Editor’s note: The following is a guest commentary from one of WND’s sponsors, Kevin DeMeritt, president of Lear Financial. If you would like to learn more about investing in precious metals, take advantage of the free information Lear Financial is making available to WND readers.
As the events of Sept. 11 took hold, Americans were overwhelmed by four “firsts” in our history – four incidents that have never happened to us before. To begin with, terrorists brought about a single day loss of life that appears to be exceeded only by the 23,000 men killed, wounded, and missing in the Civil War’s pivotal Battle of Antietam, in Sharpsburg, Md., on Sept. 17, 1862. Certainly, we hope and pray that the number of casualties from the terrorist attacks will not become a new benchmark for American death and dying.
Secondly, we were overwhelmed by the most spectacular and horrifying visual many of us will ever see in our lives – at least, that we hope we will ever see in our lives. The sight of an enormous passenger jet crashing into one of the world’s tallest buildings – as portrayed from several different angles – is imagery that simply defies description and taps directly into our greatest nightmares.
Third, America has never before witnessed a terrorist event of this scale. Indeed, neither has the world. To get one’s mind around the concept of a foreign organization plotting, perhaps for years, to deliberately destroy this many American lives and accomplish this much property destruction, all on an unprovoked, unwarranted basis, gives each of us a new and unwanted perspective on just how dark human beings can become.
Fourth, the Blue-chip index posted its biggest point loss ever. The tragedy, alone, didn’t accomplish this, of course. Yes, there was Wall Street’s proximity to one of the disaster sites. There was the obvious decimation to the airline industry, as well as losses to U.S. government bond business when Cantor Fitzgerald, a tenant of the World Trade Center and leader in that market, suffered the unthinkable tragedy of losing most of its 1,000 employees. And there will be unforeseen economic consequences that will cascade for weeks, perhaps months to come.
But the World Trade tragedy has mostly given a great, big shove to an already shaky economy. Before Sept. 11, consumer credit figures were down disappointingly, as was consumer confidence and corporate earnings. Meanwhile, unemployment figures jumped to 4.9 percent from 4.5 percent in July and is now the highest in four years. When you factor in the $130 billion the Fed injected into the economic system last week as an emergency stopgap measure, the specter of yet more inflation also enters into the picture, as it did after the Fed pumped about the same amount of cash into the pre-Y2K economy.
All of which has brought gold front and center. Predictably, it jumped to $280 after the tragedy, reflecting its role as the “asset of last resort.” But the fundamentals of gold were strong well before the terrorists struck and will continue to be bullish for perhaps years to come, which is why there’s absolutely no reason to indulge any panic you may be currently feeling and go on a wild gold-buying spree, something that may only embarrass you in about a month or so. The markets will all settle down, and when they do, gold will remain a powerful opportunity, but it will be something you add to your portfolio in a calm, deliberate and intelligent manner.
Of course, everything is relative. And matters concerning the economy, a possible recession and bullish gold all pale in significance to the bodies yet to be retrieved in the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and to the grief their families and friends yet feel. My hope is that comfort and peace will soon replace the terror and horror of Sept. 11. Our family here at Lear Financial extends our condolences to all involved in this American tragedy.
Special for WND readers, Lear Financial is making available free information on investing in precious metals.
With more than 20 years of industry experience, Kevin DeMeritt is president of Lear Financial, one of today’s fastest growing and most successful precious metals investment firms.
