World

On December 31st 2008, when gold was trading at USD$850.00 I predicted it would go to over USD$1400.00. At the end of 2010, gold is now trading at USD$1420.00.

At the end of 2008, when silver was trading at just USD$11.00, I predicted it would go over USD$30.00. At the end of 2010, silver is now trading at USD$30.89.

Had you invested in gold you would have made a profit of 65% and with silver you would have made a profit of 153%.

Let me give you my predictions for gold and silver for 2011:

Gold will go to $1800 and above and silver will go to at least $45.00. If you have not yet invested in gold and silver, it is still not too late. Precious metals are yet to become mainstream and therefore have a long way to go. We are at the beginning of a long-term bull market and there could be shortages of the physical metals in the future.

I predicted that real estate would fall dramatically in the US and it is continuing to fall. I predict that over the next two years, property prices will drop overall another 20% the US and that the Chinese and Australian property bubbles will burst. There will be small pockets of land and real estate that will hold their value even during the economic crisis that still lies ahead, but they are few and far between. In the main, if you are thinking of buying property, think again. You may want to rent for a while to keep your options open. Don’t get into something that looks like a “real bargain” only to find six months later that its price has dropped by another 20%.

Stock markets will be more volatile than ever. Between now and 2014, the Dow Jones could still fall to 90% off its all time high. If you are thinking of trading on the markets during 2011, make sure can afford to lose the money you are investing as there will be wild fluctuations in prices and people will become even more speculative than before and bubbles will form and burst in the twinkling of an eye.

The US dollar will continue to fall and we will see the start of currency wars, trade wars and cyber wars.

Unemployment in the US is at a 26 year high and unemployment among the young is at over 50% in Spain and Italy. This sets the scene for greater unrest and revolts against authorities and governments to come.

During 2011 we will see the schism between the haves and have nots widen with more austerity measures piled onto average person. We’ve already had civil unrest in Greece, Ireland and the latest in the UK with the students’ revolts and an open attack on Prince Charles and Camilla.

We will see more bailouts this coming year, governments taking on even more debt and more printing of colossal sums of money. We’ve already had QE 2 and I am fully expecting to see QE3 some time in the summer to fall of 2011. The same holds true for Europe where the situation is also worsening.

Governments worldwide will be imposing more and more taxes. Sales taxes, property taxes, income taxes etc., cash strapped states, councils and governments will be looking for ways to squeeze cash out of the everyday person. Make sure you keep your accounts and business dealings in order as I am seeing Inland Revenue departments chasing even small sums of money such as $50 or $100.

There will be more groups who want to expose corruption in governments, banks and big business. It has started with Wikileaks and OpenLeaks, but the power of hackers around the world remains unknown and they may be able to bring down the likes of Paypal, Visa, Mastercard and Amazon. Take your privacy seriously and do whatever you can to put in place protections for your online security and financial security.

We will see more government leaders voted in and out of office quickly, just as we saw in 2010 with Kevin Rudd voted out by his own party within a year of taking office. And in the US the November mid-term elections where there was a sweeping change in the balance of power.

There will be more natural disasters in places we least expect them. In 2010, Christchurch experienced a 7.3 earthquake and seismologists were not aware of a fault line in that area of New Zealand. There continue to be severe aftershocks that are still affecting the people and the buildings. Changing weather patterns will bring about freak weather conditions. In Australia there is severe flooding in areas that have had droughts for the last ten years.

I predict that we will see flooding so excessive in some places where small towns or even whole cities will go underwater. A proliferation of water borne diseases could ensue.

The majority will stick it out in the cities and towns and they will face civil unrest, uprisings, austerity measures and restrictions on their personal freedom. Others will withdraw, retreat to nature or live communally with others of like mind. They will be concerned with survival issues and will live independently and self-sufficiently, growing their own food and generating their own power. If you are unable to escape from where you are living, but feel vulnerable to the changes ahead, at least stock up with some basic food and water supplies, a first aid kit, torches and make copies of all your important documents. Think of it as taking out insurance – be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.