Last week, gold and silver prices were essentially unchanged. Even with the positive economic data being released, both precious metals remained strong. November and December were very similar in reference to the prices consumers paid, according to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation is a relentless concern for investors, though. The Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers released on a monthly basis demonstrates a zero percent change on “All Items” on a seasonally adjusted basis, but a drop in energy commodities (-1.9 percent) helped to undermine stats. When utilizing annual comparisons between 2010 and 2011, the inflation picture is fairly comprehensive. Compared to only a 1.5 percent increase in 2010, the CPI improved 3 percent in 2011. Since 2007 we haven’t seen this doubling of the inflation rate December to December. There was also an increase in the prices consumers shelled out for food at home which rose 6 percent in 2011 signifying an increase of 1.7 percent from 2010. Of these, the sharpest increment (8.1 percent) can be found within the dairy sector.

The inflation rate is often inconspicuous because of alterations in the Consumer Price Index over the years such as hedonic and substitution adjustments. It really should be about 6.3 percent for 2011 if it would be computed similar to the way it was previous to 1990, according to John Williams of ShadowStats. Compared to 9 percent in 2010, the annual inflation rate was approximately 11 percent in 2011 if we use inflation reporting adjustments from before 1980.

In the previous week, investors acquired $15 billion worth of 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities at a yield of -0.046 percent. It was in 1997 that TIPS last made their appearance at auctions where investors obtained the securities at a negative yield. Richard Schlanger, a portfolio manager at Pioneer Investments USA said, “It’s a safe-haven play. It’s all about the return of capital rather than the return on capital.” And the demand has been great, too. The overall accepted bids for the 10-year TIPS compared to the amount accorded came in at a ratio of almost 3 to 1.

Gennadiy Goldberg, a fixed-income analyst stated, “The reason for TIPS buying as of late has been fear that the Fed’s policies will lead to inflation further down the road.” In an attempt to shelter investors from a loss of purchasing power, the principal or face value of TIPS rise and fall with variances in inflation. However, TIPS are founded upon the current CPI and can distort real inflation. Accordingly, for inflation protection some turn to gold and silver, including central banks, as two years ago, they developed into net purchasers of gold for the first time in 20 years. Different from current fiat currencies, global turmoil has not done away with both precious metals which have survived thousands of years of crisis. Gold prices have climbed from $250 to $1,660 per ounce at the present time because of monetary policies over the past ten years. Simultaneously, silver prices have boosted from $4.50 to over $31, an increase of $26.50 per ounce.

It is the U.S. dollar which will suffer the consequences as gold and silver prices continue their upward momentum. Central banks carry on supplying stimulus measures that devalue fiat currencies while nations persist in their struggle with a global insolvency disaster. A budding consensus of economists anticipates that the Federal Reserve is expected to introduce another $1 trillion worth of easing to fuel the economy. An action of that nature will present another obstacle for the U.S. dollar while, at the same time, have a great effect on gold and silver prices.

Even though silver and gold both ended the year with less luminosity, 2012 appears to be brightening up. Within the last ten years, the silver price has increased by a factor of 12 from its ten-year low, $48.70 vs. $4.07, while gold has risen about seven times, $225.95 vs. $1,895.

The verifiable truth is that the price of silver is more unstable than the price of gold. This unpredictability applies to corrections as well. Typically, silver’s pull backs have been deeper and longer than gold’s. If we examine the three biggest for silver prices we can appreciate that they average to 42.1%.

It is actually the extent of the current correction which is more surprising then the actual size which is the second biggest on record since 2001. The 2004 and 2006 lapses took only five and four weeks respectively to get to their low points. Furthermore, it was 31 weeks after the collapse of 2008 that silver hit the ground. The present downfall spreads out for 35 weeks from the peak reached on April 28, 2011 to its December 29, 2011 low.

Gold gets back on track quicker than silver, also. The precious yellow metal’s major corrections necessitated an average of 57 weeks and 6 days to return to their old highs. In the meantime, it has taken silver’s three largest tumbles an average of 98 weeks and 4 days to turn around.

