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ARCHIVED DISCUSSION FROM 2/21/2005
All times are U.S. Mountain Time

(Yesterday's Discussion.)

TownCrier (2/21/05; 23:29:32MT - usagold.com msg#: 129520)
DMCC launches Good Delivery Standard for gold industry
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayArticle.asp?col=§ion=business&xfile=data/business/2005/February/business_February451.xml
22 February 2005, DUBAI - Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre (DMCC) has launched Dubai Good Delivery Standard (DGDS) for the gold industry, said Colin Griffith, executive director-Gold and Precious Metals, DMCC.

Griffith said the DGDS is aimed at improving the tradeability and distribution of small gold bars.

The Dubai Good Deilvery standard will ensure the manufacture of high quality gold with a minimum purity of 995 in the regional market and will specify the delivery requirements on the soon to be launched Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX).

^-----(from url)----^

Call it an example of informed anticipation.

Small... small gold bars. Why is small important? Because they will still be suitable for physical trade when a high price puts the 400 ounce London-standard bars out of reach for practical applications.

R.

Black Blade (2/21/05; 23:01:29MT - usagold.com msg#: 129519)
Dollar Declines on Report Korea to Diversify Currency Reserves
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aWcrfg7PMTtQ&refer=home

Snippit:

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell almost a cent against the euro and dropped versus the yen on a report that South Korea's central bank will diversify its currency reserves.

The central bank, which has $200 billion in reserves, will ``diversify the currencies in which it invests,'' Reuters said yesterday, citing a Bank of Korea spokesman in a parliamentary report. Byun Jai Yung, head of the bank's planning department, told Bloomberg in a telephone interview that he can't comment.

``People are taking the Bank of Korea story a bit more seriously and there's some talk other central banks are backing away as well,'' said David Mozina, a currency strategist at ABN Amro Holding NV in Sydney. The dollar's decline triggered some automatic orders to sell the currency, he said.


Black Blade: This and the rumors of other Asian central banks diversifying reserves into other currencies including Gold is shaking up the US dollar trade. It has long been rumored and even confirmed on occassion that the People's Bank of China has increased Gold reserves. It is also rumored that they are buyers of the Swiss Gold Reserves as well as buyers of some South African Gold production.


Black Blade (2/21/05; 22:52:39MT - usagold.com msg#: 129518)
@Caradoc - Saudi Oil

It was just last week that Saudi indicated they would increase the rig count to 74. It has been interesting to watch the Saudis continuously state that they would increase production to keep the price of oil in the $22-$28/bbl price band. We are now at about $49/bbl and the spare production capacity simply is not there.

Of course when I speak of "Peak Oil" production I do not mean to imply that half of the oil is gone. What I do mean is that the ability to produce economically viable oil reaches a point where it can no longer be increased. Many who discuss "Peak Oil" seem to be lumping together "resources" (discovered oil) and "reserves" (economically exploitable oil). Though oil is a finite resource it is not a matter of "running out" but the inability to economically increase production.

- Black Blade


Goldendome (2/21/05; 22:43:39MT - usagold.com msg#: 129517)
Saudi's pumping Water!!
Last Wednesday eve, we were listening to a Calgary, Alberta, A.M. "Blowtorch" radio station. The show's Business/economics interviewer was speaking with an oil markets trader out of Chicago. The trader said that at this point the Saudi wells are pumping 75% oil, 25%water! Now, he didn't say how many wells or which fields, but that was his blanket statement. I haven't seen any huge ponds of dirty water out there in the desert, but perhaps they indeed are there. The show was, of course, dealing with the worldwide conflicts and financial difficulties that will likely be raised with "peak oil".

They also spoke extensively about China's interest and probable investment in the Athabasca Tar sands or oil shale there in Alberta. The point was: That even though the sands are not a profitable venture at this point, they will likely become so, as we slide down the back side of the bell curve of peak oil. China has come late to the oil party and is scurrying world wide to confirm future supply.

