investing in gold

Gold was out when the seventies ended, but the loss of confidence in paper money has sent it soaring once more. Investors who missed the metal's recent rise should not despair: There's still plenty time to get in on the action. Here's how.

The economy has had more than its share of trouble lately: Japan's earthquake comes on top of rising oil and food prices, political turmoil in the Middle East and a crop of government austerity measures. But investing opportunities lie hidden behind the bad news.

Everybody knows gold had a great year in 2010, rising 27% and beating most other investments. But silver actually did much better, climbing a breathtaking 83%. Can the "poor man's gold" keep beating its more costly big brother? Many analysts think so.

Stocks rallied sharply Friday to extend their winning ways to a fourth consecutive week. That's the longest rally since late April, when the markets hit their last peaks.

The price of gold has been on a tear for the past decade, rising 400% since 2001. Now, with the direction of the U.S. economy unsure, investors are still adding gold to their portfolios. Jennifer Ropiak of the NYSE Liffe U.S. talks about how you can diversify your investments with the yellow bullion.

Gold bugs like to think gold covers all bases, whether inflation or deflation rules. But major vendors like Goldline are coming under scrutiny for steering investors into coins with markups of 35% -- or worse, customers say.

Gold hit $1,226 an ounce Tuesday and although the yellow metal is still well off its all-time high, you don't have to be a member of the build-a-bunker-in-Montana crowd to believe gold could double in a couple of years.

In recent months, the economic turmoil rocking Europe has been fueling the price of gold, and the yellow metal is now flirting with $1,200. But on Tuesday, gold fell from its five-month high, creating what may be an opportunity for investors.