Managing Editor

Play Your Short Game in Gold

GMiki -

COMEX June gold had last settled at $894.50 when you wrote your comment. Three trading sessions later, the contract settled at $869.20.

Some might consider a $2,530 return a nice short. At exchange minimum margins, that's a 59% gain.

Leveraged Gold ETFs: The End of Gold Stocks

Dave M -

A commodity-based exchange-traded NOTE won't issue a Schedule K-1, but and exchange-traded FUND might.

The Long and the Short of Silver and Gold

Nate, the HAI article linked to this story ("What's Better: Gold or Silver?": hardassetsinvestor.com...) contains a table tracking the gold/silver ratio through the 20th and 21st centuries.

If you want finer grain detail of modern-day prices, try the historical statistical archives of the London Bullion Market Association at www.lbma.org.uk.

The Long and the Short of Silver and Gold

Misterchan, DGZ and DZZ are exchange-traded notes (ETNs) issued by Deutsche Bank that track the 1x (DGZ) and 2x (DZZ) the inverse of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index – Optimum Yield Gold.

ETNs differ from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in that they are senior, zero-coupon debt instruments rather than representing a portfolio of futures like the PowerShares DB commodity funds.

As zero-coupon notes, they pay no interest. Issued at $25 pe back in February, their value fluctuates based upon the return of the underlying index. The are tradeable intraday and price-transparent as are ETFs.

At present, there's no tax consequence for holding these ETNs (until liquidation, that is), giving them a decided advantage over gold ETFs like DBG and grantor trusts such as GLD or IAU.

More information can be found at: dbfunds.db.com/notes.