Posted on 02/10/2012 6:22:11 PM PST by bruinbirdman
Berkshire Hathaway chairman and famous investor Warren Buffett has dismissed gold as a "valueless asset".
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has dismissed gold as a valueless asset saying that it has no inherent value. In an article for Fortune magazine, Buffett said that gold investors were pinning their hopes on future demand.
He warned that gold was a self-inflating bubble, created by investors desperate for a viable alternative to property and shares.
The infamous investor warned that investors in gold would be left with egg on their face when the price eventually crashed.
"Bubbles blown large enough inevitably pop," he said. "And then the old proverb is confirmed once again: "What the wise man does in the beginning, the fool does in the end."
Buffett's attack comes as private bank Coutts predicts that the gold price will hit "new highs" by the end of 2012.
In a report from the bank, that counts the Queen among its clients, gold is confirmed as a "key asset in investment portfolios".
Coutts said: "The easing of global monetary conditions in response to the liquidity squeeze in the latter part of 2011 has boosted gold.
"Some further stimulus measures could now be postponed by an improving economic outlook, at least in the US. Nonetheless, negative real returns, adjusted for risk, are undermining confidence in major currencies as a store of value. We expect gold prices to hit new highs by year end."
Meanwhile, gold fell more than 1 pc on Friday, hurt by a slide in the euro after a Greek party leader said he couldn't back the 130-billion euro bailout deal the country needs to avoid going bankrupt, which comes at the cost of painful austerity measures.
Spot gold fell as low as $1,703.69 an ounce and was down 0.9 percent
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I guess this man doesn’t pay attention.
Everything is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.
It is that simple.
Is this from The Onion?
He is right, of course. When you get right down to it, food is the only currency.
I guess he thinks his words will drive it done then he can buy. Or maybe he’s got a “buy” order coming due.
Fine, Warren. Just send me all of your “worthless” gold bullion, gold coins, gold jewelry, gold stocks and gold futures.
I will make sure that the environment is protected and these things do not end up in the landfill with all the other “worthless” stuff.
I’d gladly pay him a token price plus shipping to relieve him of his “worthless asset”.
I’d never invest with this commie puke. This bastard made money by riding the roaring Reagan stock market in the 80s. Now that he has his haul, he’ll make darn sure you can’t get yours.
Interpretation: “I’m short gold futures.”
I called “dibbs” first!
Love him or hate him (I hate) he knows financial markets. Gold is in a current bubble IMHO also.
Buffy needs to write Barry’s treasury a huge check and then stick a cork in it. If Americans want any crap out of him, we’ll unscrew his head and dip it out.
You left out alcohol, tobacco and firearms. With those items you can get all the food you need and be happy at the same time.
You must be a Greenspan fan. Back when gold was under 300 an ounce he said "gold is dead, we may as well open a beef window at the Fed." The rest, as they say, is history.
Without Warren's government cover...Where in the Hell would he be.... sucking corn futures no doubt....
The concept of “inherent value” is ridiculous. Nothing has “inherent value”. Who cares? People place value in gold. Always have. Always will. Buffet is playing Jedi mind tricks with weak-minded fools when he says that gold has no value.
He’s an @$$!
The value in any commodity is found in the marketplace.
Until a culture is at the point of starvation, gold will continue to have value.
In a sense, he’s right. Gold - like anything else - only has value if there are other people who are willing to attribute value to it. Gold has typically been a good investment through the millennia specifically because there’ve always been people who attribute that value to it.
Nevertheless, gold is no more inherently valuable than paper currency is, or tulip bulbs, for that matter. In a situation where society breaks down, given that we don’t really use gold in coinage anymore, gold would largely be a bothersome, heavy lump of metal you’d have to transport around. Much better to invest in food, water, and ammo, as well as booze and other “trade items.”
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