The New Zealand economy is an "artists conception"...a bloke named Picasso...which explains why it's such a pig's breakfast...

Because 1980 is 30 years ago is my guess. Luckily they excluded housing from the comparison though.

Gold is the special theory of relativity in the investment world. It's a transitional investment instrument. Gold's value is entirely based on your investment frame of reference. I think its mistake to try and compare gold to other investments within the same time frame. And I don't believe gold has any special store of value. Historically if you were to invest a single dollar in a "bank" 1200 AD and the hold the same amount in gold the gold will woefully lag the currency investment. But no matter what time frame you chose, I don't think that this is a fair assessment of gold's absolute value. I also don't think that gold has any particular absolute value if civilization were to collapse tomorrow. If civilization were to collapse tomorrow canned goods, liquor, and cigarettes would far out perform gold in the neo-apocalyptic economy. So the bottom line is that the current economy needs gold as much as gold needs the current form of economy. It's a symbiotic relationship that you can not measure since there is no true outside observer. There is no outside value you can attribute to gold. As such, gold enjoys a simultaneous liquid and solid state. Asking what the true absolute value of gold is at any point in time is like asking what absolute time is. Much like the economy, everything is the universes moving so there is no absolute or zero point time. That is why it is so easy to make arguments that gold is ether too cheap or too expensive.

The problem is that Gold suffers from value dilation. As the economy accelerates and expands gold's relative momentum decreases. But as the economy decelerates and contracts gold's momentum increases. In the days prior to AAA rated investments your only option was to buy gold to stave off losses and hedge relative portfolio value. Now gold competes directly with sovereign debt form all over the world. Hedge fund managers have plenty of choice so people are not necessarily flocking to Gold as market vicissitudes cause panic.

I'm a firm believer that you can use gold to glean a certain level of economic acumen as long as said studies have well defended boundary conditions.

On the breaking up banks...you wanna do that on any bank operating in NZ? Any international bank will have total liabilities very large relative to NZ GDP. I'd hesitate to push that button....

Good for you Troymeboy..." I don't believe gold has any special store of value"...you post your early 20th century gold coins in to BH and he will give me a call when they arrive. I'll send you the face value in fresh crisp clean mint USDollar bills and we can call it a deal.....then BH can post me the coins and I'll slip him a few bucks for grog....you can't beat a deal like that Troymeboy...OK?

Ray - Expert at "Moonwalkomg" is the PM

Face value Troymeboy!....your $35 one ounce 99.99% pure US or any other sovereign issue coins....and I will send brand new real US dollars to cover the face value no matter how many coins....the more the better....

I may have...but..."during Cesar's reign gold was used as both a store of wealth and a currency, but today it isn't (sic)"...wrong Troy...it is still used as a store of wealth although not as currency!....Try telling an Indian 'blueblood' her gold is not a store of value....

R&D 'not enough to make innovation pay' - Business - NZ Herald News

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=1061...

"Boven is unsure why private sector R&D spending is so low in New Zealand - about a third of the OECD as a share of GDP and barely a quarter in per capita terms."

Here we go again, more think-tank thinking and hand-wringing while development of effective policy is ignored, I mean, repealed.

NZ is largely a nation of small business, farms and the like. Farming is well served for research via the land based CRIs, as you would expect. Next is industry structure, small and thin as a part of the entire economy, no real military sector, no auto sector, no consumer electronics sector, no pharma and in hallowed Frascati terms, little R&D. Add to that a poor policy framework for our exporters of all kinds, and is it any surprise that at a macro level we look a bit shy on investment in R&D?

That said, many companies daft enough to try and export are investing 8 to 15% of revenue in development - and not as close to Frascati style research as the theoraticians would like, bless em. The fact is policy is killing the external sector and it may not have much longer to live.

Less unsure now?

Interestingly enough, anyone who holds GOLD ETFs on the ASX would have seen some interesting movements this week. I've been holding these ETFs since 2005 and their recent movements have been quite erratic. I put this down to the arrival of the mainstream (and the nutters) to the gold market. As a speculative instrument, the ETF is worth playing with if you understand the risks and don't confuse them as a substitute for holding real gold.

