/biz/ - Business & Finance

Other than being aesthetically pleasing, whats the real value of gold? Is it a replacement for currency? The demand seems artificial, wouldn't you rather make something like oil a stable currency?

How to you invest in Gold /biz/?

Physical gold or ETFs
- Which is your preferred ETF?

So, as the coming financial crisis draws closer and closer I would like to purchase some gold.

>Who here has bought gold?
>Did you buy physical gold or did you just buy online and add it to your portfolio?
>what do you recommend?

Gold. Do you have some?

Help me with gold, /biz.
Some people claim that gold is only an attractive investment (and safe haven) if you look at the recent past; that if you extend your horizon that it's done terribly. The critics of preppers and hoarders say that there hasn't been a time since the fall of the Roman Empire that precious metals were used as a medium of exchange. Instead, a new economic system has taken the place of the old. These critics also say that if you really think the sky is falling, that it would be far better to own ammunition, gasoline, generators, food staples, etc. because these will be what has value in this situation.
Here's my problem, though. If gold is a poor investment, just a shiny rock, why do nation states hoard it? Why is China buying it? Is there an effort to make gold ownership laughable in order to dupe people into thinking it's a bad idea?
tl;dr What's the deal with gold?

How important is the manufacturer and design when it comes to buying gold and silver?

For example, what is the difference between buying a one ounce gold bar from PAMP Suisse versus a koala coin from the Perth Mint?
Why would there be a difference in price if they both an ounce of gold?

Hey,
this canadian startup you know about bitgold.com, who will give you 0.5 grams of gold for free (or 0.25g sometimes?) for registration only. You can read more about their idea https://www.bitgold.com/about-bitgold

As of today, it started offering their services in the US, too

Proof picture: http://i.imgur.com/gBOKOrJ.png
Feel free to help a collegian and use my referral link: https://bitgold.com/r/TtGpS8..
I will then recieve gold for your registration as well. You do of course get yours too.

If you were in charge of starting a brand new currency for a small country (1,000-5,000 persons), what would you base it off?

Is it a good idea to have $1,000 of your new currency be permanently worth 1 ounce of gold?

Whats /biz/'s opinion on investing in gold right now? The recent resurgence of the economy is driving the price down, good time to invest before another crash?

Next year I have a choice between taking an intermediate Chinese class, or an investments class.

Chinese is my only skill. But I will never use it and have no motivation to continue. I can imagine how great it would be to work and live abroad in Hong Kong or Singapore, but that will never happen. I am trapped. I really don't care to know how to make doctor's appointments in Chinese...

I already make my own investments in the stock market, so that class would be pointless too.

Which should I take? I realize what a joke I am to end up in this position.

If the US economy went back to the gold standard, would the price of gold rise or fall?

And why not just go back to gold standard? is there more fiat currency in print than there is gold in the world?
how do we fix the economy /biz/?