The markets have been in free fall since S&P downgraded the United States long-term credit rating to AA+. This downgrade has a number of knock on effects that we’re only starting to see now. For example, many pension funds and other “safe” investments can only hold “AAA” bonds, so those funds may have to begin off-loading their Treasury Bills. The re-insurers will also be forced to increase their spreads on Treasury Bills to account for the “heightened” awareness of risk that the downgrade has given them. Once the re-insurers increase their prices for underwriting loans, then interest rates will start to go up which is exactly the opposite of what the United States economy needs right now.

This unfortunate scenario is exactly why holders of Gold and Gold ETFs are going to benefit. These changes have the capacity to create abnormal inflation and this could erode the value of the US dollar dramatically. As the dollar falls, anyone who’s holding Treasury Bills or actual cash in US Dollars will see their wealth begin to be rapidly eaten away by this out of control inflation. More and more people will run to Gold and securities like Gold ETFs that are backed by Gold. We’re already seeing some of this as over the past three weeks we’ve seen gold go from $1500 per oz. to over $1750 per oz. – a greater than 15% increase in about two weeks.

I think it is imperative that you get a grip on what’s happening in the resource ETFs sector today. I am a regular reader of the Gold and Oil Guy Newsletter because I know that I’m getting my news from real people, not newscasters and talking heads. If you’re serious about protecting your wealth through Gold and Gold ETFs, then that newsletter is the place to get a good start.

*Disclaimer – The author is not a Professional Financial Advisor and this commentary is opinion, not financial advice. Before making any investments of your own, seek out the advice of a qualified Professional Financial Advisor!

The United States, the richest country in the world, can’t afford to pay its debts. Even more troubling, its politicians seem incapable of grasping the severity of the downside their current game of brinksmanship could deliver. Even having struck a “deal” to increase the debt ceiling, ratings agencies will certainly downgrade the credit rating of the US and thus INCREASE the interest rates on the unafforadable debt.

What makes it even more concerning is that the US Treasury is already purchasing over 80% of the debt its creating – so basically, the US Treasury is selling debt to itself and just printing money to pay for it.

This is the downside to a fiat currency is that the creation of paper money is backed by nothing, so when times get tough, government’s just find it easier to print money than cut costs. Sound familiar?

History shows that this happens repeatedly – it happened to Rome, it happened to the Chinese in 960AD, it happened to the French TWICE in the 18th century, the Weimar republic in Germany after the first World War, Argentina on a couple of occasions and its even already happened once to the US – in 1863 President Lincoln signed into law the Legal Tender Act and it was finally replaced with the Federal Reserve system in 1913.

What’s even more scary is that most people have no idea that the US Federal Reserve isn’t even owned by the US Government – its owned by international banks! Makes you wonder who’s really running things, doesn’t it?

However, like the laws of physics state for every action there is an equal, opposite reaction. The more countries print money and go deeper in debt, the more valuable gold becomes. When the Bretton Woods system was established in 1944, the US Dollar became the international standard because the US Dollar was pegged at $35 per oz. of gold. This system held until the early 70′s when the US began outspending its means and President Nixon got rid of the pegging. From $35 in 1944, gold sits today at over $1638 per oz. Many economists predict it could go as high as $5000 with its good friend Silver following it.

What does this mean for the average person?

Think about it… If the US Dollar is going through a period of inflation and devaluation, then putting your money in the bank in US Dollars is pointless, it sits there become worth less that it was the day before. On the other hand, gold ETFs are on the rise because they are backed by actual gold holdings. Trading in pure gold bullion is complicated, but gold EFTs can be traded very easily online. You can effectively jump online right now and with some diligent research find a few gold ETF funds that are well positioned and convert your excess cash that’s diminishing in value to the standard currency the world has adopted throughout history when times are tough, gold.

I highly suggest that you do you research though before divind in. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you subscribe to the Gold and Oil Guy Newsletter so that you can stay on top of everything happening in the commodities sectors.

*Disclaimer – The author is not a Professional Financial Advisor and this commentary is opinion, not financial advice. Before making any investments of your own, seek out the advice of a qualified Professional Financial Advisor!

This is a great way for an investor to take advantage of a hot market without having to really understand it 100% because you are buying a fund that operates like a stock, so you are well diversified in the sector the second you purchase shares of the gold ETF fund. And gold has been proven historically to be a reliable investment in whatever economy that happens to be present at the time of the investment.

The first thing you want to learn more fully when trading gold ETF funds is you need to familiarize yourself with the gold mining stocks index. A lot of people often view these mining stocks as risky but at the same time these particular stocks are also way below the levels of long term investments. This is great for the gold ETF trader because buying an ETF of this nature is more conducive for short term trading which is what you want since this is the correct vehicle and you want the ability to protect yourself during such volatile times.

The next place you should get comfortable with is the gold stocks index when trading gold ETFs. Please don’t accidentally confuse this with the gold mining stocks index because the two are mutually exclusive and very different. One thing you’ve probably took a notice to right away is that for the last decade gold has been testing it’s long term levels of support throughout this time.

