Coininvestdirect.com

Friday Sovereign Downgrades

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:52:00 +0000

Standard & Poor's have said they will downgrade France, Italy and Portugal this afternoon, after markets have closed. There are also reports from the FT that Austria will be demoted and a French TV station is reporting that S&P have already dropped the French by a notch.

South Africa has not been so luck yand has been downgraded during this afternoon's trading session by fitch to negetive Outlook.

"Pause for reflection on Greek debt swap" as nothing has been agreed in IMF, EU, private sector negotiations

Large Movements already on the markets, with key support levels being tested and passed on a range of currencies versus the dollar, on the back of the announcement with large moves thought to take place in Asia on Sunday night as fear and Risk Off trades push most currencies and equities onto the back foot.

We will see how quickly gold and silver will rise in the next few hours.

The Golden Age for Smartphones

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:57:21 +0100

London, 18/10/11

Precious metals trader CoinInvestDirect.com – based in London and operating throughout Europe – is now offering their customers a mobile platform for buying gold and silver.

Due to the very high demand for physical precious metals and the increasing popularity of mobile phones, this mobile platform is designed to combine both areas and to simplify the trading of gold and silver. Customer location no longer plays a role, gold and silver prices can be tracked continuously and orders can be placed anytime and anywhere – all without having to download an application first. This will allow customers to place orders immediately (for gold/silver coins and bars) based on price fluctuations and movement while being at a café, cinema or the theatre.

The mobile age is entering a new era - CoinInvestDirect.com is the first trader to provide a mobile platform for its customers throughout Europe. It is available twenty-four-seven, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and is working without downloading any application.

Prices are being updated every 60 seconds and are based on the respective spot prices of the globally traded metals.

CoinInvestDirect.com was founded in 2006 and is ranked as one of Europe’s biggest traders of gold and silver. Precious metals are dispatched from a centrally located distribution centre in Germany and are shipped within the EC countries. CoinInvestDirect.com are currently experiencing a particularly high demand from countries like Greece, Spain and Italy – in addition to the already very strong demand from the United Kingdom.

Forex vs gold investment

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:43:22 +0100

The current global market is looking decidedly shaky and once formidable currencies such as the dollar are suddenly no looking like the safe haven they were once regarded as.

With no part of the world handling their economy with aplomb, currencies all over the globe are more volatile than ever and difficult to predict.

Whilst this has the distinct advantage of providing real opportunity for profits to forex traders, it also means that the likelihood of sustaining heavy losses are also greatly increased.

However, even when all other safe bets are distinctly fragile, precious metals seem to be holding firm with gold in particular appealing to investors looking to safeguard their money. The yellow metal is also managing to attract a crowd due to the relative choppiness and fragility of the dollar, a currency which previously would have managed to stand far firmer in difficult economic times.

Gold has been steadily rising in value for the last five years and has recently peaked at levels not seen for 26 years. Its value is very closely pegged to the movements of the forex market, making it an ideal switch for investors looking to diversify who would prefer not to have to learn a whole new way of trading.

It is also possible to invest in gold without putting money in the metal itself. Alternative ways of putting money into precious metals is by investing in firms that either utilise or mine them, such as mining and refining companies.

However, whilst gold is viewed by many as a safe investment, it does not offer substantial returns as a general rule and its growth rate can be made void by inflation very easily if held for the longer term.

Whilst pegged to the movements in the currency market, gold holds an inverse relationship to the dollar and tends to strengthen in times of economic crisis when the greenback weakens. Of course this is only a generalised rule and the actual calculations between the movement of the two are far more complex.

Gold is generally held by banks and governments in addition to currencies and is considered a war chest, a trump card to play when the economic position starts to become critical. Even when a currency starts to rapidly depreciate, holding gold acts as a hedge against potential losses,

Very similarly to forex, the price of gold is strongly related to a large number of factors such as political, economic, global and national and its movement cannot be isolated to a single influencing factor.

Gold remains a commodity very much in demand when global economies are taking a downturn but the price can plummet when sentiment improves. This makes it vital to anticipate market movements, just like in forex and act sufficiently quickly to prevent taking a big hit.

