Tweet
I am on my way out. Willi and company see you at the next party. LOL.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 25, 2011
Americans Choose Gold as the Best Long-Term Investment
by Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist
PRINCETON, NJ -- Thirty-four percent of Americans say gold is the best long-term investment, more than say so about four other types of investments. Real estate (19%) and stocks (17%) are distant second choices.
The Aug. 11-14 Gallup poll was conducted at the end of a tumultuous week on Wall Street that sent the price of gold soaring.
Gallup asked a similar question from 2002 to 2010, but that question did not include gold. Real estate, savings accounts, and stocks jockeyed for the top spot during that time. Americans' faith in real estate and stocks suffered amid the 2008 economic crisis, but rebounded somewhat in 2010.
Gold is Americans' top pick as the best long-term investment regardless of gender, age, income, or party ID, but men, seniors, middle-income Americans, and Republicans are more enamored with it than are other Americans.
Women and upper-income Americans are more likely than others in their subgroups to point to real estate as the best long-term investment. After gold, low-income Americans are most likely to pick savings accounts as the best option for long-term investing.
Implications
Traditionally, gold -- like the U.S. dollar -- has been a safe haven in times of economic and political turmoil. It is a globally accepted store of value and one of the most highly desired precious metals.
The demand for gold has soared in recent years, as the financial crisis engulfed the global banking industry. More recently, the efforts of nations around the world and their monetary authorities to stimulate the global economy and avoid a repeat of the 1930s have made gold even more attractive. Current sovereign debt problems have only added to the demand for gold.
Gold has always had limited industrial uses, but great value in jewelry and as a precious metal. Now, the proliferation and basic devaluation of paper currencies has people on Wall Street talking about gold as a currency and pricing it accordingly -- something approaching a market-established gold standard that relates paper currency to an amount of gold.
That one in three Americans see gold as the best long-term investment may indicate a bubble in the value of this precious metal -- something that may be corroborated if gold continues to plunge as it did Wednesday. At the same time, this sentiment among many Americans may be related to the growing lack of confidence in the U.S. economy. This is particularly the case among upper-income Americans, who are now more pessimistic about the direction of the economy than their middle- and lower-income counterparts. The last time this happened was during the financial crisis of late 2008 and early 2009.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 25, 2011
Americans Choose Gold as the Best Long-Term Investment
by Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist
PRINCETON, NJ -- Thirty-four percent of Americans say gold is the best long-term investment, more than say so about four other types of investments. Real estate (19%) and stocks (17%) are distant second choices.
The Aug. 11-14 Gallup poll was conducted at the end of a tumultuous week on Wall Street that sent the price of gold soaring.
Gallup asked a similar question from 2002 to 2010, but that question did not include gold. Real estate, savings accounts, and stocks jockeyed for the top spot during that time. Americans' faith in real estate and stocks suffered amid the 2008 economic crisis, but rebounded somewhat in 2010.
Gold is Americans' top pick as the best long-term investment regardless of gender, age, income, or party ID, but men, seniors, middle-income Americans, and Republicans are more enamored with it than are other Americans.
Women and upper-income Americans are more likely than others in their subgroups to point to real estate as the best long-term investment. After gold, low-income Americans are most likely to pick savings accounts as the best option for long-term investing.
Implications
Traditionally, gold -- like the U.S. dollar -- has been a safe haven in times of economic and political turmoil. It is a globally accepted store of value and one of the most highly desired precious metals.
The demand for gold has soared in recent years, as the financial crisis engulfed the global banking industry. More recently, the efforts of nations around the world and their monetary authorities to stimulate the global economy and avoid a repeat of the 1930s have made gold even more attractive. Current sovereign debt problems have only added to the demand for gold.
Gold has always had limited industrial uses, but great value in jewelry and as a precious metal. Now, the proliferation and basic devaluation of paper currencies has people on Wall Street talking about gold as a currency and pricing it accordingly -- something approaching a market-established gold standard that relates paper currency to an amount of gold.
That one in three Americans see gold as the best long-term investment may indicate a bubble in the value of this precious metal -- something that may be corroborated if gold continues to plunge as it did Wednesday. At the same time, this sentiment among many Americans may be related to the growing lack of confidence in the U.S. economy. This is particularly the case among upper-income Americans, who are now more pessimistic about the direction of the economy than their middle- and lower-income counterparts. The last time this happened was during the financial crisis of late 2008 and early 2009.
Comment