Aaargh, these be the End Times, I tell ee.

[avevale_intelligencer]

Is it me, or are there suddenly (in the last few weeks) lots and lots of adverts on TV for people who want to buy "unwanted" gold jewellery?

If, as they say in these adverts, the price of gold is at an all-time high, isn't it rather poor business sense on their part to be buying right now?

Is it not more likely, perhaps, that they are trying desperately to amass stocks of gold because everything else is about to go through the floor and/or down the plughole?

Not that it affects me--I have one count it one item of gold jewellery, and they'd have to cut my finger off to get it--but if more proof were needed that things are going to get much, much worse before they even think about starting to explore the possibility of setting up a committee to discuss issues around maybe getting a little bit better...then I can't think of a more likely piece of evidence than anonymous bods trying to corner all the precious metal they can get their hands on.

Time to lose myself in a good book. Or a fast smallship. Or something.

Comments

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

also, as it says, the cost of mining and refining gold is around $600/ounce, so a 30% markup from refiner to street price is probably not outrageous as there is a limited supply and prices rise (it's pretty standard economics!)

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

30% markup I could see. The markup is currently a lot higher than that.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

yep, and there are people still rushing forward with cash to buy a limited resource, so the owners of the gold are rubbing their hands with glee (not the tv show!) and basically treating it a bit like an auction and setting higher and higher prices and people are still buying ... the dollar isn't about to collapse (I think!) so it's best to wait until the gold price drops again as it will almost certainly do in the next year ... but how far, no idea, but I'd guess it's not going down to $300/ounce ever again (unless someone dumps hundreds of tons of gold on the market as Gordon Brown did ...)