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ARCHIVED DISCUSSION FROM 2/28/2005 All times are U.S. Mountain Time (Yesterday's Discussion.) Druid (02/28/05; 23:30:12MT - usagold.com msg#: 129723) @TC Druid: Does it convert from being money to a loan when deposited? slingshot (02/28/05; 23:04:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 129722) Hello Town Crier Tis money in the wallet but not in the bankers drawer. Sir Smeagel could answer this one. Yess, from the paper to the electronic. As long as the paper demand does not exceed the monetary paper in the bank, ALL IS FINE.Slingshot------------<> Goldendome (02/28/05; 22:56:32MT - usagold.com msg#: 129721) Yen Carry Trade and Deflation http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_05/fekete022705.html Sir Knotakare: I found the Fekete article you earlier referred to, troubling. It certainly upset the nicely ordered world of finance as I had it envisioned: Rising debt, falling dollar, rising rates, falling bonds--Bang--Gold goes through the roof! ---Which is also what I thought he was seeing in an article of his a year ago, "What Gold and Silver Analysts Overlook"One thing about the good Doctor, he is always thought provoking. slingshot (02/28/05; 20:33:26MT - usagold.com msg#: 129720) Ned Is it time to unsheath our swords and give the order to CHARGE!Slingshot-------------;0) Ned (2/28/05; 18:03:47MT - usagold.com msg#: 129719) Holy Mackeral ! CRB breaks loose to 305 !!Gold soon to be on a rampage. USAGOLD Daily Market Report (2/28/05; 16:38:18MT - usagold.com msg#: 129717) Page Update! http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.htmlThe Daily Gold Market Report has been updated.If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our free introductory information packet detailing the products and services offered by USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and look forward to working with you.Monday Market ExcerptsGold opened slightly higher this morning, briefly hitting an eight-week high of $437.55 in Europe before settling down and closing at $436.42, continuing the flat trend seen last week.Trading was impacted by further weakness in the US dollar, brought about by rising oil prices and fears that oil-producing countries may follow South Korea's lead and diversify their foreign exchange holdings.In addition, currency and commodity markets responded modestly to economic data from Japan and the US. Political events in Asia provided an interesting sidebar, but had yet to impact markets.As usual, gold's advance was fueled by dollar erosion as a weakened US currency made dollar-denominated assets a bargain for foreign investors. The greenback lost value against all major currencies, falling to a two-month low against the yen and a seven-week low versus the euro . The euro was last at $1.3244, having reached $1.3278 earlier...."The [currency] market is focusing mainly on the commodities market and the oil price," said Jamie Coleman, managing analyst at IFR ForexWatch. "There is a fear that Middle Eastern oil producing-states will diversify their reserves into euros," he added. As oil is priced in dollars, oil-producing states tend to hold dollars in their reserves, and diversification implies either selling of existing T-bill holdings or a reduction in future purchases. Both are bad for the dollar....the recent pro-gold dollar slide has had a perverse effect on South African gold mines. The rand has appreciated against the dollar faster than gold has risen, and some mines may close as a result. The South African currency has strengthened from 7.0 rand/$ in May 2004 to 5.77 rand/$ today. DRDGOLD alone lost 23.5% of its capitalized value Friday as auditors warned it may not have the cash to meet its obligations.Gold mine closings would reduce the quantity of gold supplied, further raising its price. "You have a potentially explosive situation where gold prices rally further because of the U.S. dollar, bringing about closure of South African mines, which could bring about a further rally," said Ross Norman of TheBullionDesk.com on Friday....Perhaps the most interesting news of the day was geopolitical, as potentially destabilizing news came out of Lebanon and China. Both are developing stories and have yet to be fully absorbed by markets, but could have a major impact on gold if either situation deteriorates.In Lebanon, the pro-Syrian government resigned amid peaceful protests by thousands of flag-waving Lebanese in the street outside the parliament building in Beirut. Syria has come under fire since the assassination last week of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which some contend was orchestrated by Damascus.The scene in Beirut was reminiscent of previous peaceful revolutions in the Ukraine and Georgia. With today's announcement that Egypt may allow multiparty government, this may signal the beginning of the democratic Middle East George W. Bush so desperately wants. However, if Syria pulls its troops out of Lebanon too quickly, there will be a power vacuum that may be occupied by Hezbollah, the Iranian-funded terrorist organization.In East Asia, saber-rattling threatened to aggravate a regional situation already destabilized by North Korea. China announced it would increase military spending by 10-12% this year, which prompted Taiwan and even Japan to propose new military spending as well. Arms sales to China by Europe and Russia was a major point of contention in President Bush's recent European trip, and this news will not sit well with the administration.