Blogs: Christopher K. Potter
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Written by Christopher K. Potter
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Saturday, September 15, 2012 |
 For three thousand years China has been at the forefront of monetary innovation. It was the first to legalize gold money in the tenth century BC and two millennia later it issued the world’s first paper currency. Fast forward to 2012 and China is at it again, eclipsing Australia as the largest producer of gold and increasing its monetary gold reserves at an alarming rate. Five years ago China surpassed the US in gold production and five years from now it will own more gold than the US Federal government. Read more |
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Written by Christopher K. Potter
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011 |
 The long-run goal of monetary policy is simple: Supply the economy with the right amount of money to promote healthy economic growth and a stable price level. Determining that amount is impossible for the Federal Reserve. Nevertheless, since 1971, when we said good-bye to the last semblance of a gold standard, we have delegated that responsibility to the Fed and the world’s central bankers. This 40-year experiment has failed. Real economic growth is faltering, and the world’s leading powers are waging a currency war Read more |
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Written by Christopher K. Potter
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Tuesday, August 02, 2011 |
 Would it surprise you to know that the "official" rate of inflation in Russia is a lofty 9%? It surprised us until we looked at Russian money supply which has grown at a compounded annual rate of 30% over the last ten years. In light of this, it is easy to wonder why the inflation rate isn't even higher than 9%. Well, according to the following Financial Times article, it is (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/be03d45c-a666-11e0-ae9c-00144feabdc0.html). At issue here is the propensity of governments to tactically understate Read more |
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Written by Christopher K. Potter
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Friday, May 13, 2011 |
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In 2009 I wrote an article (http://www.kitco.com/ind/Potter/nov042009.html) about the significance of the Bank of India's purchase of 200 tons of gold from the IMF. After decades of being net sellers, it seemed that collectively, central banks were on the verge of becoming net buyers of gold. Despite long dated conventional wisdom to the contrary, central banks did indeed buy more gold than they sold the following year (2010).
According to the World Gold Council's 2011 First Quarter report, "The latest data Read more |
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Written by Christopher K. Potter
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Tuesday, May 03, 2011 |
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Recently a New York Times article screamed “Prices Surge as Investors Rush to Safety of Gold.” In reality there was no rush and the gold price did not surge. Gold was up less than 0.5% on the day in question and is up only 6% in 2011, less than the increase in the S&P 500. For 10 years, the gold price has edged quietly higher, rarely moving more than 1% up or down on any given day. Along the way, the media argued that each new high was driven by panicked investors who were fleeing Read more |
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