By Tim Grant for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It used to be that an IRA could be funded with only cash, stocks or bonds, but Congress has expanded the rules governing individual retirement accounts to include gold and silver bars and coins.

And more investors who are concerned about turbulence in the U.S. and global economies are taking advantage of that option.

“When you get into very volatile markets and people are afraid of stocks and bonds, they look for safe havens, and gold has always been a safe haven,” said Nadav Baum, managing director of investments at BPU Investment Group in Pittsburgh.

Transactions for precious metals IRAs have increased 523 percent in the past eight months at GoldStar Trust Co., a leading custodian for self-directed IRA accounts, based in Canyon, Texas, said Trey Hightower, a precious metals specialist.

GoldStar’s IRAs allow investments in gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion bars and coins. Its precious metal assets under management were valued at $312 million as of last Dec. 31.   “The economy and the weak dollar is driving a lot of people into precious metals,” Hightower said.

Traditional and Roth IRAs that contain precious metals operate under the same rules as conventional retirement accounts. The metals cannot be withdrawn from the account without penalty until the investor reaches 59 1/2 years old and withdrawals are required starting at age 70 1/2.

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By Davd Ganz for Numsmatic News

Hi-o Silver! After years of being thought of as a backwater of precious metals, and even threatened with demotion to an industrial metal, silver is back in the spotlight. The effect on common date silver coins couldn’t be more welcome to collectors and investors, and is helping the market as a whole.

Up more than 29 percent over last year’s $13.38 average, silver has increased almost four times its 2003 average of $4.87 a troy ounce and three times its 1998 price average of $5.54 an ounce.

Here’s how the difference plays out on a common circulated Morgan dollar that contains .7734 troy ounces of metal. At $5.54 an ounce, a silver dollar has about $4.42 worth of bullion. A quarter has .18084 troy ounces worth of precious metal, worth just about a dollar. At the current $17.38 average, the silver dollar’s metal reserve is $13.44 and the quarter is about $3.15.

As gold crossed $1,000 and platinum $2,175, silver went over the important psychological barrier of $20 an ounce before retreating to profit takers. That approaches the 1979 average of $21.79, which is otherwise understood only in the context of the Hunt Brothers run on the silver market.

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By John Browne for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review

In 2003, a bottle of 1785 Chateau d’Yquem once belonging to Thomas Jefferson was sold in London for $56,588, making it the most expensive bottle of white wine and earning d’Yquem the title of “Liquid Gold.”

What more fitting wine for a toast to the alluring yellow metal that has fascinated humankind for most of recorded time?

Why is it now an appropriate time to drink to gold? Because gold is possibly near to shaking-off a sustained and coordinated attack on its monetary credibility by some of the world’s most powerful central banks. Investors could win back an asset that offers protection against the financial abuse of governments.

Most wines are priced as commodities on the basis of quality, supply and demand. Others, undrinkable, such as the 200-year-old d’Yquem, are sold as collectors items or investments.

Read the full Pittsburgh Tribune Review Article

By Dearbail Jordan for the TimesOnline (UK)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to raise $12 billion (£6 billion) by selling off a chunk of its large gold reserves and is taking an axe to 15 per cent of its workforce as it attempts to plug a yawning gap in its finances.

The IMF will have to win 85 per cent approval from its 185 members to sell 403.3 tonnes, or 12 per cent, of its reserves, including winning backing from the US which controls nearly 17 per cent of voting rights.

It is unlikely the sale will go through prior to the US Presidential race as Congress needs to vote on the deal. Since 1999, US Congress has twice voted down IMF’s plans to sell some of its gold reserves.

Gold was trading up 2 per cent on yesterday’s price, at $923.38. The IMF said the gold sale will be spread over a long period to avoid sudden movements in the market.

The IMF’s plan to divest some of its reserves as gold teeters around the record $1,000 an ounce reached in March is in stark contrast to the decision by Prime Minister Gordon Brown who, as Chancellor, sold off nearly half of Britain’s gold between 1999 and 2002 as the price of the precious metal was touching 20-year lows.
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Palladium presents a less costly investment alternative to platinum

Written by: Melana Yanos

Precious metal enthusiasts who have invested in platinum might also be interested in investing in palladium, platinum’s less-expensive cousin. The silvery-white metal palladium, like platinum, is a platinum group metal; discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, it was named after the asteroid Pallas that had been discovered the year before. Although “palladium” references the Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, investors will need to determine for themselves if a palladium investment is a wise opportunity.

Palladium price swings: Palladium has a variety of uses. The oxidation-resistant metal is most commonly used in the manufacturing of car exhaust systems, and like platinum, reacts in a manner that combats pollutants. Palladium is also used as an alloy in jewelry, especially in the production of white gold. Palladium may increase in popularity among jewelers and jewelry buyers, as its prices tend to be much lower than that of platinum jewelry.

Another notable feature is palladium’s ability to soak up huge volumes of hydrogen, which has become a focus for cold fusion and fuel cell research, according to PalladiumDealer.com.

Although solid demand for palladium is apparent, palladium supply is much less predictable. Read Full NuWire Article