Famed investor and commentator Jim Rogers talks his preference for tangible assets, why he's leaning toward silver over gold, and uranium's role in the energy transition.
Following the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut, Bitcoin recorded a fresh all-time high of US$76,849 this week and is up more than 112% over the last year.
Famed investor and commentator Jim Rogers says he has never traded in crypto but recognizes it has been a "huge success" for some investors.
In a recently posted YouTube interview with James Connor of Bloor Street Capital posted last month, said he prefers more traditional stores of wealth, like gold and silver, which are currently seeing big moves this year, as well.
"I'm an old peasant," Rogers said. "All of these politicians and academics say, 'Forget gold. Forget gold. It' s obsolete.' Maybe. But us old peasants, want to have some gold in the closet or under the bed when things go wrong. And so, I presume that there enough old peasants like me who will continue to buy gold and silver just in case."
According to an analysis by AMB Crytpto posted on Thursday, U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump's pro-crypto stance and promises "could aid Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto sphere."
Also, "In November 2020, Bitcoin's trend was bullish," the website noted. "Once the U.S. election's winner was declared, the market faced less uncertainty and quickly started to surge. A similar scenario could play out in the coming weeks."
According to Rogers, there are some downfalls to the electronic currency and other cryptos.
"Every country is now working on computer money, and it's going to be there," he said. "But it's going to be government money. It's not going to be your money and mine."
Rogers said the governments have the guns and the tanks, so they will be able to enforce digital money monopolies.
"I'm just suggesting to you, that if Bitcoin and the others become successful as money, they will be outlawed," Rogers said. "But if they just continue as trading vehicles, as long as people can make money trading something, history would indicate they'll keep trading it."
He also noted that if power goes down in a natural disaster, having all of your wealth in a digital wallet might not help you get supplies at the store.
With precious metals, the famed investor said he prefers silver over gold, although both are in bull markets according to experts.
Gold prices continued to stay stable Friday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point as widely expected. The yellow metal hit a record high of US$2,790.15 per ounce last week.
Recently polled London Bullion Market Association members indicated they believe the gold price could reach US$2,940/oz during 2025, reported Stockhead on Oct. 28.
"Combined with expectations of lower global interest rates, this further enhances gold's attractiveness as an investment," the article noted.
As for gold equities, the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (SPCDNX) confirmed a bull run for junior, intermediate, and senior mining stocks when it closed above 1,000 recently, Stewart Thomson with 321Gold wrote. The index is a key indicator of the health of the general gold, silver, and mining stocks market.
While it has chased gold's record highs, silver recently broke through US$35 per ounce. It's price Friday morning was US$31.74, up just 0.35% from the previous day but up 32.67% since the beginning of the year, USA Today reported.
The most conductive element in nature, silver is used to coat electrical contacts in computers, phones, cars, and appliances. It's also an important element in solar technology. Gold is also used in many electronics.
It's that usefulness outside of their use as precious metals that is part of what Rogers said attracts him to the markets.
"Even if women and men all of a suddenly decide, 'Oh, I can't stand gold jewelry, at least gold still has an economic purpose, likewise silver," Rogers said. "I hope it doesn't disappear as a speculative purpose because I own a fair amount of it (silver). But even if it does, at least I can sell it to the solar energy guys and the electronic/electric vehicle guys. They need silver."
In addition to that, Rogers said that "silver is down 45% from its all-time high" and "on a comparative, historic basis is much cheaper."
The last commodity the two discussed was uranium, which Rogers said has been "performing very well" and is an environmentally friendly solution to the energy transition, as long as it is used safely.
Some see it as an obvious solution to produce the amount of power that will be needed by artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles (EVs).
Uranium prices are expected to move higher by the end of this quarter, when Trading Economics' global macro models and analyses forecast uranium to trade at US$84.15 per pound, Nuclear Newswire reported on Oct. 3. In another year, the site estimates that the metal will trade at US$91.80 per pound. According to Cameco, the uranium spot price was US$80.50 at the end of October.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT:NASDAQ) announced a deal with Constellation Energy Group (CEG:NYSE) to restart and buy all of the power from one of the shut-down reactors at its infamous Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania and the Biden administration also announced a plan to restart the Palisades plant in Michigan.
"We can all name three or four examples where (nuclear power) was a disaster, but three or four out of the last 100 years compared to what has happened (with fossil fuels), is not such a bad record," he said.
"If somehow you can manage it properly," he noted, "uranium is cleaner than just about anything else."
| Want to be the first to know about interestingUranium,Gold andSilver investment ideas?Sign up to receive the FREE Streetwise Reports' newsletter. | Subscribe |
Important Disclosures:
Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.For additional disclosures, please click here.