I am more worried about the gold equities, as it is not clear to me why gold went down today -- our gold bug rally seems to be hovering in and out of 'critical' -- for now anyway. Can't wait for the Frank Veneroso predictions to kick in.
By the way, I did find out that Saddam is 'conferring with his advisors' about how to respond to the UN resolution not to remove sanctions. He is apparently awaiting some response to the UN monitoring of his 'weapons' sites. It is possible BC might find an excuse to start something fairly soom -- but I think he will not do anything unless Saddam makes a pretty definite first move, so that BC can step in and look good. The next month or so is probably critical, given the xxx gate grand jury windup coming soon.
Haven't seen the newer, gentler otherwise remade Newt Gingrich so anti-Clinton in months. Perhaps K Starr has some real ammunition. Would make sense for Saddam to naively think he could make some sort of confrontational move if BC was in serious trouble.
My impression is that gold/gold equities have only just begun to rally, so it still very early in the pattern the Oldman predicts. I am more worried that our gold rally might go back into hibernation.
Question: After Gold .9999 has been melted many times how does one find out were it was mined? Do I understand this right?
S.
the international reserve currency? This is the question being asked by North
American economists and portfolio managers as the final steps are taken to
launch the euro onto the world stage.
On Saturday, 11 of the 15 countries in the European Union will lock their
currencies together by fixing exchange rates. In January, the euro will come to life
and all banks and stock exchanges will start using it, spelling the death of the
mighty German mark, the wobbly French franc, the disaster-prone Italian lira and
the second-tier currencies from Finland to Portugal. If you buy a
mark-denominated bond today, you will be paid back in euros.
The transformation of the euro from concept to reality has happened remarkably
fast. Only a few years ago, when speculators forced the overvalued pound and
lira out of the mechanism that set the trading ranges of the European currencies,
the euro seemed all but doomed. The idea then emerged that a European-wide
currency would evolve in stages, with a core group anchored by France and
Germany adopting it first. The laggards would join once they met the strict entry
requirements, notably the stipulation that deficits cannot exceed 3 per cent of
gross domestic product.
Undaunted, most of the would-be laggards took the pain and met the
qualifications. Italy, for example, slashed its deficit from 6.7 per cent of GDP in
1996 to 3 per cent a year later, when its economic growth was a mere 1.5 per
cent. Italian inflation has been all but wiped out and the stock markets have
soared.
The euro's credibility is now gaining momentum amid signs that the European
economy is recovering and unemployment is falling. Some economists and
currency experts, as a result, have become exceedingly bullish on the euro. They
predict it will go from strength to strength and eventually threaten to overtake the
dollar in the same way the dollar overtook the pound as the currency of choice
earlier this century.
The bears say it is far too early to predict the success of the euro because it is
untested and because crucial matters, ranging from the role of the new European
Central Bank to the integration of the bond markets, have yet to be resolved.
Some skeptics also say the euro users, having met the tough economic conditions
to get into the club, will soon abandon any notion of fiscal restraint on the belief
they will never get kicked out.
One of the leading euro-bulls is Avanish Persaud, a foreign exchange expert at
J.P. Morgan in London. In a recent report, he said he believes the euro "will
seriously threaten the dollar as the world's only reserve currency. This process
will be far quicker than many imagine and will be under way in a matter of
months, not years."
Graham Bishop, an adviser to Salomon Smith Barney in London, agrees, saying
the sheer size of the European economy will instantly make the euro a significant
force in global markets. On many measures, including population, exports and
share of world trade, "euroland" is bigger than the United States. Throw in the
reduced transaction costs associated with using the euro for payments and the
assumption that the currency will be adopted by wannabe EU members, such as
the Czech Republic, and you have a real dollar-buster in the making.
If these experts are right, the dollar could slowly lose value. "If the euro gets
established, it's bound to affect the relative value of the U.S. dollar in some way,"
says Alister Smith, deputy chief economist at Canadian Imperial Bank of
Commerce. "Gradually, demand for dollars would fall as the euro gets
established."
A potentially strong euro is one factor that will have to be weighed by
international investors. Another is the sector-versus-country debate. In the past,
portfolio managers in Europe and North America invested in individual country
markets. They would, say, buy Italian bonds and equities as opposed to
pan-European assets, such as health care or automotive securities. Now, with the
advent of the euro and the rapid integration of the European markets, it makes no
more sense to invest in an individual country than it does to invest in an
individual state or province in North America.
The problem, according to Anko Beldsnijder, the European portfolio manager of
ABN Amro Asset Management in Amsterdam, is that few investment firms on
both sides of the Atlantic are equipped to take the sector approach in Europe.
"They will need more resources, such as better research, to do this."
The flip side is that the arrival of the common currency and market means that
Europeans will have to invest outside of Europe to diversify. North America is
the logical destination for them.
