California Woman Inherits Fortune in Gold Coins

Carson City officials say a substitute teacher from California is the only heir to a fortune of gold coins found in the home of reclusive cousin who died in June.

A court hearing in Carson City is scheduled Tuesday, when a judge is expected to certify first cousin Arlene Magdanz as the lone heir to the treasure valued at $7.4 million found in the home of Walter Samaszko Jr., Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover told the Nevada Appeal.

Samaszko, 69, lived a quiet life in Nevada’s capital city since the late 1960s and no one apparently knew of his wealth. Records show he withdrew just $500 a month from his stock accounts to pay modest bills, said Glover, who was handling Samaszko’s affairs as public administrator.

Samaszko apparently had no living family in Carson City, so genealogical researchers went to work to find relatives elsewhere. They found Arlene Magdanz is the only living heir. Magdanz could not immediately be reached for comment.

A crew hired by Glover to clean up the man’s house discovered the eye-popping stash: boxes of gold coins and bullion in the garage. More boxes were later found, and Glover said the gold coins, some neatly wrapped in foil and plastic cases, were enough to fill two wheelbarrows.

Appraiser Howard Herz filed his report several weeks ago listing a total of 2,695 coins appraised at more than $7.4 million.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/12/14/california-woman-only-heir-to-fortune-of-gold-coins/

 

Japanese Pension Funds With $3.4 Trillion In Assets Seek Safety In Gold

The world’s largest, most sophisticated investors are turning to gold…

These fundamentals are leading to broad based global demand for gold – from retail investors to institutions and pension funds. Japanese pension funds are increasingly looking at gold according to an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning.

Diversification into gold is taking place in order to protect against sovereign risk, debasement of currency risk and inflation risk.

In March 2012, Okayama Metal & Machinery became the first Japanese pension fund to make public purchases of gold, in a sign of dwindling faith in paper currencies. Okayama manages pension funds for about 260 small and mid-sized companies in the Okayama area.

“By diversifying currencies, we aim to reduce risks associated with them,” said Yoshi Kiguchi, the fund’s chief investment officer. “Yields become stable if you put small amounts into as many types of holdings as possible.”

Of its 40 billion yen ($477 million) in assets, the fund has invested around ¥500 million-¥600 million in gold, he said.

Initially, the fund aims to keep about 1.5% of its total assets of Y40bn ($500m) in bullion-backed exchange traded funds, according to chief investment officer Yoshisuke Kiguchi, who said he was diversifying into gold to “escape sovereign risk”.

Other pension funds in Japan are following their lead according to the Wall Street Journal.

Japanese pension funds are diversifying into gold “largely to mitigate the damage from possible market shocks”.

Japanese pension funds invest mainly in domestic stocks and bonds. Until recently, none have looked to gold or other physical assets.

Gold, whose price movement isn’t historically correlated with those of stocks or bonds, can protect portfolios from being damaged too badly in times of market stress, investment managers say. Low interest rates also justify holding non-yielding gold in place of cash.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation said it has secured more than Y2 billion in investments from two pension funds for a gold fund it started in March.

Gold is also used as a hedge against inflation, which is becoming a bigger concern as global central banks buy ever-more bonds, market watchers say.

Even a small allocation by pension funds internationally to gold would result in a significant new source of demand which could be a new fundamental factor which propels prices higher in the coming years.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-18/japanese-pension-funds-34-trillion-assets-seek-safety-gold

A Graphic That Needs No Explanation

America’s fiscal health is becoming unsustainable. Sooner or later there will be negative economic and financial market ramifications from this situation. When that occurs, only gold investments will provide safety for investors.

Dollar Falls Before Fed Considers More Pumping…Gold Rebounds

The US dollar is starting to fall against world currencies as investors anticipate more stimulus by the Federal Reserve.

The dollar weakened against most of its major counterparts today amid bets the U.S. central bank will add to monetary stimulus. The U.S. currency fell versus the euro and the yen before the Federal Reserve starts a policy meeting tomorrow amid forecasts it will expand bond-buying plans.

“People are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve this week, which should be an event that is positive for risk and negative for the dollar,”  Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo & Co. in New York, told Bloomberg News this afternoon.

The U.S. currency declined versus 10 of its 16 most-traded counterparts.

The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meets for the last time this year on Dec. 11-12. It will consider whether to expand purchases of assets after its so-called Operation Twist program of swapping $45 billion a month in short-term Treasuries for long-term debt expires this month.

“There’s a good chance that the Fed will announce a new round of money printing and bond buying,” which would be negative for the dollar, said Imre Speizer, a strategist in New Zealand atWestpac Banking Corp. (WBC).

