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ARCHIVED DISCUSSION FROM 6/29/2000
All times are U.S. Mountain Time
(Yesterday's Discussion.)
Leland
(06/29/00; 22:31:38MT - usagold.com msg#: 33021)
@Bonedaddy
Can anybody remember when city bus fares were around 15 - 20 cents.
This is what fiat money is all about.
Bonedaddy
(06/29/00; 22:16:22MT - usagold.com msg#: 33020)
Some body better guard the hard drives.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000629/aponline165407_000.htm
Are these nuke facilities fire traps or what?
Bonedaddy
(06/29/00; 22:08:04MT - usagold.com msg#: 33019)
The price stays in a tight range...
but the Gold is getting less and less expensive. The price of oil has already tripled since last year. Food prices will have to go higher now. As trucking contracts expire they will have to be renewed at a higher rate. Everything travels on diesel fuel.
ORGAINZED LABOR WILL STRIKE!
One of the real bad aspects of the slump in oil prices was that no one was drilling for gas much either. Did you know that 90% of new electric power plants are gas fired? Gas at Henry Hub, LA is trading upwards of the $4.00 level. This is higher than I recall seeing in 19 years in the oil and gas business. Some times spot market prices have gone that high in winter months, but this is July! Just wait until your utility company has to go to the spot market to meet demand for a cold snap this winter. I think some outfits will have to pay $8.00 or more per thousand cubic feet. And they'll file for a rate increase faster than Bill Clinton can snort a dime bag.
Take a look at heating oil, people in the NE had to cope with retail prices of$1.00 per gallon last winter and they went ballistic. Heating oil is about $1.20 now at the rack. That ISN'T retail. Tack on about thirty cents to get it delivered to your home. One of the largest natural gas loads in the mid west comes with fall grain drying. All of that wheat and corn must be dehydrated or it will spoil in storage. Foods made from grain will have to cost more. There is no going back now. Inflation in quite literally "in the pipeline". Still,the price of GOLD in dollars may not rise soon. I really hope it stays cheap a while longer. Because once it takes off, there goes the chance of a life time for a working stiff like me. I continue to accumulate pre-33 coins, and other things that are rediculously cheap. Like, large cans of coffee, silver, and imported ammo. A low gold price is to our advantage. If you have already bought alot of gold and feel a little twinge of panic, that's O.K. Stand pat. Don't fold your hand. If gold had looked like a sure thing every Tom, Dick, and .com would have been buying and we couldn't have afforded it. -- Bonedaddy, the bullion banker.
Chris Powell
(06/29/00; 20:59:45MT - usagold.com msg#: 33018)
GATA Chairman reports from Paris
http://www.egroups.com/message/gata/500?
Gold Fields Mineral Services chickens out.
To subscribe to GATA's dispatches
by email and get them immediately so
you don't have to go look for them,
send an email to:
gata-subscribe@eGroups.com
ORO
(06/29/00; 20:09:50MT - usagold.com msg#: 33017)
Farfel - selling is buying?
The classic condition is that of Rothchild like selling in public while buying in private. The two most well connected bullion banks are Goldman to the US government, Deutsche to the German gov, EU and ECB. They are also the most prominent public sellers of gold.
This would imply that they are accumulating in secret. I would not be surprised to find that to be the case. Despite the great runup in Deutsche gross gold positions, I pointed out that their forwards contract positions declined steeply. Furthermore, Deutsche is sitting on the largest pile of bullion in the COMEX warehouse, and is increasing its size (last time I checked). The forwards contracts have a danger of delivery demands, options merely play the price, and are structured to allow only delivery of a futures contract in the month before delivery can be demanded.
So... still inconclusive.
We wait and see.
ORO
(06/29/00; 19:38:21MT - usagold.com msg#: 33016)
Henri - SA - Help itself????
Since when has a subordinate national government made any decisions for the benefit of itself and its people.
If the US is aiming to reduce outstanding government debt then SA is going to have a problem getting dollars. The Euro facillity is also threatened by the prospect of a lack of Euro from European importation. The mechanics of a debt trap are exactly such that what is plentiful now is to be lacking tomorrow.
The sole items of significance in the SA action are: (1) preparation for gold payments of a currency debt - i.e. gold as legal tender - at least on the international level, (2) protection of SA from a currency debt trap of the type it has fallen into repeatedly in the past. (3) Setting up SA to fall into a gold debt trap - perhaps in order to have an excuse for a change in tax and capital controls law so that gold can be obtained directly from the miners while the requirement of deposit at the SA central bank is reduced.
Leland
(06/29/00; 16:58:05MT - usagold.com msg#: 33015)
Sir Henri
"Clink" and salutations!
Henri
(06/29/00; 16:45:07MT - usagold.com msg#: 33014)
ORO Msg 33002
I am having a difficult time seeing how this move by the govt of SA can possibly be to their benefit. The SA mining concerns must be fuming cyanide at this move. If the price of gold rises, just where is the SA govt going to obtain the gold to repay the credit facility? By raising taxes on the SA gold mine revenues (in other words just steal it)? I can see why the LBMA was so willing to lend (paper?) gold to the SA govt. They have a real chance of getting the real thing back. Why the SA govt is so ecstatic about it, I cannot fathom. They are cutting off their feet to powder their face. They are getting in bed with the very villains that have sought to keep the country in bondage (after aparteid) has been vanquished by manipulating the POG downward. Why would the SA govt do this when they could just as well borrow fiat?
Farfel
(06/29/00; 16:33:53MT - usagold.com msg#: 33013)
The Coming Bullion Bank War...
Just finished reading a WSJ article concerning the now insolvent BOO.COM.
One of the most interesting observations in the article came from Mr. Malmsten, co-founder of BOO.COM.
He observed the following concerning the relationship between Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan:
"I had no idea how much these banks all hated each other."
Very perceptive!
There is a war developing between the bullion banks, the inevitable result of rich powerful interests who have amassed huge fortunes over the past decade.