Now, we must implement the average recovery time to our present scenario. Let’s remember that the average 42.1% correction took 98 weeks and 4 days to recover and if we use the same ratio, a 46.3% correction would take 108 weeks and 3 days. Back tracking from the previous peak of April 28, 2011, it would be on May 26, 2013 that we would see silver prices return or surpass their high of $48.70. I already stated that silver takes longer to break than gold and it is due to its industrial use, but a fragile economy can bring down its claim which is what occurred during the 2008 economic collapse.

No one can say for sure exactly what will happen in the future because there are so many components to the whole picture such as the obvious, we are not in 2008. It just so happens that this year has already proved to be good for both precious metals. According to the Silver Institute, a recent market report demonstrated that ‘investor activity’ was the chief causative factor to both last April’s rally as well as September’s selloff. Concurrently, demand for physical metal has not only held steady but was predicted by GFMS to attain a new record high in 2012.

It is in the metal’s monetary uniqueness that investment demand is embedded. Everybody knows where the economy is headed which is why silver is anticipated to reach its currency appeal before long, given the amount of global fiat currency annihilation. This will possibly be the strongest catalyst for silver prices going forward. Everyone should have some silver.

The goal of this article is to convey that corrections are normal and they end, too. Don’t be impatient and please do not use the short-term profit strategy in the midst of a long-term bull market. Instead, keep silver’s fundamentals in mind: its industrial uses are growing and, like gold, silver is money. The window for buying silver at the current price of $30 will end shortly, so be sure you have your silver and gold in your possession because the way things are headed, neither will look back after taking off.

Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Barclays have all predicted that precious metals will perform excellently in the coming year. Their predictions, $2,200, $2,050, and $2,000, respectively, are once a gain proof that if you have not yet entered the market, you’re time is running out. This year, it will be about silver and gold again but, at the moment, it is silver which is shining a little brighter.

As for other investments, it hasn’t been so great and their outlook is just as dim. Growth has been miserable, unemployment remained elevated, and sovereign debt has worsened exponentially. The political system of the United States is in utter disarray. The housing section did not ricochet back to acceptable levels and the situation in Europe is at a hopeless stance.

The New Year brought with it certain issues that will determine whether or not we will collapse gracefully or with a thud. First, and foremost, in April, the government carelessly chipped away at the little confidence that existed with their senseless bickering over spending that just about ceased operations and would have had a destructive outcome on the ability of Congress to carry on spending recklessly money that it, in fact, has. Then, in December, we saw the foolish impasse about whether to prolong a cut in the payroll tax that both parties approved in principle. The worst one was the summer sham when many House Republicans menaced to obstruct an enhancement in the debt ceiling which would have promised a default on the U.S. debt, unless key spending reductions were determined by them. The situation resulted in an allowance where the government will carry on its dangerous spending habits while a super committee will formulate an arrangement to settle this predicament at long last. But the committee didn’t exactly work out the loose ends… And, finally, Standard & Poor’s ultimately reduced the United States’ credit rating. Their decision was based upon the impaired “effectiveness, stability, and predictability” of the way politics is being run within the United States.

So, election time should be interesting. As for precious metals, the future looks somewhat appealing, too. Silver, in the long term, has grounded, but if the resistance level is broken, a meaningful rally is around the corner. This has also been affirmed about gold due to subsequent rallies that occur after breakdowns. Silver is at a point where it may have bottomed out which signifies that it could be years before we ever see the price of silver as low as it has been. As with all market forecasts, nothing is 100%, yet, analytically speaking, the two times before when silver broke down during cyclical turning points (2004 and 2010), it was over after that. It is very probable that we are seeing a medium-term rally at this moment.

On the other hand, if we look at silver in the short term, it’s more of a blur because it’s close to a cyclical turning point yet who knows where that will end up. Despite this uncertainty, the outlook remains more positive due to the weight with which long term indications place on predictions. A more unimpeded calculation can be established given a week or two, but for now, silver will remain with a positive outlook because of its strong long term perspective.

What is true wealth? Very simply put, it is wealth that can be carried over from generation to generation. In other words, it is not gambling your present money to make a profit in the short run. The controversy between the dollar and precious metals should be analyzed in this manner…which one can be carried over as well and hold the largest percent of its value or purchasing power? Yes, the answer is gold and silver bullion, in particular.

