Blog Posting


Over the last few weeks, we talked about the process of mining and mining feasibility studies to help us better understand the basics of investing in resource-based companies. As a follow up to last week's newsletter on mining feasibilities, I said that we would go into more depth about the principles of these studies.

But this week, I am skipping that because I want to bring your attention to an incredible opportunity that is slowly, yet rapidly, beginning to show itself.

We all know the world is beginning to doubt the US dollar. We've all heard the rumours of talks amongst powerful nations to remove the US dollar as the main currency for trading oil. We know inflation will eventually follow.

But there is shocking proof that even the US is beginning to doubt the Dollar.

Hidden from the media over the past few weeks, the U.S. Treasury has been liquidating billions of U.S. dollars and trading it for a special currency you may have NEVER heard of - the same currency that China, Russia, oil-bearing Gulf countries, the UN, the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the World Bank, and many others have already suggested to replace the greenback as the world's main reserve currency.

It's called the Special Drawing Rights (SDR).

The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries' official reserves. Its value is based on a basket of four key international currencies (currently the U.S. dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, and the British pound), and SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies.

General SDR allocation took effect on August 28, 2009 and a special allocation took place on September 9, 2009, which increased the amount of SDRs from SDR 21.4 billion to SDR 204.1 billion (currently equivalent to about $317 billion). And guess who took a large chunk of that?

Current SDR holdings in the U.S. Treasury now account for nearly 30% of the U.S. total foreign currency reserves.

U.S. International Reserve Position

We're not telling you to go out there and pick up this currency - you can't.

But this is a clear sign that the U.S. government is making moves to hedge against its own falling Dollar.

And if ever there is an actual changeover in reserve currency dominance by the US (which many powerful people are discussing) it would send the value of the U.S. dollar plummeting. Combine that with the inflationary woes that everyone has been talking about, we could see the U.S. dollar at all-time lows.

The U.S. national debt is crossing $12 trillion - about $40,000 for each citizen - and doesn't include other future financial obligations, like Social Security and government-sponsored health care under Obama's rule. Analysts estimate that these future obligations could cost the United States up to $100 trillion!

With an exploding budget deficit and thinning credit, the federal government will be forced to create a plethora of new U.S. dollars to help finance the country and repay debt.

Although this inflationary conundrum has yet to place, the smartest and richest all know that it will happen eventually - including the US. Before this happens, we need to prepare for the upswing in the right markets.

Fortunately, there's still some time before this strong inflationary period will start to have a negative effect on the dollar. This means good news for us because it gives us enough time to prepare ourselves for the bang.

One of the best ways to hedge against a falling U.S. dollar and inflation is, of course, by investing in precious metals such as gold and silver. Other commodities - such as energies, grains, softs, and meats - also do well during times of a falling U.S. dollar.

There are plenty of easy ways to invest in these commodities, including ETFs, stocks, futures, and options. Exposure to other foreign currencies, such as the Euro and Japanese Yen, can also provide a good hedge against a devaluing dollar.

For us, we like to stick with the resource junior stocks.

They have the ability to indirectly take advantage of climbing commodity prices and have the ability, at any given moment, to give you a significant return on your investment - more so than buying bullion or ETF's themselves.

The most powerful governments, central banks, and investment groups in the world continue to hoard their gold reserves in anticipation of a significant rally in prices. Over the past few weeks, our mailboxes have been littered with comments and suggestions requesting us to focus more on gold and gold company editorials.

It's no surprise that gold has become the hottest topic in 2009. Next week, we'll talk about why it has everyone's attention and how we can profit from this apparent opportunity.

Until next week...

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Comments


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Gold to move higher

Date: 11.01.09 Posted by: Gregory Jackson

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All things point to gold moving higher. Barrick closed their hedge book and took a huge loss on it because of gold prices being too high. L=Short term gold may dip, but over 305 years, look out, its going past 2000

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Dont put all in a basket

Date: 11.01.09 Posted by: Phillipe Oscar

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Gold is moving higher, sure. But that doesn't mean you should be all your eggs into one basket. Being overweight on a sector is one thing but putting it all in one basket is another. What happens if gold does drop? If it starts moving downward, you can bet that it will be a big drop

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Typical of the US

Date: 11.02.09 Posted by: Jeremy Reagan

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This is very typical of the US. I saw this post posted on Peter Grandich's blog and he titled it, "It’s Not What They Say But What They Do" I would assume he was referring to the US. They say all they want but never what they really do.

