Editor’s Note: Fear of inflation is growing around the world, and it’s shaking investor confidence in global stock markets. With two-thirds of the world’s population now experiencing inflation over 10%, smart investors are getting into gold, says Sally Limantour in Taipan Daily.

The International Herald Tribune reports that “benchmark indexes in Europe and Asia are also off sharply as investors digest the possibility that central banks will squelch growth with higher interest rates in the hope of containing inflation.”

The IHT says the European Central Bank (ECB) is now expected to become the first big central bank to move against inflation and raise rates since the credit crisis.

The ECB will likely raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 4.25% this week.

With Inflation on the Warpath, Gold Is a Must-Own

By Sally Limantour

The fact is, over two-thirds of the population are now experiencing inflation rates over 10% — and the pain looks set to get worse.

While inflation heads higher, the economy is slowing down. This is feeding the 1970s “stagflation” fears that put the Fed (and other central banks) in a very tough spot. Raising rates too much threatens to push a weak economy over the brink. Lowering rates to help the weak economy stokes inflation. And either way, the price of basic goods the world needs (e.g., food and fuel) will continue to rise.

One message rings loud and clear in all this: You want to own gold. Readers of the Taipan newsletter have been given multiple ways to do just that, with various gold asset buying strategies ranging from the highly conservative to the highly aggressive.