Despite the fact that we are living and breathing in a world where performance means everything, real wealth means having it for a very long period of time. We can not confuse funds that are levied and daily estimates made to evaluate one division with another giving the notion that short-term performance is how money is made. Some traders actually do well for quite some time and then poof, it’s over. That’s just gambling, not real wealth-building.

A wiser way to compile wealth is to think long-term and merely trade the sporadic mid-term major corrections, concentrating on 30% shifts. The importance of successful investing targets investments that do well during hard economic periods. Choose investments that can resist the type of troubles we have experienced in the last four and a half years and you can see that not losing money or profit guarantees that you can increase wealth when times are stable. This depends upon a more profound method of investing, embracing economics, finance, and business. Genuine wealth creation investing lingers on even after you no longer exist.

Reality is that if we were to probe backwards while, simultaneously, looking forward, we would clearly see that western world leaders have not accomplished the goal of rectifying the structural weaknesses. Looking deeper allows us to observe that the foundation structures upon which the developed world is based are pummeling into each other and do not seem to be arriving at any closure anytime soon.

The United States is slowly losing its control over the U.S. dollar on the world’s financial system. It is China and India together that are gradually engulfing the wealth out of the west. It is only a matter of time before the dollar will have to give in to the Chinese Yuan. The rising world and the developed world will have to share dominion on global issues. The problem is that the financial world was not created with that in mind. It was constructed for dollar domination. The monopoly of the west will have to minimize with a great deal of hardship and objection. Many powers will rule and international trust and interdependence will deteriorate. The end is only beginning.

An efficacious investor must keep this in mind if he intends to be successful. Times are changing and these will be the issues that will be important. So, what now? Well, if we were to contemplate the wrongdoings of the past, we would see that we should have done something about these global issues way back in 2005. It would have been a good moment to get out of conventional companies in the west and into gold. There would have been twofold profits: protected and MULTIPLIED gains. Silver has fared extremely well also.

The business at hand is to conserve what you have. One must focus on retaining wealth more than producing new wealth. The time has come to invest in something that will rally in hard times. The less stressful periods will behold these investments doing very well as well. Gold and silver bullion will persist at the vanguard of high-grade, hard time ventures.

Last year was proof that gold and silver are composed of solid qualities that place them amongst the top investments of all time. September rolled in with gold reaching phenomenal highs of $1,920 per ounce and, in April, silver nearly reached $50 an ounce. Subsequent to corrections, gold and silver both culminated very poorly with gold finishing worse. Junior ventures executed at the very bottom. It hadn’t seen these lows for about 3 years.

Despite this, gold established its bull market run with its eleventh successive annual increase that commenced in 2001. The precious metal profited 10.1% which is a strong return even if it’s a little lower than preceding years. As for silver, it forfeited approximately 10% year over year because of its two-fold constitution. It was a bit heated up in the beginning of the year due to uncertainties about the currency but, ultimately, global economic disturbances obligated its return. Gold mining stocks were quite uneventful and with the correction in December, it just contributed to their cascade.

And, as for Treasuries, and those who believe in them, they were compensated very nicely because these bonds enjoyed one of their sharpest yields yet. Can you imagine this? Even with the United States losing their AAA credit rating, Treasuries prevailed as one of the more transcendent asset classes of 2011. What incited that? Dread over the sovereign debt predicament in Europe collectively with the Fed’s guarantee of maintaining interest rates low for another year or two.

Looking at the past three years, we find that precious metals have been great investments. But, let’s look ahead and contemplate whether gold is still one of the more stable places for our money. Fundamentals are steady, we know that. The previous year saw gold demand very high from investment and central banks. Add to that large buying from Europe when their crisis commenced as well as extensive buying from Japan subsequent to the disaster in Fukushima. The demand for the precious metal was extremely high due to economic, financial, monetary, and political concerns and these factors are quite solidly in place.

Let’s not forget the currency debasing that is occurring at unparalleled rates so while US Treasuries may seem like a safe security for cash, don’t forget the truth about how paper money is backed by faith…the same faith that has been turned to ashes. Paper money is nothing. When you think of true safety, you think of something that can not be debased, devalued, or destroyed by any entity. It’s a fact that the value of a dollar is less every year when we take into account inflation. Bottom line is that the grounds for gold’s bull market aren’t disappearing in the near future. Be certain that you have diversified appropriately.