The Japanese labor market is a mess. I used to work for a brand-name manufacturer in Japan, and the heart and soul of the organization, young, enthusiastic electrical engineers, were being shafted contractually and financially because the company was hiring them from temp agencies not employing them directly. Bi-lingual, tri-lingual engineers from India and Tunisia fresh out of Japanese universities were barely taking home NZD30K in the hand.

Another consulting firm I was connected to was looking for an administrative person with translation/interpretation abilities to serve one of the world's leading companies. For such a position, the successful applicant would probably earn NZD15 per hour (after the temp agency takes a generous cut).

typo... should read......... USA money supply

Jeez SN...that's mind blowing stuff there...and yet I can see no escape for the paper money trail...Troy's spat the dummy...here's a tip Troy..buy pna before the Banho gold report comes out and they revalue the stock...up.

the elizabeth warren video is brilliant. it's exactly what we are seeing here in los angeles - the 'sao paulization' of american cities where there is a huge and growing underclass living a close to third world existence, an ever decreasing middle class that is finding life increasingly more tenuous and stressful, and a small wealthy class who are retreating behind barriers - gated communities, private security street patrols, private schools, private clubs, private everything - so that they now feel utterly disconnected to the rest of society and are oblivious, or maybe willfully ignorant, to what is going on. and because they don't understand it they moralize about it and once framed as a moral problem, they feel even less obliged to share their wealth and/or do anything about protecting the institutions of society.

re the gutting of the middle class

i can't help but wonder why the middle class is not the focus of more policy direction. in that middle class $$ trickles up and down through the economy, and if either labour or national were to follow policies that really helped the middle class wouldn't they be guaranteed re-election?

on a side tangent, does anybody have any suggestions on how to find out the origins and passage through parliament of the LAQC rules?

Troy said: "Gold is the special theory of relativity in the investment world. It's a transitional investment instrument. Gold's value is entirely based on your investment frame of reference".

Troy, gold is not an investment - although shares in a goldminer can be considered such. Quite simply gold is money and its exchange rate against paper money is highly variable. What we can say is that it has been a far better 'store of value' over time than paper and making comparisons with a brief peak in 1980 is rather misleading. It would perhaps be more honest to consider the situation from Richard Nixon's ending of the quasi gold standard in 1971 when, if I recall correctly, gold was $US35 per ounce. What will $US35 buy you today - a couple of pairs of socks. What will one ounce of gold buy you today - a fine gentleman's suit plus change for some shoes and a tie? Of course, gold did not go up in 'price' as most people seem to think. The truth is that paper money fell in price due to the fact that it can be issued in unlimited abundance.

Gold's monetary role, and this is why we need a 100% gold standard, is to act as a system stabiliser. Moreover, the way our system actually works still leaves gold as the ultimate extinguisher of debts. That is the real reason Keynes dismissed it as a 'barberous relic' because, Fabian socialist that he was, his desire was to see the debt enslavement of mankind and his rendering as a mere unit of human capital. He would be delighted to see how ubiquitous his crackpot ideas have become

Malcolm : You need a disclaimer , to reveal your professional connection with gold , prior to each blog . Your objectivity may be called into question , otherwise .

We need a 100 % gold standard in the same way that we need to regress to gramophones , horse & buggys , and blood-letting to cure-all ills and warts . ..... . We're in the 21 'st century , and some are still thrashing around in the 19 'th . .............. . Penny Farthings , anyone ?

Spidy Sense ...anytime mate. Likely before March is over at latest. Check out their site and do homework. I bought at 15c ...heaps!

Nice work Wally, looking at their chart they look pretty solid of late, 600%+ 1 year performance. I'll definately look at them further.

Fair enough , Gold Malcolm . When I click on your name I am directed to " NZ Gold " web-site . That's why I queried your seeming bias . No offence meant . Light & Gummy Bears to All !