Although the bullion banks were probably most co-operative with each other at the very end of the Eighties when they were battling common enemies (Japanese economic domination of America; American economic recession, etc.), at this point in the lengthy equities bull market, frictions seem to be surfacing almost each and every day. These frictions take the form of cutthroat competition for clients, bridge loan business, syndication business, etc.
As anybody who has experienced huge wealth knows, at a certain point, the acquisition of wealth in and of itself becomes meaningless since there are only so many zeros one can acquire on one's bank balance and only so many material acquisitions one can make in this world before boredom sets in.
So once the material appetites are adequately satisfied, then comes the quest for POWER.
Despite battles now being fought on various financial fronts, the bullion banks appear to be acting co-operatively in suppressing the price of gold. But no doubt it is a co-operation born solely of immediate necessity and one which leaves a bitter taste in their mouths.
I draw this analogy: many Arab countries have all variety of battles raging on issues concerning religion, recognition of Israel, terrorist rights, etc. but they are able to unite on one common issue, namely the protection of the OIL price.
So too the bullion banks are waging battles against each other on many financial fronts but so far come together in one goal, namely the suppression of the GOLD price.
Yet the Achilles Heel of the bullion banks has been exposed to the world: the enormous gold short positions carried by these banks. Surely it cannot be long before an opportunistic bullion bank (assisted by various friendly client proxies) moves to close out its entire gold short position, then turns around and lights fire to the gold price, demanding PHYSICAL DELIVERY OF THE METAL. Since an exploding price accompanied by demands for physical delivery will decimate bullion banks who continue to hold enormous gold short positions, then the opportunistic shrewd bullion bank that instigates the gold price explosion can swoop in thereafter and pick up the remains of the devastated bullion banks for a song. Result: complete monopolistic control of the entire investment banking sector. In effect, the shrewd bullion bank that ignites the gold price and moves to exploit the gold Achilles Heel of its "associates" can become the Barrick Gold of its industry.
In my mind, the question is no longer an "if" question, it is simply a matter of "when?"
Thanks
F*
Leland
(06/29/00; 16:08:15MT - usagold.com msg#: 33012)
More Important Than Finding Gold
GEOLOGISTS CREATING
UNUSUAL MAP
RESEARCHERS DOCUMENTING
UNDERGROUND
By Casey Bukro
Tribune Staff Writer
June 29, 2000
Geologists for years have searched beneath the Earth's
surface for valuable mineral resources such as silver and
gold.
Richard Berg is in Lake County seeking something far
more valuable: natural resources that will determine
where future homes, industry and other developments
might spring up in a rapidly growing area.
"This is the kickoff of the geological mapping effort in
Illinois," Berg said this week while standing next to a
clanking drilling rig boring a hole in the ground in Antioch
Township.
Berg is the director of geologic mapping for the Illinois
Geological Survey. He also is one of the leaders of a
20-member crew of experts from Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio and the U.S. Geological Survey who are
taking part in the 17-year program expected to cost about
$5 million.
The result will be detailed underground mapping of
underground water formations, sand and gravel deposits,
soils, wetlands and bedrock in high-growth metropolitan
areas.
"We want to do all of Lake County as our No. 1 priority"
in Illinois, starting in the Antioch region, Berg said.
"There are development pressures here" that could
overrun the region before its underground resources are
fully understood, he said. The result could be destruction
of valuable natural resources and development where it
does not belong, he added.
The geological mapping effort is a direct response to
population growth and rapid development, Berg said.
Mapping also will be conducted in the Chicago area,
Peoria, St. Louis and east-central Illinois.
"If you know what is there, you can avoid putting a landfill
there," he said. The landfill might leak into the sand-filled
ground, creating a toxic waste site that later must be
cleaned.
As another example, Berg cited a housing subdivision in
northern Illinois that was located over a peat bog, causing
it to sink into the ground.
Berg also recalled that the state spent $85 million in the
early 1990s to study Martinsville, Ill., as a potential
nuclear waste disposal site. The project was abandoned
after geologists discovered underground drinking water
supplies there.
"Doing this stuff is protective planning," Berg said. "This
is the first time such an effort was attempted."
Already, officials from China and Finland have expressed
interest in the project.
It's also a reversal, he said, of a longtime practice by the
U.S. Geological Survey of funding mineral exploration in
the West while "little was spent on the Midwest."
Concerns over sustainable development in the highly
populated East and Midwest are changing that.
Rick Pavey, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources
geology official, said people seldom realize what is below
their feet.
"Look at this farm," Pavey said. "There's soil and grass."
But hidden beneath the ground, he said, are layers of soil,
sand, gravel and rock of various depths.
"Each one has a totally different topography, all the way
down to bedrock," Pavey said. "Without that mapping
information, people are making bad choices on land use,"
Pavey said.
Tim Larson, an Illinois Geology Survey geologist, noted
that drilling directly into the ground and taking core
samples is the most effective way to see what is there.
But in between the bore holes, geologists use electronic
equipment to produce a three-dimensional image of the
underground world, Larson explained.
"It works like sonar and radar," he said. "Pulses go into
the ground and reflect off rock formations." With the
echoes of these pulses, geologists can estimate the size
and depth of underground formations. "You get a picture
of the subsurface."
Berg expects to be exploring the Antioch area for the
next three years, with preliminary maps available in a
year. Even after the 17-year project is complete, Berg
expects that only about 7 percent of underground Illinois
will be mapped in detail.
All of these efforts depend on the cooperation and
hospitality of landowners like farmer Ron Martin, on
whose farm the drilling operation is being conducted.
"I just knocked on the door," Berg said. "Most people in
rural areas are genuinely curious about what is under the
ground. Farmers are great stewards of the land. They
want to know what's there."
Berg usually gives cooperative landowners a copy of the
underground maps of their land.
Kim Martin said she and he husband were eager to
cooperate.
Martin and her children walked to the drilling operation in
a field behind the barn.
