Whats behind the new gold rush?
NEW YORK: Customers who step into the offices of Heritage West Financial in San Diego have always favoured gold as an investment on paper, a place to park their money. But in the past few years, Ralph Weston began to notice a change in his clients’ orders. They wanted to take the 33-ounce blocks home with them. “I don’t know what they do with it,” said Weston, a market analyst. “Do they use it as a doorstop or what?” The price of gold keeps going up, setting records week after week. On Thursday it touched yet another new high, trading at $1,296.30 an ounce. Just two years ago, it was trading at about $900. Low interest rates, a falling dollar and anxiety over holding government debt have prompted investors and central banks alike to buy the metal – something tangible instead of a promise. To Weston, the gold rush reflects his clients’ diminishing trust in Wall Street and the federal government. Gold has fans in the tea party movement and among viewers of popular conservative cable-talk
