Peter Brimelow writes about legendary newsletter writer Jamas Dines (now 80) and about his outlook for gold in 2010 saying, "Dines continues extremely positive on gold (although he thinks silver will outperform it in the near term) and uranium". He also paints a picture of a man who is "probably the most arrogant, egotistical, aggressive and abrasive of all the investment letter editors monitored by the Hulbert Financial Digest." Read more here: Market Watch

Gold continues it's recovery climb up with concern over the US dollar. Platinum also moving up on car parts demand. Here is a quote from Bloomberg:

"Gold rose in New York for the third straight session on speculation that the dollar will extend a slump, boosting demand for the metal as an alternative asset.

The dollar pared gains of as much as 0.4 percent against the euro after declining 1.1 percent in the previous three sessions. Gold has climbed 25 percent in 2009, heading for the ninth straight annual gain, while the dollar slid 2.9 percent." Full article here: Bloomberg

In this artticle in The Economic Times a review of commodity investing in 2009 and outlook for 2010 is undertaken. Their outlook for gold? Look for a bright 2010 and up your holdings. Here is an excerpt: "For retail investors, the best investment option today is gold. The reasons for investing in gold today are stronger than ever before. The four most significant factors which drive gold prices are all in favour — a weak dollar, low global interest rates, a perception of impending inflation and the current lack of confidence in the viability of other investments.

Continued Chinese demand for physical gold is also expected to keep prices firm. So while the usual advice from a portfolio diversification perspective would be to keep about 10% of your investible surplus in gold, today’s economic situation demands a more aggressive investment number — more like 15% — for portfolio stability and risk reduction."  More here: The Economic Times

If you are still holding gold ETF's, take a careful look at your documentation from your provider. You may find that you will be a lot better off holding real bullion. Come on…talk to me and get some safety…

As anticipated, gold is moving up again as the US dollar strength is shown to be short-term. Here is a quote from Bloomberg:
"Gold rose the most in a week as a drop in the dollar spurred demand for precious metals as alternative assets. Silver, platinum and palladium also gained.
The dollar fell to the lowest level this week against a basket of six major currencies, losing as much as 0.5 percent. Bullion, which some traders buy as a hedge against inflation, typically rises when the dollar falls. The metal has gained 25 percent this year, touching a record $1,227.50 an ounce earlier this month, as the dollar slipped more than 4 percent."
More at Bloomberg

The latest BullionBuzz includes a summary from an article in commodityonline. Here is an excerpt:

In 1705, John Law submitted a proposal to the Scottish Parliament that a new bank be set up that issued interest-bearing notes to replace gold and silver coins as currency. He told a friend, “I have discovered the secret of the philosopher' stone; it is to make gold out of paper.” The Scots rejected the proposal, but France adopted Law's scheme with disastrous results. Paper money only works as long as there is faith in the creditworthiness of the country issuing the currency and debt.

John narrowly escaped prison for his 'bright' idea when it all fell apart. This is a very interesting story from history, not only because it is true and fascinating, but because we are doing something similar today — at least our Central Banks are. Print too much money and you run the risk of it becoming worthless. Read the full BullionBuzz here: BullionBuzz

Do you have some bullion for security?

Investment strategist Coxe weighs in on gold as the best performing commodity since the most recent financial crisis. Here is a quote from Mineweb:

Changing the price of gold should really change what should be the valuation of gold mining stocks, investment advisor and commodities analyst Don Coxe suggests.

In a recent Basic Points analysis, Coxe, longtime strategy advisor to BMO Capital Markets, called gold "the best performing major commodity since the financial crisis began."

"We see no big reason why that outperformance should be over," he advised, adding that after its breathless run, "it's entitled to correct back to $1,000-or even a bit below that chiliastic level-without ending its bull market."

Central Banks will manipulate gold as long as they need to in order to benefit their local currency. The US is no exception. In this article from Numismaster, Patrick Heller points out that an imbalance is now in place that may last through 2010 but is not sustainable. It offers yet another good opportunity for buyers of gold bullion and (silver and platinum) to purchase at bargain prices. Gold is not through with its run yet. Here is a quote from the article:

A recently released chart prepared by Bud Conrad of Casey Research shows that the net purchases and redemptions of U.S. long term debt has dropped to near zero so far in 2009. U.S. imports have fallen sharply this year, leading to a much smaller trade deficit, but the net demand for U.S. long-term debt has fallen far more.

In the past week, the U.S. dollar index against a market basket of other currencies has risen to a multi-month high. It is obvious that this is not happening from trading in a free market. The rise is artificial and simply not sustainable. In my judgment, it could potentially drag out through the end of January 2010 at the longest. In the meantime, this rise in the value of the dollar has helped hold down gold and silver prices. More at Numismaster

A human interest story about a couple who make a couple of hundred bucks a month finding and selling gold necklaces etc. With the higher prices for gold, more can be had for jewelry today. More here: The Gainsville Sun

Gold on the move up…this from Bloomberg:
“Gold gained in New York as a slide in the value of the dollar increased demand for the metal as an alternative investment.
The dollar fell as much as 0.2 percent against the euro, reversing a gain of as much as 0.4 percent. Last week, gold futures fell for a third straight week, touching the lowest level since Nov. 6 as the U.S. currency rebounded.” More at Bloomberg

Amid news that gold is off today by almost 2% in London, I came across this interview in the Gold Report. Karen Roche interviews Porter Stansberry about the US dollar and gold. The Gold Report says that “Porter does not recommend bullion as “insurance” (because that suggests hope for the dollar when there is nothing to pin hope on) but rather as “the perfect natural money.”

Further, Mr Stansbury says, “The most interesting thing I’ve seen in a very long time is that suddenly some central banks have decided to begin to exit the dollar system by using trade surpluses to buy gold instead of either U.S. Treasuries or U.S. assets. I happen to believe that this is a sea-change in the gold and monetary system that will ultimately result in a return to at least a de facto gold standard.“

Further he says, “I don’t think we’re anywhere near the top in gold. That’s because the key players in the gold price are central banks and it’s only been in the last six months that they’ve even begun to buy gold. So this bull market for gold has a lot, lot further to run.“

Of course, some argue that we’re headed for a change in the global reserve currency from the US dollar to a basket of currencies, driven by the Asian countries. Either way, the future for gold looks bright. Do you have some bullion?

Mr. Stansberry is founder of Stansberry & Associates Investment Research. Read more here: The Gold Report