Five hidden costs of gold

There’s a lot of talk right now about how gold is booming, and how gold bugs who have been stashing bullion under their mattresses over the last decade or so have made a killing.

That may be true if you look at the price of the yellow stuff per ounce. The price of an ounce of gold is up about 30% in the last year, or over 400% in the last 10 years. How does that relate to actual returns for investors?

Higher Taxes

The affinity for gold investing and a dislike of the government seem to go hand in hand, from predictions that massive government debt will render the dollar worthless to conspiracy theories that there will be another Executive Order 6102 in which Uncle Sam loots your safe deposit box and seizes your gold.


But the biggest reason for gold investors to get mad at the feds is their tax bracket. The IRS taxes precious metal investments — including gold ETFs like the SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Silver Trust — as collectibles. That means a long-term capital gains tax of 28% compared with 15% for equities (20% if and when the Bush tax cuts expire next year).

While you may see your gold as a bunker investment, the IRS will treat you the same as if you were hoarding Hummel figurines. And that means a bigger portion of your gold profits go to the tax man.

Amanah Saham 1Malaysia Maiden Dividend Payout

Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) today declared the maiden dividend of 6.38 cents per unit for Amanah Saham 1Malaysia for financial year 2010. The dividends will be reinvested as units and investors may update their passbook at PNB agent's network from the beginning of next month.

Bursa Malaysia e-share payment service

Bursa Malaysia has launched e-share payment service today that allows the share buyer to transmit money electronically to the stockbroker when they purchase shares/make payments or allow the stockbroker to auto-debit from the bank account. It also allows the stockbroker deposit share proceeds/profits into the buyer's bank account directly when the buyer sells the shares.

The service is provided FOC by the stockbrokers and you need to apply at the individual stockbroker. Basically, you need to fill in the form, and provide photocopy of NRIC and your bank statement/passbook. Original copies of NRIC and bank statement/passbook are required for verification purpose.

For more details about this new service, please visit here.

What not to tell your insurer after an accident

Everyone knows, or should know, that you should never lie to your insurance company -- that would be fraud -- but what you say and what you do does matter.
Moreover, it could mean the difference between how much of, say, an automobile accident, is covered and what impact it will have on your premium.

"People use the wrong words unknowingly all the time," said Mark Holihan of Mark Holihan Farmer's Insurance Agency. "I just keep asking questions to find out what really happened."

Here are some things to keep in mind when dealing with your insurance company: