Billionaire Seth Klarman sees value in gold; nobody should own cryptocurrencies - interview with Harvard Business School

6.24.22 - Stagflation threat level is 'highest in a long time'

Gold last traded at $1,828 an ounce. Silver at $21.17 an ounce.

News Summary: Precious metals prices remained stable Friday with trading tepid amid inflation concerns. Stocks higher as markets looked to snap three-week losing streak.

Kitco--"Billionaire investor Seth Klarman and head of the Baupost Group, said he sees the value of holding some gold as uncertainty continues to dominate the marketplace. At the sametime, he touted cryptocurrencies as pointless.

In a recent interview with Das Narayandas, a professor at the Harvard Business School, Klarman warned that the U.S. economy faces a challenging environment of slower economic growth and rising inflation. He added even with the current selloff, equity markets are still too elevated. The comments come as the S&P 500 has dropped roughly 23% this year, entering bear-market territory.

He added that equity markets will continue to slide as interest rates move higher. He said that the bond market has been in a bull market for 35 years, and the current selloff could be a big shock for investors who have been forced to take more risks to find better yields....

Although rising interest rates and a strong U.S. dollar are strong headwinds for gold, Klarman said that he is still a fan of the precious metal. He said that it remains a store of value and a safe-haven hedge.

'I think gold's valuable in a crisis. If the world turns to hell, the war expands and gets worse, God forbid a nuclear weapon is used, I think people are going to say: 'How do I know what anything's worth anymore? I'm going to make sure I have some gold because I don't want to not have money at a time of desperation.' It may never come to that, but I think it's prudent to have a little bit of your portfolio in gold,' he said."