JIM ROGERS ON GOLD: RATHER GO ALONG WITH “BARBARIANS” THAN IVY LEAGUE PROFESSORS (EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW)

Twittear

The Inteligencia Financiera Global blog (Global Financial Intelligence Blog) is honored to present an exclusive interview with commodities guru and famous investor Jim Rogers, author of “Street Smarts –Adventures on the Road and in the Markets”.

Many thanks for accepting this interview.

Jim, one of the common topics of this blog is gold. There are many people in the Spanish speaking world who are very interested on this precious metal, even though these countries are not the top consumers of it. From your perspective, is the gold bull market still alive?

- Yes, but in a continuing consolidation.

There is a lot of pessimism around gold, and many commentators refer to it as a “barbarous relic” in the monetary world. Do you agree?

- It does not matter what they or I think. The majority of mankind has accepted it for centuries and will continue to do so. I had rather go along with the vast number of “barbarians” than a few Ivy League professors.

When do you think we could see gold reach new all time highs? Five, ten years?

- I am a terrible market timer so have no idea. Certainly within the decade.

On the other hand, Jim, silver seems to be even more unwanted than gold. The “poor man’s gold” has many industrial uses, but it doesn’t seem to attract investors. Is it a mistake to ignore silver as an investor? Would you rather buy silver instead of gold?

- IF I were buying one today, I would buy silver since it is more depressed on a historic basis. Silver is down 60% from its all-time high while gold is down much less. I own both, but am not buying either at the moment.

Jim let’s talk a little bit about Latin America in general and Mexico in particular. You have traveled twice around the world –once by motorcycle and the other by car– so you know the world very well. From your perspective, what’s the main problem for Latin American countries? I mean, how could they reach an accelerated and sustainable rate of growth and development?

- Completely open your economies, markets, and societies to the whole world. E.g. Brazil recently put special tariffs on its largest trading partners as well as currency controls – and they wonder what is wrong!

Mexico, until recently, closed its oil markets for over 75 years and you wonder why your oil reserves have declined so much! It is difficult to immigrate to most and get passports when you all need outside brains, ambition, capital, expertise, etc.  Along the same line, stop subsidizing any sectors at all. Have a real free market, etc.

Legalize drugs and spend the money on something else such as prisons for crooked politicians or infrastructure or education or….

Mexico has made a lot of legal reforms –including strategic sectors like energy and telecommunications– to open our market to new investments. According to your experience, do you think that those reforms will be enough?

- They are good even if overdue, but not enough. Now open it all and stop subsidizing and protecting cronies.

What should Mexico do to prepare to a new world in which China will be the leading country?

- See above. Teach Mandarin in your schools. Attract Asian students to study in Mexico.

Finally Jim, you have stated that all major central banks are printing staggering amounts of currency, and that this will bring a disaster for America and the entire world. What could the average person do to protect himself or herself from these attacks against their wealth and purchasing power?

- Learn about currencies and what is happening. Learn about real assets whether gold or wheat or …. Become a farmer or ….

Thank you, Jim. We hope to have you here again soon.

(Thanks to Victor Huerta for his support on preparing this interview)