Jason Burack of Wall St for Main St interviewed returning guest, best selling author and Chief Global Strategist at the West Shore Funds, Editor of Strategic Intelligence, a monthly newsletter, and Director of The James Rickards Project, an inquiry into the complex dynamics of geopolitics + global capital, James Rickards. http://www.jamesrickardsproject.com/
During this 30+ minute interview, Jason first asks Jim why do you think so many people on Wall St don't understand or hate gold?
Jim says there's been over 40 years of conditioning, brainwashing, etc in schools in the US that's anti-gold and that people in other countries understand gold's role in a diversified investment portfolio far better.
Jason and Jim discuss Warren Buffett's view on gold and the erroneous view that gold caused the Great Depression of 1929.
Jim says that gold is money and doesn't need a yield. Next, Jason asks Jim why Russia and China are accumulating so much physical gold?
Jim says China is doing it to hedge its paper US Treasury holdings (over $3 trillion) in case the US is successfully able to create massive amounts of inflation and devalue the US Dollar.
Jim thinks Russia is accumulating gold more because the US is targeting them more with financial warfare.
Jason then asks Jim if the Shanghai Gold Exchange will allow for real price discovery in the gold market?
Jim talks about how has been manipulated for over 100 years since WWI and that the Chinese would love to accumulate more gold at a lower price but that the gold miners cannot withstand gold at lower prices. Jim mentions a trip to Switzerland to speak to one of the world's largest gold refiners and how this refiner is running his plant 24/7/365 and can't adequately source enough physical gold to send to his Chinese customers.
To wrap up the interview, Jason asks Jim what event/s will stop the currency wars or coordinated central bank currency devaluations?
Jim says currency wars normally last a long time (at least a decade) and that the current currency war has only been ongoing for about 6 years. As the global economy becomes more incoherent, fragile and volatile, the global economy may need to return to a golden standard. But, people should accumulate at least some gold and be on their own personal gold standard.
