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Chevy Volt a Failure - GM to Layoff 1,300

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L), Mar 2, 2012.

Page 106 of 244
  1. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    Never claimed it was in "good" shape.

    Only debated the claim that it was "devalued to nothing."

    It buys as many (if not more) euros, pounds, rubles and many other things as it did long before we "shit" on it.

    Given all that's happened since 2008, that's not "nothing." It's something.

    I haven't put a penny in my 401(k) since August 2011. Yesterday it reached its highest level. Things like that just don't tend to happen in an economy careening off a cliff.

    But then, I've always subscribed to a "things could be a hell of a lot worse" philosophy in life.
     
    BTExpress, Jan 4, 2013
    #1261
  2. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    I only have a checking account but how has your gold stash been doing since August, 2011?

     
    cranberry, Jan 4, 2013
    #1262
  3. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Good luck feeding yourself with those Euros or rubles you are buying with your dollars.

    Look at actual commodities -- the things used to build things, feed people, store wealth, etc. The things you want your dollars for in the first place. Unless you are talking about things with extenuating supply/demand circumstances (natural gas, for example), you could have essentially thrown a dart to choose a commodity, plowed all of your dollars (or Euros or Rubles or Pounds) into that commodity, and as a "currency" that commodity appreciated a great deal over the last 10 years -- as we have shit all over the dollar.

    Here are a few random charts (I swear, I am not cherry picking; these are just the first few I grabbed):

    Soybeans:

    [​IMG]

    Copper:

    [​IMG]

    Cotton:

    [​IMG]

    Corn:

    [​IMG]

    All of those are traded in dollars. It's the true measure of inflation, not the manipulated numbers you get fed, and it's the true measure of how much the dollar has been being devalued by loose monetary policy and reckless fiscal policy.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
    The Big Ragu, Jan 4, 2013
    #1263
  4. Captain Obvious

    Captain Obvious Guest

    If things go to hell, how is investing in gold going to help you?
     
    Captain Obvious, Jan 4, 2013
    #1264
  5. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Prices don't move in linear paths. If I had bought gold at $1900 an ounce -- when it hit a price high in 2011 -- you'd have a point of some kind. But I bought a significant amount of gold for less than $1,000 an ounce and have never paid more than $1500 an ounce for what I hold for investment purposes.

    What makes you pushing this kind of ridiculous, though, is that it hasn't only been a great INVESTMENT relative to owning dollars. I have been incredibly successful TRADING gold -- and that has included shorting the commodity in the last two years for some really good profits.

    Prices don't move in a linear path. You can focus on that price high -- and then find me the one in a gazillion person who knows how to time markets because of his crystal ball. The more realistic overview of what I bring up on here is that gold has risen in value for 12 consecutive years, including 2011 and 2012. It coincides with exactly what I have been talking about with the Fed's monetary policy (devaluing the dollar) and our reckless fiscal policy (in which we now have $16 trillion in debt). As long as we continue on that path, I feel comfortable with it as a protection AGAINST the dollar. I feel comfortable with commodities in general until our treasury stops running the printing press and we rein in our spending.
     
    The Big Ragu, Jan 4, 2013
    #1265
  6. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    I have the family portfolio mostly in buttons and condiments.
     
    Azrael, Jan 4, 2013
    #1266
  7. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    I'm sure you've done well and I don't question that. But gold topped out at $1,900 or so in August 2011 for the foreseeable future. It presented a great opportunity for you in terms of investing or trading but you were confident it was going higher.
     
    cranberry, Jan 4, 2013
    #1267
  8. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    OK then . . . if the devalued dollar was the overwhelming reason behind cotton's increase from 180 (mid-2008) to 330 (mid-2011), then what on earth caused it to drop from 330 to 230 over the past 6 months?

    Why is cotton trading at the same price today that it was in 1996? Dollar was a robust MF in 1996, was it not?

    Obviously, a lot of other factors are at work. The only thing you're cherry-picking, IMO, is the reason behind the numbers you cite.
     
    BTExpress, Jan 4, 2013
    #1268
  9. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    I used to trade exchange traded commodities, so I'm pretty familiar with the available commodities one can invest in.

    I always loved when Jim Rogers (of bow tie and Quantum Fund fame) would come on CNBC to talk about what he was investing in.

    He's be long pepper, or zinc, or rubber, or other less traded commodities. I can't remember him ever trading buttons or ketchup though. Maybe mustard.
     
    YankeeFan, Jan 4, 2013
    #1269
  10. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    If you're constantly trying to pick highs and lows, you'll get chopped up. You'll miss moves, and pay heavy commissions.

    Investing in gold protects Ragu against a big drop in the dollar. Sure, it's moved against him somewhat recently, but by being in it, he's still protected if the dollar goes south.

    And, because markets often have the bottom fall out fast, it's better to be in ahead of time. By the time it starts going, it's too late to protect yourself.

    As I've said previously, nearly every financial transaction can be classified as one side buying or selling insurance. Ragu bought insurance.

    It's not a bad investment because it hasn't gone straight up anymore than your purchase of health, life, or car insurance is a bad investment because you haven't gotten sick, died, or crashed your car recently.
     
    YankeeFan, Jan 4, 2013
    #1270
  11. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    I get all that. And Ragu has explained all of that to me in great length. But when I suggested in August 2011 that the sky-is-falling gold bubble wasn't getting any bigger, he told us very confidently that he expected it would go even higher because of all our money printing and dollar devaluing and winner choosing and stimulating.
     
    cranberry, Jan 4, 2013
    #1271
  12. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    Which is why everything I have is tied up in gherkins and tapenade.
     
    Azrael, Jan 4, 2013
    #1272
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