8. Three decades "“ of Chicago School Dogma. New Zealand announced that its new Prime Minister, a former currency trader who boasts about helping create a run on his own country's dollar, is relaxed about his country's dismal performance in child health statistics. But to give you an idea about how broken the system is there, here's a Gloomberg report about how New Zealand's corrupt finance minister is keen on expanding the income divide. With a productive sector shrinking by the day as the whole country is enthralled by the get-rich-quick property casino, rampant corruption means the whole country is being turned into a stinking factory farm. New Zealand is stuffed.

As they had to import so many PLANESs & LIMOUSINES into COPENHAGEN to cope with the iinflux of so much HOT AIR, the emissions would have hit the zenith of HYPOCRISY.

There must have been GLOBAL WARMING there , this week alone.

Perhaps we should have MEASURED and PUBLISHED the total wastage of resources, resources the world can ill-afford.

Perhaps it would have been better for the Zealand Prime Minister to get on his BIKE and ride to see Fleetwood Mac.....Though on further reflection, .better for the emissions, if he had bough a CD.

and more...

Not to put too much of a damper on the GOLD can only go higher brigade, though you may have to make up your own mind as it quotes various parties.

For instance Bernanke I would not trust with your nipple ring, never mind my BALI ROLEX.

Gold has had a good run....no doubt fuelled by a jittery public, hot to make a dollar.

read on....

From a letter I received just now from INVESTMENT U....of America.

Gold prices are in retreat - their steepest two-day decline since March - on the announcement by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that inflation "appears likely to remain subdued for some time."

He also reminded us that the weak labor market (can you say jobless recovery?) and tight credit would provide "formidable headwinds" to the economy.

Those of you who read Investment U's November 24 issue - We Apologize For Interrupting the Gold Rally, But... - knew this was coming. And I hope you took action.

And now, of course - on the heels of gold's big thud - Wall Street's big boys are weighing in, offering their outlooks.

Yesterday, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) said, "Fundamentally, the gold price appears over-valued."

And Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) chimed in, asserting "Gold may decline to $900 to $1,000 an ounce by the end of the first quarter next year."

Thanks again, fellas. But I'll stick to what options expert, Karim Rahemtulla, is saying. He's the one that called the decline two weeks ago based on the movement he was seeing in the options market.

don't know why everyone gets so intellectual about gold.
it's just another commodity with a value attached to it and it's up to you to trade in whatever mode you see fit.
could be oil, could pork bellies..it's just gold...buggar the mystique!
there's a correction coming btw

tagrossbilly - I think we are just another reflection of western decline, after decades of rampant consumerism and directing precious resources at bottomless welfare pits and plasma tvs - all largely based on debt.
The effects of all this on the average family will be devastating and tragic I believe. Historical parallels all point to revolution and war as a result of all this, which is the worst possible outcome for all of us. I have children, and the prospects depress me and I despair at the kind of society we will be leaving them.
I guess I console myself with the fact that we live in remote NZ, and we can always escape to some isolated spot and live in some kind of tranquility and self-sufficiency. I would choose here over many over-populated northern hemisphere countries any day - in spite of all the problems we have. There aren't too many idyllic countries out there from what I can tell. Anyway, all the best with your decisions and good luck.

@Ludwig. Dont put it off, remove yourself from the monetary system post haste: http://earthship.co.nz/

Personally, not a fan of goats milk... you might be though?

Steve N .. Paul Van Eeden uses a different measure of money supply.. I think it is valid.

http://www.paulvaneeden.com/The.Actual.Money.Supply

interested to hear your comments

roelof,
GREAT ARTICLE :)

Geez it's SO refreshing to read an article by someone who uses the right terms :)
I've not read one of Paul's articles for quite a while. I may have read that, but it's great to read it again if I have.