"Maybe we'll find oil," Martin joked.
"Oh, no," Berg answered, looking a bit startled. "If we
find oil in Antioch, it'll be quite a find."
(Thanks to THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, And Fair Use For Educational/Research Purposes Only.)
Leland
(06/29/00; 14:54:03MT - usagold.com msg#: 33011)
Some Complete Nonsense (Only Posted Because the Markets are Closed)
RULES OF THE AIR
~ Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.
~ If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the
stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick
all the way back, then they get bigger again.
~ It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up
there wishing you were down here.
~ When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with
the sky.
~ A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing
is one after which they can use the plane again.
~ Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five
minutes earlier.
~ Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might
be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also
report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.
~ There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately
no one knows what they are.
~ You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The
trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of
~ Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience
usually comes from bad judgment.
~ Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed.
~ Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not
subject to repeal.
~ The three most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you,
runway behind you and a tenth of a second ago.
~ There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, no
old, bold pilots.
Golden Truth
(06/29/00; 14:48:30MT - usagold.com msg#: 33010)
Gold Rally?
Just another Dumb SUCKER rally, this is getting real old.
Every God dam time Gold passes $290/oz it is shot down?
Gold should of been able to hold onto it's gains today all other markets are down. The Forces against Gold are huge and they will continue to rob, cheat and steal from us little people until they are stopped.
I implore any people who happen to read this to buy physical GOLD and put a stop to this once and for all. The Stake in Dracula's Heart. So they the Governments stop sucking the life blood out of you! by you supporting a evil and false fiat dollar system Worldwide.
This is partially done or mostly done by making you work harder for nothing, the Goverments like to call it increased
productivity. Thats why computors are being pushed so hard they need anything they can get their hands on, to increase productivity so the $dollar can be backed by your sweat and tears and back breaking work, that then allows them to keep expanding the "LIE" ie the $$ for there fraudulent purpose.
Signed, one of the little people. I know there are billions and billions more just like me, it is time we unite through GOLD and quickly, before they kill us all or worse suck your life blood from you, via interest on dishonest money and you end up old, lonely and poor.
P.S I believe this is the very reason youth is so glorified
and pushed down our throats. It helps keep the "image" alive that unless your are young and Super Productive you are useless.
Not far from the truth in a system such as this,then when they{Governments} can't have their way anymore, due to a honest system waiting or wanting to be put in place, they threaten a WAR.
I say we give them one, but not thousands of miles away killing people you've never met, but right from your own home through buying PHYSICAL GOLD. Thats were the Governments feel it the most, their pockets.
Please, people of the World take back what has been stolen from you, I BEG YOU! Before its to late, please,please listen to what i've said.
GOD BLESS.
Leland
(06/29/00; 14:44:38MT - usagold.com msg#: 33009)
Reprint: Best Gold Related News From Monday, June 26
Gold attractive as credit risk free asset-Cen Banks
Updated 8:48 AM ET June 26, 2000
By Sara Marani
PARIS, June 26 (Reuters) - European central bankers on
Monday pointed to a possible new lease of life for gold as an
asset free of credit risk for governments as they get their
financial houses in order.
Speaking at a Financial Times gold conference, central bankers
from Austria and France said that as the supply of bonds falls
from the United States, investors would be looking for a credit
risk free asset and that gold could look attractive.
"One factor which has affected capital markets is the possibility
of a dearth of credit risk free assets," said Banque de France's
head of foreign exchange operations Herve Ferhani.
"If the risk appetite of central banks has not increased then this
move to risk free paper may have to be rebalanced... there is the
question whether gold could be part of the solution," Ferhani told
the 350 delegates gathered for the two-day industry conference.
France is a large holder of gold with more than 3,000 tonnes and
is not, unlike Austria, a seller.
"Why should gold holders lend to someone whose aim is to
depress its value?" Ferhani said in defence of the French central
bank's conservative policy.
Austrian central bank executive director Peter Zoellner agreed
gold could find a new niche as an attractive credit risk free asset.
"Gold in its original form is not somebody else's liability so it is
practically risk free. The buyback programmes of some
governments could lead to a lack of assets of highest credit
quality," he said. "To the public gold is something real with a
physical existence, unlike abstract foreign exchange."
But with bullish sentiment oozing from the central bankers about
the future of gold and its new appeal, some analysts were
sceptical.
"This is just a white rabbit out of a hat," said Andy Smith from
Mitsui. "They can't mobilise their gold so they're trying to suggest
that people's faith in currencies will go down and their faith in
gold will go up, but that's just not going to happen, why should it?"
Outlining his bank's motives for reducing its gold holdings,
Zoellner said the most important goal was price stability, "but
central bank activity needs to be seen in the context of a changing
gold market."
An evolving environment for the yellow metal in the wake of last
year's Washington Accord was a common theme among
speakers, picked up by Deutsche Bank head of central bank sales
(commodities) Jonathan Spall. He said the accord "stood the
assumption of permanently easy liquidity on its head."
The accord set parameters on the gold sales of 15 central bank
signatories, setting a cap on combined sales at 400 tonnes per
year over five years so as not to destabilise the market.
"The Accord is not an attempt to restrict these 15 central banks'
ability to sell gold. Instead, it provides a mechanism for those
banks that are interested in selling to coordinate any on disposals
without unduly impacting the market," he said.
With nearly 80 percent of all central bank holdings bound by the
accord -- with IMF and U.S. sales on hold -- and with estimates
of a market balance of some 4,000 tonnes, the realistically
available balance for expansion could only be somewhere in the
region of 1-1,500 tonnes, Spall said.
This, most analysts said, should be positive for the gold price.
(Fair Use For Educational/Research Purposes Only.)
oldgold
(06/29/00; 14:07:55MT - usagold.com msg#: 33008)
Farfel
Most of the bullion banks are just modest parts of huge financial institutions. No way will gold losses cause them to go belly up or near belly up. I too would like to see them go under, but that is wishful thinking unless they (Goldman Sachs, Chase, Morgan, Deutschbank etc.) suffer huge losses in non-gold operations as well.
goldfan
(06/29/00; 13:34:47MT - usagold.com msg#: 33007)
Gold Carry Trade @skyblue and Martin Armstrong
http://skybluemonthly.freeservers.com/sbm/sbm00n.htm
Someone here recently posted the above link and my reply to that follows:
Reply to sky blue on Gold Carry trade
GATA is no two man army. It has over 1000 members who have each paid a $100 to subscribe. Websites are www.egroups.com/gata and www.lemetroplecafe.com. Plenty of informative reading at both sites. GATA has succeeded in bringing the possibility of gold price manipulation by the US government and its agents among certain banks, to the attention of many influential congressmen and Congress committees. All
GATA wants is transparency and answers to simple questions, such as, Is the Exchange Stabilization Fund, administered by the President of the US, manipulating the price of gold? So far, they haven't received any meaningful answers, nor have the Congressmen who posed these questions.
Both Martin Armstrong and yourself constantly use the word gold, when you sometimes mean the physical stuff, and sometimes, more often, you mean the paper promises such as gold cert.s, or futures or options contracts. There is a huge difference. Gold, the physical, is in short supply by some 1500 tonnes per year. Furthermore, there is likely an outstanding short position of the physical of as much as 10 000 tonnes. Or 4 years total production.
The evidence is quite conclusive, that the huge derivative position in Gold, and the huge selling of futures and calls whenever the price rises above $290per oz. is aimed at keeping the bullion banks who are short from going bankrupt should a major short squeeze develop.
It is simply being too naive, or expecting your readers to be naive, to say that "every short position is offset by an equal long position". This ignores the possibility, and the fact in the case of all the precious metals, that there is a huge naked short position out there, and that, if calls for delivery are made in any substantial quantity, the physical supply simply isn't there. If such calls were made, the Comex, or the LBMA, would simply change their rules, capping the rising price, and saying that delivery would have to be made in dollars, not gold. I.e., the shorts are protected by the Exchange, by the bullion banks, and by the CB's which stand behind the bullion banks and the longs get stiffed. Evidence for this is easy to find. The recent Pd fiasco at the TOCOM, the Hunt Brothers scandal, what happened to those who held PUTS supposedly protecting them from a drastic fall in the stock index in 1987, and on and on... If the counterparty can't or won't pay up, the position is not "offset" as you and Mr. Armstrong believe.
This setup is agreed to by the US government and all other governments interested in continuing the pretense that the US dollar is sound and safe and not subject to any devaluation pressures. They do this because they have printed 3 or 4 times too many of them, and the Europeans, and the Arabs (who own the world's oil), are getting nervous and increasingly unwilling about continuing to support the US dollar empire. A dollar empire which allows US citizens to spend a lot more than they earn, save nothing, and live better than most other people, while contributing little of their own manufacture, to benefit the rest of the world.
I like your conclusions about the disastrous end to the gold carry trade as it will likely unfold. I wish you would revisit your writeup and distinguish for your readers, between, paper commodities, and physical commodities. In the end, all the paper, including the US dollar, is just that, only worth the paper it is printed on. Only a physical commodity is a real asset, and the only transaction that is real is a barter transaction between two physical entities. All the rest, is just an illusion put in place to stabilize the system. Our monetary system has become terminally unstable, terminally ill, because we have failed to tie it to a real physical asset, gold.
I owe most of these ideas to my understanding of the posts at the forum of USAGOLD, www.usagold.com, particularly by an economic researcher there whose handle is ORO. Any errors here are likely mine.
Goldfan
Journeyman
(06/29/00; 12:26:15MT - usagold.com msg#: 33006)
Those wild and crazy savings numbers @TC, ALL
It's good to keep in mind, when considering all these economic numbers, the humility the economic community SHOULD view them with. Case in point, the U.S. savings figures:
"Just every month we come out with saving numbers. And
I should say that as an economist it's really
embarrassing how we even come up with these numbers.
They're actually inverse. What we do is we take the
income numbers and we take the consumption numbers and
we subtract it and that's how we get savings. And we
don't even know if that really is savings." -Howard
Rosen, Executive Director, Competitiveness Policy
Council C-SPAN 1, 26 Nov 1996, 3:01PM EST
So how do they come up with the consumption and income figures, particularly with a sizeable underground economy. Yes, estimates put the U.S. "underground" economy at greater than 10%.
This isn't to say there isn't a savings "shortage" --remember figures don't lie, but liars figure-- only that the figures are, shall we say, less than rigorous.
Regards, J.
TownCrier
(06/29/00; 11:57:21MT - usagold.com msg#: 33005)
Domestic inflation alert
http://biz.yahoo.com/apf/000629/economy_6.html
HEADLINE: U.S. Economy Grows at a 5.5 Percent Annual Rate in the First Three Months of 2000
The Commerce Department's final reading on the first-quarter GDP came in just higher than its previous estimates of 5.4 percent as the U.S. economy was characterized by strong consumer spending, representing two-thirds of all economic activity. As a result of this spend-happy attitude, the level of savings as a percent of "disposable" income declined to 0.3% for the quarter, well below the previous all time quarterly low of 1.8% registered in the previous quarter. This is punctuated by the condition of our trade deficit as shown in the Associated Press' review of our international trade numbers for the quarter:
"Imports rose at an 11.7 percent rate, up from an 8.7 percent rate in the fourth quarter, while exports grew at a 6.2 percent rate, down from a 10.1 percent rate."
Farfel
(06/29/00; 11:28:48MT - usagold.com msg#: 33004)
Speculation of the Day
Did JPM move its gold operations offshore to avoid scrutiny from American governmental authorities into its huge gold derivatives positions (as some have theorized) OR did it do so in order to protect itself against immediate countermeasures/retaliation from the US government and other bullion banks as it begins the process of becoming the first bullion bank to close out its entire gold short position? As of yesterday, why is JPM one of the only bullion banks now issuing a forecast of gold to move to 320 soon whilst the others remain very negative about its prospects?