You must be weary when you hear of “economic growth’. The truth is that it isn’t happening. We hear that the economy of the United States finalized superbly with advancement from the job market, a reduction in the price of gas, the confidence which was all but lost has reappeared out of nowhere, and finally, the Christmas season was better than anticipated… If all this is legitimate, then the United States should be able to take control of its debt as well as obliterate additional money-printing endeavors that will, in the end, be better for the gold and silver.

The New Year doesn’t look too bright for growth. To begin, the bulkiest piece of GDP growth is accredited to private consumption (savings reductions and income expansion). And as we all know, GDP growth is attained from production, not consumption. One of the best pieces of advice about this matter comes from Doug Casey who affirms that if you ‘produce more than you consume and save and invest the difference’, it’s the formula to become very, very rich.

Another reason is that weekly earnings dropped 1.8% from November 2010 to November 2011 if you regulate for inflation. This year consumers have made purchases with savings or credit cards. Is this indication of economic recovery? Put that together with mounting government debt as well as continuous deficit expenditure and what we end up with is that debt is what is backing up our economy…not very convincing, but true. It was back in 1947 when US debt exceeded GDP and we achieved that again last year. What if the Keynesians do what they want with the economy? Debt will only get worse which will be great for the precious metals.

Remember that if you purchase gold in the midst of a correction, your profit will be higher at the end of the year than the annual advance. Volatility is a double-edged sword: what goes down must come up…and, boy, will it! As a result, if you’re feeling like last year was a washout for your gold portfolio, let it go. The time to get up and buy is when others are selling. Manipulating the current weakness in prices means positioning yourself for the next launch. I know I will not be deterred from buying gold and silver at this time. It’s so perfect.

Only the faithful followers of gold and silver will profit in the end. Despite the present volatility within the markets, we must realize that it is just a temporary setback which will turn around eventually. Every year can not be full of upward movement.

The best advice is to repeat time and time again why you are a believer of gold and silver and why staying put is the best action to take at this moment. Don’t let margin bother you. Stocks are customarily flippant and, above all, receivers of rugged adjustments.

If you can react with calm and wise judgment then your end result will be worth tenfold what the market is producing now. The environment in which we are in is full of obstacles, but that does not imply that it will not get better. You just have to be aware of what is occurring and, above all, remain calm.

The demands are what you make of them. You know they are coming so prepare yourself mentally. The compensations, though, are out of this world or there wouldn’t be so many people who put their life savings into the markets of gold and silver.

So that you may come out on top, the unanimous call has to be against you. Only the floor is below the junior mining sector, but this is what we expected a while back. The strategies that the Federal Reserve and the ECB have opted for this year have not been exactly what we hoped for. Even the markets are questioning their actions. We have ultimately witnessed a total negative attitude towards the government in general with Obama and the Fed topping the cake.

Cutting back on debts along with a reorganization of entitlements is the call of the day. To that we should add a rational way to impose taxes on the masses which does not include reproving business individuals nor the working class in furtherance of a better and more stable market. What the world needs are superiors who have the ability to lead using stable tactics rather than ones who use meaningless strategies. Until they overcome their defects, they will be looked upon as jokers and that is the last thing we need right now.

Your best bet is using your instinct if based on well-reasoned investigation. Do not, under any circumstances, use trepidation as your guide. It is the perfect time to remind ourselves of some basic, yet influential facts. Remember to abstain from margin calls. The fact that mineral resources are a necessity for industry means what we hold will always be in demand. Things that go down can only rise yet again. The yellow and white precious metals will carry on their store of value status.

The support for gold and silver exists in spite of the chaos surrounding the financial world and year end tax loss selling. This could be what we’ve been waiting for, but whether or not it is a bull run or rally remains to be seen. Even during the most pessimistic times, rallies can come about. Just go back to October when the advance-decline ratio on the NYSE was approximately 10 to 1. Our only desire is that the current action against gold and silver symbolizes required selling by investors who marginalize and most often get rid of their winning positions to counterbalance their tax loss selling. Soon the ECB will once again see gold for what it is and will bring it back home.

