Gold just cracked $1,900 per ounce, closing at $1,917.90. That’s an increase of 33% from $1,421 at the end of last year. What’s causing this gold surge? According to Tom Petruno of the LA Times:
[D]iving stock prices worldwide, fear of recession, fear of a European banking-system meltdown, distrust of central banks and paper currencies, nervousness over Standard & Poor’s downgrade of U.S. government’s debt rating, disgust with rock-bottom short-term interest rates, or . . . add your own reason. And as last week demonstrated, “Gold seems to go up whether the S&P 500 goes up or down, and whether the dollar goes up or down,” said Jeffrey Friedman, a market strategist at MF Global in Chicago.
What’s in store for gold in the near future? Only God knows for sure. But the same LA Times article by Tom Petruno stated:
Gold’s next big test may come on Friday, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is scheduled to speak at the annual gathering of central bankers and economists at Jackson Hole, Wyo. With the U.S. economy on the ropes, the widespread expectation is that Bernanke will signal the Fed’s willingness, if necessary, to launch another program to pump money into the financial system via purchases of Treasury bonds. That could further fuel inflation fears and zap the dollar, giving gold’s fans another reason to keep buying.
What does any of this have to do with bankruptcy? If the government continues to pursue the disastrous policies that have caused the surge in gold prices, it would be nice to buy gold. But what if you’re so swamped with debt that all of your available money seems to go to the loan sharks and the big banks (but a repeat myself)? Get rid of the debt in bankruptcy, and free up disposable income to buy gold. A Chapter 7 only takes a few months.