It's getting a bit late for deep thought on it.
I can offer you James Turk's two indicators though:
http://neuralnetwriter.cylo42.com/node/2471

I'm going to post both articles you've mentioned and have a think about it tomorrow if I get time.
Thanks :)

PIGS ? Blips ! None of these are major economies . The debt level of Japan is a real concern . That of Portugal ..........nahhhhhh ! The powers of the EU : France / Germany / UK are plodding along nicely .....well , not " nicely " , but not as ghastly as they looked 6 months ago . But in the scheme of things , a Dubai or Ireland is not gonna herald the second-wave-down .

Whose expectations?

I wrote this on the 20th Nov 2009:

Gold going parabolic and due a correction.......or not by Steve Netwriter 20th Nov 2009
http://neuralnetwriter.cylo42.com/node/2414

I notice when gold is rising there is very little "anti-gold" comment. When gold goes down, many try to hype the fall.
There are day-to-day fluctuations. NOTHING just goes up. Especially silver.
Look at the fundamentals. Look at the long-term trend.

It pleases me every time I see anti-gold writings. It just adds to the evidence that gold is no where near a top. Just compare with the "house prices never go down".

1. Often we forget the little guy, the SMB, in our discussions of the comings and goings of the Internet marketing industry. Sure there are times like this when a report surfaces talking about their issues and concerns but, for the most part, we like to talk about big brands and how they do the Internet marketing thing well or not so well.

www.onlineuniversalwork.com

Well the year is not passed and already we are deluged with bullshit about what new homes are going to be required to have by law....(herald)....well stuff that I say...Helen's bloody shower stupidity was the last straw....time the pricks left people alone. Let us spend our money on what we bloodywell want..not on keeping a bunch of sodding greenies happy. The solar water units cost a heap with thieving gst on top and you can bet they last less than ten years. Thereafter its leak leak leak and gimme gimme gimme from the repair firm plus more thieving gst on top. Same with the solar power stuff. Check the price difference on the gear between aus and here. Somewhere some bugger is creaming it. Bugger solar. I'll stick with the wetback and the open fire and the driftwood for my heat and hot water. As for recycling my pee to get a cuppa tea...I'll keep it for any visiting greenies that come to the gate.

Oh dear oh dear I seem to fanned the flames...look closely Iain...you will see the 'elected' rorting their way to join your "slaveminded elitist rich" and that is exactly what they would do, only with greater success, if they were in charge of determining who was able to access the social credit...because Iain old dear..they would use the power to pork their electorate vote. We have a corrupt system as it is..why would you want to make it more so?

No they wouldn't Wally, because we would put in place that regulation that you called for, regulation that would mean politicians could not issue public credit beyond what is sustainably produced and once educated the electorate would know that after the national debt had been eradicated, any government not running a balanced budget without deficits is not acting in the national interest.

Wally, you might want to sell future generations into debt slavery under the misleading banker doctrine of spreading forward the cost of infrastructure, cowering in fear of change, but Wally there is nothing lose because the status quo leads to choiceless overt debt slavery anyway, so why not have a crack at something that has the potential of everything to gain. To cowardly surrender to the inevitable terrible consequences of the status quo for fear that change might not bring change is quite frankly an insult to all those that were deceived into fighting and dying under the guise of freedom when it was in-fact all about profits created for the privately owned international central banking network.

To do nothing is nothing short of pulling the ladder up on the generations behind you in order that you can live out the remainder of your life without turmoil having benefited from living in the period when the predatory loans flooded in, the party period and now not wanting to know when the lenders are once again bringing to a close another "sting" operation, classic "I'm all right Jack, so just leave me alone" attitude. What a hero Wally, no wonder you and Hubbard lead the poll in a world thats on its head.

"regulation that would mean politicians could not issue public credit beyond what is sustainably produced"....and the power to determine this mystical conception, would be in the hands of...whom?...why the politicians of course. The same ones who are in bed with the bankers and the property speculators. The very politicians who have a strict code of ethics ...."whats yours I will take and use to buy all the votes I need..."
Before the RBNZ had control of the ocr, it was govt that manipulated this tool to pork the market for its own gain every election. Bollard has little enough independence as it is...and you want to take that off him as well...and hand the power to print to the fools with the record to behave like inmates in charge of a prison.