One inescapable fact: the first bullion bank to close out its gold short position wins, the others lose. The bullion bank left standing on its feet AFTER the gold price explodes will be able to takeover the all remaing decimated gold short bullion banks for cents on the dollar.
Thanks
F*
Leland
(06/29/00; 11:09:50MT - usagold.com msg#: 33003)
Mike Harden -- "Casey at the Pumps"
Oh, the outlook wasn't brilliant at the self-serve pumps that day;
Gas was two-fifteen and every sign warned, "Please pre-pay."
Cheerless drivers cursed each time the price went up a notch,
Bored attendants smiled and dipped their snuff and scratched their crotch.
The price of filling up the Ford was thirty bucks a tank.
And if you owned an SUV, you'd better own a bank.
The gas producers blamed it on the rising price of oil,
While irate drivers slowly felt their blood begin to boil.
There was no joy in Mudville, neither hope of some relief
From extortionistic gougers who had skinned folks like a thief.
But then the spirits rose for those with hearts down in the dumps,
As a hopeful voice suggested, "Let's send Casey to the pumps."
For Casey seemed to know just what to do when things got tough,
And a certain air about him let you know he'd take no guff.
"Yes, Casey. Let's get Casey," came the chorus of the throng
And it lifted over hill and dale and echoed like a song.
And when the summons reached his ears, brave Casey doffed his hat.
"You want cheap gas?" he asked the crowd. "Let me take care of that."
His jaw was fixed with firmness; there was purpose in his stride,
It buoyed the folks in Mudville to have Casey at their side.
The sultry air was charged with an excitement you could feel,
Ten thousand eyes looked on as Casey climbed behind the wheel.
He smiling waved his friends adieu and headed for the Shell,
"God bless you, Casey," cheered the crowd. "Good luck and give 'em hell."
Halting at the gas pump, Casey gave the hose a jerk,
Then smiling told a cowering youth he took to be the clerk,
"A buck a gallon's all I'll pay and not a penny more."
The trembling clerk dialed 9-1-1 and quickly locked the door.
His lip curled in defiance, Casey raised his fist and spoke:
"Hit the road you OPEC sheiks! You've drained us poor folks broke."
Triumphant whoops of townfolk rang out with such a din,
That poor old Casey didn't see the Mudville cops close in.
They cuffed him and they roughed him and they threw him in the car,
Then started for the jailhouse, but they didn't get too far.
"We're out of gas," one cop complained. "Now what we going to do?"
"I've got a buck," the other said, "Casey, how 'bout you?"
Thus did Casey pay for gas what might have gone for bail,
Two fifteen a gallon just to cart himself to jail.
Oh, somewhere o'er this verdant land joy cheers the hearts of men,
Though none who live in Mudville: mighty Casey's whiffed again.
Mike Hardin is a columnist at the COLUMBUS DISPATCH (Ohio)
(Fair Use Protections Apply.)
ORO
(06/29/00; 10:39:47MT - usagold.com msg#: 33002)
SA loan as addition of liquidity to paper gold markets
Gold
June 29 2000
Previous Bid Change
1-month 0.83% 0.70% -0.1394
2-month 0.91% 0.74% -0.1675
3-month 1.03% 0.83% -0.2013
6-month 1.19% 1.21% 0.0225
1-year 1.62% 1.51% -0.1137
The lease rates (Kitco) have fallen over the past few days as the prospect of the SA loan was considered a done deal by the members of the LBMA who just happen to be the syndicators of the credit line.
The purpose of the action was to straighten out a liquidity problem in high quality gold denominated debt. The gold denominated loan should be viewed only as another desperate effort to obtain credible backing for the empty promises that paper gold contracts provide. The reduction of hedging volumes by major miners outside Australia is adding to the liquidity crunch introduced by the pulling of reserves by the ECB+Swiss members out of the market as possible sources of reserves.
Some may remember the acid remarks by Andy Smith during the uptick in lease rates last year, when the bullion bankers were scouring the earth for a central banker willing to sell or lease into the market which was undergoing a seizure as lease rates shot to near 10%.
The answer was the Washington agreement which provided a 2000 tonne cover to the gold banking system to replace reserves, and active participation by some large customers in using national reserves to support the obligations of their bankers. The problem was that the whole of CB gold was no longer a viable source of reserves to be considered by the bullion bankers as standing available for reserve injections. "central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities..." should gold prices rise, could no longer be possibly true. The Washington Agreement was a cutting of the gold credit card for the bankrupt bullion banking system fighting a PR campaign for maintaining the illusion of solvency.
That the EU+Swiss central bankers shot down the Fed chairman's sole pronouncement on the current gold markets with eggs (now prominently displayed on Greenspan's face) is a most telling event on the financial status of the US and its currency.
The media are back to stories of raiding the IMF bullion stash and Henderson's conception of gold sale simulation followed by the real thing is gaining prominence again, with the actual sale now being the only remaining option. I believe that the "simulation" of CB sales was actually done since 1995 through the issue of paper gold backed by the Fed's and BOE's guarantees of infinite dollar and pound printing to back up the gold banker's gold liabilities - that would ultimately have to be settled in dollars and pounds in an unknown amount to be determined on the day of the gold market's demise. The CB's, as noted, balked at the suggestion that any further portions of their gold be provided to the market, and have called the bullion-banker's bluff.
A day of reckoning for the bullion bankers is at hand. On that day there will be no amount of dollars or pounds sufficient to cover their gold obligations at market exchange rates.
We watch and wait
ORO
(06/29/00; 09:55:33MT - usagold.com msg#: 33001)
Henri - treasuries
The treasuries were a "preexisting condition" as a result of prior participation in a banker's orgy without due dress in pin stripe rubbers.
