Thursday, July 15, 2010

Liberty Media's John Malone Clueless on Gold

Liberty Media Corp.'s Chairman John Malone was talking about his investment strategy recently, and said the strange statement concerning gold and why he wasn't investing in it.

Malone said this, “I’m not a gold bug. There’s just something about gold that seems artificial to me.”

Both assertions show his ignorance. First of all, being a gold bug has absolutely nothing to do with investing in gold. This reveals Malone doesn't even know what the historical definition of a gold bug actually is.

But his second statement is even more strange to me. How can gold be considered artificial? Someone must have instructed him with those words and outlook, as they make no sense whatsoever.

Someone has access to Malone who trumpeted in his ear that gold has no real role other than making jewelry. That would mean that there is no significant demand from that point of view, which of course is completely false.

Now there is little industrial demand (although there is some), but that has nothing to do with the artificiality of gold, from the way Malone is saying and viewing it.

He doesn't understand economics and central banks and what the effects of policies and actions has on the markets, and ultimately on the price and value of gold.

Things like the amount of money being printed by central banks, inflation, debasing of currencies, this are the more important factors in gold, of which safety is a key factor.

Malone obviously has a hard time understanding or grasping this, so he simply calls it seemingly an "artificial" commodity.

Maybe he's just irritated he hasn't been invested in it over the last decade, and has missed out on making millions.

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