Smart man (as much as it pains me to say it): Putin Turns Black Gold Into Bullion as Russia Out-Buys World

When Vladimir Putin says the U.S. is endangering the global economy by abusing its dollar monopoly, he’s not just talking. He’s betting on it.

Not only has Putin made Russia the world’s largest oil producer, he’s also made it the biggest gold buyer. His central bank has added 570 metric tons of the metal in the past decade, a quarter more than runner-up China, according to IMF datacompiled by Bloomberg. The added gold is also almost triple the weight of the Statue of Liberty.

Famed investor Jim Rogers is bullish on Russia:

Here are some of the excerpts, leaving out Maria Bartiromo’s “babbling”…

“… I’m buying Russia. Russia is terribly depressed, nobody likes Russia, nobody. I’m buying the bonds, the currency and the stocks.”

“… For the first time in 46 years I’ve decided to invest in Russia…. Everybody is pessimistic on Russia. Russia is changing, that’s how you make money. You find something that everybody hates, including me, including you, when it’s changing and that’s how you make money”.

I think Jim’s onto something here.