Looking For A Silver Bet? Hear The Roar Of This Great Panther

Silver is poised for years of gains and I believe speculation in this metal could be very profitable if timed well with a good company. I have suggested that silver could outperform gold in the next 12 months and thus recommended considering some of the larger players in that metal. Silver is not only a precious metal but also has many industrial applications and thus will always have demand. Right now silver is priced around $32.30 an ounce. Gold is priced around $1692 an ounce. That represents a 52.5 gold to silver price ratio. On its own it doesn't mean much but the historical ratio is 16 to 1. The respective prices of gold and silver have not seen this ratio in quite some time and a reversion is well overdue. In order for this to happen the price of gold must plummet while silver holds stagnant or silver must rise at a higher rate than gold in the next few years. With central bank stimulus and inflation seeming ever more likely I think silver may be ready to breakout at a higher rate than gold. In fact, it seems to have already begun in August when the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) was up 4.9% while the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) far outperformed GLD being up 13.5%. My readers know that I have been adamant in my suggestion to own physical assets in these metals. For those investors that cannot or will not buy physical assets, I have pointed to the ETFs that track the price of metals as a second line approach. I recommend the SLV and ETFS Silver Trust (SIVR) for silver exposure second to physical coins and bullion. For the individual silver companies I recommend Silver Wheaton (SLW), Silvercorp mining (SVM) and Pan American Silver (PAAS). I think they are safe bets for the long-term. But the greatest returns are not always had from the safe play. Thus the purpose of this article is

Streaming Profits To Your Bank Account With Gold And Silver

Precious metals have had an absolutely amazing month. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) was up 4.9% last month, while the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was up 13.5%. While the fast money has been made in the metals and mining stocks, I believe there are still profits to be made in the gold and silver companies near term and without question in the long term. I pounded the table in August on the gold miners and the silver miners as I repeatedly encouraged investments in the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) and the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL). I further highlighted some of the major individual mining companies such as Barrick Gold (ABX), Goldcorp (GG), Silvercorp Metals (SVM) and Pan American Silver (PAAS). Through my research on these prior recommendations, I became familiar with a unique business model in the gold and silver space known as 'streaming.' A precious metal streaming company generates its profits by providing upfront financing for mining companies looking to expand and drill for precious metals. In exchange for the upfront financing of these companies, the streaming company acquires the right to purchase a portion of production generated from the mines at a fixed cost. I would like to highlight two companies involved in silver and gold streaming that I am closely watching over the next 12 months that I believe could outperform traditional miners. These companies are.....READ FULL ARTICLE

McDonalds going vegetarian...could be good for stock!

US fast food giant McDonald's, famed for its beef-based Big Mac burgers, on Tuesday said it will open its first ever vegetarian-only restaurant in the world in India next year. The world's second-biggest restaurant chain after Subway already tailors its menus to suit local tastes -- which in India means no beef to avoid offending Hindus and no pork to cater for Muslim requirements. It will open its first vegetarian outlet in the middle of next year near the Golden Temple in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in northern India, where religious authorities forbid consumption of meat at the shrine. "It will be the first time we have opened a vegetarian restaurant in the world," a spokesman for McDonald's in northern India, Rajesh Kumar Maini, told AFP. After the opening in Amritsar, the US chain plans to launch another vegetarian outlet at Katra near the Vaishno Devi cave shrine in Indian Kashmir -- a revered Hindu pilgrimage site that draws hundreds of thousands of worshippers a year. It sees the potential for many more vegetarian restaurants across the country. McDonald's in India already has a menu that is 50 percent vegetarian. Its McAloo Tikki burger at 28 rupees or 50 cents -- which uses a spicy fried potato-based patty -- is the top seller, accounting for a quarter of total sales. Among the chicken-only meat offerings, the Maharaja Mac is also a favourite. Currently India, with its population of 1.2 billion, is still a "very small market for McDonald's", said Maini. "We have just 271 restaurants in India and across the world we have nearly 33,000," Maini said. The chain serves half a million customers a day in India, out of 50 million people it serves daily in over 100 countries. "When you look at the potential of the country, it's one of the top priority countries and we're laying the groundwork for capturing the market," said Maini. "We plan to nearly double the number of outlets to 500 plus within the next three years," he said. McDonald's realised soon after it entered the country that it had to rework its international menu to Indian tastes. "The reasons were very compelling -- cow slaughter is not allowed because of religious reasons and we couldn't do pork either," Maini explained. Hindus, who account for 80 percent of India's population, regard cows as sacred. For Muslims, the consumption of pork is prohibited in the Koran. "It was the whole idea of going local and creating flavours that would create acceptance for us," Maini said. "We had to look at the whole market innovatively and we realised only chicken-based and vegetarian food would work." McDonald's is not alone in "Indianising" its offerings. Domino's Pizza, another leading fast food chain in India, has created pizzas with extra spicy toppings. But growing consumption of food high in fat is spurring concern that India is importing the Western disease of obesity, creating a ticking public health timebomb.

