are starting to realize how totally dependent
their financial security is on the strength of the US dollar,
and lately, the dollar’s worth has been decidedly waning. Prices
of nearly everything are rising, but no one wants to call it
inflation. We'll just call it a run of bad luck, a freaky
situation in which all the cost fluctuations experienced by
American consumers happened to be...higher prices for
everything! Just an unbelievable coincidence, I guess.
For a lot of people who have never thought about their home
currency in a critical way before, it’s like those old Warner
Brothers cartoons featuring the Roadrunner and the Coyote. We’re
running along on dollars, earning more, gaining wealth (we
think) and we have an absolute faith in our dollars, our money,
until finally a little light goes off and we get a sense that
there’s no support underneath us, and we look down like Wiley
Coyote and see that we’ve run OFF the edge of the cliff and
realize, uh oh, how far down a drop is that there? And all we
hear in the distance is that maddening taunt “Beep Beep” and we
know that, currency-wise, the jig is up.
Okay, so that’s not a great analogy. Obviously we’re tired and
it’s time to take a break. The point is simply that more and
more Americans realize that they need some real diversity in
their assets, and since foreign currencies are not a comfortable
fit for many, gold is the perfect alternative.
We’ll close around lunchtime on Christmas Eve December 24th,
celebrate the holidays, rest up, and be back on Monday January
3rd, 2005.
I hope that you and yours have a bright holiday season, and
we’ll forget about that whole Roadrunner and Coyote thing.
-Richard Smith
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