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[Libran]

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago you would have $49.00 left.

With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.
     
But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling refund, you would have $214.00 cash.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. It's called the 401-Keg:

 A recent study also found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year.  Another study found Americans drink, on the average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.  That means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon. 

This information should make you smarter than most Wall Street pundits.
 

[dhruvdeepak]

 

[pipsqueak]

if you had shorted Goldman Sac, AIG, Lehmann and got rid of them before the banana republic chiefs took over and banned shorting....... 

[keep-it-cool]

If you had bought gold ...

[Libran]

Some Wall street jokes doing the rounds

- “I want to warn people from Nigeria who might be watching our show. If you get any emails from Washington asking for money, it’s a scam. Don’t fall for it”- Jay Leno

 

- “Do you have any idea how cheap stocks are now ? Wall Street is now being called Wal-Mart Street”- Jay Leno

 

- “The difference between a pigeon and a London investment banker ? Answer : The pigeon can still make a deposit on a BMW

 

- “What is the difference between a guy who just lost everything in Vegas and an investment banker ? Answer : A Tie. 

 

- What does AIG stand for ? Answer : American Innocence and Greed

 

- I went to buy a toaster and it came with a bank.

[pipsqueak]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

[keep-it-cool]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

[pipsqueak]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

[keep-it-cool]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

[achutank]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

hey cp

i have no fancy finance degree or years in the market

just remember what i had said about the best investment in the world

and this kic-guy all citi-swagger tells me otherwise, now he is talking 

BC, sona loh tola ke hisab se wahi finally kaam ata hai 

[pipsqueak]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

if too many people start parking their money in gold, they can very well put a limit on the quantity of gold private people can own or even make it unlawful to own gold at all! money in gold is stagnant from an economy point of view - how will the investment banks thrive if all money moves to gold? in a banana republic, anything can happen - if they can ban shorts, why not limit gold? they did do such a thing after the great depression. i wdn't invest in any physical gold or gold derivatives in the US!

on another note, gold has been a very poor investment taken over the last 30-40 years...things could change, who knows!

[Cover Point]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

hey cp

i have no fancy finance degree or years in the market

just remember what i had said about the best investment in the world

and this kic-guy all citi-swagger tells me otherwise, now he is talking 

BC, sona loh tola ke hisab se wahi finally kaam ata hai 

Sir aapki samjhdaari ko kaun challenge  kar sakta hai.

But, if my intoxicated mind remembers.... both of you (rich guys) wanted to buy gold. He just wanted to buy the Gold Bonds .... and you wanted the physical BRICK

I think both are ok in this market. No?

[inoc]

- What does AIG stand for ? Answer : American Innocence and Greed

According to a Manchester United supporter (for the uninitiated AIG sponsor Manchester United) -

Alex Is God

Alex Ferguson - again for the less knowledgeable

[keep-it-cool]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

hey cp

i have no fancy finance degree or years in the market

just remember what i had said about the best investment in the world

and this kic-guy all citi-swagger tells me otherwise, now he is talking 

BC, sona loh tola ke hisab se wahi finally kaam ata hai 

abey achu .. tujhse saturday detail mein baat karta hoon ...

but tum to paani peeke bhi bhool gaye ... maine kaha tha invest in gold funds & then swap out into ETFs (which is as good as physical gold) when the price difference between the two widens .. and then reverse it again when the opportunity comes ... wahi to bol raha hoon yaar ..

waise, kitne biscuit khareede ab tak?

[Libran]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

hey cp

i have no fancy finance degree or years in the market

just remember what i had said about the best investment in the world

and this kic-guy all citi-swagger tells me otherwise, now he is talking 

BC, sona loh tola ke hisab se wahi finally kaam ata hai 

abey achu .. tujhse saturday detail mein baat karta hoon ...

but tum to paani peeke bhi bhool gaye ... maine kaha tha invest in gold funds & then swap out into ETFs (which is as good as physical gold) when the price difference between the two widens .. and then reverse it again when the opportunity comes ... wahi to bol raha hoon yaar ..

waise, kitne biscuit khareede ab tak?

Achu would say "Ab tak chappan"   

[keep-it-cool]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

if too many people start parking their money in gold, they can very well put a limit on the quantity of gold private people can own or even make it unlawful to own gold at all! money in gold is stagnant from an economy point of view - how will the investment banks thrive if all money moves to gold? in a banana republic, anything can happen - if they can ban shorts, why not limit gold? they did do such a thing after the great depression. i wdn't invest in any physical gold or gold derivatives in the US!

I guess the US would be worried that we could go back to the gold standard ... from the dollar perspective it would be a disaster. However, I dont see much that they can do ... you cant forcibly close a gold mine  or stop people from using / buying physical gold .. this is not an asset that has seen a bubble because of fancy derivative products (unlike US housing) ...so, the ablity to control it is also limited to that extent.

on another note, gold has been a very poor investment taken over the last 30-40 years...things could change, who knows!

That coincided with the emergence and strengthening of the dollar ... which essentially became the currency of choice. i believe the days of a strong dollar are behind us ... if you look at the trend in the past too, whenever the dollar has weakened, gold has appreciated .. and I think that will happen here on. The days of the dollar being the currency of choice are behind us in my view.

Not to say that everything in gold is a good idea ... but 15-20% is!

