That is in Munich during Oktoberfest. That would give us 992.8 million ounces of beer with our gold alone. If they would allow us to pay in copper, well, the mind boggles. This report is about gold specifically, but much of what they have to say applies to copper as well.

"Erste Group has been producing annual forecasts of gold prices since 2007, and has been bullish over the period – an accurate call, given gold’s surging fortunes over the past five years.

This year’s 120-page report includes such quirky measures as how many litres of beer can be purchased at Munich’s Oktoberfest each year with an ounce of gold."

Investors are as pessimistic toward gold mining stocks as they were four years ago during the financial panic, but gold miners are far healthier than they were back then, the bank says. Their balance sheets are stronger, their free cash flows are higher, while their debts are low and their dividends are rising – all factors that will eventually drive share prices higher.

The bank says gold investors should restrict themselves to jurisdictions that are unlikely to experience “resource nationalism,” the term for countries that try to extract more value from their wealth in the ground at the expense of mining companies.

Among its favoured jurisdictions is Canada.

“We believe that solid mining shares in politically stable regions currently represent a high-leverage bet on the gold price with an attractive risk/return profile,” the bank says.

--http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/the-case-for-a-new-gold-rush/article4421481/