ORO
(06/29/00; 09:45:58MT - usagold.com msg#: 33000)
Journeyman - Black Blade - Gold Standard for SA
They would have to drop out of the IMF because the IMF agreements forbid ties of any member's currency to gold.
If the reaction by IMF's major participants is very negative, the IMF may pull SA's participation in settlement systems and definitely would throw SA and its banks from syndicated loan markets. Any failure by IMF participants to do so would bring the "danger" of IMF conceding failure of its pure debt money system.
Though I have argued that the IMF system is in process of slow motion collapse for what is now 30 years, as demonstrated by the repeated roll over of loans without any prospect of pay-down, it has only last year conceded the need for a pure cash money that is only an asset, not both asset and liability. Granted the massive efforts by banks and their central bankers to support the IMF system, its current position is quite precarious. The introduction of a pure cash anywhere in the system would threaten the whole of it.
However, with the gold repricing program, the IMF has been impregnated with the seed of cash money in the guise of gold. The IMF is now "a little bit pregnant". The deflationary collapse of the foreign dollar debt system is only preventable if gold is used as legal tender, which the IMF allowed when it used the gold repricing program. We await the news of whether the baby is a boy or a girl, recognizing that even if not showing, the IMF is indeed "a little bit pregnant."
Gandalf the White
(06/29/00; 09:44:32MT - usagold.com msg#: 32999)
WOWSERS -- PAPER Gold is starting to SMOKE !
The COMEX is holding its own after a HUGE DUMP at the NY 10:30 time mark !! -- Down less than $4. -- BIG volumes again today in PAPER.
<;-)
Gandalf the White
(06/29/00; 09:24:27MT - usagold.com msg#: 32998)
Thanks to Topaz and all -- for the illustrations on the SARB!
http://www.forextrading.com/forexartists/page1.htm
One must only ask and the learned ones at this Forum reply. -- You have to LOVE this PLACE !
AND in addition to the GREAT quotes web page at http://www.thebulliondesk.com
as advised by Black Blade (06/29/00; 05:44:28MT - msg#: 32989) -- the same data is graphed in GTime at the above link. --- The Hobbits think that is FAR more reliable than the K-page.
<;-)
Journeyman
(06/29/00; 09:19:18MT - usagold.com msg#: 32997)
Re: Mobius recommends gold standard @Black Blade msg#: 32992
Hi Black Blade!
In your message (referenced in Subject: above) you wrote:
Black Blade: "An aside, Templeton's Mark Mobius had told SA
leaders that they should seriously consider going to a gold
standard."
Where did you find that? Do you have a specific reference? If so, will you share it?
TIA & regards,
Journeyman
USAGOLD
(06/29/00; 08:50:14MT - usagold.com msg#: 32996)
Today's Gold Report
http://www.usagold.com/Order_Form.html
6/29/00 Indications
Current
Change
Gold August Comex
292.70
-1.60
Silver July Comex
5.05
+0.06
30 Yr TBond Sept CBOT
96~26
+0~11
Dollar Index June NYBOT
106.44
-0.75
Market Report (6/29/00) Gold corrected in a minor way this
morning after yesterday's impressive performance when it finished
up $6.80 on the day catching traders, investors and pundits by
surprise. The move took gold through the critical $290 barrier.
The primary thruster in gold's liftoff was rising inflationary and
dollar concerns worldwide. These concerns in turn forced
short-covering with "funds and trade houses" leading the way,
according to press reports late yesterday. In comments reminiscent
of the last time gold bolted higher, traders again noted those
caught short were "thrown into a panic mode." The yellow
apparently got an additional boost from the South African central
bank which took out a loan denominated in gold. I say "apparently"
because it wasn't so much the loan itself that contributed to
yesterday's bullish sentiment (the nature of which is fairly
ambiguous) but comments from bank governor Tito Mboweni. To wit:
"We think it is appropriate for South Africa to use this structure
and send a positive message to the bullion markets and that the
SARB is prepared to hold and add to its 4 million ounces of gold
reserves while other central banks decide to sell their own gold
reserves." Perhpas this signals a trend. South Africa joins China
as central bank gold "buyers." The addition, if it truly is an
addition, amounts to 1.7 million ounces -- a reserve increase of
nearly 50%. For the moment, though, we will reserve judgment in
the hope of gaining greater clarity.
That's it for today, fellow goldmeisters.
An Invitation:
I would like to invite those who take an interest in the type of
analysis read here to give our newsletter a try -- News & Views:
Forecasts, Commentary & Analysis on the Economy and
Precious Metals. This month we focus on oil and inflation. Many
analysts and investors think there very well may have been a
fundamental shift in economy that could favor the gold market and
hammer the equities and dollar market. These opinions from various
sources are covered in some detail in the upcoming July issue.
Along with the latest issue of News & Views, you will receive our
Gold Almanac 2000 which offers fundamental background on the
yellow metal. The theme of this year's Almanac is wealth
preservation and one of the key articles is how those in the
1970s -- a decade many are comparing to the present -- not only
survived double digit inflation, but prospered. The package is
offered at no cost or obligation. You can call Marie at
1-800-869-5115 to request the newsletter and Almanac or
click above.
We will leave yesterday's report on the Financial Times gold
conference in Paris up for a few days for those who may have
missed it.
Topaz
(06/29/00; 07:06:17MT - usagold.com msg#: 32995)
Black Blade (06/29/00; 05:44:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 32989)
G'day BB
Just curious- Do the initials JG mean anything to you?
To my post:
I believe you are referring to Physical Culture Sir!
...Yard...Yard...cross....bend...flight....flight...oblique etc.
My kids did Physsie when they were young, yup- now Daddy does it too.
Healthy & Wealthy.
MO VER MEG
(06/29/00; 07:00:53MT - usagold.com msg#: 32994)
Black Blade
Thanks for the bulliondesk site. It looks like they do a good job.
Always interested in what you have to say.