The launch of the euro and the melding of the European economies will not alter
the world's monetary and investing landscape overnight. But any notion that the
euro will be either weak or an outright failure is vanishing quickly. In time, the
euro could knock the dollar off its pedestal.
suggest you take time and do homework old buddy..
hows that for a nutshell
4 ) Speculators who treat gold as any other commodity - buy when it is cheap, and sell when it is dear.
5 ) Momentum investors ( ?? ) who buy gold ( or anything else ) when it is going up, and sell when it is going down
BTW - group 5 appears to be in the majority.
Have a nice day. ( ;^ )
Oris wrtote:
"If you got any palladium, sell it, buy platinum instead, It's more precious anyway..."
I thought this was worth repeating.
Yes
Platinum is holding at 400 spot.
Palladium at 364.
This is support
Buck up little campers
Platinum is the buy of the year here.
You can buy Platinum Maple Leafs from Bart for delivery.
Yes
Since I have been rather one sided lately:
Gold is holding at 306 support.
Go Gold
Yes
The big question is how Franck Veneroso's predictions will come true this year, as I don't think news of inflation will trigger the rise. We will need some kind of triggering news after the CB selling/loaning abates ( beginning May 98, according to FV as I recall ) .
So -- with one eye one the beach I am going to stay on the Gold bug Tsunami, even if we are miles out to sea, and there is nary a ripple.
Oldman is right about BC -- BC is a master at the PR business, though he clearly is more ruffled than the teflon president Ronald Reagan ever was.
To parphrase Eldo:
Silver will break $6 today
Or not
I like it
Uh Huh
Eldo -
You have given me inspiration.
I will call my clients
I will buy and sell metals
( no worries, I will not short gold )
This will happen
Yes
http://home.istar.ca/~inpath/gold.gif
close-up forecast:
http://home.istar.ca/~inpath/gold-cl.gif
STUDIO.R -
You're in the music biz?
In LA, Right?
E-mail me, If you would. I have some studio questions.
Thanks
Have you been watching market volume/price trends? I forgot to check last night. Is that bullish or bearish in your mind? Another wild card is interest rates. I doubt AG will do anything preemptively due to Japans weak situation.
All this uncertainty is good practice for the Gold bug Tsunami, as we will have to think on our feet in the midst of alot of froth.
To All: Does anyone know how much gold is disolved in seawater and by what process it can be removed? I know it is very expensive to do but I understand that it has been done before. Would this not put a theoritical top on the value of gold? I also remember vaugely that the quantity of gold in the world's oceans is enormous compared to the above ground stockpile.
I don't know how long the Goldilocks market will stick around, but I'm guessing Oldman is probably right -- months, perhaps, unless Europes markets reveal a renaissance. Eventually we will have a wakeup call, and it will not be pleasant.
By the way, I'm now down to 30% equities, 70% cash. I will probably regret not having more equity investments, but at least I can sleep at night.
Warren Buffet may have something interesting to say at his ( stockhoders? ) meeting on Monday. It may be a bit of a wakeup call too, but it will probably be very carefully worded.
The following information is from the NASDAQ archives and various Internet sources.
Per RANGY Financial Statements ( dated April 17, 1998 ) on file with the NASDAQ, RANGY has two institutional investor shareholders with at least 5% of the outstanding stock:
- Nedbank Nominees Ltd. with 29.94%
- Standard Bank with NO amount specified
Outstanding shares is 13,791,000, and Market Cap on above date was about $17 million.
Info about Nedbank - it belongs to the holding company NEDCOR -
Nedcor is a leading banking group in South Africa, with activities covering personal, commercial and corporate banking, merchant banking, fund management and related financial services. Most of its operations are through an extensive network of branches and offsite centres throughout South Africa. It operates internationally through outlets in
London, Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Beijing and Taiwan and through associates into sub-Saharan Africa. The group is currently the largest banking group in South Africa in terms of its various brands, many of which relate to well-established products, are designed to serve clearly-defined market
segments. Nedcor website:
Standard Bank - It is a well-known major Off-Shore bank. Here is their website:
http://www.standard-bank.com/index.htm
the manipulators of the afternoon US gold markets are getting brazen, I hope it is a sign of a last stand desperate fight that they loose
April was an excellent month for gold funds, and the leaders were:
percent change
Lexington Strat Invest 23.0
ASA Ltd . 14.1
Gabelli Gold . 11.3
Evergreen Prec Mtls B. 10.9
Van Eck Intl Inv GoldA 10.3
PIMCO Adv Prc Mtls C . 10.2
Amer Cent Global Gold. 10.0
Fidelity Sel Prec Mtls 9.7
Pioneer Gold A . 9.4
USAA Gold . 9.3
found at http://www.eaglewing.com
I know somebody posted this link already, but the story is worth reading. We know the Russian stockpile is no more, looks like the ore at Norilsk has gone anemic. Palladium will fly, but will be obsolete in auto manufacturing in two years. They're going back to platinum folks. Continuity of supply, that's the ticket.
With no reserves and no stockpile, where do you suppose the palladium they shipped through the end of 1997 came from? I will phrase the rest in question form as this is entirely speculative, but makes good sense, perhaps the only sense.
