inflation

The Gold Bubble? What Gold Bubble?

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Monty Pelerin produced the following list on his blog today:

COMMODITY PRICE % INCREASES YEAR OVER YEAR

Agricultural Raw Materials 24%
Industrial Inputs Index 25%
Metals Price Index 26%
Coffee 45%
Barley 32%
Oranges 35%
Beef 23%
Pork 68%
Salmon 30%
Sugar 24%
Wool 20%
Cotton 40%
Palm Oil 26%
Hides 25%
Rubber 62%
Iron Ore 103%

Commentators are often speaking about Gold as the mother of all bubbles.  Gold is up 30% over the same one-year period. Why do people talk about a gold bubble? It would make more sense to talk about an iron ore bubble, a rubber bubble or a cotton bubble. What about the oranges bubble? The gold bubble? What gold bubble?

Hyperinflation when?

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I first began to fear hyperinflation in my post “Obama and Inflation in Zimbawe“, on February 6, 2009, after learning of the absurd $1.4 trillion budget deficit.  These days, however, there are many economists and investment advisers warning of deflation.  The current pullback in the stock market seems to vindicate their position, though the current price of gold and Wallmart’s decision to increase its prices would not.  Meanwhile, my friend Keith is asking when is the inflation going to happen in earnest.  I don’t know when, but I am going to hazard a guess about when inflation is going to make its presence known.

Today in the American Thinker Anthony Kang points out a video from Opinion Journal, in which Jason Trennert says that the US government could be the next Bear Stearns because over 60% debt of the USA is due within one to three years.  What happens if the creditors decide not to rollover their treasury notes?  The Federal Reserve will have no choice but to monetize and that will likely put more of the debt back into circulation which will require printing more money (with real printing presses this time).  Will creditors continue to rollover their debt?  If so, then inflation may not hit in earnest until these creditors choose stop funding the US deficit.

Book value as a determinant for buying a stock: The case of Petrobakken

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At the current time, I am investing in the oil and gas industry for a number of reasons:

(1) Oil is a commodity based upon a US dollar price.  As the US dollar inflates, commodities will maintain their value.  As a result, there is likely a coming surge in the commodities in the market as everybody and his brother starts looking for value as they catch on to the severe devaluation of the US currency.  Already the Chinese, who are usually huge investors in US treasury bills, have begun to establish enormous positions in the Canadian oil sector.

(2) Current prices in the Canadian oil sector are mostly well below their 5 year highs.

(3) Canadian oil and gas companies pay really good dividends or distributions.

(4) Canadian oil companies, particularly in the junior oil sector, are often selling below “book value” or what is also called “shareholder’s equity”.

Today, for example, Petrobakken (PBN)  in their quarterly report stated that their total assets were 5.5 billion; their net debt 0.698 billion.  This means shareholder’s equity per share (total shares outstanding, 0.188 billion) = 5.5-0.698/.188=$25.54 per share.  I am not a stock analyst, so my calculations could be incorrect (and I would appreciate anyone correcting me on this).  Despite this report, because of the net loss during Q2, PBN shares fell to as low as $21.28 today, as disappointed shareholders dumped the stock.  Others like me were obviously establishing long positions.  I established long positions at an average of $21.56, which in my view means that I immediately gained equity of nearly $4 per share.  Meanwhile, before yesterday’s financial report both TD Waterhouse and Scotia Captial had given PBN excellent ratings, with a $30 and $31 52-week target price respectively [Update:  I learned that the book value of Petrobakken is probably closer to 21.52, and TD Waterhouse has lowered their 52 week target to $25].

I’ve read that Warren Buffet, the value investor par excellence,  does not like too much the commodities sector.  I comfort myself with the fact that there have been other billionaires who have made fortunes on black gold.

Invest in gold or gold stocks?

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David Berman of the Globe and Mail writes about the pros and cons of owning gold versus gold stocks.  Sometimes I wonder how much experience financial journalists have in investing.  Usually, I think that they don’t really invest much besides perhaps their own RRSP’s.  I would guess that many of them, particularly the full-time staff writers, have very little hands-on experience, though they do watch the industry closely and this makes them knowledgable.  But there is no substitute for experience and competence.

One thing Berman doesn’t discuss is commissions.  I’ve had some experience trading gold mining stocks but very little with physical gold; the reason for that is the expense and risk that is involved in buying and owning gold.  If you visit the Kitco site, you will see that gold sells at a premium of about $60 or more per ounce, plus shipping and handling of $30 plus $4 per $1000. So if I were to purchase about $10,000 of physical gold, my expenses equal 10 x 4 = $40 + $30 (for shipping) and 8.33 oz *60 = $500 premium on the gold itself = $570 total costs. That’s roughly 5.7% commission. Then one has to consider storage costs. I would leave it in my house, which could be broken in and the gold stolen. Thus, I find that gold mining stocks are much more attractive than physical gold, since the discount brokerage fee of $9.99 per transaction means that I can take possession of $10,000 worth of stock at a commission of 0.1%. Thus, commissions are an important factor when deciding what to invest in.

But I think there will come a time when I will want to own physical gold.  If I lived in the US, I would consider storing a few thousand in gold, but I’ve more confidence today that the Loonie will maintain a semblance of its value, probably losing no more than 2-7% per annum. That’s why I am shorting the US dollar in favor of the Loonie.  But if I were an American, I would consider having some gold on hand, because paper money becomes worthless when hyperinflation hits, and then people resort to alternative currencies.  At that point, silver and gold coins may come back into circulation.  These will not necessarily be government approved currency, but coins with intrinsic value minted by third parties.  Once the Federal Reserve has discredited the US dollar completely, people will have no choice but to barter or do transactions in other currencies.  In Austria after WW I, the Swiss Franc was a sought after currency.  For us in Canada, it will be a very funny irony if the Loonie ever becomes a currency of preference in the US.

The April USA deficit and buying gold

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The Obama administration borrowed $82.69 billion in April, 2010.  That’s about $8.90 per day per every man, woman and child in the USA.  In my humble conservative opinion, such deficits have led and will lead to the devaluing of the US dollar, particularly because the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates at artificially low levels.

What is the investor to do?

Gold hit a new high $1241.25 yesterday.  Gold may decline in the short term but it is experiencing a secular bull market because of the inflation of all paper currencies.  I don’t buy gold because I don’t have a safe place to store it and I don’t want to pay an army to guard it.  I’ve instead traded gold mining stocks.  At my discount brokerage, the commissions are lower than for buying and selling gold bullion or coins.   I’ve had a lot of success averaging down and selling off a little at a time as the prices improve.  My best buy was WGI (Western Goldfields), which later became NGD (New Gold), on October 23, 2008, at 88 cents; my ngd is up 183% over my average cost price.

In the last few weeks, since I learned about trading options, I’ve been selling near the money put options of abx and gg (Oct, Jan’11, Jan’12 contracts). If current trends continue, these contracts will all expire worthless (even the ABX put Jan’12 at $45) and I will simply keep the premiums.  When doing this, it is important to reserve sufficient cash or credit to buy the stock at the strike price.  But even if assigned, the purchase of the shares becomes part of the averaging down strategy.  So for example, the $45 January 2012 put on Barrick Gold paid me $8.90 premium.  The average cost price (after commissions) of the shares if assigned then is $36.29–a 22% discount off the current $46 market price.