It is only right that the global financial crisis affect every sector including gold and silver markets. But don’t go short now. Things will return to normality and we will once again come out on top. You’ll see.

You want to come out on top, or at least even, when the last leaf falls but you aren’t sure where to turn. Just keep in mind that if you invest in gold and silver you will have with you 5,000 years of safe haven within your grasp should you need it. Our monetary system is in corrupt and incompetent hands and if you don’t worry about yourself, no one will. It is worse this time around in comparison to 2008. These days no one has even a slither of allegiance to those who are in charge. They have proven unworthy. Even when they allegedly act, you know there is something else which is more important than you. Their monetization practices have only made matters more dreadful.

We are now enduring much more debt with the majority of the developed world trying to survive the shortcomings they have brought upon themselves. If we just look at the energy prices, they tell the whole story.

Uncertainty is the popular sentiment across the board. What will become of us and our weak financial system? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, the New Year should be very interesting which is why one preventive measure you should take to aid yourself is to invest in something you know will achieve profitable return when everything else fails.

Between the Eurozone predicament, rising oil prices, China’s impasse, and delicate GDP growth only a miracle could save us…and that is certainly not going to occur. Insight into the markets is not helping since we can’t understand what is really going on. What we do know is that reliance upon the current monetary system is fading quickly and what will remain? A system we no longer confide in? It will only cascade quicker.

We can look forward to $10 trillion in stipends and rollover needed so that our system may have a chance for survival. It’s not happening. It will not appear from our own economy nor form any other place. China has their own problems and can not help us.

Oil is also digging our grave deeper, too. The correlation between oil prices and our financial system is a diametrically opposed one. When oil prices are up, the economy is down. Oil prices have actually attained a ceiling of $30 more than two years ago and $10 more than last year. We are in a very fragile state which is why the effect has been worse than in 2008.

The world simply does not have the flexibility with which to help each other. The Bank of England’s Paul Fisher said we used to have more headway and a better flow of cash which was used to elate the economy and rescue institutions in need. It just is not present now which is why we are in a much more critical state than in 2009.

Our only way out is with a plan of action that entails economic growth. But it is just that which maintains us at ground level. We can’t even blame the energy prices because the economic bubble would have erupted anyhow. The real issue was that the level of debt rose more than income throughout the OECD. Maybe central banks around the world should not have been so overindulged with such pleasing policies.

Since 2008, our GDP stats have remained stable. This is not really all that good because it denotes that although we have not grown, we have tacked on $5 trillion more in debt. Unfortunately, last year our GDP was less and continues its negative trajectory. The previous year’s federal deficit was $1.3 trillion which translates to 10% more of the actual GDP. Things are not as good as some would like us to believe.

Across the Atlantic things are heating up with debt so out of whack that they are getting downgraded in all areas. Their only hope is a fabricated rescue which is nothing other than economic upturn and development. The problem is neither is occurring and their economy will end up collapsing and in need of more aid. It is Ireland, though which is on the verge of total and complete destruction. The irony here is that they have previously received the bailout package and their economy is crumbling! What a learning moment! The ECB can teach how Ireland’s economy suffered under austerity and will disintegrate because of it.

This is why the limit for fixed government deficit is 3%. If the GDP expands at more or less this rate it will create equilibrium. If both the economy and the deficit level expand, there will be nothing remarkable to write about. But if the rate of interest leads the economy, the deficit level will be carried away and taxes may go way up. This has, obviously, not been the priority for our governments. So what happens next? The world’s finances are in chaos and it is worsening. Currencies will receive what they deserve: total and complete devaluation.

This is why you should invest in gold and silver so that when this occurs, you can sit back and relax. Everything will fall to pieces, except precious metals which have been with us for so many hundreds of years and have been blessed with certain characteristics that will always be esteemed within a society. Can you say that about fiat currency?

At this point in our history, central banks’ job has evolved into one that aids the sovereign debt market. It is basically a deserted one, though. Channeling debt monetization is the way they do their business and has become a daily soap opera. One must be ahead of the game and invest in gold and silver as soon as possible before it’s too late.

