Latest news with #precious metals
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Augusta Precious Metals Review 2025
Augusta Precious Metals is better suited if you're retired or nearing retirement and looking to diversify your retirement portfolio with precious metals exposure. In general, if you have a longer time horizon, you're better off with the stock market or long-term growth investments that can survive downturns over time. While having a small position in precious metals may dampen portfolio volatility in the short-run, the tradeoff between slightly dampened volatility and the lost long-term return is certainly not a prudent one, particularly for Generation-Z [or] millennials with long investing time horizons. – Robert Johnson, a chartered financial analyst, chairman and CEO of Economic Index Associates and professor of finance at the Heider College of Business at Creighton University Augusta requires a high initial investment of $50,000. Financial advisors typically recommend allocating no more than 5% to 10% of your overall portfolio to precious metals. That means, ideally, you need a total retirement portfolio of $500,000 to $1 million to justify that minimum. The idea behind investing in a gold IRA, such as one offered by Augusta Precious Metals, is that it works as an inflationary hedge. For example, if you have your money in cash, the cost of inflation erodes your purchasing power. The strategy of using a gold IRA is that the underlying assets appreciate in either a tax-deferred or tax-free Roth account. Concierge Customer Service Some of the perks of choosing Augusta are its transparent pricing and concierge-like customer service. It's a great option for those who'd prefer hand-holding when it comes to investment products. With Augusta, you'll be assigned a dedicated customer service agent throughout the account setup and management process. The downside is you can't set up or apply for an account online. If you prefer to go to a website without having to contact a person over the phone for transactions, you're out of luck. The website chat feature funnels customers into a customer service phone call.
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Plan underway to revitalise Egypt's silver industry amid fierce import competition
Egypt - The Gold and Precious Metals Division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) prepares a comprehensive strategy to revitalise Egypt's struggling silver industry. The plan will propose a series of measures to be submitted to the relevant authorities, as the sector grapples with growing reliance on imported silver products. In a statement issued on Friday, Ehab Wassef, head of the division, said many silver workshops across Egypt face significant obstacles that undermine their competitiveness. Chief among these is a shortage of skilled craftsmen, which he described as the backbone of an industry that depends heavily on manual dexterity and precision. Wassef highlighted another major challenge: intense competition from imported products, particularly those from China, Thailand and Turkey, which are sold at prices below local production costs, placing Egyptian workshops at a disadvantage. He explained that silver manufacturing is more labour-intensive than gold, as producing a single piece of silver requires roughly twice the effort, despite a gram of silver being about 65% the weight of a gram of gold. This makes the availability of skilled technicians critical to sustaining and growing the industry. According to Wassef, there is a determined push to expand domestic production and reduce reliance on imports. However, achieving this would require exempting imported production inputs from customs duties to lower operational costs and create fair competition. He also noted that Egypt currently lacks large-scale factories dedicated to silver production, with the sector largely comprising small and medium-sized workshops. To address this, the division is focusing on launching training programmes to produce new skilled technicians, alongside efforts to secure low-interest loans at a 5% rate. Wassef emphasised that Egypt's silver industry has considerable growth potential but needs tangible government support in the form of financing, easing regulatory burdens and fostering an environment conducive to training and production.
Bloomberg
21-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Russian Precious Metals Sales to China Hit $1 Billion
Russian precious metals exports to China almost doubled in the first half of the year, as record gold prices boost revenue. Chinese imports of Russian precious metal ores and concentrates, including gold and silver, jumped 80% to $1 billion from the same period a year earlier, according to data from Trade Data Monitor, which sources information from China's customs office. Bullion prices have climbed about 28% this year, boosted by heightened geopolitical risks and trade tensions, alongside buying by central banks and exchange-traded funds.
