No tienen una moneda que de confianza ni tampoco dirigentes que den confianza.
Si algo estoy aprendiendo de este hilo es que las ilusiones son posibles. Yo tenía y tengo las míos, pero antes pensé que eran sólo éso. Este hilo me está enseñando a hacer cuentas (interpretando dibujitos que cambian poco a poco).
No has entendido nada y hasta aquí he leído.
No hay que perder el tiempo ya con ignorantes de esta especie; de nada serviría intentar explicarles que en realidad a Galileo lo enchironaron no por lo que decía 'científicamente', si no por que se atrevió a discutir el poder de la iglesia, o sea, por sus trabajos teológicos; igual que a Hipatia no la liquidaron cristianos fundamentalistas por ser pagana y aristotélica, si no por jugar a la política e intentar poner y quitar factotums en Alejandría. En general, a los científicos no les hace ni puñetero caso ni el populacho ni los mandamases; excepto que se pongan a pescar en caladeros ajenos exclusivos. Que parece que nadie se acuerda que Copernico publicó su teoría heliocentrica bastante antes del juicio de Galileo, y el libro circuló libremente sin problemas; ¿quizás fue por que Copernico era hombre de la Iglesia y no se metió en líos teológicos?cuidadin dijo:
The Central Banks and Gold
By Doug Hornig
If the mantra of the wise investor is “Buy low, sell high,” then those who run most of the Western world’s central banks must suffer from dyslexia.
These banks sold off their gold reserves for years, right into the teeth of a generation-long bear market. The last year before the sales began – i.e., during which central banks were net buyers of gold – was 1988, when the price of the metal fell from $485/oz. in early January to $410 at year’s end.
From then and right through the end of the century, they continued to sell as gold dropped steadily to its modern low of $250. The banks were in such haste to divest themselves of this disrespected relic – their single tangible asset – that it was deemed necessary to cap how much they could get rid of in any given year.
Thus, the European central banks (the then-eleven eurozone countries plus the European Central Bank and those of Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK) drew up the first Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA1) in 1999. In it, the signatories agreed that gold would remain an important element of global monetary reserves, and (presumably in order to ensure that they kept some) that they would limit their collective sales to no more than 400 tonnes a year and no more than 2,000 tonnes over the amowing five years.
In addition, a number of other major holders – including the US, Japan, Australia, the IMF, and the Bank for International Settlements – informally associated themselves with the Agreement.
This pact was succeeded in 2004 by CBGA2, which boosted allowable sales to 500 tonnes/year and 2,500 tonnes for the next five year period. CBGA3, adopted in 2009, runs through September of 2014 and pushes sales back to the levels of CBGA1.
Whether the correlation of the beginning of gold’s bull run with the implementation of CBGA1 is more than coincidence remains an open question.
To be fair, the banks did recoup some of their losses by continuing to sell as gold finally began to increase in price. But the last year in which net outflows approached the CBGA limit was 2007, when gold rose from around $600 to near $850 and banks dumped close to 500 tonnes. After that, sales fell off dramatically until the central banks became net buyers in the second quarter of 2009… just as gold prepared to go near-vertical:
That trend remains unchanged.
Of course, the CBGA signatories do not constitute all of the world’s central banks; elsewhere – especially in the emerging world – there were plenty of buyers even as sales under the Agreement numbered in the hundreds of tonnes per year.
China, for example, seems determined to become the world’s largest holder of gold as it seeks to preserve the value of the surplus trillions it has amassed in dollars and other foreign currencies. Between 2000 and April 2009 (the last time it published any information about gold holdings), the People’s Bank of China officially nearly tripled its gold reserves – from 395 to 1,054 tonnes. That vaulted it into sixth place on the global list, but the data may be grossly underreported. China, also the world’s #1 producer, is highly secretive in this matter and has apparently been hoarding virtually all of that production. And, since the country reveals its info only once every five or six years, it’ll be a while before we know how much its reserves have grown lately.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia more than doubled its gold reserves, to 323 tonnes over the same 2000-09 period. India snapped up 200 tonnes in ‘09, as soon as the IMF put them on sale. Russia has been a steady buyer, turning oil revenues into hard coin as it jumped to seventh place on the world list with 840 tonnes, of which 330 have been added since the beginning of 2009. Mexico bought over 93 tonnes in the first quarter of this year, multiplying its holdings by a factor of 14.
Then there’s Iran, more paranoid than China and not even listed by the World Gold Council as an official holder of gold. Yet, according to a Bank of England diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks: “Market observers believe Tehran has been one of the biggest buyers of bullion over the past decade after China, Russia and India, and is among the 20 largest holders of gold reserves... with an alleged 300 tons.”
Point is, while the CBGA central banks were selling, others were buying. Now, virtually everyone has climbed aboard the train. So far for 2011, official government purchases have totaled over 200 tonnes. And the actual number is probably a good bit higher.
Historically, the reasons for why and when central banks bought or sold gold could be complex. But the current situation is pretty clear-cut. The desire to hold the metal is strong, and even the most auriphobic central banks have gone from trailing the trend to leading the charge.
Gold Positions Are Shifting at Central Banks - Casey Research
Four More Years of “Golden” Ben Bernanke
[We are far away from an internet connection and don't intend to be near one for at least a few days, so, today, as Fed Chief Ben Bernanke makes his highly anticipated Jackson Hole speech - with the fate of the world in his tiny little hands - all I can leave you with is this look back at when President Barack Obama nominated Bernanke for another term at the Fed, virtually guaranteeing that the price of gold would continue skyward. For reasons that should be clear when looking at the graphic below, I've been calling the Fed Chief "Golden" Ben Bernanke for some time - his original nomination in 2005 was what finally got gold past the $500 mark and, since then, there's been no looking back. Originally appearing here back on August 25, 2009 here's a look back at the Golden boy's re-nomination including a gold price prediction that, today, seems surprisingly modest.]
ooo
President Obama made it official this morning by nominating Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second four-year term as reported by MarketWatch.
In a short statement in Martha’s Vineyard with Bernanke standing at his side, Obama said Bernanke’s background, temperament, courage and creativity helped to prevent another Great Depression.
“Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic free fall,” Obama said.
…
In a brief statement, Bernanke said the goals of his second term at the central bank will be fostering stable economic conditions and financial markets. “We have been bold or deliberate as circumstances demanded, but our objective remains constant: to restore a more stable economic and financial environment in which opportunity can again flourish,” Bernanke said.
“Mr. President, I commit today to you and to the American people that, if confirmed by the Senate, I will work to the utmost of my abilities — with my colleagues at the Federal Reserve and alongside the Congress and the Administration — to help provide a solid foundation for growth and prosperity in an environment of price stability.”
While Bernanke may face some testy questioning during his confirmation hearings this fall, a result of last year’s bait-and-switch bank rescue package and other questionable dealings with giant Wall Street firms while standing at the side of former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson at the Treasury Department, approval for a second term is a virtual lock.
This is good news for financial markets in general and will likely spur even higher prices for many commodities, one commodity in particular.
You see, Ben Bernanke has been a veritable one-man gold price appreciation machine.
References to the government’s printing press earlier in the decade and his eagerness to use it as Fed chairman apparently have a way pushing the gold price higher.
Since his initial nomination in 2005, when gold was trading at only about $465 an ounce, the yellow metal has more than doubled, besting just about any other asset class during that time, so gold bugs should welcome today’s news.
Let’s just hope that the next four years are as good as the last four – $2,000 an ounce gold in the year 2013 when it comes time for his next re-nomination sounds about right to me.
Se te ha olvidado apuntar un detalle que aún refuerza mucho más tu argumento: el Siglo de Oro fue la gran eclosión de las artes y, en cierto modo, la intelectualidad, en España. Es el momento de Quevedo, Calderón y Lope, sin embargo es el momento en que el Imperio se desangraba en guerras inasumibles y que llevó a la economía del momento a uno de sus peores estadios. La carestía, la corrupción y la inflación fueron en aumento hasta unos puntos increibles.
CarlosZ, el Bernie va a sacar el bazoka de los verdes:8:
