Dollar Compared to gold:

http://www.economicgreenfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Gold-v-USD-daily-since-2000-4-5-11.png

And that doesn't look like a bubble to you? I already said modest inflation would eat away at your wealth and you should invest in a diversified portfolio. There's nothing wrong with inflation around 2-5%, though. It's an economic incentive to invest rather than hoard wealth.

Over the period from 2008 to now, gold has done better than the market: https://www.google.com/finance?q=INDEXDJX%3A.DJI&ei=6NlkUYj3D4_AlgOBCA
(ugh that graph doesn't link correctly, but you can select the correct comparison and time frame for yourself)

I would not expect gold to continue its trajectory.

Edit: Oh, by the way, that graph counts inflation double, since it's showing both gold appreciation in nominal dollars and dollar depreciation. Seems kind of dumb.

Oh,thanks for your analysis, I am really not educated and respect your opinion. I hope I don't come off as dooms-day nutter, I'm trying to make sense of this crazy world! I do appreciate that you might not desire this conversation to go from economics to politics, although the fiscal policies of our governments do have an effect on the market and prices. Won't the bond market affect equities, and cause interest rates to spike? Right now the Fed has the rates set as low as possible.

As interest rates start to creep up, there will be a massive sell-off by investment firms of equity, basically causing a downturn effecting 401k's and other not-so-quick investors?

Don't worry about it.

Macroeconomics is inextricably linked to politics. Since the economy affects investments, I think it's still somewhat on-topic.

The bond market itself doesn't directly affect the equity market. The interest rate affects both. Currently, the Fed has set rates almost as low as possible because the economy is in a demand-driven recession and they're trying to kick-start investment. Meanwhile, our federal government's deficit has been shrinking, which is actually not what you'd want to happen in a Keynesian paradigm. When demand is low, you want the government to pick up the slack until unemployment and demand return to normal. Government "crowding-out," which happens in a fully-employed economy, does not happen in a situation such as ours. The supply of money in the economy has tripled and federal spending has gone way up - and inflation has remained very low since the recession.

Once demand recovers, the Fed can raise interest rates and the government's spending will automatically go down (mainly because a large source of recession-driven spending, unemployment insurance, will be reduced). I don't see the mechanism to cause a dip in the stock market.

Sal, ever since the first time I gazed at the Milky Way through my telescope as a child, I knew in my heart that my dream was to someday become an investment banker. Tell me, is there a way to break into the stock market but still keep my mortal soul? At the very least, what are the market forecasts for souls looking like and would that be an effective starting investment for a beginner? Or should I sell all my worldly possessions for golds before I jump right in?

Thank you for your consideration.

You want a soul, you have to work on the Street long enough to afford one. Should only take about 5 years at current rates.

So does diversification apply to street trades as well? or would you want to be a specialist?

I see. Thanks for the advice, Sal. To think I was going to go to law school instead!

The time to buy gold is when (preferably before) the economy is going to shit. People are more interested in owning something 'material' when all the widgets representing stocks aren't such a sure thing. Gold spikes at every economic downturn, and doesn't represent a 'real' dollar value. Basically, if the dollar still pays for all of your living expenses in country, and out, yet is worth 1/4 the gold... How has that changed your dollar's value?

Investors move into commodities where the risk is far less, so obv oil, and metals will go up.

Ok serious question. Let's say I have $50,000 managed by a financial company. What incentives are there to invest my money myself instead of letting a company do it for me?

#67 If you work on Wall Street, what matters is the risk exposure of your company, not you individually. You can be as specialized as the firm wants you to be.

#70 None really, unless you have good sources of insider information that you can make a lot of money with. Just make sure the company you're using doesn't charge fees, and check its performance against a benchmark like the S&P 500 every so often.

salamancer how do I convert GBP/EUR to USD without losing a large percentage in the process
aka moving my bank account overseas
thank you : 3

Buy radiant star emeralds and sell em for gold

Uhh

Most of my money is invested overseas where interest rates are 13%+. It doubles in about 5 years i think.

#72 Be a bank. The bid/ask spread for individual currency trades like what you want to do is pretty high. Why do you want to move European currency to the US?

I'm moving back to the US, so, not much choice really.
Surely there's a way of going about it without losing a bunch? My cheapest option would be to just go with HSBC USA back in the US since I'm already with HSBC; but, every dolla counts so I'm just wonderin

I'm not sure you'll be able to find a cheaper option than HSBC USA for the transfer. I am not an expert in currency exchange though.

...and you want to go to jail?

The laws are really fucking strict. Even if you don't originally seek out the info, even if you only prevent loss and don't profit, you can still go to jail.

...If you can prove anything, that is. Without having seen them operate firsthand, I wouldn't be surprised if insider info is regularly used in firms like Goldman Sachs.

sal how viable are penny stocks because my econ teacher got really mad when me and my friend won the stock market game in high school on penny stocks

They are pretty fucking risky ghos7. You pretty much have to buy thousands of em, so your risk is multiplied. That said your potential reward is increased as well, just penny stocks are usually shitty and don't profit often.

Not investing but,

My friend has joined a "totally legit" Multi-Level-Marketing organization (aka a cult).
I am scared for his soul, and the souls of the people he is trying to recruit. He is dumber than hell and a troll4lyfe, so nothing I've been saying has gotten through.

anyone have any experience with this??? what do????

http://www.amazon.com/The-Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Investing/dp/0060555661/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365665740&sr=8-1&keywords=the+intelligent+investor

http://www.amazon.com/Quantitative-Value-Web-Site-Practitioners/dp/1118328078/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365665753&sr=1-1&keywords=quantative+value

value investing books

Opinion on investing in RIM (Research in Motion) stocks? They seem to always be down, but with their new BlackBerry model you would think they would go up from that point.

#80 Volume is a problem. I've never personally looked at penny stocks.

#84 Like I said earlier in the thread, I can't really do specific stock advice well. Wall Street analysts get paid lots of money to do that job and they still get things wrong a lot, so I'm not gonna do any better. My opinion on the company, and not the stock, is that it's lagging the market and needs to do a much better job of re-establishing dominance in the consumer segment. The "business consumer" segment is disappearing as office workers increasingly use their company phone for personal use or vice versa. I haven't seen their latest phone, though, or their accompanying marketing campaign.

For those of you interested in understanding why QE isn't driving massive oh-my-god hyperinflation: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/monetary-policy-in-a-liquidity-trap/

Was graduate school worth the investment?

I can't say for sure until I know the payout period. My expectation is that it's put me on a path to better lifelong salary and investment prospects than if I hadn't gotten it, beating the investments I would have made with the money.

Did you go to a top 10 B-school?

and plz add me, I have Questions!