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- By Tim Melvin, Contributing Writer, Money Morning - May 13, 2013
Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross earlier this month once again suggested that the shipping industry is ripe for investment, presenting a handful of good
stocks to buy now.
Ross knows how to spot a beaten-down sector and turn its brightest opportunities into mega-profits. This "vulture investor" previously invested in troubled sectors like coal, steel, and auto parts and cashed out years later with enormous gains.
This time, appearing on
CNBC, Ross said that shipping companies were the next growth story.
In fact, earlier this year Ross told
Bloomberg TV that he plans to invest as much as $2.5 billion in the shipping sector.
Here's why Ross is looking for good
stocks to buy now in this beleaguered industry.
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Silver Prices in 2013: The Reasons for a Bold Forecast
- By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning
- May 2, 2013
Don't let the lackluster showing for silver prices in 2013 fool you - things are about to change.
Indeed, the white metal's performance so far has been uninspiring. Silver prices ended April down $4.14 an ounce, or 14.6%, at $24.42 an ounce, marking the third consecutive month of declines. The metal was little changed in March, trimmed by just $0.10. In February, silver shed $2.92. In January, it gained a modest $1.12.
Weighing on the white metal is record stock market rallies. In Q1, the Dow gained 11%, booking its best first quarter since 1998. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index soared 10%, and the Nasdaq was up 8%. The Dow and the S&P have gone on to hit fresh records on numerous occasions, and the Nasdaq rests at its best level since 2000.
The situation in Cyprus is also pressuring silver. Word the Cypriot government must sell 400 million euros of its excess gold reserve to raise $13.2 billion (as part of its bailout deal) sent precious metals reeling. Since Cyprus is the fifth Eurozone nation to seek a bailout, concerns are other European governments may follow suit.
Down about $6.00 an ounce, or 20%, this year, the slump presents a buying opportunity.
Investing now in beaten down silver could prove very rewarding. The silver market looks poised to repeat the 170% gain logged over the seven-month period between April-November 2011.
Money Morning Global Resource Specialist Peter Krauth, sees plenty of potential in investing in silver.
"Because the global silver market is relatively small, silver prices tend to be more volatile; the pounding selloff we witnessed in silver this past month is a testament to that fact. But volatility works both ways, so when silver rises, its prices can explode higher," said Krauth.
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These Three Charts Point to Higher Silver Prices Ahead
- By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning
- March 28, 2013
For the past few weeks, silver prices have been trading sideways. Kitco notes this tight trading range "could be "basing' action that can put in market lows and occurs just before an uptrend begins."
For those investing in silver, that's great news.
And if you don't think silver prices will go higher this year, here are three charts showing otherwise.
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How To Buy Silver: A Guide To Today's Top Silver Investments
- By Peter Krauth, Resource Specialist, Money Morning
- April 19, 2012
As precious metals go, silver may not have quite the same mystique as gold.
But let's be honest: The "white metal" has its backers, too.
In fact, when Money Morning published its "How to Buy Gold" special report just a few weeks ago, one of the biggest questions that we received in response was: "When can you do the same for silver?"
That's just what we've done here. In this special report, we show you how to buy silver.
Silver: The "Other" Precious Metal
Although gold possesses the greatest allure of precious metals, silver has a longstanding tradition in many cultures - a tradition that in some cases reaches back thousands of years. Nearly 2,500 years ago, for instance, China was the first to use silver as money.
Here in the United States, silver alloys were still present in some of our everyday coins as recently as 40 years ago. Today, however, silver is no longer viewed that much as a monetary metal. But that's because about 40% of silver is used for industrial applications.
The physical silver market is small, with annual demand of slightly less than 900 million ounces.
Since the financial crisis of 2008, silver prices have increased by 300%.
And that's only the beginning. Silver is on the verge of a massive "short squeeze". The last time something like this happened, investors pocketed upwards of 195% in just a few months - but more on that later (Or you can get a sneak peek of our new silver special presentation right now. You can find it here.)
An important metric to understand and watch is the silver-to-gold ratio. It tells you how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one of gold. Historically, that ratio is 16 to 1. On this basis alone, silver should be much higher right now.
But perhaps a more realistic level, at least in the short term, is the ratio of silver-to-gold since the start of this bull market back in 2000. That ratio has been about 50-55 ounces of silver for one of gold. Even this more conservative estimate of silver prices vs. gold provides an excellent opportunity for investors to cash in as gold prices continue to rise.
How to Buy Silver
Like gold, silver investments can be made in a variety of forms. Let's take a look at some of the most popular.
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The Who, How, and Why Behind Silver Price Manipulation
- By Peter Krauth, Resource Specialist, Money Morning
- April 6, 2012
No one knows the machinations of the day-to-day silver price better than Ted Butler.