In reality, many investors do not stick solely to either forex trading or gold but rather combine the two to create a portfolio which hedges against risk whilst still offering a decent return.

With traders subject to horrific pains has gold lost it’s “Safe Haven” status?

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:37:16 +0100

With gold closing last week down almost 10% and silver approximately 26%, the metals have certainly lost their shine, once again pitted to ridicule. This correction has been sharp and horrific for new investors, leaving questions as to what happened and how gold and silver could drop so far given the problems of the world today. But the most important question is, has gold lost it’s “Safe Haven” status?

This is a topic I covered on my last post so have a duty to investigate what has happened. Was this a kneejerk reaction or was this a fundamental flaw in the properties of gold and silver and what does this mean to those who still hold the metals at ransom to higher prices.

One thing for sure, is there are now difficult resistance levels set on the upside for any future price appreciation, but what about the price action just passed? Last Thursday the financial world stood still for a moment to analyse what Operation Twist would mean for them. Aside from using new popular memes such as “significant downside risk”, Ben Bernanke announced the selling of short term securities, whilst buying longer maturities between 6 and 30 years.

In addition to this, the particular operation has been extended till June 2012, subtly hinting it would be unlikely for added stimulus in the near term and certainly not likely at the next FOMC meeting in November. This has seen the market which was once fuelled by hope and rumour react rather unappreciatively to the cold shoulder. Read into this subtle hint as you may, but it is important to remember that central banks can only effectively operate with surprise to feasibly turnabout the market.

So as the dollar rallied and liquidity proved vital, investors turned to their only holdings that proved profitable this year. This is an important investor mindset factor to take note of, as gold did not behave like money, but I don’t believe that will last. Slowly more and more states in America are allowing gold and silver as legal tender, whilst countries still choose to accumulate the physical metal due to it’s barbarous properties. Only the legal monetary factor stands in the way, as the world slowly catches up to this fact and so in turn changes the important psyche of the investor towards gold and silver. There will soon be a day when monetary metals live up to their name and do behave very much like other currencies and it will be a stark reminder that it is the hardest currency in this small global town.

So I will not deny that liquidity was one of the major factors for this sell off and also silver had the additional factor of being an industrial metal. But where would the price be without the margin hikes? The day after Bernanke’s announcement, the CME raised margin requirements by 21% in gold, 16% in silver and 18% for copper. The choice in requirements was later followed by the Shanghai Gold Exchange raising requirements for silver contracts by 20% in the early hours of Monday morning, coincidently it was key timing for smashing through important support levels, tarnishing the psychology of the investor mind.

I will let you decide the valid reason for the margin calls, but I would only point out that the 2 margin hikes certainly did not seem to correlate with an upward move in price. This is important as it indicates that perhaps banks were anticipating gold to increase on post liquidation sell offs. If it were not the case, then the margin hikes would otherwise be uncalled for. So the important question; has gold lost it’s “safe haven” status and the answer being an astounding yes, but only in an interventionist market.

With the changing legality of the metal’s monetary status and psychology shifting, future intervention and the restraints of fiscal policy will only operate less effectively and eventually will not be able to operate at all as distrust occurs. Perhaps this is why the LBMA indicated forward rates close to backwardation over the weekend, which has somewhat now subsided. This is why it is important to hold metals in the physical form.

So for those who saw the fundamentals as still strong but incurred pain over the weekend, it is important to be reminded of why you chose to buy physical. Unlike traders on ETFs who look to make profit on margins, the people who take delivery of the physical are accumulating as they understand the game. They aren’t looking to sell on the short term, as obviously it becomes a slower transaction to deal with the physical form. Instead they know prices have to go higher because of the Euro crisis and the US debt crisis. They spend their monthly earnings to buy and own physical, not to trade. For the short term we can only state the fundamentals, but never estimate when a margin call is due.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/66096748/Gold-Margin-Hike-9-23

Richard Valentine

Is there room in the world for gold?

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:28:39 +0100

A round up for this week.

