Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Is gold really an investment or just a hedge against inflation?
Over time, gold has mainly a hedge against inflation, based on its scarcity value. That is, unless finds some "killer app" for it that would also make it a good investment. The "usual" ones, metallurgical, electronic, medicine, dental, don't really do the trick. It should be noted that gold performs its inflation hedge function over a long period of time, say $50-$100 years.  Over shorter periods of time, it will spike for other reasons. The latest classic example was in 1979-80, and the main reason, in my opinion, was the Iranian hostage crisis (inflation was secondary.) This was a POLITICAL risk situation, but one that was not unwarranted. An attack on 52 U.S. hostages (diplomats, no less), was potenially an attack on the U.S. dollar. But gold got so pricey that it lost its "inflation hedge" function for some two decades (until about 2000). Inflation has not been a notable factor in 2011. But Mideastern political risk has been. Witness Egypt, Libya, and potentially Syria and other countries. Put another way, gold is less of an investment that a "hedge." And not just against inflation.