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Well the markets done well with him but nobody is working

Market holiday tomorrow

Reminder there is a market holiday tomorrow, no trading on the American Exchanges

Believe In A Housing Rebound? Consider Playing It By Buying Copper Exposure Now

There are a number of reasons to have exposure to precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and copper in your investment portfolio. Perhaps as portfolio insurance or perhaps owning it in physical form, should we be faced with financial Armageddon. One potentially overlooked reason to own copper by the average investor is a rebound in housing. A rebound in housing could be a tremendous catalyst for the price of copper because the home and office building construction sector uses approximately 40% of the copper in the United States, with direct residential construction constituting approximately two-thirds of the market. There are approximately 195 pounds of copper electrical wire in the average new home constructed in 2010. This does not include the amount of copper wiring that goes into home appliances, plumbing and air-conditioning systems. Copper conducts electricity better than any other metal except silver, according to the Copper Development Association. Copper used for electrical wire is typically refined to at least 99.98 percent purity when used in the home electrical systems. Copper plumbing pipes are lightweight and very malleable, so they are easy for plumbers to work with and are frequently utilized in home construction. Copper pipe conducts heat well, so the pipes get warm during exposure to hot water and stay warm, helping to keep water consistently warm as it travels through the home. For months and months we have been hearing about the so called bottom in housing. Analyzing whether housing has rebounded off the bottom (finally) is.......SEE FULL ARTICLE

The Miners Have Outperformed Gold And Silver; 3 Stocks That May Outperform Platinum

Those who follow precious metals have likely taken note that gold is trading at a higher price than platinum recently. This is historically very rare and thus suggests to this author that platinum may soon rebound above gold prices. Since the mid 1990s platinum has generally traded 50% to 100% higher than gold. Right now platinum currently trades at $1516 an ounce whereas gold is now trading at $1660 an ounce. Although platinum is up approximately 13% this month, I think the current run up may have just begun. I have thus recommended considering adding physical platinum to your portfolio or investing an ETF such as (PPLT) in addition to owning physical gold and silver or the ETFs (GLD) and (SLV). In both the gold and silver space I have been recommending investing in individual miners as a third-line approach, behind owning physical assets or the GLD and SLV. While the GLD, SLV and PPLT are up 2.2, 10.9%, and 7.5 % respectively in the last month, the miners of these metals have been outperforming the metals over the last month. Gold and silver miners as measured by the (GDX) and the (SIL) are up 8.3% and 11.9%. To my knowledge the one ETF that tracks the price of platinum miners is the (PLTM). This index in my opinion is to be avoided as ....READ ARTICLE

Speculative Stocks For Those Who Believe Silver May Outperform Gold This Year

Speculation is always an interesting discussion. Right now there are a lot of unanswered questions driving the price of precious metals this month. Will the Fed step in and initiate yet another round of quantitative easing? Will the European Central Bank really do all they can to save the euro? Will China organize a soft landing or will it come down hard? Will the Republicans truly fight for some sort of gold standard in the United States? Have we reached so called peak gold? Will silver return to its historic 16 to 1 price ratio relative to gold? All of these questions are being asked by precious metals traders and their subsequent answers will impact the short and mid-term price trajectory of the metals. Regardless of the answers to all of these questions, one thing remains certain to this author; the long-term trajectory of the prices of precious metals is up, and thus speculation with a small portion of your portfolio in this space may not be a bad idea. I have suggested that silver could outperform gold in the next 12 months and thus recommended playing some of the larger players in that metal. My readers know that I have been adamant in my suggestion to own physical assets in these metals. For those investors that cannot or will not buy physical assets, I have pointed to the ETFs that track the price of metals as a second line approach. I recommend....READ ARTICLE