Gandalf the White (2/21/05; 22:19:10MT - usagold.com msg#: 129516)
THANKS, Sir YGM !!!!
I needed THAT !
<;-)

Caradoc (2/21/05; 22:09:46MT - usagold.com msg#: 129515)
@ Black Blade (Saudis peaking?)
http://www.energybulletin.net/
The phrase "peak oil" carries a lot of baggage related to fear/greed and can be debated among those who fine tune their definition of the term. More understandable to the Joe Sixpacks of the world (who won't buy their first ounce of gold until they sense that things are going south) is the message inherent in your post. No matter how experts may define "peak oil," for the Saudis to have to double the number of rigs simply to maintain their current level of production certainly qualifies as having passed the point of diminishing returns.

PS: a lot of good reading is linked at URL above, including
Venezuela's Chavez threatening to cut off oil exports to the US if there's an assassination attempt against him


Buongiorno! (02/21/05; 21:41:02MT - usagold.com msg#: 129514)
with- hold gold

One of mining's finest executives is pictured in today's news release sitting atop this year's with held bars, amounting to about one-third of that produced.

This gentleman, IMVHO, is one of the sharpest in the world at what he does. We bet against him at our peril. He has held back a massive portion of his production, while his peers scramble to cover their hedge book shorts--or worse yet, conspire with their bankster friends to extend their hedges.

This bright fellow also sold much of his position over a year ago, for various reasons, and was basically correct. He is now again building an inventory and I may only grade that as bullish for gold.

Peeky-peeky overseas.....is that a print at $428 I see?
Buongiorno!

Black Blade (02/21/05; 20:49:42MT - usagold.com msg#: 129513)
@Caradoc - Energy Crisis

Matt Simmons out of Houston is one of the major proponents of the "Peak Oil" debate and has a lot of background and data to back it up. In fact the Saudis have announced that they will double the number of drill rigs to keep pace with current production (note - not "increase" but to "keep pace"). Ghawar is in serious decline now and is infilitrated with sea water/brine. I am not aware of the 'damage" done to Saudi fields but Iraqi fields (especially in Kirkuk) have beed irreparably damaged under Saddam by overproduction.

Oman and the UAE are experiencing severe production declines as well, not to mention "peak oil" production reached in Indonesia, Mexico, and the North Sea. In 1980 there was about 25% space production capacity and today it is less than 1% (or "just in time" inventory). It certainly does not look good with a potential bidding war in the offing with the new participants from China and India.

- Black Blade


Black Blade (02/21/05; 20:41:13MT - usagold.com msg#: 129512)
@ MK - Paul and Greenspan

I was watching CNBC both days and unfortunately the network cut away for some "chit-chat" at the first mention of "Gold" during the Greenspan and Paul exchange coming back when Ron Paul was finished. Apparently the meaningless chit-chat between two network drones was somehow more important. Everything else discussed by the Congressmen was about the proposed changes in Social Security. Even so, at no other time during the Humphrey-Hawkins testimony did the "Carnival Barker" network cut away for "chit chat" or even for commercials.

The markets did not really react much to the Humphrey-Hawkins testimony either day as they usually do with the minor exception of the word "Conundrum" mentioned the day previous during the Senate's turn at the Chairman. Market traders did not see any earth shattering news - positive or negative - so the markets traded slightly lower.

The real news lately appears to be the tightness in the oil supply and the lack of any spare production capacity. Meanwhile the US dollar continues to weaken under the unsustainable pressure of the twin deficits.

- Black Blade

BTW, today I recieved the Silver Eagle for the recent POG guessing contest. Thank you!


Caradoc (02/21/05; 20:34:27MT - usagold.com msg#: 129511)
Expert says Saudi oil may have peaked
http://www.energybulletin.net/4428.html
Snip:
Speaking exclusively to Aljazeera, Simmons came out with a statement that, if proven true over time, could herald by far the biggest energy crisis mankind has known.

"If Saudi Arabia have damaged their fields, accidentally or not, by overproducing them, then we may have already passed peak oil. Iran has certainly peaked, there is no way on Earth they can ever get back to their production of six million barrels per day (mbpd)."

The technical term for damaging an oilfield by overproduction is rate sensitivity. In other words, if the oil is pulled out of the ground too fast, it damages the fragile geological structure of the field. This can make as much as 80% of the oil within the field unextractable. Of course, at the moment, virtually every producer is at full tilt. The most important among them is Saudi Arabia; their Gharwar field is the world's biggest.

***********************

This story not getting a lot of ink.