The corruptness within these organizations has reached a point of no return in that they even rejoice the monetized acquisitions. One of the consequences is the destruction of the bond and stock market candor. Foreign creditors leave the US Treasury Bond market and large European banks disappear from the Southern Europe sovereign debt market. As we watch the banking system collapse right in front of our eyes, central banks interfere to ward off alarm. When government bond yields climbed in Europe, it was not that their central bank had deserted them. The big Euro banks sell tons of bonds while the ECB purchases some of them. The honor of the bond market is also waning. The financial system is now quite reliant upon the debt monetization method. The void is filled with hyper inflation which supplies the prevailing bid. And worse are the ones who welcome central bank acquisitions without really understanding the corruptness within the purchases.

Forthcoming budget dilemmas will ultimately do away with the European Union. At this moment they are supposedly on their way to recovery, but more of the same will accomplish nothing. Federation will override decentralization as a motive to force a system failure at work to create the federal structure. The recent appointment of Monti and Draghi are proof of this. Howard Davies’ recommendations are also austere and obvious and will aid hyper monetary inflation with the central bank serving as the entire government bond market as well as the establishment of a federation across the country.

Italy’s crisis is just about ready to explode and it will serve as the agent of contagion, next to France and Spain. The summits are not reaching their goal of finding an appropriate solution and Italy will, ultimately, depict the ECB as both incapable and defeated. Greece is no longer the star of the soap opera as once more the gauge for chaos is the benchmark 10-year Italian government bond yield. It has mounted toward the dangerous 7.0% mark as investors emit bond market votes in opposition to the policy in Rome and the forthcoming austerity measures to be pushed through. Because of the colossal Italian debt, this level is considered unsound along with worker strikes which have made it apparent that Monti will be unsuccessful with large budget cuts that do not include severe penalties. Italian banks are bordering collapse and markets prepare for an anticipated debt downgrade to eliminate its coveted and unmerited AAA rating by Standard & Poors.

Remember that Monti is syndicate-appointed and not elected by the people and he is certain that Italy is at the mercy of a Greek-style economic failure if it lacks the approval of the fiercely debated austerity package. Italy is the third major economy in the Euro zone and whose borrowing expenditures began to approach the levels that obligated Ireland, Greece, and Portugal to request international aid. Monti’s contentious package is sustained by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD). The decree plans to raise more than 10 billion Euros ($13.4 billion) from the following:
• taxing properties,
• enforcing a new tariff on items of indulgence (yachts),
• increase the Value Added Tax,
• tax evasion restraint
• raise the age for retirement

Some experts, such as Felix Zulauf, an ex-hedge fund manager and asset manager, expect hardship for Southern Europe as well as the departure of one nation from the Euro Monetary Union next year. Once that occurs, mayhem will be the order of the day. The following day, the nation will undergo devastation of their banking system, imposing a speedy nationalization in a different currency. The ultimate consequence will be a sovereign debt default and total pandemonium within their borders. We will wish it was Lehman all over again which is why the sooner you invest in gold and silver, the better, so you can have some sort of economic shot at survival when this occurs.

Imagine a scenario where bank doors do not open nor ATMs provide you with your savings. This is not only for authors writing about fiction, but can become a true plot that we might have to furnish an ending for. Will you wait for that or will you prepare yourself in advance? For over 5,000 years, gold and silver have upheld history as the best safe havens, so how can one contradict that? It’s just not fathomable.

Greece is already in the process of preparing for a comparable situation with the banking system breaking up right before their eyes and citizens frenetically running to the banks and taking out euros in large supply. The most recent banking movement has Georgios Provopoulos, governor of Greece’s central bank, worried for the future of his people and this comes with good cause. Many Greeks have already withdrawn 100% of their savings due to panic and insecurity because of the high unemployment and the menace of higher taxes. Add to that their concern about their country being detached from the Euro Zone and we can get a slight picture of what they’re experiencing.

Greeks have about €170 billion in savings, but in 2010, it was 30% higher. The employees at the central banks estimate that just about 20 percent of the deposit withdrawals have in fact been transferred to other countries. The Greeks deem that leaving the money in their banks is too precarious. And it’s not only the big players taking their money out, regular citizens are also following suit with withdrawals as little as €3,000.