The funny thing is that even though gold and gold ETF funds have been on the rise for the better part of the last 10 years, between the years 2006-2008 gold has actually underperformed. This is very encouraging to those who intend to trade in gold ETF stocks because it means that if you invest now you will see much higher rewards due to the unexpected underperformance.

But don’t just take my word for it. You should do your own research and I highly recommend you check out the Gold and Oil Guy Newsletter. Knowledge is power and this newsletter presents really powerful stuff on a routine basis – it is an absolute must for people who are new to Gold ETF and people with a wealth of experience.

So, if you currently find that gold stocks have been selling in a downward trend, please realize that historically gold is fully capable of holding its own. So you can definitely expect to experience both higher highs and higher lows in a down economy and the gold ETF will stand firm in the long term no matter what the case may be.

So do yourself a favor and get involved in the lucrative world of gold ETF investing today. It’s a very safe investment and one that will bring you plenty of rewards.

*Disclaimer – The author is not a Professional Financial Advisor and this commentary is opinion, not financial advice. Before making any investments of your own, seek out the advice of a qualified Professional Financial Advisor!

So, like I already said, if you make a gold investment at this very moment you’ll pay about 1,500 dollars an ounce, so you have the absolute opportunity to take out an investment that might bring you a 100% return within about a year and a half’s time. That would be utterly phenomenal if you ask me.

There are a few ways you can go about investing in gold to make a really good return. The first way is you can actually buy the physical product by purchasing it as either gold coins or gold bullion. Next, you can trade gold in what is known as the spot market. Or, you can learn how to trade gold futures or even invest some of your hard earned money in the stocks of the companies that mine gold. There are plenty of different options available to you today, so take advantage of them.

The main thing that I would suggest you do is you take the easiest option to invest in gold and you purchase shares of a gold ETF. The term ETF stands for exchange traded fund and it works very similar to a mutual fund. The best part about this type of share is it’s based off of a basket of stocks in the gold sector, so even though you are buying shares just like itís a stock, you are actually getting something that is well diversified so you really don’t need to be an expert stock picker when buying this type of gold ETF.

The most popular gold ETF available today is the gold bullion ETF known as ticker symbol GLD. This particular ETF is directly tied to the price of gold, so the person managing this particular fund is actually taking your money, as well as a group of other’s money, and is using it to actually buy physical shares of gold bullion. This gold is then stored in a vault and watched over very carefully. The other ETF in the particular category that you can buy is called the iShares Comex Gold Trust. It’s ticker symbol is IAU. But this is a much less popular gold ETF for a variety of reasons.

There are two other gold ETF types that are available to you. The first is gold mining ETFs and the other is leveraged gold ETFs. You can further explore these options and see if either of them are correct for you and your particular situation.

*Disclaimer – The author is not a Professional Financial Advisor and this commentary is opinion, not financial advice. Before making any investments of your own, seek out the advice of a qualified Professional Financial Advisor!

You realize, like I did, just how much upside potential there is to owning gold that you just canít wait to get in on the action. And I donít blame you one bit. Itís hot and itís only getting hotter by the minute. So you might as well grab a hold of some gold ETF shares because they are going to make you a lot more than just spare change over the coming years.

But you are probably asking yourself exactly what is the best way to own gold. Well, you basically have two main options that you can choose from. The first option is you can outright buy the precious metal in the form of gold bullion or gold coins. The second main option is you can buy shares of the gold mining companies.

Wait, there actually is a third option that I almost forgot about. And in my humble estimation this is by far the best way for a person to own gold in any form. You want to get your hands on a gold ETF called the StreetTracks Gold Trust. Itís ticker symbol is GLD in case you want to look it up for yourself, and you do!

Buying this particular type of gold ETF is very simple, and itís so easy that all your really need to do is either put in a call to your broker or if you are like the majority of the trading world youíll hop online to your online brokerage account and place an order right on the web.

This asset was not available to investors in this particular form until the GLD gold ETF was created, which is what makes this so special and worthwhile. It opens up a whole new world to an investor that they previously would never have access to. Itís such an innovative advancement that it has definitely changed the face of investing on a permanent basis.

Now Iíd like to share a few facts with you about the gold ETF whose ticker symbol is GLD:

1. One share of this stock (fund) is worth 1/10 of what an ounce of gold equates to. So, if the price of an ounce of gold is 1500 dollars, then one share would cost 150 dollars. Is that clearer now? Good.

2. The gold ETF GLD trades specifically on the NYSE, or New York Stock Exchange.

3. The premium that it trades at to gold is relatively low. Itís usually only around 1% or less which is fantastic for the gold ETF investors.

Do yourself a favor and invest in golf ETF funds today. Itís the smart move!

*Disclaimer – The author is not a Professional Financial Advisor and this commentary is opinion, not financial advice. Before making any investments of your own, seek out the advice of a qualified Professional Financial Advisor!