It appears the Dow is going to eke out a gain of about 6% for 2011.
Not bad, but not great…
Comparing that to all the bad news this year, that’s akin to a raging bull market.
There were many bright spots during the year.
Gold started the year at $1,404. It’ll close around the $1,570 range for a YTD gain of about 12%.
Not too shabby — and it will have outperformed the broader market.
Gold made a record high the week of September 6th, reaching levels above $1,900 an ounce.
Since that time, gold has sold off as a tsunami of fund managers sold gold positions end of year to lock in and to show profits for the year. However, ending the year gold rebounded more than $50 in the last two trading sessions.
Gold has been in an 11-year bull market.
It’s been a perfect storm as gold started off the millennium below $300 an ounce.
At some point, the gold bull market will end. And it will end badly, as all bubbles do.
But it won’t end until the uncertainty in the global market subsides — and “mom and pop” retail investors jump back into equities.
My prediction for the yellow metal in 2012 is that it will continue its rise as the ultimate safe haven. Look for gold to breach its September 2011 highs of $1,900 an ounce.
The Other Precious Metal
Silver was in a true mania in 2011:
It started the year around $30.85. It reached its high in the last week of April at $49.82. It will close out the year around $29 an ounce — pretty much where it started.
With all the gains pretty much erased for 2011, I believe silver will attract precious metals investors in 2012.
Don’t look for the mania rally we saw this year, but I think silver will end 2012 up more than 10%.
Black Gold and the Champagne of Fuel
It’s no secret that oil and natural gas stocks are our favorite investments…
I see no change in our investment thesis heading into 2012.
The Bakken, Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Utica, Piceance, and the Greater Green River Basins will be the buzzwords in energy for 2012 — and quite frankly, for the years to come.
The United States is literally swimming in an ocean of natural gas thanks to hydraulic fracturing.
In fact, four years ago, the U.S. was the ninth-largest global producer of natural gas.
Today? Thanks to formations like the Marcellus, the U.S. is now the #1 global producer of natural gas.
Natural gas now trades near a decade low, and I see no change in that in the foreseeable future.
Oil started the year trading around $91 a barrel. It’ll close out the year around $100 a barrel for a gain just shy of +10%. Take a look:
In 2012, we will continue to bring you our favorite names in this space…
And we’ll bring you delicious oil and gas producers that pay hefty monthly dividends.
Corporate America
Like I said earlier, the Dow will end this year with a slight gain of about 6%.
However, I think 2012 will be gangbusters for American stocks.
Corporate America has been incredibly efficient during this crazy market. Their balance sheets are stellar and they are sitting on mountains of cash…
At some point, American corporations will deploy that cash through higher dividends, R&D, and industrial production. All of these things point to a bullish scenario for 2012 — and beyond.
And more importantly, these stocks are safe.
Wealth Daily will continue to be on top of these positive developments. So stay optimistic.
Here’s to a prosperous New Year.
The original bull on America,
Brian Hicks
Check us out on YouTube!Brian is a founding member and President of Angel Publishing. He writes about general investment strategies for Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital. For more on Brian, take a look at his editor’s page.