Caradoc

MK (02/21/05; 20:12:14MT - usagold.com msg#: 129510)
Representative Ron Paul's questioning of the Fed chairman
http://www.321gold.com/editorials/paul/paul022205.html
Ron Paul writes an excellent article as linked above. The importance of his recent questioning of the Fed chairman will resound over the years and lead to much discussion.

I have said many times here that Alan Greenspan sees himself as the embodiment of the gold standard. He has now said as much publicly and I am not surprised. The key to Representative Paul's analysis is his statement that Greenspan's testimony is a repudiation of his earlier position - taken in his youth when under the wing of Ayn Rand. Though the statement itself might be a repudiation of the earlier essay, it is not a repudiation of the man or Ayn Rand's philosophy. In the end, Greenspan sees himself as a Romantic figure in the Randian tradition. One who took the position as chairman of the Fed in the nation's hour of need, stood against the forces of money inflation - or better put - money chaos, and stood firm, only his intellect standing between the nation and inflationary disaster. The nation could not make an atavistic return to gold-backed money, so he served as a gold-backed money himself: The Greenspan Standard. A Randian hero that reflects the Randian romantic hero better than some of her most famous characters. One man. "The" individual charged with saving the world monetary system. Not even his political masters truly understand what he has done.

So do I repudiate or honor Greenspan? I leave you to decide for this is a subject for deeper thought and even deeper understanding.

Another point I have often made is that the Chairman fulfills an embodiment of the flawed Shakespearean hero, controlled by fate and perhaps destined for a tragic end. The real question after all is said done is what happens after "the standard" passes from the scene. No one -- no one -- can stand in his stead. That perhaps is the tragedy in all this and why so many would rather have inert metal at the core than a mere mortal.

****Thoughts to be considered from a watershed moment for which we owe the good Congressman from Texas a debt of gratitude.

I would bet that after all was said and done at that fateful testimony, Mr. Greenspan probably most remembered Congressman's Paul's question and the subsequent exchange. It was the most important exchange and the one I am led to understand that CNBC blacked out.

Chris Powell (02/21/05; 19:25:41MT - usagold.com msg#: 129509)
Dennis Gartman agrees with GATA on IMF gold sales ...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gata/message/2866

... but not really as much as he thinks he does.

Latest GATA dispatch.


To subscribe to GATA's dispatches, send an e-mail to:

gata-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

YGM (02/21/05; 18:40:41MT - usagold.com msg#: 129508)
Looking For Gold?.......... Have a Little Faith!
http://www.photo.net/photo/pcd2898/las-vegas-downtown-gold-nugget-8.4.jpg
and a metal detector..Hand of Faith found by hobbyists w/ a metal Detector 6" below surface...61 lb 11 oz Nugget...

TownCrier (02/21/05; 15:15:10MT - usagold.com msg#: 129507)
HEADLINE: A case for Govt to hike Customs duty on gold (???)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/22/stories/2005022200171100.htm
Financial Daily, Mumbai , Feb. 21 -- For the Finance Minister straining to raise revenue for the exchequer, gold may come in handy. There is a case for raising Customs duty on gold imports.

Currently, the duty is Rs 100 per 10 gram. The Finance Minister can potentially mop up a few hundred crore rupees as additional revenue if the duty is raised modestly.

Demand for gold continues to be robust, driven by strong GDP growth... While it is safe to assume imports would continue at 600 tonnes a year, an increase in the existing rate of duty would fetch additional revenue.

^----(from url)----^

It seems that the author of this article would have you think that the only reason governments exist is to find things to tax in order to get revenue.

And frankly, sometimes it does seem that that's all they ever really do.

R.

Belgian (02/21/05; 13:49:37MT - usagold.com msg#: 129506)
IMF gold for China and/or Japan !?
Goldmetal wealth in your Asian vaults in exchange for some more "structural" support for the dollar use. Float the yuan...up against the dollar...with more gold in its backgound.
More gold in exchange for temporary forgetting that "political" support for the dollar has gone.
More goldmetal from the IMF, because all other possible sources are already tapped and we need some metal to roll over the shorts.
More gold to raise the yuan/yen exchange rate and hope that the US deficits will grow slower.
More gold from Uncle Goldon Brownie in exchange for more UK-China business (insurance/banking/tourism).