[Report assembled by Patrick Byrne -- Patrick is a recent graduate of the Economics MA program at Boston University, where he took PhD-level courses in Econometrics and Microeconomics. A native Washingtonian, he grew up an IMF brat before heading to the University of Colorado at Boulder to study Economics. He will be writing the daily market report and making other contributions to the site.]-----(see url for full report, 24-hr newswire and market prices)---- TownCrier (2/28/05; 16:06:17MT - usagold.com msg#: 129716) HEADLINE: Now, get your pot of 'paper gold' http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1036362.cms TIMES OF INDIA, MARCH 01, 2005 -- Now, buy gold in the form of shares to add that extra glitter to your investment kitty. For the first time ever, the Budget has introduced 'paper gold'. You can go in for gold contracts, futures certificates and options, which do not necessarily involve the delivery of physical gold.The FM has proposed Gold Exchange Traded Funds (GETFs) that will enable any household to buy and sell gold in units for as little as Rs 100. With estimated Rs 6,000 crore of household savings going towards buying gold every year, the FM thought it must be tradeable on the stock market, rather than remain a 'dead investment' sitting in the locker. ^-------(from url)----^The FM wrongfully declares as 'dead' that which elegantly is at rest -- not quivering with the market vibrations of risk and default.Desperate times call for desperate paperizations. At the expense of the citizens' long-term security, the financial sector's bullion fraternity would like to channel would-be gold investments away from physical gold so as not to strain their system beyond its marginal limits of integrity.The bigger the paperization becomes, the bigger the mess when it breaks the credibility barrier. Have physical gold in preparation against that day.R. slingshot (02/28/05; 15:15:22MT - usagold.com msg#: 129715) jenika Could you please tell me what made them have a change of heart? First let me tell you why I am a Goldbug and indulge myself with my story at the expense (ad nausem) of the forum ;0) My first intention was that of survival.With theonset of Y2K, I had very little understanding of world markets. I would need something more than cash to pull me through a tight spot. Call it Karma, intuition or Divine Intervention, I gravitated to GOLD. Looking back I can see that my small accumulation would have been dismal, but searching the web lead me to USAGOLD. Entering at about $325 I chased gold down to $254. The Falling Knife as it is called. I did not see it as such, only Gold was getting cheaper ;0) To tell you the truth I would have chased it all the way to $35 an ounce. WHY? This is very important! I knew fiat would not be worth nothing in an chaotic enviorment. You see Jenika, I study people and how they react to stressful situations and I can tell you for sure, even with all the helpful acts, when it comes to Brass Tacks, it is a matter of survival! Gold has stood the test of time. Even though there has been a disconnection with the metal, it still registers in the subconscience as being wealth. When Y2K passed and nothing happened, my thoughts turned to retirement as I knew in the good old USA that Social Security was a farce. The Stock Market was a farce. The economy was a farce. If the economic engine of the World is a farce, what does that say? It has been relentless effort of both the staff of USAGOLD and the posters on its forum, to bring to light, the,TRUE ECONOMIC WORLD WE LIVE IN!Good Day Mate,Slingshot---------<> Goldilox (02/28/05; 14:58:13MT - usagold.com msg#: 129714) Environmental Dang, TC. You're good. I didn't even add in my normal controversial environmental message, but you snatched it up like an empty barbell! TownCrier (02/28/05; 14:23:12MT - usagold.com msg#: 129713) Goldilox, environmental issues http://www.usagold.com/gold-coins.html To be sure, some methods have more or less environmental impact when reaping natural resources. And without question, the most environmentally friendly method to obtain gold is to tap into the world of pre-1933 gold coinage offered at wallet-friendly prices by USAGOLD-Centennial Precious Metals.R. TownCrier (02/28/05; 14:12:43MT - usagold.com msg#: 129712) Yesterday continued... A friend repaid a debt over the weekend so this afternoon when I visited my bank to take care of a few items I used the opportunity to deposit my extra crisp $100 bill.Would anyone like to try their hand at explaining why Benjamin Franklin was money in my wallet but isn't money in the teller's drawer?In contrast, did you know that a gold coin is always gold regardless of its location in your pocket, or in a drawer, or in the hands of somebody else? Gold is liquid wealth to the person that has it. Be that person.R. Goldilox (02/28/05; 14:00:19MT - usagold.com msg#: 129711) Zimbabwe Panners @ TC,I agree. That sounds like so much bovine excrement it could have come straight from the hallowed halls in Washington, D.C.Quick! Send in the army, so we can spend twice as much as we'll raise in taxes."Panning by individuals ruins the watershed environment" - these clowns must be bucking for a job in their central bank!Wilhelm Reich was right about one thing. There is no government on the planet with a monopoly on stupidity. It is well distributed. Gandalf the White (02/28/05; 13:27:56MT - usagold.com msg#: 129710) STRANGE DAY at the US$ Chart ! http://charts-d.quote.com:443/1002980432830?User=demo&Pswd=demo&DataType=GIF&Symbol=DX00Y&Interval=10&Ht=600&Wd=800&Display=2&Study=MA&Param1=13&Param2=0&Param3=&FontSize=10 Things are weird today !The US$ is "FLAT", the DOW and DUCK are down, and SO IS THE YELLOW !I think that I shall just go back to bed -- and maybe tomorrow will be NORMAL.