[achutank]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

hey cp

i have no fancy finance degree or years in the market

just remember what i had said about the best investment in the world

and this kic-guy all citi-swagger tells me otherwise, now he is talking 

BC, sona loh tola ke hisab se wahi finally kaam ata hai 

abey achu .. tujhse saturday detail mein baat karta hoon ...

but tum to paani peeke bhi bhool gaye ... maine kaha tha invest in gold funds & then swap out into ETFs (which is as good as physical gold) when the price difference between the two widens .. and then reverse it again when the opportunity comes ... wahi to bol raha hoon yaar ..

waise, kitne biscuit khareede ab tak?

Achu would say "Ab tak chappan"   

man if only

i am just the talker
but i think the way things are i am going to buy my first "retirement-tola" soon and keep adding for the day when there is all out war and one loaf of bread = 1 gm of gold 

[Libran]

If you had bought gold ...

....wd have taken a hair-cut of 20% in the last 5 weeks! 

making us more happy coz we can buy more

it will hit 750...Soros says buy physical gold outside US, US may ban gold soon!

yup .. i was talking about a mix of both physical gold & gold funds

why will US ban gold??

hey cp

i have no fancy finance degree or years in the market

just remember what i had said about the best investment in the world

and this kic-guy all citi-swagger tells me otherwise, now he is talking 

BC, sona loh tola ke hisab se wahi finally kaam ata hai 

abey achu .. tujhse saturday detail mein baat karta hoon ...

but tum to paani peeke bhi bhool gaye ... maine kaha tha invest in gold funds & then swap out into ETFs (which is as good as physical gold) when the price difference between the two widens .. and then reverse it again when the opportunity comes ... wahi to bol raha hoon yaar ..

waise, kitne biscuit khareede ab tak?

Achu would say "Ab tak chappan"   

man if only

i am just the talker
but i think the way things are i am going to buy my first "retirement-tola" soon and keep adding for the day when there is all out war and one loaf of bread = 1 gm of gold 

  ... Achu buying his retirement tola... those who don't will stand in front of achu's house with their retirement lota ...

Nothing is gonna change... from 1929 to 2000 dotcome bust to Enron to Worldcom to the Lehmann Bros... this is how America has lived and survived and I do not see anything different this time around... If they are not at war with someone else, they are warring with their internal enemies in the capital market ....

India, as an economy, as a regulator has been way ahead of the rest... inspite of the Harshad Mehtas and the Ketan Parekhs....

Just wait for the market to dip under 10K and there are some amazing value picks...

[achutank]

  ... Achu buying his retirement tola... those who don't will stand in front of achu's house with their retirement lota ...


_________________________________________________________________

 

[pipsqueak]

I guess the US would be worried that we could go back to the gold standard ... from the dollar perspective it would be a disaster. However, I dont see much that they can do ... you cant forcibly close a gold mine  or stop people from using / buying physical gold .. this is not an asset that has seen a bubble because of fancy derivative products (unlike US housing) ...so, the ablity to control it is also limited to that extent.

In the US, private ownership of gold was illegal from 1933-1974!

That coincided with the emergence and strengthening of the dollar ... which essentially became the currency of choice. i believe the days of a strong dollar are behind us ... if you look at the trend in the past too, whenever the dollar has weakened, gold has appreciated .. and I think that will happen here on. The days of the dollar being the currency of choice are behind us in my view.

Not to say that everything in gold is a good idea ... but 15-20% is!

i too think (and hope!)dollar will fall substantially in the next 5 years or so - how long can they keep it up with such a huge deficit!

i agree that gold is a good diversification option.

[keep-it-cool]

I guess the US would be worried that we could go back to the gold standard ... from the dollar perspective it would be a disaster. However, I dont see much that they can do ... you cant forcibly close a gold mine  or stop people from using / buying physical gold .. this is not an asset that has seen a bubble because of fancy derivative products (unlike US housing) ...so, the ablity to control it is also limited to that extent.

In the US, private ownership of gold was illegal from 1933-1974!

But what for??

[cricinfo]

I guess the US would be worried that we could go back to the gold standard ... from the dollar perspective it would be a disaster. However, I dont see much that they can do ... you cant forcibly close a gold mine  or stop people from using / buying physical gold .. this is not an asset that has seen a bubble because of fancy derivative products (unlike US housing) ...so, the ablity to control it is also limited to that extent.

In the US, private ownership of gold was illegal from 1933-1974!

But what for??

money was short in circulation ...this was done during the great depression time , USA needed to stock up Gold as most of the countries did demand gold in return of dollar and govt was desparate to stock up dollars

[keep-it-cool]

I guess the US would be worried that we could go back to the gold standard ... from the dollar perspective it would be a disaster. However, I dont see much that they can do ... you cant forcibly close a gold mine  or stop people from using / buying physical gold .. this is not an asset that has seen a bubble because of fancy derivative products (unlike US housing) ...so, the ablity to control it is also limited to that extent.

In the US, private ownership of gold was illegal from 1933-1974!

But what for??

money was short in circulation ...this was done during the great depression time , USA needed to stock up Gold as most of the countries did demand gold in return of dollar and govt was desparate to stock up dollars

Are you saying the government wanted to shore up the dollar? Well, that it may want to do now as well .. and the collapse of the European banks has actually helped them in this. Anyway, I wouldnt be overtly worried about a ban on private ownership ... someone will buy & if it the government, so be it. Gold demand is now much better spread outside the US and even in supply terms, i believe it is China where most of the supply comes from.

Moreover, for someone who does not have the dollar as the primary currency, I am not so worried about the dollar value of gold ... i am more concerned with the rupee value ... so, with gold declining 20% and the dollar appreciated by around the same percentage vis-a-vis the rupee, the real value of my investment has not changed