Ted publishes bi-weekly commentary at www.butlerresearch.com, with a special focus on the silver market, which he's been closely following for over 30 years. Ted is an expert's expert.
So naturally, that's whom I turned to for an in-depth perspective on what's really going on with the silver price. As usual, Ted tells it like it is.
I think you'll be fascinated by Ted's tremendous insights...
Ted Butler on Silver Price Manipulation
Ted, you're widely recognized as the foremost expert on manipulation in the silver futures market. How do you define manipulation, and how are the main players benefiting from that?
Manipulation is another way of saying someone controls and dominates the market by means of an excessively large position. So, just by holding such a large concentrated position, the manipulation is largely explained. In real terms, whenever a single entity or a few entities come to dominate a market, all sorts of alarms should be sounded. This is at the heart of U.S. antitrust law. It is no different under commodity law.
Price manipulation is the most serious market crime possible under commodity law. In fact, there is a simple and effective and time-proven antidote to manipulation that has existed for almost a century, and that solution is speculative position limits. Currently, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC) is attempting to institute position limits in silver, but the big banks are fighting it tooth and nail.
As far as any benefits the manipulators may reap, it varies with each entity. But if you dominate and control a market by means of a large concentrated position, you can put the price wherever you desire at times, and that's exactly what the silver manipulators do regularly. This explains why we have such wicked sell-offs in silver; because the big shorts pull all sorts of dirty market tricks to send the price lower.
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Investing In Silver: How to Buy Silver Coins and Bars
For investors who want to capture the coming move in silver, buying silver bars or coins is still one of the best options.
Here's why...
Like gold, investing in silver is a great hedge against inflation and financial turmoil alike. It's why demand for silver is increasing at an astonishing rate.
In fact, says Money Morning Global Investing Strategist Martin Hutchinson, "If silver were to match its 1980 peak, adjusted for inflation, it could climb as high as $150 an ounce."
For savvy investors who hold physical silver in bars or coins, that move would deliver roughly a 328% gain from today's spot-prices.
Investing in Silver Coins
Of the two, buying silver coins is a bit more challenging because there are so many different ways to purchase them - including rare coins.
But while rare collectible silver coins are often attractive and sometimes bring in big prices when sold, their value is quite subjective, as they are tied to a number of largely intangible factors like scarcity, wear and quality of appearance.
Rather than becoming a rare coin collector, most investors would be better off purchasing bullion coins if their intent is to ride the silver bull market.
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Special Report: How to Buy Silver
- By Peter Krauth, Resource Specialist, Money Morning
- January 5, 2012
Silver prices soared as high as $50 an ounce last year before experiencing a brief correction that took it back below $30.
However, despite this blip, mounting inflationary pressures, a weakening dollar, and emerging market demand will see silver retest its record highs in 2012. In fact, this time around it could even climb as high as $150 an ounce.
The white metal has already gotten off to a strong start this year, with silver for March delivery surging 5.9% on Tuesday to settle at $29.57 an ounce - the biggest one-day gain in months.
And it's just getting started. So if you don't want to miss the next big bull-run, you might consider the following instructions on how to buy silver.
How to Buy Silver
Like gold, silver investments can be made in a variety of forms. Let's take a look at some of the most popular forms.
Physical Silver: Physical silver can be purchased in a variety of sizes and weights, which determines its price. Most typical are 1.0 ounce silver coins, like the Austrian Silver Philharmonic, the American Silver Eagle, and the Canadian Silver Maple.
Their prices vary slightly due to differences in silver purity, with the Silver Maple being the highest at 99.99% pure. You'll pay about a 16% premium over the silver price for coins due to the cost of fabricating them.
Another popular option is the 100-ounce silver bar, which commands a 5% premium over the spot price of silver.
These coins and bars are essentially bought for their silver content and not as collectibles. If you're looking to build a silver stash - either large or small - bullion dealers may be the easiest way for investors to do so. But do your homework first, and check them out before you buy. Also, avoid paying more than the premiums I noted above for either coins or bars.
Some investors wonder if they should buy smaller denominations, like 1/20th, 1/10th, , or ounce (gold) coins. The thinking goes like this: If ever these coins need to be used to transact and make payments, one would want to have smaller "amounts" to carry around. That's a valid rationale. Even so, keep in mind that you'll pay a premium to the actual silver content, since each individual coin has to be fabricated. I believe that, should we ever get to that point, you could just convert a one-ounce coin or bar into a number of smaller coins, and pay the premium, or perhaps receive whatever else is being used for transactions (a new currency?) in return.
A few dealers that have an established reputation are:
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