Money Morning Mailbag: Don’t Bank on a Return to the Gold Standard
October 01, 2010 at 06:00 AM EDT
Gold prices closed above $1,300 an ounce for the third straight day yesterday (Thursday), continuing a record run that's delighted gold bugs everywhere. The surge shows just how much confidence investors have lost in fiat money, and greater appreciation for what former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan last month called the "ultimate means of payment." Gold's price surge "is a signal that there is a problem with respect to currency markets globally ," Greenspan told the Council on Foreign Relations. Indeed, Money Morning has repeatedly warned readers about the pitfalls of paper currency . However, it's unlikely that readers hoping for a return to the gold standard will get their wish.