You can add gold demand to the list of items being supported by China. China was the sole market to see positive growth in consumer demand for gold, rising 12 percent from a year ago the World Gold Council reports. Total gold demand in China reached 120 tonnes, nearly double the amount from just four years ago. Overall, gold demand was off 34 percent from 2008 but that is largely the result of exceptionally high demand increases during the darkest time of the financial crisis. On a year-to-date basis, gold demand is only down 6.3 percent. Chinarsquo;s improving economy has made consumers less price sensitive than those in India and the Middle East who have not fully adjusted to gold prices at current levels. Jewelry demand in India fell 42 percent on a year-over-year basis but Indians havenrsquo;t abandoned their strong cultural connection to gold. Exchange activity among consumersmdash;where old pieces are swapped for ...

While the Indian government buys its gold in the hundred of tons, a growing number of people around the world are buying by the ounce. For years Irsquo;ve been saying on TV and elsewhere that one-ounce coins like the American Eagle and the Canadian Maple Leaf make excellent gifts that the recipients will always remember and treasure. The same goes for 24-karat gold jewelry. The U.S. Mint seems to be thinking the same thing ndash; it plans to restart the sale of half-ounce, quarter-ounce and one-tenth-ounce gold coins on December 3, just in time for Christmas gift-giving. Last year, the Mint ran out. Coin sales have been impressive this year ndash; the Mint has sold more than 1.1 million of the one-ounce American Eagles and 140,000 American Buffalo coins, also one ounce. In Britain, the Royal Mint quadrupled its gold-coin output in the third quarter of 2009 to meet demand. The World Gold Council says ...

An article this week from Morningstar analyst Greg Wolper ldquo;Give Small Fund Shops a Chancerdquo; argues that investors who ignore small fund complexes may be missing out on growth opportunities. Itrsquo;s long been hard for small fund companies to get attention ndash; they donrsquo;t have the money to spend on advertising that the giants have. But Wolper writes that ldquo;lesser-known firms, and funds, have advantages that make it worth the time to seek them out.rdquo; He also makes a good point when he says that small fund managers can struggle when they try to cover too many asset classes and sectors. He says ldquo;a good small firm often focuses on one thing it does well.rdquo; We recently revamped our company sitemdash;USFunds.commdash;to make it easier for new and returning visitors to quickly learn about U.S. Global Investors and its focus on the global growth theme, which is at the intersection of emerging markets and ...

In TV commercials and across the Internet, managers of exchange-traded funds tout the tax advantages of their products. But according to a story in the latest issue of Barronrsquo;s, many investors in precious-metals ETFs have to deal with an unwelcome surprise come April 15. The issue is that gold and silver fall under the heading of ldquo;collectiblesrdquo; in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service, making these metals similar to artworks, antiques, vintage wine and rare baseball cards. This status means that profits from gold and silver investments do not qualify for the 15 percent maximum on long-term capital gains that pertain to stock and mutual fund investments. These profits are instead taxed at a 28 percent maximum if held for more than a year, and at ordinary income rates if held for less than a year. With the rapid appreciation of gold in recent years ndash; the current price is nearly double where it ...

This analysis is from Romeo Dator, co-manager of the China Region Fund (USCOX). A year ago, nobody thought China could manage 8 percent GDP growth in 2009. With year-to-date growth coming in at 7.7 percent through the first three quarters and getting stronger, China is poised to break that 8 percent mark rather easily. The success of the stimulus and the lofty economic numbers China has managed to produce amidst a global crisis has led many to claim China is the next great bubble. We see five reasons China is not a bubble and believe that its prospects remain strong for at least the next 20 years. 1) Consumption Continues to be Strong China is transitioning to a consumption-based workforce. Retail sales rose 16.2 percent in nominal terms during October and have been accelerating. The retail sales figure isnrsquo;t a perfect proxy, but it is the best available indicator of overall consumption because it does ...

With President Obama scheduled to make his first presidential trip to Beijing this weekend, China Region Fund (USCOX) co-manager Romeo Dator appeared on CNBCrsquo;s ldquo;Power Lunchrdquo; today to discuss the U.S.-China relationship. The other guest in the segment was former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, who stressed that the U.S. relationship isnrsquo;t the only one thatrsquo;s important to China. [Obama] wonrsquo;t be able to give them a public lecture. Hersquo;s going to find a more assertive, a more confident China. The only thing playing in our favor this time is that the whole of Asia is up in arms about the dollar. Since the Chinese peg their currency to the dollar, itrsquo;s giving them a benefit versus the rest of Asia. The only real chance we have here is for Asia to convince China (to let the yuan appreciate). Romeo predicted that Asia on the whole will grow in importance for investors. I think ...

I often say that money goes to where itrsquo;s treated best, and a Bloomberg News story this week shows that Irsquo;m not the only one who believes that. The CEO of Emerson Electric, which makes a wide range of industrial and technology products, says the U.S. governmentrsquo;s plans for greater regulation and higher taxation are pushing his company to move more of its business operations overseas. David Farr, who heads the $21 billion company, didnrsquo;t pull any punches: ldquo;Washington is doing everything in their manpower, capability, to destroy U.S. manufacturing.rdquo; And Farr predicts he will have plenty of company in the exodus to China, India and other places ldquo;where people want the products and where the governments welcome you to actually do somethinghellip; Im not going to hire anybody in the United States. Im moving.rdquo; Government policies for peace and prosperity are a key component in determining a countryrsquo;s growth prospects and attractiveness for investors. Worries ...

Twenty years ago this week, the Berlin Wall fell and in doing so, set off a string of momentous events that in short order saw the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and freedoms and democracy spread across a long-oppressed part of the world. Few events in modern history have had such a significant impact on the lives of so many people, but momentum for the wallrsquo;s fall began years earlier. A member of our investment team who grew up in Poland points out the important role played by Polish leader Lech Walesa, the shipyard electrician who led the Solidarity labor movement that drew support from around the world. Solidarityrsquo;s success in creating the first free trade union behind the Iron Curtain weakened the regionrsquo;s Communist governments and won Walesa the Nobel Peace Prize. Walesa, later Polandrsquo;s first post-Communist president, was in Berlin this week to tip over the first ...

I appeared on CNBCrsquo;s ldquo;Squawk Boxrdquo; this morning to discuss goldrsquo;s bullish run. One point I tried to stress to host Carl Quintanilla was that countries are intentionally weakening their currencies to benefit their export sectors, and this is one of the key factors driving gold higher. Therersquo;s a competitive currency devaluation taking place with many of the Western currencies, and countries like India donrsquo;t want to dump the dollar ndash; they just want to diversify (their foreign reserves) and they donrsquo;t want to buy the eurohellip;Wersquo;re seeing some really fascinating currency devaluations going around and I think that this bodes well for having gold as a component of your portfolio. All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. The Samp;P 500 Stock Index is a widely recognized capitalization-weighted index of 500 common stock prices ...

Indiarsquo;s deal to buy 200 metric tons (6.4 million troy ounces) of gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a huge deal ndash; not just the fact that the New Delhi government is handing over $6.7 billion for the metal, but what it may mean for gold going forward. India, the worldrsquo;s largest gold jewelry market, is making a rational and bullish call on gold. The supply of gold continues to decline - the biggest supply is from governments with socialist policies that are selling their gold to pay for social welfare and bailout programs. The IMF is a classic case of this. Whatrsquo;s particularly interesting in this case is that the buyer is a developing economy thatrsquo;s the largest democracy in the world. I see this as another sign of the wealth shift away from the developed markets of North America and Western Europe toward the emerging world. A decade ago, ...