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Re: Typical of the US

Date: 11.02.09 Posted by: Jon Mayer

The US can be extremely quiet when they want to be and extremely loud when they want to be heard. But in this new internet era, their power is slowly fading and they can only control so much with the media. Free speech!

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Gimme Some

Date: 11.02.09 Posted by: Jim Candles

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Where can I get me some SDR's? I am selling my house and all my US dollars for these SDR's

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Special Drawing Rights

Date: 11.03.09 Posted by: Johnny Mac

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So in a way, these SDR's really have no value except for those participating in it? Seems even more worthless when you think about it. Back to GOLD :)

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Re: Special Drawing Rights

Date: 11.03.09 Posted by: Larry Earnings

Seems to me everyone is a little confused on this subject. People are failing to miss this sentence from the article: SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies.

Thats how this helps curb inflation. If US dollar goes down, the US can change their SDR's into something like the Yen or the Euro. Make sense?

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Re: Re: Special Drawing Rights

Date: 11.04.09 Posted by: Donald Yufi

The IMF just unloaded a stock load of gold and India bought up a ton. I can bet you China took a whole bunch of that as well

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Re: Special Drawing Rights

Date: 11.05.09 Posted by: Jules Love

What is gold worth though? What people are willing to pay! and a basket of the worlds strongest dollars? i'd take that as an inflation hedge all day

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IMF Sell Off

Date: 11.04.09 Posted by: Donnie Johnston

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From AP:
The International Monetary Fund has sold 200 metric tons of gold worth $6.7 billion to India's central bank as part of an effort to shore up IMF finances and increase low-cost lending to developing countries.

The amount represents almost half the total sales volume of 403.3 metric tons approved by the IMF in September, the lending organization said Monday, a decision anticipated for more than a year and discounted by gold markets.

China, India and Russia have indicated interest in such purchases as a way of reducing their position in dollar-denominated securities, particularly since the steep fall in the dollar's value. The purchases also serve as a way of increasing these countries' influence at the Washington-based IMF.

But analysts had expected China to become the first purchaser of IMF gold. China's foreign reserves, already the world's largest, hit a record high $2.273 trillion by the end of September, its central bank reported.

Countries with economies that are gaining strength, such as China, India and Brazil, have long complained of U.S. and European dominance at the IMF. The United States is the IMF's largest shareholder.

The head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, welcomed the transaction with the Reserve Bank of India.

"This transaction is an important step toward achieving the objectives of the IMF's limited gold sales program, which are to help put the fund's finances on a sound long-term footing and enable us to step up much-needed concessional lending to the poorest countries," he said in a statement.

The sale took place over a two-week period that ended Oct. 30, the IMF said, with each daily sale conducted at market prices prevailing that day.

The IMF said it was ready to sell gold directly to central banks and other official holders such as development banks that may be interested in such sales.

After that, the IMF said, any amounts remaining from the 403.3 metric tons would be sold in a phased manner over time, with the lending organization informing markets before any sales begin and reporting regularly to the public on such transactions.

The 186-nation IMF, founded after World War II to monitor the global economy, is the third largest official holder of gold in the world with 3,217 metric tons after the United States and Germany.

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Re: IMF Sell Off

Date: 11.04.09 Posted by: Jeffery Zack

That's a complete joke. The IMF sold off the gold because the US told them so. Thats what happens when you are the IMF's largest shareholder. They want gold to go back down and instead it went back up.

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New world currency

Date: 11.05.09 Posted by: Jack Clayton

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Looks like the new world currency is already coming into effect

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Re: New world currency

Date: 11.20.09 Posted by: Jim Raymond

can they continue buying into these SDR's? Or is it just based on allocation? I am still a little lost on this one

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