Gold and the shares have been particularly volatile this week as speculators and investors have been contending with a plethora of news from Europe, forcing traders to make quick and sometimes rash decisions, often missing the bigger picture. This Tuesday we saw the Swiss National Bank (SNB) peg the Swiss Franc to an ailing Euro. On announcement, the CHF fell 8.8% almost immediately against the Euro eliminating one of the two last safe havens for investors, no points for guessing what the one remaining alternative is.

Pegging the CHF to the EUR to save the Swiss economy is a double edged sword at best. Particularly as Bloomberg has just announced that Angela Merkel’s government is preparing to shore up German banks in the event that Greece fails to meet the terms of its aid package. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble described Greece pragmatically as being “on a knife’s edge”. A failure of Greek obligations for the first time has become a very real contagion threat to banks and governments alike. If allowed this would result in a collapses of credit, followed by a frantic attempt by the European Central Bank (ECB) hitting the printing press to restore liquidity. I try to stay away from evocative adjectives, however this is all very dangerous territory.

Also in this week’s news, we heard the ECB has yet again been buying up it's own debt, now holding over €129bn worth of Eurozone government bonds. This data was released after the additional purchase of €13.3bn worth of treasuries bought last week alone in a vain attempt to shore up demand for the failing currency. When we see banks buying up their own bonds like this, it is nothing more than purely inflating the money supply. Ultimately as of today, top German official of the ECB Jürgen Stark, has quit his job over the disagreement of the ongoing bond buying practice.

"Stark held the same view of the bond-buying as Axel Weber and the current Bundesbank president," said Manfred Neumann, emeritus economics professor at Bonn University and former thesis adviser to Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann.

"It is a position that all the Germans have. This is a sign of huge problems within the central bank. The Germans clearly have a problem with the direction of the ECB."

All this means is it has become increasingly important to correctly gauge the role of gold and silver amongst the problems of today's economies and how it is used by investors. Gold has perpetually proven it's ability to hedge against inflation. Also holding up against deflation aswell when money is flowing out of stocks in into hard assets for the reasoning that investors adjust portfolios based on minimising counter-party risk.

So with the Swiss Franc out of the game, the outlook certainly remains bullish for gold and silver. However further volatility may ensue as we look to test $1900 for the 3^rd time this upcoming week. If the $1900 mark can be held easily it is expected by many investors to see much less resistance and a faster climb to $2100 for near term targets. Lets hope the traders holding short positions in large volumes are running out of steam.

Next key date is the FOMC meeting on 20^th and 21^st September.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/germany-said-to-prepare-plan-to-aid-country-s-banks-should-greece-default.html

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/09/uk-eurozone-idUKTRE7882SO20110909

http://www.cityam.com/news-and-analysis/the-ecb-bond-buying-spree-hits-129bn

Richard Valentine

The Monopoly has broken, welcome in the HKMEx

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:42:06 +0100

In just 2 days’ time the Hong Kong Mercantile exchange opens its long anticipated silver futures and options trading this Friday 22^ndJuly. And although the contracts start from an easily accessible and mere 1000 ounces, this is anything but a small matter in the moulding of new markets.

As of this Friday current traders are expected to see new demand from Asian buyers as the much coveted commodity by smart investors becomes accessible to a vast and astute Chinese market. The very design of this exchange is looking to tap into the increasing demand for silver as smaller contracts are made available for the silver hungry investors. But in addition to 1000 ounce contracts the HKMEx will also be trading an extended 15 hours a day, Monday to Friday, with physical delivery in Hong Kong.

“The new contract will enable buyers and sellers in China to trade effectively with their counterparts across the world, while at the same time, allowing investors to gain exposure to silver price movements and broaden their investment portfolio,” said HKMEx president Albert Helmig.

Many western investors also look forward to this new exchange as the sour sting of the May 2011 is still bitter in investor’s memories. This pain was in the form of several margin hikes by the CME which saw nearly 90% increase in margin requirements over a 10 day period. Whether justified or excessive it is hard to fathom the mind of the CME group as shortly after they still refused to lower margin requirements even after the 30% drop over the 5 day period. Let’s hope the new exchange will sooth those pains.

