Global Economy Growing, Despite U.S. Slowdown
by Travis Pantin
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 at 12:25 PM
While America's economy suffers, the global economy is growing at its fastest rate since the 1980s, according to the calculations of an economics professor at the University of Michigan, Mark Perry.
"Over the last four years, the world economy has grown at an annual average rate of 3.6%, the fastest growth in real world output over a four-year period in almost twenty years," he writes. "If there is any kind of slowdown in global economic growth, it sure hasn't shown up yet in real GDP data."
ON THE VIRTUES OF GOLD BULLION
On the blog Investment Postcards from Cape Town, investor and blogger Prieur du Plessis contemplates the virtues and perils of investing in gold bullion.
"You just never know with what action the yellow metal is going to surprise you next, making it infamously difficult to predict shortterm movements," he writes.
True to form, the precious metal surprised gold traders recently when it took a $15 jump, lifting the price well above the $800-anounce milestone. "The gold price has not only strengthened in US dollar terms, but has in fact been appreciating in most currencies — an indication of increased investment demand," he writes.
"The pressing question is how sustainable bullion's uptrend is," he writes. "Although the technical picture indicates a primary bull market, the fundamental situation offers both bullish and bearish arguments."
Mr. Plessis predicts that the price of gold will continue to climb: "I have … often conveyed my bullish stance on gold bullion. … I see no reason to change this position, from both an absolute and safehaven point of view. I would, however, caution that one should not chase a surging gold price in an attempt to stock up on the various gold-related instruments. Rather bide your time and wait for the short-term corrections that occur regularly, perhaps coinciding with the advent of seasonal weakness in a few weeks' time."
He gives the final word to George Bernard Shaw, who said, "The most important thing about money is to maintain its stability. … You have to choose between trusting the natural stability of gold and the honesty and intelligence of members of the government. With due respect for these gentlemen, I advise you, as long as the capitalist system lasts, to vote for gold."
Economics on the Web Homepage
|
Print
Send
RSS