<;-) TownCrier (02/28/05; 13:21:55MT - usagold.com msg#: 129709) Army to Act On Illegal Gold Panning http://allafrica.com/stories/200502280103.html (Harare) February 28, 2005 Illegal gold panning has reached alarming proportions along the country's rivers, streams and valleys making it difficult for police alone to contain the situation.On many occasions police have fought running battles with violent gold panners and the ministry believes that the engaging of soldiers could strengthen the Government's position.The ministry's permanent secretary, Ms Margaret Sangarwa, said she was looking forward to working "hand in glove" with the police and army to overcome the environmental challenges.She said the panners were violent that the police and officers from the ministry alone could not achieve the expected results."We are concerned with the violent nature of the panners to such an extent that unarmed police officers fail to arrest them."In an effort to curb illegal gold panning in the country, the ministry has initiated joint operations with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) resulting in thousand illegal gold panners being arrested."..."Despite environmental education campaigns, which my ministry has held throughout the country with the view to raise awareness on environment issues as well as engendering in people values, skills, attitudes and behaviour consistent with environmental management, illegal gold panning has continued unabated," she said.She said illegal gold panning activities upstream have reached alarming rates in the countryside, drastically reducing the amount of water that flows into dams like Mazowe.^-----(from url)----^They pin their crackdown on environmental concerns, but coming from the same country that has been paying above-market rates for gold from its corporate-structured miners, one has to wonder if the real reason is that the government hates to see any amount of precious gold slip through their fingers by the "free-lance" gold panners.The dam thing especially sounds like a political white-wash. River water doesn't just vanish from a watershed system unless the panners are miraculously increasing the rate of evaporation.R. knotakare (2/28/05; 11:52:57MT - usagold.com msg#: 129708) yen-carry trade http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_05/fekete022705.html Wow, this is true thinking out of the box. And the Japanesse experience, shows that anything is possible. kak Buongiorno! (2/28/05; 11:06:45MT - usagold.com msg#: 129707) Competition for reserve-currency status? Perhaps I hear voices that are not there. Or voices that mean something slightly different. But...there has been some opining at this worthy table that "the dollar may lose it's reserve-currency status". Perhaps to be augmented by the Euro! Or the Dinar...or something from China. My question is -- ok, so why would that be such a bad thing?Expanded world trade could surely provide sufficient room for access to other currencies, no? Modern computers could make short work of arithmetic value differences, no? Would not competition be good for all countries involved--sort of help them clean up their act? (Let's see, now Louie, we gotta quit spending ourselves rich and quit borrowing our way out of debt!) Let the Euro shine a bit. It is after all, like the dollar, just a piece of paper issued by socialist government. (I am told there is some gold in back of the Euro, but it looks to be waaay back. Like Ft. Knox? Oh! not that far back? ok....I believe!!)The Euro and the Dollar look like sisters to me. One younger, perhaps better looking....but both in the same business and plying their trade in the ancient fashion. Why all the fuss, then? There seems to be plenty of 'johns' to go around--plenty of business to be done. What am I missing here? Sir Belgian, Sir Black Blade, Sir Dollar Bill? Others? Expanded world trade would seem to accommodate a bifurcated or trifurcated settlement system. And do we not (de facto) seem to have something of the kind going on now anyway?(Or did I just have too much fine Italian wine with dinner last night?) Chin-chin....ting!Buongiorno! TownCrier (2/28/05; 10:21:40MT - usagold.com msg#: 129706) Economists predict tepid economic growth, stock market returns for next 44 years http://www.businessword.com/index.php/weblog/comments/1420/ The Wall Street Journal polled 10 economists and found that most of them are less optimistic about the stock market and economy than President Bush.The thrust of the story is that if the public is bearish on stocks, personal savings accounts won't be part of any SS reforms.