Whatever past motivations, the new Asian run exchange will spell the end to the CME monopoly, some investors predict an end to excessive margin hikes. Time will tell if the HKMEx will make the same errors of over leveraging their short position in silver, but in the meantime the new exchange can only be seen as good news for longs. However if you are not a large trader it is safer to stay with physical. That way when the crowd really wakes up to the US and European debt crisis you know you will have what you paid for.

Next stop August 2^ndlet the saga continue.

Richard Valentine 20/07/2010

Armenia introduced a new silver ounce - "Noah's Ark"

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:41:53 +0100

Armenia introduced a new silver ounce - "Noah's Ark"

CoinInvestDirect.com has added a new silver ounce to its product range. The reason being that the country Armenia released a 1oz silver coin with the nominal value of 500 dram (about 1 EUR) - Noah's ark.

With a diameter of 38.5 mm it competes with the Canadian Maple Leaf (38mm) and the Mexico Libertad (40mm).

A nice extra is the master box which is made of solid wood. This high-quality packaging reflects the ark, after the coin was named for historical reasons. Furthermore, the silver ounces are packaged 500 each in a monster box and in tubes 20 each.

The production is handled by a German mint, which stands for high quality and the 999 silver is purchased from suppliers who are approved under the "Good Delivery" standards of the "London Bullion Market Association," the LBMA.

The 1oz Armenian coin is not the only one; other sizes will follow, as the ½ and ¼ Oz are scheduled to be available at the end of 2011, the KG in the beginning of 2012, as well as 5 and 10oz and 5 kg in mid-2012.

Insights into the Chinese gold market

Fri, 20 May 2011 13:21:39 +0100

Insights into the Chinese gold market

China overtakes India – China is the largest market for gold bullion and coins in the first quarter of 2011. Rising inflation and the associated fear encouraged the Chinese investors to buy gold.

93.5 tons of gold were sold from January to March 2011 in the form of bullion, medals and coins. This represents an increase of 55 percent from the previous quarter and an increase by double of the previous year - according to the World Gold Council, which published the figures on Thursday.

In contrast, the George Soros hedge fund sold nearly all the shares from the largest gold exchange traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, in the first quarter.

It even seems as if the Eastern investors would buy up everything that Western investors give out their hands.

India remains the largest consumer in terms of gold, although the Chinese jewelry industry is growing rapidly.

Osama bin Laden and Comex - a nice couple

Tue, 03 May 2011 15:03:16 +0100

Osama bin Laden and Comex - a nice couple

Nearly 10 years after the attack on the WTC, Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in the night of 2^nd of May 2011.

“Justice has been done” were the words, President Obama used, after the kill of the public enemy number one.

The market reacted immediately: the US stocks began to rise as well as the Dollar. Asian and European stock markets achieved a two-month high but the commodity market dropped down.

But Osama bin Laden’s death was not solely responsible for yesterday’s price drop.

Another fact influenced silver which had dropped about 10% in one day:

Comex raised the silver margins for a second time in one week.

Now you have to deposit a minimum amount of 16.200$ cash when trading silver futures – per contract.

It is expected that traders will get used to this security deposit soon. Analysts don’t seem to see any reasons why silver should not rise again soon.

Unlimited amounts of silver coins at 7% VAT subject to collection in Germany

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:36:01 +0100

Silver at 7% VAT

CoinInvestDirect.com is now offering its international customers within the EC the opportunity to collect orders in Germany. Silver coins can then be purchased at the German VAT rate of 7%!

As a mail order business CoinInvestDirect.com is subject to Article 34 of the EC-guideline 2006/112/EC and the therein established quotas which limit the international sales of VAT-liable goods. This guideline is, however, only applicable when the goods are being shipped to the buyer. The quotas do therefore not apply when the goods are being collected or if the buyer instructs a courier service with the collection in Germany and the shipping.

The obvious advantages are:

- Unlimited quantities of silver coins at 7% VAT

- The buyer choses the collection date

- The buyer choses the required destination and courier service

Clients should bear in mind that payment still needs to be made prior to the collection in form of a bank transfer.

Should a collection in Germany be of interest to you please contact the CoinInvestDirect.com Customer Service to make arrangements.