Not surprisingly, the weakness in the dollar pushed gold higher. Spot gold was last quoted up $8.00 per ounce to $1,713.00.

Gold tends to move higher on a weaker dollar for two reasons:

1. Gold is priced in dollars, so a weaker dollar naturally pushes up the price of gold in dollars.

2. Gold is considered a main rival to the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, therefore, when confidence in the dollar wanes, demand for gold tends to rise.

Gold American Eagle Sales Are Soaring Due to Fiscal Cliff Threat

Demand for gold coins among American investors has soared since the presidential election, as investors are growing increasingly worried about the lack of action to address America’s debt problems.

The US Mint’s sales of American Eagles, the most popular bullion coin, soared 131 per cent in November, hitting the highest level in over two years. November was also the strongest month in 2012 for gold Maple Leaf coin sales for the Royal Canadian Mint.

The political gridlock in Washington and the prospect of further quantitative easing when the Federal Reserve’s “Operation Twist” expires at the end of 2012 have fuelled demand for gold investments among investors.

While the jump in gold bullion coin sales highlights gold’s role as the preferred safe haven for investors, investors should realize that bullion coins make up a relatively minor sector of the investment market for gold coins.

Rare gold coins, for example, offer security, privacy and performance advantages over gold bullion coins. They are immune from possible government restrictions on private gold ownership. They are anonymous and, because of their scarcity, they can appreciate even when the price of gold is falling.

The experts at Coin Trader can help you select the gold investments that are right for you.

BIG STOCK SELL-OFF IN YEAR END FINALE?

The approaching fiscal cliff and the probability of higher taxes could prompt an end of year sell-off in the stock market. Investors should prepare by diversifying into assets which are not positively correlated with stocks. Gold investments in particular are well-suited for this purpose…

Wall St Week Ahead: “Cliff” worries may drive tax selling

Investors typically sell stocks to cut their losses at year end. But worries about the “fiscal cliff” – and the possibility of higher taxes in 2013 – may act as the greatest incentive to sell both winners and losers by December 31.

The $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for the beginning of next year includes higher rates for capital gains, making tax-related selling even more appealing than usual.

 

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/wall-st-week-ahead-cliff-worries-may-drive-171035415–sector.html

 

American Consumers Turn Sour on Economic Outlook

Just in time for Christmas, consumer sentiment in America is taking a nosedive.

Americans are increasingly worried about the outlook for the economy, largely due to the fiscal cliff which is only about a month away.

This decline in morale has implications for the financial markets. It is difficult to see positive action in the stock market with Americans so worried about their futures.

In contrast, historically, hard assets, particularly gold investments, have appreciated during periods when Americans are worried, providing a degree of protection against bad times.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-sentiment-nose-dives-in-december-2012-12-07

 

Greece Downgraded AGAIN

Greece is the crisis that won’t go away. The hapless nation’s economic and fiscal woes are really just a microcosm of what is facing the entire European Union. Debt levels are unsustainable, spending continues to be out of control and politicians attempt to place band aids on the problems, which will only make them worse in the long run.

Somewhere at the end of all this, Europe is going to be hit hard with an unprecedented economic and fiscal crisis.

Will it be touched off by a Greek default? Some observers think so. S&P has now downgraded the country’s credit rating to “selective default,” from the already lowly CCC rating.

A Greek default will not be kind to the financial markets. This is yet another crisis from which investors must protect their wealth with gold investments.

Standard & Poor’s downgrades world’s oldest bank to junk status

Evidently, the world’s oldest bank is an Italian house called  Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

MYM blog readers may recall that Italy is in bad economic and fiscal shape. Italy’s problems are overshadowed by those of Greece and Spain, but, like much of Europe, Italy is in trouble as well.

One sign of that is the announcement this week that Standard & Poor’s has downgraded  Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s–and the entire world’s–oldest bank, to junk status (BB+).

The bank has been around since 1472–20 years before Columbus voyaged to the New World.

A track record going back nearly 600 years is not enough for investors to depend on in today’s uncertain world. Investors would do better to depend upon an asset that has a track record of security and stability that is 10 times as long as that: GOLD.

APPLE STOCK FALLS MOST IN 4 YEARS

In another indication that the financial markets are resting on shifting sands, the tech world’s darling, Apple Computer, has now seen its stock fall precipitously, as we reported previously. Now, however, the stock has experienced its worst decline in 4 years.

Investors should take this as a warning that they need to diversify into investments that are not positively correlated with stocks. Gold investments, such as rare gold coins, have historically moved independently of the stock market, making them an ideal diversifier for a balanced investment portfolio…

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/05/us-apple-shares-idUSBRE8B40VK20121205