^----(From url)----^Where can you invest for security over the long term? Gold has a track record of thousands of years of solid reliability. Choose gold.Call USAGOLD-Centennial to help achieve your diversification goals.1800-869-5115R. Topaz (2/28/05; 10:16:54MT - usagold.com msg#: 129705) curious action of late... http://www.nymex.com/media/delivery.pdf ...so, there goes Feb into the history books.Mar is promising to be jamb-packed with volitility as we prepare for replacement of the Ton-a-day Swiss Bullion trade with ...TBA! ...HA.Silver will also be "interesting" as the delivery stats indicate renewed vigor in this arena.Bond/Dollar/Oil shows a strong correlation now with Bond/Oil and it would be hoped these "T's" (Yield), could show a little more weakness before once again collapsing down.Bring it on! TownCrier (2/28/05; 10:14:01MT - usagold.com msg#: 129703) US Treasuries subdued by inflation http://keyinvest.ibb.ubs.com/ki/ch/en/newsbody.ki?newsid=3526972 NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Treasuries nursed modest losses on Monday as strong readings on U.S. inflation and manufacturing merely added to expectations for more interest rate hikes ahead.The market came under early pressure after an unexpectedly large rise in core U.S. inflation revived concerns that official interest rates might have to rise faster and farther than first thought.The core price index for personal consumption expenditures rose 0.3 percent in January, above most expectations."This is a significant surprise, given that it is the price measure that the Fed and Greenspan in particular focuses on," said Alan Ruskin, research director at 4CAST."The data is likely to affirm some views that inflation will only remain contained, if the Fed tightens substantially," said Ruskin.^-----(from url)----^Once out, it is hard to get that inflation genie back in the bottle. No wonder Rogers in the previous article predicts a 20-year bear market in bonds.What to do? Choose gold.R. TownCrier (2/28/05; 10:02:49MT - usagold.com msg#: 129702) Commodities now the only ‘pure bull market’ http://www.ipe.com/article_default.asp?article=18317 28/Feb/05: GLOBAL - The only place where there is currently a pure bull market is in commodities, investment guru Jim Rogers told the SuperHedge conference today. Allaying investor fears that commodities are dangerous, the author of bestselling books ‘Hot Commodities’ and ‘Adventure Capitalist’ pointed out that economic history shows there have been periods of long bull markets in commodities. "They happen because and supply and demand get out of whack," he said. During the 1980s and 1990s no one was advising investors to invest into sugar plantations and lead mines, as commodities were in a bear market, however mines and oil reserves are now becoming depleted. "The bull market in bonds is over. Bonds peaked in 2003 and could now be going down for the next 20 years or so. They are now in a long bear market having been in a long bull market. Even if bonds do not go down investors would not be making any money from them at four percent yields, he said. "Stocks all over the world are over-priced."^----(from url)----^As he points out that various mines or oil reserves are becoming depleted, as an investor you have to consider that it might be ill-advised to buy shares in producers that might soon to be standing idle over an empty hole even as the prices of their former product shoot skyward. As a long-term investment, depending on the nature of the item, sometimes it is better to buy the resource than to buy the company that brings it to the surface. Choose physical gold.R. TownCrier (2/28/05; 09:49:32MT - usagold.com msg#: 129701) jenika, cross-rates The reason for your notification could be that your bank may have simply formalized something it has probably been doing all along.Cross-rate pricing of two "lesser" currencies through a major third currency (such as the U.S. dollar), which acts as a sort of translator, is fairly common -- especially when the depth of the direct trade between the two lessers is small (illiquid) enough that a bank can get a tighter buy-sell spread overall by running each of the lesser currencies through dollars to achieve an effective exchange rate.R. jenika (2/28/05; 08:08:08MT - usagold.com msg#: 129700) Inflation There has been some talk on the board about inflation, well there is an inflation calculator on the net which is interesting its at http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/trol/scol/index.htmI found the Australian cost of living fairly close. I put in what my car cost me in 1981 and the price it came up with for 2004 is pretty much what I would pay for a 2004 model of the same features. On another note, Im wondering if anyone can help me understand this. Today from my bank I was notified that if I use my credit card for an international transaction except with NZ or the USA the total will be converted to US dollars then into australian dollars. So ie, if I buy something in Thailand with my Visa card or a Mastercard the total will be converted to US dollars then to Australian dollars. Anyone know why they are doing this?On a positive note, FINALLY my husband and my sister are listening to me and are buying gold. Thanks to all of you here for the continuing education.Regardsjenika - australia R Powell (2/28/05; 07:29:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 129699) Credit I forgot to give OPUS-DEI a thank you for the heads-up to Fleck's article. Thanks, Opus! R Powell (2/28/05; 07:28:04MT - usagold.com msg#: 129698) Morning reading http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P108997.asp The link goes to an article by Bill Fleckenstein. Even though he doesn't mention gold by name, those issues which he does talk about cannot help but influence the prices of everything...including gold + silver. rich Caradoc (2/28/05; 00:07:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 129697) volatile tonight In 10-second window, POG is showing bops >$2 in either direction. These average out to 40- or 50-cent moves when viewed in 60-second window. Nonetheless, tomorrow should move more than usual in one direction or the other. My vote is for another day breaking the "6 dollar rule."Caradoc ViewYesterday's Discussion.
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