We need to remember, though, that we’re not far behind them. If and when the Greeks default, it becomes a chain reaction that will wash up on our shores. It will affect Spain and Italy first and then head on to France and from there, it will become an American problem. Once that occurs, banks have no other choice but to close their doors to the public, that means you and me. What we need to construct is a manner in which we can survive until the whole banking system gets restructured. The best advice is to have in one’s possession three to six months in liquid assets. And what are the top assets? Gold, silver, and cash. This inevitable crisis will affect us one way or another so if you’re thinking ahead, you need to do it properly. Those three assets will get you through the banking system meltdown.

Just think, it’s similar to the crisis of 2008. At that point, the dollar was safe and it just might be helpful to stock up on some cash in your home instead of some worthless T-bonds with a negative interest. What could also occur is a complete restructuring of the financial world as we are accustomed. And, maybe, just maybe, a return to some sort of gold standard.

If you just look at the facts from history, you will understand that our existing system just doesn’t work and gold and silver have responded well for over 5,000 years. Steve Forbes just might have something up his sleeve because there has been more support for the United States going back to a functional system as the gold standard. This could probably occur within the next five years. Or maybe sooner, if Ron Paul is within the inner circle of those making the decisions at the time. The time has arrived to confront this situation analytically and responsibly, not as governments have acted. So, get your research done and decide where and how you will acquire your gold and silver so that you and your loved ones may survive the imminent downfall.

This was one of those weeks that you just wanted to forget entirely. Markets are haywire, but don’t let yourself get sucked into all the confusion. Stocks and commodities, as a whole, were down as Europe and Bernanke both did not do as expected. The markets remained uncertain.

Red is the dominant color for the moment as activists are quite militant in the actions. Green is nowhere to be found with indices close to their lows of the year apart from the U.S. dollar and long-term treasuries. Money really isn’t safe anywhere except in those places by default which is why the U.S. dollar and U.S. debt is the best of the worst. But, stockpiling dollars and U.S. debt are not the ways in which we are ever going to get out of this mess.

The market stage is imposed upon by the debt disaster of the West. The U.S. dollar as well as precious metals is enduring counter-trend rallies. As they depart, gold and silver will prepare to signify points of reentry. The U.S. dollar and long-term treasuries are overbought as gold and silver have recorded their typical erratic competitive sales and slumps.

Because we have not experienced a higher longer term, fear and panic are setting in for short sellers and pessimists. Very satisfied are they with collateral loss driven by tax loss selling. Let’s not forget that Colorado is larger than Greece and that there are more gold holdings in Spain versus their GDP than the U.S. can count with. The imminent default in Europe can probably be withheld. Should a government cessation occur or an additional credit downgrade in the U.S., the question remains as to the route money from the overbought dollar and U.S. debt will take. It could be that the current actions are being overdone of shorting the Euro and going long the U.S. dollar and long-term treasuries. What really is about to explode is the U.S. debt bubble. Ultimately, the money on the sidelines will turn to precious metals, miners, and, at the close, gold and silver junior explorers as they escape from the doomed arena.

Despite the recent downturn of precious metals and miners, gold and silver are pulling back in a volatile correction and may soon be attaining support levels as silver and the miners test their 2011 low and gold pulls back to its July 2011 breakout subsequent to making record winnings in both 2009 and 2010.

I think we all are certain that central banks will not allow a deflationary situation occur while we are living real protests marching very closely to home. And, of course, central banks always have their option to do away with all of this by doing what they do best. A true safe haven for investors will always be gold and silver.

Even though patterns exist that guide us to believe that we are testing support levels and that technical damage has ensued on most stocks including the precious metals, pessimists have incessantly spoken of the burst of the golden bubble and that we are entering a different stage where gold and silver are not in the limelight, it simply is not true. We just might very soon be basking in a reversal sooner rather than later.

What really is happening is what occurs at the close of every year: price fluctuations that cannot be explained. I look at it as a time in which to take advantage of the low prices and enter the market at a much better time than if the prices were soaring. It really is an impeccable time to invest in gold and silver. Be smart, be wise, do your research…and act.