There is a difference between holding gold for price appreciation and holding it as an insurance policy or portfolio hedge.

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The difference between the normally lower futures price and the spot price is an insurance premium the farmer is willing to pay to guarantee himself the September price, when he can deliver his crop.

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Mr. BRIAN MONTGOMERY (Federal Housing Commissioner, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development): And that's the main difference between FHA and the subprime, is we price for the risk with an insurance premium, whereas in most of the subprime world, they price the risk in the interest rate.

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