I wonder if China will be happy with Japan getting a chance to acquire some more (scarce and cheap) gold !?

Nice to hear how Soros brings the message publicly in a nicely "adapted" (soft)($)(upside down) version. He was probably watching the 80 Maginot line

Funny how *Saudi Arabia* watches and comments on Bush's visit to Brussels.

Meeting between Bush and Putin will be VERY private !

The Big gold-redistribution goes on. Get your share !

Rimh (02/21/05; 13:40:33MT - usagold.com msg#: 129505)
YGM, TC
TC - Sad but true, they would have far more gold in their pocket if they sold the D10 and talked to MK et al, (and far less stress trying to run an operation in the permafrosted north). As YGM noted, few ever "Strike it rich". Often those that come to "play" are contractors from road building companies who have made big money elsewhere and don't seem to mind losing a bunch while playing with their "toys". The real tragedy is that they often ruin some of the good potential gold production creeks with sloppy clearing/processing techniques, which also hinders their own gold recovery operations.

YGM - perhaps Argentina, with its seemingly pro-gold approach to central bank reserves might be worth investigating as well....and no fish cops!!!

TownCrier (2/21/05; 12:58:33MT - usagold.com msg#: 129504)
Dollar Bill, please have a second look
The top story, as reported, was IN the news. As I said, it was "the version of the story suitable for public consumption."

The bottom version was, as I put it, "an unspoken other-side-of-the-coin that I would like to see given airtime."

I'm sorry that the presentation apparently did not lend itself well to skimming.

R.

Dollar Bill (2/21/05; 12:32:27MT - usagold.com msg#: 129503)
.,.
Anyone care to post about this news that Town Crier posted?
Is this action, or direction, taken because they are so confident of the global one world structure they have built that gold no longer has to be controlled? Or at least not for the reasons, or at least -some- of the reasons, it was previously done for?
Am I making too much of this in my head? Of is this huge?

EIJING, Feb 21 (RandNews) - London should gradually unshackle its derivative-based gold pricing regime, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and finance minister Jin Renqing said on Monday at the start of Gordon Brown's three-day tour to the world's most populous nation.
London came under pressure at this month's G7 meeting to ease its derivative grip on gold valuation but said it had no timetable for such action despite complaints that its stance was making life difficult for gold owners.
..London was pushing ahead with fundamental reforms to its bullion banking sector.
"In a modern open economy, property rights liberalisation is the way forward but so that it is not destabilising it will be best achieved in a sequenced way," Wen Jiabao urged in a speech.
"I am here...to support gold's increasingly important role as a stabilising force in the world economy."
China and Britain also agreed to cooperate to find ways to help international institutions like the International Monetary Fund adapt to the changing world economy.

YGM (2/21/05; 11:50:51MT - usagold.com msg#: 129502)
Rimh...Yukon Placer Mining....
Very correct..when the POG runs up so does the claim staking and vending...Few newbies realize the easy Gold is gone...Yes there ARE untold fortunes in Placer Gold sitting on bedrock in many Yukon, BC and AK Rivers, Creeks and Gulches...Some deposits are shallow but some are hundreds of feet deep and locked in Permafrost or Fisheries and other Enviro Issues...Like all things it takes money to make money and most would be further ahead to work at their chosen profession and just buy the gold from MK...That said, Gold Fever still lives on and few today as in yesteryear will ever 'Strike It Big'...Those that do will have invested big dollars, taken big risks, and had to have some big luck...At least for those who toil on we have today a rising POG that gradually makes it profitable for the diehards...Like the saying goes "Gold is Where You Find It"...Too bad so many folks are looking in all the wrong places and require instant gratification in the process...If you have a Million $$$ to go Gold Mining, have at it, I'll await my retirement to return w/ a Dredge to some place free of Water Gods, Fish Cops, Less Overhead and where the ground isn't being dug up for the second or third time...Probably Bolivia or Peru!...Once a Golminer, the urge never leaves but common sense has to have a place in reality...YGM


TownCrier (2/21/05; 11:49:00MT - usagold.com msg#: 129501)
Rimh, I wonder...
I wonder how many more ounces they would end up with at these prices if they simply sold their D-10's now and bought gold?