Who is the largest Palladium holder in the world now? Could it be Tiger? They hold over 2.5 million ounces, right? Did someone mention last year that Tiger would step up and buy everything the Russian have? Has this happened? Has Tiger been financing Russian shipments ( through end of 1997 ) taking a large slice of the pie, while shipping the metal the Russians need to ship so desperately?
If the answers to those questions are yes, this removes the threat of large-scale dumping by Tiger. Has anyone here wondered why we have heard so little about Tiger while palladium was at record highs? Always good to have a low profile, when the big deals are working.
The action you see in platinum is because even the largest funds are afraid of palladium. Platinum is the surrogate. There are no palladium supplies. What would you do if you had to deliver June palladium, but you could find none? Would not your only choice be to go to the platinum market? Would this not be the only proper hedge against a palladium short? Mysterious, nonexistent, and completely imaginary but highly placed insiders think the answers to many of the questions are, yes?
Uh Huh
http://biz.yahoo.com/finance/980430/norilsk_nk_1.html
Eldo -
I sold no gold. Do you not trust me? I am a bit gleeful though; only about 3 - 4 dollars upside down on my gold shorts. I will look to cover soon and be done with these cursed shorts. A pox on the houses of all gold shorters!!!!!!!!!!! They do nothing but suck the marrow right out of the long players bones. It just isn't fair.....
Huh Uh
JD -
I have traded nary a single ounce of palladium since last July. Too volatile. The trade is in platinum. It will go up and stay up.
Yes
PS
Thanks Sevens
Does anybody remember the biggest sellers of gold in the last two years?
Australia, yes?
Belgium, yes?
Holland, YES?
Seems a man who is very comfortable selling gold outright from the vaults will now be in charge of the coveted ECB.
This is very interesting.
Yes
Studio my friend, yes I sold 62000 shares yesterday, @1 3/8 . Today I bought back 20000 @1 1/16 , but I got to tell ya, I wish I knew more about how bussiness is handled over there.
If it was not for Disney, and what I believe to be expert advice, I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.
My order for more is in now , just need the price to fall a wee more.
And last year, Germany decided, for the first time ever, to lease over 300 tons of gold for forward sales.
The French do what they always do: Whatever they damn well want to do.
The Italians bring what to the table? The Lira?
This is not a rosy picture.
Huh uh
Does anybody remember the biggest sellers of gold in the last two years?
Australia, yes?
Belgium, yes?
Argentina, yes? ( Mr. Mick say's yes. )
Holland, YES?
Seems a man who is very comfortable selling gold outright from the vaults will now be in charge of the coveted ECB.
This is very interesting.
Yes
Indeedy
was just a twitch from the glowing Goldilocks economy news we had. But -- now the US dollar is down too -- 1% in French Franks and 1% in Marks? This is another matter entirely. We need to be on our toes right now, because whoever is selling dollars may be selling gold too! I don't want to be long anything if we repeat Oct 97 or Oct 87. Donald -- any clues?
What I am hoping for is a gradual realization that there is trouble in Denmark, as then gold/gold stocks will have time to go up. If we have a blinding flash type of crisis, all paper will burn.
Old Gold: I also cut my gold stock holdings. I'm now at 20% gold stocks, 10% Computer stocks, rest cash. Should have bought energy stocks at the market bottom. Like you, I probably should have cut more, but I think we are at gold bottom, and when this gold market turns it is likely to turn quickly. All I fear is the blinding flash -- or equivalently the breakup of the Gold bug Tsunami on the beach.
If Germany does not have the ECB within German borders, I doubt they will 'sell' their gold, or otherwise transfer it.
On the other hand, once the ECB clearly starts to falter, we will have a repeat of the 1993 era when George Soros et al went after the Bank of England -- a full fledged international currency crisis and a strong gold bull. The US dollar would go up again as well.
Let us pray that does not happen until after the SEAsian situation is resolved, otherwise we know what the outcome would be.
By the way, I will use this time as an opportunity to buy more physical gold, but unfortunately the St.Gaudens coins I like so much seem to be going up steadily. I doubt that anything short of a 6 month bear in gold bullion would lead to a cheaper St. Gaudens gold coin price.
Neva Happen.
Also, having not touched the channel top, it gives me less confidence that it will bounce off the bottom, and not drop through to 280ish as some have been predicting. Platinum did not make a clean bounce, and is threatening to drop through the channel bottom. Oh well, should know about both in a few days.
BTW, I'll post an updated chart as soon as Monday's London fixes are in.
G' day.
He owes MANY apologies here....MANY.
tsk-tsk.
away...from people with NO conviction
EBreadytofallonhisfaceatamomentsnotice.....uhhuh.
eblm@utech.net i have my address back again......damnable ISP's....
Find out more about Kitco at info@kitco.com, or call 1-800-363-7053.
Copyright © 1996 Kitco Minerals & Metals Inc.