I've spent enough time in casinos to have learnt that you've never made money until you cash out, and you've never lost money while there are still small round things to play with.
I bought my gold 2 weeks ago for prices ranging from $955 to $910 retail. When I got back from the US, I showed a coin or two to some trusted and interested collegues, who are now pointing and laughing as the price drops towards $800.
The thing is. I don't care. I bought gold expecting volitility. 80% of my savings are counting against a 10 year fixed rate offset mortgage. 10% are going into banking shares, and 10% is in gold, both as interesting and risky investments to counter the boring predictability of saving against the mortgage.
I won't have stops on either investment. I will sell them both when house prices have bottomed, as I will need the money to move up the property ladder (hopefully the rungs will be spaced more closely). If gold or the shares are worth a pittance by then, then I will hold them until they are worth something, possibly decades later.
I am interested in why gold is moving so much. Who is selling and why? It seems odd for the market to drop so much with so little reason.
Another gambling tip - gamble only what you can afford to lose. I don't want to lose 20% of my savings, but if I do, then it won't really affect my life.
My final gambling tip. Professional gamblers lose a lot of the time, but slightly less often than they win. To profit, they need to know more than the bookmakers, and be able to better predict the future by doing lots of research. That tiny edge is how they make their money. If you <s>think</s> know you know better about an investment than everyone else, then go for it. A lot of the time you will lose, just make sure it's less often than you win, and don't listen to everyone else (remember that bookies just follow what the other punters do) and you should make money in the end.
My prediction? High but not hyper inflation. Gold to $1500. Peak in 2011.
Richard