Granted, it's not as 'romantic', but they could also then kick back in style and deal blackjack for the local saloon, or if that wasn't muddy enough for them, they could hire themselves out to the guy that bought their dozer. Either way, with the ounces already in hand, they'd have an extra spring in their step because they'd already struck it rich. Any subsequent successes from their "day job" would be icing on an already heavy cake.

R.

Rimh (2/21/05; 11:08:43MT - usagold.com msg#: 129500)
TC - Interest in gold again
Having worked in the Yukon in the past, I can assure you that the price will most certainly bring out many old gold miners and a whole crop of novices to the gold fields. Dawson City will be a zoo (right, YGM?). It's this dreamy fantasy life that they're after with little foundation in reality. What you really get is a bunch of boys with their grown-up toys (D-10 bulldozers, dump trucks, front-end loaders, etc. But it's good to see more activity in the industry again!

TownCrier (2/21/05; 11:00:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 129499)
Citigroup strategists says Bush tour may boost dollar's image
http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh12665_2005-02-21_17-29-36_l21696528_newsml
JEDDAH, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Market perceptions of the dollar could improve if President George Bush's European tour to mend fences over Iraq shows any sign of success, a senior Citigroup investment strategist said.

The next two years were likely to see the Bush administration turn its attention to the U.S. currency and promote a strong dollar policy, Clark Winter, chief global investment strategist for Citigroup Private Bank, said late on Sunday.

"If the president can find a way to reduce involvement in Iraq by virtue of some firm multilateral resolution instead of a unilateral resolution, that could change the sentiment about the dollar dramatically," Winter told Reuters on the sidelines of the Jeddah Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia.

^------(from url)----^

It is more probably the case that the dollar's fate cannot be turned around unless any international pleasantries are also backed up with real progress bringing the budget into balance.

R.

TownCrier (2/21/05; 10:50:16MT - usagold.com msg#: 129498)
Inflation happens
http://allafrica.com/stories/200502210101.html
Zimbabwe Standard February 21, 2005

CENTRAL bank is putting a brave face to the first rise in inflation in twelve months, amid growing concern that RBZ's splurging on the public sector will halt its recent successes against rising prices.

... in addition to a larger civil service wage bill, spending from central bank on parastatals, councils, cheap productive sector support, subsidies to exporters and other costs could swell expenditure by up to $26 trillion.

...The earliest sign that the fight against inflation was getting progressively tougher came in December, when the annual rate recorded its narrowest fall since the January peak of 622%. December's inflation rate fell from November's 149% to 133%, the 16 basis points difference a far cry from the 63 percentage point fall in September which encouraged central bank to raise its inflation targets.

^-----(from url)----^

With runaway inflation like that to sweep away your purchasing power, how well would you sleep if your life savings weren't as good as solid gold?

R.

TownCrier (2/21/05; 10:00:27MT - usagold.com msg#: 129497)
Brown says China should move to free FX regime
http://www.borsaitalia.it/fwa-cgi-bin/news.pl?id=1108996009nPEK165055&tit=UPDATE%202-China%20should%20move%20to%20free%20FX%20regime-UK
BEIJING, Feb 21 (Reuters) - China should gradually unshackle its exchange rate regime, British finance minister Gordon Brown said on Monday at the start of a three-day tour to the world's most populous nation.

Beijing came under pressure at this month's G7 meeting to ease its currency's peg to the dollar but said it had no timetable for such action despite complaints that its stance was making life difficult for other exporters.

...the Chancellor of the Exchequer said China was pushing ahead with fundamental reforms to expenditure management and its banking sector.

"In a modern open economy, capital account liberalisation is the way forward but so that it is not destabilising it will be best achieved in a sequenced way," Brown urged in a speech.

"I am here...to support China's increasingly important role as a stabilising force in the world economy."

China and Britain also agreed to cooperate to find ways to help international institutions like the International Monetary Fund adapt to the changing world economy.

^-----(from url)-----^

That's the version of the story suitable for public consumption.

However, this following version is an unspoken other-side-of-the-coin that I would like to see given airtime:
___
BEIJING, Feb 21 (RandNews) - London should gradually unshackle its derivative-based gold pricing regime, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and finance minister Jin Renqing said on Monday at the start of Gordon Brown's three-day tour to the world's most populous nation.

