E-Trade's response to my questions left much to be desired also. Just to be on the safe side, no matter what happens or doesn't happen, I'm pulling my account long before the alarm bells start ringing.
For those thinking about gold stocks, you need to decide whether the long term negatives include a healthy but jarring correction or a serious meltdown. For those who expect a correction at worst, simply park you money at some point and hedge with a bit of gold etc. In the meantime, during the uncertainty you may end up winning big on some gold stocks or precious metals funds/contracts etc.
For those who believe in a much bigger meltdown, bullion and coins will likely be the best choice. You may want to look into an ongoing thread at the Kitco site. A poster using the handle, "ANOTHER" has spent months outlining his position regarding the direction of gold/oil/US$$. He is obviously from the Middle East and very likely has direct links to the inner workings of the backroom deals of the ruling families. I'm poring over a few hundred pages of text and I'm not sure I believe it, but it is most interesting to say the least. In a one sentence summary, you could say that the question isn't going to be what will gold be worth, but rather, what will I buy with my gold.
I will be implementing a personal contingency plan with the following in mind: In a worst case scenerio, I will be covered as best as possible. In a best case scenerio (No Y2K problem at all, big hoax, etc, etc.) I will have made decisions that will have had no negative impact and I may be at a break even position.
There will be two kinds of losers with regard to the Y2K issue. In a worst case scenerio there will be those who by ignorance, disbelief or lack of resources will be totally unprepared. In a best case scenerio, there may be those who have leveraged themselves in every possible direction, believing that they will make a killing on the impending meltdown--failing that, their greed will fuel their own meltdown.
My lengthy 2 cents. Thanks for the thread, CK.
RH |