Henri
(06/29/00; 06:23:58MT - usagold.com msg#: 32993)
ORO Msg# 32975
Well there is the small matter of the Treasuries which are obligations of the taxpayers. Was it a newly created obligation or an existing one? Does it really matter? I'm not sure. It seems to me that while both the Hometown Bank and the SNB created currency (I'm not at all sure the SNB works the same way the Hometown Bank does)The US taxpayer was somehow put on the hook for an additional $100,000 as well. Just trying to wrap my mind around this as well
Black Blade
(06/29/00; 06:05:33MT - usagold.com msg#: 32992)
Morning Wakeup Call! Longs have shorts on the run!
Source: Bridge News and theminingweb.com
GOLD WAR MOMENTUM SHIFTS TO THE LONGS:
Good news! Momentum went to Golds favour as shorts were routed from their defensive positions yesterday. The Gold War momentum shifted to the longs soon after NY trading opened. A play by play follows:
Gold price gains have not surprised the market despite a decision by the US Federal Reserve to keep the lid on interest rates. The Fed warned, however, that inflation worries would not ease unless the economy started to slow. Economists have pencilled in August as the month when a hike in interest rates could be announced. In anticipation of the announcement, the gold price traded up more than $5 per ounce from about $285/oz earlier in the day in Europe to $292.20 per ounce in New York. At the New York close, the latest ask on gold was at $292.70 an ounce. The metal moved up strongly in Europe earlier in the day as investors waited for a decision on US interest rates. The response of gold must be pleasing to gold bulls who were alarmed at the apparent sluggishness of the metal earlier this year when the tech-rich Nasdaq took a tumble. Some analysts speculated that bullion had lost its allure as a traditional store of wealth once and for all. Meanwhile, the South African Reserve Bank confirmed that it had borrowed $1.5 billion in gold for credit facilities. Analysts and economists said the reason was that it was probably cheaper to borrow gold than cash. However, it is thought the gold in question was borrowed from a counter-party and at some 70 basis points above the gold lease rate. This was standing at the relatively high level of six per cent. "Our information is that the Reserve Bank is borrowing the gold rather than lending it out. It is probably just introducing some liquidity to boost reserves," an analyst said. JP Morgan economist Peter Worthington said investors were also still short and had been riding their short positions for some time. "Investors are quite likely still closing out positions," he said. Despite the recovery in the gold price, South African gold equities showed some reaction. Although the All Gold Index was up 1.23 per cent to 1010.30 points. Harmony Gold, which moves strongly with the gold price, gained R1 to end at R37.50 a share on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Anglogold, the world's largest gold producer, gained R4.20 to end the day at R277.20 a share.
Black Blade: An aside, Templeton's Mark Mobius had told SA leaders that they should seriously consider going to a gold standard. A novel idea for a major Gold producing nation. Could this be a prelude to such a possibility? Hmmmm…….
THE FAR-EASTERN FRONT:
Hong Kong firm sees China deregulating gold market in 2001
Hong Kong--June 29--Hong Kong-listed precious metals trader and refiner Tem Fat Hing Fung (Holdings) Ltd., which recently signed a consulting agreement with a string of Chinese gold mining firms and a joint venture deal with Cheung Kong Holdings, sees China deregulating the domestic gold market in 2001, the company's chairman Raymond Chan Fat-chu told BridgeNews late Wednesday. Currently, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, has a monopoly on gold trading in China. (Story .11055)
Asia Precious Metals Review: Profit-taking caps gold at $292/oz
Tokyo--June 29--Profit-taking capped spot gold at about U.S. $292 per ounce on Thursday in Asia after overnight rally, dealers said. Platinum was stable after the overnight soaring in the U.S. market, while profit-taking prevented prices from extending gains during Asian trading hours, they said. (Story .2200)
Black Blade: PMs are still holding up well in Asia and Oz in spite of so-called profit-taking. With China purchasing Gold for reserves and deregulation on the horizon, it could be very difficult to hold back this tiger.
THE WESTERN FRONT:
BRIDGE INTERVIEW: Russia's Gokhran says its PGM export quota small
Moscow--June 28--Russia's State Depository for Precious Metals (Gokhran) has been granted a very small export quota for platinum group metals (PGMs) in 2000 and is not planning to export any metals this year, Chairman of Gokhran and Deputy Finance Minister Valery Rudakov said Wednesday. He said the market would not feel the absence of such insignificant amounts. Rudakov also said domestic palladium consumption was likely to rise soon due to the liberalization of the PGMs market. (Story .17090)
Black Blade: We will see. PGMs should continue to draw tighter throughout the year.
Gold miners urged to put mind to investors, not to upping output
Paris--June 28--Gold miners are being urged to focus more attention and efforts on providing shareholder value and attracting new investors and spend less time concerned with hedging strategies and new production. Wayne Murdy, President of Newport Mining Corporation, and Placer Dome chief executive Jay Taylor, argued the gold mining industry must deliver competitive returns on invested capital, deliver bottom line growth and ensure sustainable growth if it is to survive in the current "low-price" conditions, Taylor said. (Story .13048)
Black Blade: I suspect that without exploration to define and replenish reserves, especially considering the time lag in getting mines into production, many mining companies aren't likely to survive irregardless of the POG. High-grading ore deposits is at best a short-term remedy. There has to be a search for new production. As far as hedging, the best companies are profitable and unhedged. Hats off to Newmont for rejection of hedging and to Placer for reversing their stand on hedges.
Meanwhile, S&P Futures down -6.50, fair value down -7.70 indicating a moderately lower open on Wall Street, however, the futures have been declining steadily all morning and by the open the futures could indicate an even sharper decline. Au is down -$0.80 at $291.10, Ag off -$0.01 at $4.95, Pt down -$12.00 at 565.00, Pd unchanged at $642.00, and Rh is up yet again $50.00 at $2375.00/oz. Oil still strong, up $0.20 at $32.00/bbl.
SteveH
(06/29/00; 06:01:24MT - usagold.com msg#: 32991)
Article
http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_00/turk063000.html
eom
Leigh
(06/29/00; 05:47:06MT - usagold.com msg#: 32990)
Kitco Alternate Site
Does anyone have the Kitco alternate forum site link? Thank you!