London came under pressure at this month's G7 meeting to ease its derivative grip on gold valuation but said it had no timetable for such action despite complaints that its stance was making life difficult for gold owners.

...London was pushing ahead with fundamental reforms to its bullion banking sector.

"In a modern open economy, property rights liberalisation is the way forward but so that it is not destabilising it will be best achieved in a sequenced way," Wen Jiabao urged in a speech.

"I am here...to support gold's increasingly important role as a stabilising force in the world economy."

China and Britain also agreed to cooperate to find ways to help international institutions like the International Monetary Fund adapt to the changing world economy.
___

That would be a breath of fresh air.

R.

DryWasher (2/21/05; 09:56:53MT - usagold.com msg#: 129496)
Ron Paul on Greenspan.
http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2005/tst022105.htm

The following is a reproduction of the February 21, 2005 column taken from "Project FREEDOM, Website of US Representative Ron Paul." as allowed by by the rules listed on the website.

The Maestro Changes his Tune

February 21, 2005

Nearly 40 years ago, Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan wrote persuasively in favor of a gold monetary standard in an essay entitled Gold and Economic Freedom. In that essay he neatly summarized the fundamental problem with fiat currency in a few short sentences: "The abandonment of the gold standard made it possible for the welfare statists to use the banking system as a means to an unlimited expansion of credit… In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value… Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the ‘hidden’ confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists’ antagonism toward the gold standard."

Today, however, Mr. Greenspan has become one of those central planners he once denounced, and his views on fiat currency have changed accordingly. As the ultimate insider, he cannot or will not challenge the status quo, no matter what the consequences to the American economy. To renounce the fiat system now would mean renouncing the Fed itself, and his entire public career with it. The only question is whether history will properly reflect the destructive nature of Mr. Greenspan's tenure.

I had an opportunity to ask him about his change of heart when he appeared before the House Financial Services committee last week. Although Mr. Greenspan is a master of evasion, he was surprisingly forthright in his responses to me. In short, he claimed he was wrong about his predictions of calamity for the fiat U.S. dollar, that the Federal Reserve does a good job of essentially mimicking a gold standard, and that inflation is well under control. He even made the preposterous assertion that the Fed does not facilitate government expansion and deficit spending. In other words, he utterly repudiated the arguments he made 40 years ago. Yet this begs the question: If he was so wrong in the past, why should we listen to him now?

First, the Federal Reserve does not mimic a gold standard by any measure. The clearest example of this lies in our current account deficit, which our fiat currency encourages. Under a gold standard we would not have exchange rate distortions between the Chinese renminbi and the U.S. dollar, for example. True currency stability is impossible when fiat dollars can be produced at will and foreign lenders bankroll our deficits.

Second, inflation is a much greater problem than the federal government admits. Health care, housing, and energy are three areas where costs have risen dramatically. The producer price index is rising at the fastest rate in seven years. Bond prices are rising. To suggest that rapid expansion of the money supply and artificially low interest rates do not ultimately cause price inflation is absurd.

Third, Fed policies do indeed have adverse political ramifications. Fiat currency and big government go hand-in-hand. Without a gold standard, Congress is free to spend recklessly and fall back on monetary expansion to pay the bills. Politically, it's easier to print new dollars than raise taxes or borrow overseas. The Fed in essence creates paper reserves that enable Congress to undertake spending measures that far exceed tax revenues. The ill effects of this process are not felt by the politicians, who can always find popular support for new spending. Average Americans suffer, however, when their dollars are "confiscated through inflation," as Mr. Greenspan termed it.

It's not enough to question the wisdom of Mr. Greenspan. Americans should question why we have a central bank at all, and whose interests it serves. The laws of supply and demand work better than any central banker to determine both the correct supply of money in the economy and the interest rate at which capital is available- without the political favoritism and secrecy that characterize central banks. Americans should not tolerate the manipulation of our economy and the inflation of our currency by an unaccountable institution.

TownCrier (2/21/05; 09:41:45MT - usagold.com msg#: 129495)
Soros: Dollar tied to oil -- says shift to euros hurts value of dollar
http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/21/news/international/bc.financial.soros.dollar.reut/index.htm
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Moves by Middle East oil exporters and Russia to switch some revenue from dollars to euros lie behind the U.S. currency's weakness, and a further rise in crude prices could prompt more declines, the billionaire investor George Soros said on Monday.

