Look to Midtier and Small-Cap Gold Equities for Growth: Joe Foster

The Gold Report: In the first decade of this century, the Van Eck International Investors Gold Fund gave its investors an annualized average return of about 25%. How has the fund performed since we last talked in August 2010?

Joe Foster: Gold stocks have had a tough time in the last couple of years and the fund was essentially flat during that period. The stocks have underperformed the gold price, which is up about 38%, and that is reflected in the fund performance.

TGR: How has the fund performed against the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (GDM), its benchmark index?

JF: Since our last interview in 2010 their performances have been similar, roughly flat.

TGR: How much does the fund have under management and how many positions does it hold?

JF: We have approximately $1.4 billion (B) in the International Investors Gold Fund and have 55 stocks in the fund.

TGR: As of May 2012, the Van Eck International Investors Gold Fund was allowed to invest in a wholly owned Cayman subsidiary, which lets it invest directly in commodities and commodity futures. How has that changed your investment strategy? Continue reading "Look to Midtier and Small-Cap Gold Equities for Growth: Joe Foster"

Are the markets predicting an Obama win or a Romney win?

Hello traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Monday, the 5th of November.

Make no mistake about it, the markets will likely be quiet for today and tomorrow. When the eventual President is announced, perhaps on Wednesday or Thursday, the markets will decide which way they want to move.

Here's what the markets are telling us right now:

Equities: Mixed picture
Metals: Mixed picture
Dollar: Mixed picture
Crude Oil: Negative trend Continue reading "Are the markets predicting an Obama win or a Romney win?"

Gold Chart of the Week

Each week Longleaftrading.com will be providing us a chart of the week as analyzed by a member of their team. We hope that you enjoy and learn from this new feature.

Weekly Gold Report (November 5th through November 9th)

It was not until the United States Non Farm Payroll Report on Friday that traders had a clear idea concerning the technicals in the Gold Futures. Prior to the report, futures prices saw higher lows each day throughout the week and even traded up and outside of the range before failing miserably all day Friday.

To begin the week, Gold saw a lift after better than expected news from China was reported and was coupled with additional easing measures applied by the Bank of Japan. The light buying continued despite concerns in Europe over Spain and once again Greece.

Once the labor data was released in the United States that showed a better than expected number, there was a strong rally in the US Dollar which ultimately led to the demise of Gold and most other Dollar-based vehicles. The word is that traders saw a better than expected jobs number as a reason for the FED to scale back on their commitment to Quantitative Easing. Additionally, traders are awaiting important newsthis week from not only the United States but also from Europe and a G20 Summit now in session. Continue reading "Gold Chart of the Week"

Chris Ecclestone Picks Latin American Gold Plays

The Gold Report: The Hallgarten website says, "Over the years, the team has successfully picked trends using our macroeconomic underpinnings to guide investors through the treacherous waters of the markets." Could you give us a couple of trends that retail investors could take advantage of?

Chris Ecclestone: The chief trend I see is a change in the nature of this gold market recovery. Production is going to be king. In 2009, cash was king after the economic crash. Now it's production. If a company doesn't have a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), it is going to wallow for a fair while. The main focus is going to be if these companies can become real miners or if they are just going to be forever out there with their project generator models.

"Production is going to be king."

There are a lot more companies on the "For Sale" side then there are companies out there to buy them. A lot of them are going to be left standing alone at the wall. The only companies that are going to get the attention of majors are those that are along the continuum between PEA and production. Continue reading "Chris Ecclestone Picks Latin American Gold Plays"

Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Hello traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Friday, the 2nd of November.

This past week has been one of the most extraordinary weeks that I can remember. The markets were closed for two days and we had a historic storm cause significant destruction in New Jersey, New York, and much of the east coast. Today, BLS released the unemployment numbers showing that unemployment stands at 7.9%, which begs the question is the glass half full or half empty? You could argue both ways... Is employment improving? Or has it not improved in 4 years?

This is the last weekend that both Pres. Obama and Gov. Romney have to convince an already exhausted population to buy into their vision of the future for America. I think we are all exhausted by both candidates and the endless bickering, which is not helping the economy or the jobs picture.

Personally, I think campaigning for office should be no longer than 3 to 6 months and not several years. These two gentlemen have spent a billion dollars each on their campaigns, what a waste of money and resources. Continue reading "Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?"