Market Analysis: GOLD 4/15/2014

Gold is Looking Pretty Solid Right Now

Century Management's Arnold Van Den Berg (Trades, Portfolio) already reported his first quarter portfolio. He bought fewer stocks this quarter than in the previous quarter, with 14 new buys compared to 22. The decreased purchasing could be related to his wariness of the U.S. economy's stability. In his February note, "Inflation, Gold and Gold Mining Companies," he wrote:

"We continue to be concerned about the increasing levels of federal debt, Fed policy and quantitative easing, and the overall lack of political will to change the present course. As a result, we believe that the probability of elevated inflation over the next 5 years has dramatically increased and have been reviewing gold as a potential investment for our portfolios."

"When you consider the rate at which public debt is increasing, along with the fact that so many countries around the world instituted their own versions of quantitative easing (i.e. printing money) while increasing debt levels, these conditions are unprecedented. We have found no historical example of so many major countries simultaneously engaged in quantitative easing. Just ten years ago we would not have thought such an economic environment was even possible."