Soros told delegates to the Jeddah Economic Forum that the dollar's fall should help to lower the U.S current account and trade deficits, but warned that a fall beyond an undisclosed "tipping point" would severely disrupt markets.

"The oil exporting countries' central banks ... have been switching out of dollars mainly into euros and Russia also plays an important role in this. That is, I think, at the bottom of the current weakness of the dollar," Soros said.

...said he was not predicting further falls in the value of the dollar. But he linked its fate to the price of oil.

"The higher the price of oil the more the dollars there are to be switched to euro (so) the strength of oil will reinforce the weakness of the dollar," he said. "That is only one factor, but I think there is such a relationship."

...Soros said the U.S. current account deficit could be financed at the current level of the dollar. "There are willing holders of the dollar. There are the Asian countries that are happy to accumulate dollar balances in order to have an export surplus and a market for their dollars," he said.

Soros would not make detailed comments on why long-term borrowing costs have fallen in the face of short-term rate increases, a development U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday he found difficult to explain.

"... here I don't know," Soros said.

^-----(from url)----^

Now let me get this straight... Soros is saying that the value of the dollar is influenced by the nature of oil settlements???

Hmmm... sounds vaguely familiar. Where on the worldwideweb have I heard that one before...

The 'Thoughts!' of ANOTHER and FOA/TrailGuide have given us all the intellectual jump on this by eight years -- early enough to help us capitalize on the 1999-2001 period of ultra low gold ($255) and everything in between.

Dare I say it? "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

R.

YGM (2/21/05; 01:36:57MT - usagold.com msg#: 129494)
TC...Thanks for that...
I enjoyed that last post :-)

TownCrier (2/21/05; 00:44:16MT - usagold.com msg#: 129493)
Interest in gold on rise
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/02/19/business/bus03.txt
(AP) February 19, 2005 -- "There's still too much there," he said. "When we get it down to a couple of tablespoons, we'll look."

A few swirls more isolate a film of black sand in the bottom, and with a gaze born of 55 years experience he spots it. It's no bigger than a pinpoint, but it's "colors" - gold.

"They say when you see gold you'll know it, no matter how small it is," said Anderson, 78, a retired mining engineer from Baker City, Ore.

It isn't a gold rush yet; mining can be a pricey, risky proposition. But with an ounce of gold in the $420 range, people are revisiting the West's historic gold-producing regions.

...the go-it-alone flavor of the Old West hasn't vanished entirely.
With a white beard, slouch hat and a pistol on his hip, Jimmy Jehola could be from central casting. He works alone and figures he has worked Clark Creek in Eastern Oregon's Burnt River Canyon for about 19 years.

He produced a vial half-full of small nuggets coaxed from the dirt in earlier efforts.

"I needed some beer real bad so I sold half of it for $40," he said. "The fellow was going to weigh it and give me the rest of what it's worth."

Most mining is suspended in the canyon until spring because of snow, but not his.

"In the old days the smart fellows, just before the freeze-up, why, they'd go into town and get as drunk as they could and throw a brick through a window, or something," he said.

"Then they'd have food and a warm jail to sleep in for 90 days or so. Around March, when their time was up, they could head back to the hills."

He considers himself a cut apart from the larger operators.

"They're always complaining because their hydraulics broke," he said. "I'm my own hydraulic. I run on beans and alcohol."

There aren't many Jimmy Juolas out there.

^-----(from url)----^

Without a doubt that is most colorful way to get your gold.

And this is the easiest way: Call USAGOLD-Centennial, Monday thru Friday, toll free.
1-800-869-5115

R.

Goldilox (2/21/05; 00:38:22MT - usagold.com msg#: 129492)
Double Eagle Replica for $20 - and bla bla bla!
Lately I seem to be inundated with exclusive offers for "pure 24 carat gold-clad" coins. Maybe it reflects my choice of TV channels. No, I am not watching HSN.

Don't get stuck with gold-plated coins.

CPM handles the genuine item. Solid Gold - 90 to 100%, depending on the issue.

If gold is what you want, get real solid gold coins, not gold plate!



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