No disagreement from me that the cabinet executives of both current party's equate to banker controlled social and economic policy. Not suggesting for a minute that any are worthy of controlling public credit. Not only will a clean broom have to be run over any existing parties or a new one founded, but the check and balances that have removed from our system via structural adjustment programs imposed upon us at times of debt repayment crisis must be reinstated, Wally, you would better understand just what the OCR is and the way in which our interest bearing credit money supply enters circulation if you read my submission to the unofficial banking inquiry. It was that full of irrefutable facts exposing the structures of the current banking scam that many believe it was the cause of Labour announcing it reveiw of monetary policy. No individual MP will acknowledge having read it, I believe, because if they then continue to support the status quo they will look like outright liars, and they like you Wally don't want their peaceful lifes interupted by the hard decisions, thats those that ain't directly co-operating with them of course.
http://publiccreditorbust.blog.com/2009/08/31/iain-parkers-submission-to...

But you wont read it Wally. You know the first thing I do when a new participant turns up here is read something of theirs of length in order to determine the breadth and depth of their financial knowledge in order to determine if I will bother to read anything of lenght of theirs in future, its a courtesy you might like to try, its only a fool that thinks there is nothing more to learn and no more history being created. Your hollow man of bumper stickers and platitudes Wally.

Wally how about you give us a demo of something plausable to remove the populous from the current private banker two sided pincer manouvre in which we are trapped?

Crikey Dick & Jane , Parksy ! To quote a wise man : " Bloody hell Iain , I'm not reading all that ." .........Was it coincidental that after your submission to the unofficial Labour Party banking queery , that sales of Panadol went thru the roof ?

There may be some awesome stuff in there , Iain , or maybe not , but ya gotta present it in an easier to comprehend format . We do try to understand .......really we do . But when my brain-cell starts smokin' , I gotta head for the exit .

Roger you said 'Even if the " system " is rigged , porked by politicians or by overseas bankers , alot of folk seem to prosper"

What osterich hole you had your head down?
60 years since WW2 have supposedly been the most peaceful in history, yet 30 odd million have died in war or famine caused by war. 30 years of the widest unfettered private global markets in history supposed to deliver a wealth trickle down effect that would float all boats, yet at a time of record corporate inventories still 25,000 odd people a day starve to death.
They tell us Roger that the private debt based monetary system has delivered the spread of the benefit of technological advantages at as fast a rate as possible, when in-fact the spread of benefits of technoligy have been hobbled by the usurous cost charged for access to those technologies and the cancerous tumor of mathematically unpayable compound interest they currently come attached with.

Sorry it makes your brain hurt boys, I was just a simple man looking for a simple life myself before stumbling across this insane but true bullshit and truth be known would love to put my head back in the osterich hole, but what sort of a father would that make me?

"Wally you would not need any where as much credit "...Iain..I lend to the bank! at least I would if they paid me as much as I earn investing elsewhere. Here's a wee thought for you Iain...you say the banks "... will have their powers of credit creation removed.." Care to tell us all why the banks wouldn't close? Or would that demand special Laws forcing the banks to stay open. Just the sort of crap that goes on in Cuba and North Korea. We await your grand answer on that one Iain.

Cash Making Opportunities - The Beginning The working life is already tough enough, but the worries of being out of work was even tougher. The unsecured working environment have prompted me to search the internet for an alternative source of extra income so that I could learn how to Make Money Work for me and be Financially Independent. I listed down a number of Free Internet Business Opportunity Ideas while researching ways how people earn money online while working-from-home.......

home based

Wow, really impressed with this post, will add you to my rss feeds, good work!

The Center for Media Research has released a study by Vertical Response that shows just where many of these "˜Main Street' players are going with their online dollars. The big winners: e-mail and social media. With only 3.8% of small business folks NOT planning on using e-mail marketing and with social media carrying the perception of being free (which they so rudely discover it is far from free) this should make some in the banner and search crowd a little wary.

www.onlineuniversalwork.com