Tuesday 30 October 2007

Gold close to $800 an ounce

The price of gold has soared to nearly $800 an ounce. It has reached its highest level since 1980. The reason for this is that investors have been scared shitless by the falling dollar and inflation, and they want a safe haven for their money.

This is a great time to turn base metals into gold - if you can manage it. I once tried to create gold (in my misspent youth), but it ended in disaster. I nearly burnt the house down. Alchemists are a special breed. Not necessarily more special than financial shamans, but they have unique skills which can take twenty years or more to acquire. If you're an alchemist you haven't got much time for anything else in your life, and you have to be very good to make any money out of it.

I only know one truly successful alchemist - I can't name him - and he recently told me, 'Even if you do manage to turn base metals into gold, the problem is shifting the gold afterwards. You have to explain where you got the gold from, and it can be quite awkward. Fortunately, I have an arrangement with a bank in Switzerland and they take all my gold - no questions asked.'