Black Blade
(06/29/00; 05:44:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 32989)
PM Reserves
http://www.thebulliondesk.com
Tried to lift my personal physical PM reserves yesterday. I think I'll cancel my health club membership. The low prices have allowed me to acquire a nice amount, and it's heavy. My biceps are starting to look good. There you have it, PMs are good for your financial as well as your physical health ;-)
The link should give updated PM quotes, even when KITCO works, the quotes aren't really reliable.
Simply Me
(06/29/00; 04:35:39MT - usagold.com msg#: 32988)
@Topaz
OK...OK...I get it! Thanks for the attitude adjustment on the SARB gold loan! And thanks for the link, too. But I sure wish Kitco would come back on line. I like to see the black line go up!
Topaz
(06/29/00; 03:59:20MT - usagold.com msg#: 32987)
when the Kitco SPOT goes walkabout...
http://www.xe.net/ucc/
Link above has 1min updates- scroll down to XAU-XAG.
SUMBUDDY STOP MEEEAH!!
""We are prepared to borrow gold (and pay 70 basis points ABOVE the lease rate- in BULLION){just to have it}) and keep it in our reserves.""
Topaz
(06/29/00; 03:34:33MT - usagold.com msg#: 32986)
One more time.......
""We did feel it appropriate for the central bank in South Africa to send a positive message about the role of gold in our reserves," he said. "We are prepared to borrow gold and keep it in our reserves.""
Topaz
(06/29/00; 03:12:52MT - usagold.com msg#: 32985)
The Seth Effrican Gold Loan Saga....
My take:
A US$1.75 Billion loan expires July.
They have re-negotiated a deal for credit facilities of $1.5 Billion ('cause they don't need to borrow US$1.75 Bill any more)
Now heres the Kicker:
The new facility can be drawn down in Au,Euros and US$. Quite a change from the previous deal eh?
You-all will remember after the announcement of the BoE sales how the SA gov't went storming into England to raise hell and fury- then, after a brief sojourn in Europe, returned home with nary a whimper???
The Writing is on the Wall, No?
GOOD FOR GOLD
Below is a clearer explanation (I think!)
S African Ctrl Bk Says New Loan Shows Investor Confidence
Dow Jones Newswires
CAPE TOWN -- The South African Reserve Bank governor Wednesday said the bank's new $1 billion syndicated loan facility and $500 million gold-denominated facility showed foreign banks are confident about South Africa.
"This is good news because international investors have demonstrated confidence in South Africa," Tito Mboweni
told a media briefing.
He said the three-year dual-currency loan would be available in either U.S. dollars or euros and had been secured at a margin of 70 basis points above Libor and an all-inclusive cost of 85 basis points.
"Eighty-five basis points, given the current context, is te reasonable," said Mboweni.
The gold-denominated facility would be available at 70 basis points above the gold lending rate.
Betrus van Zyl, head of the bank's international banking department, said 38 banks from a range of countries,
including Britain, the U.S., Germany, Italy and Japan, were involved in granting the two facilities.
The $1 billion current loan will replace a $1.75 billion loan held by the bank which matures next month.
Mboweni said although lenders were prepared to commit more than $1.7 billion to the facility, the bank's reserve position had improved substantially to $4.9 billion, hence the need to borrow less.
Van Zyl said the gold-denominated facility had been negotiated to consolidate existing bilateral gold pre-export finance lines, as well as to extend the maturity profile of the bank's foreign loans. The facility will be drawn down in gold over three years.
"We did feel it appropriate for the central bank in South Africa to send a positive message about the role of gold in our reserves," he said. "We are prepared to borrow gold and keep it in our reserves."
Van Zyl said current gold reserves amount to 4 million ounces, adding that the loan facility offer had been oversubscribed by $725 million.
-Dow Jones Newswires; +27 11 726 7903
Simply Me
(06/29/00; 01:55:21MT - usagold.com msg#: 32984)
Gandalf, Shifty, Hobbits, et al.
Looks to me like they're proudly announcing two new lines of credit. One that can be drawn in Dollars AND EUROS. The other can be drawn down in gold. What puzzles me is why South Africa needs a loan that they can draw down in gold?...unless they can't pull enough of it out of the ground to cover their gold denominated debts. Sort of..."Can I pay off my Visa with my MasterCard?"
What throws you off the real meaning of the document is the phrasing. The South African Federal Reserve Bank is announcing it's acquisition of more debt as proudly as if they had just bought the QEII and London Bridge and were about to park them in the lobby of the bank!
And now for something totally different:
The View from the Village Streets--Perennial coin collectors are beginning to throw a gold coin or two in with their purchases. There's no rush to the counter. No sense of urgency yet. But it's refreshing to see an interest in gold again after "The Great Y2K Dump" in January and February.
When the State Quarter and Sacawea Dollar collectors begin to feel the uncertainties of inflation, I think coin dealers are going to find they have a brand new market segment to cater to. Younger, less knowledgable about coins in general but looking for a "store of value"...and not afraid to buy and sell as they used to be, because you can find the going-rate for just about anything on eBay. Could make the next gold rush even more exciting!
Better finish your golden parachute soon! The economy's engines are beginning to sputter. It'll be too late when there's smoke in the cabin and the captain is on the speaker trying to calm the other passengers.
simply me
PS. Glad to see latest discussion of Executive Orders, too. That's the trap that could snap shut with no warning on all of our best laid plans.
SHIFTY
(06/29/00; 00:48:52MT - usagold.com msg#: 32983)
Gandalf
Im a "simple" American and I cant explain it!
LOL :)
Gandalf the White
(06/29/00; 00:02:39MT - usagold.com msg#: 32982)
OK -- Here it is !
http://www.resbank.co.za/media/2000/20000628.html
AND it is "translated" into English --- BUT the Hobbits still do not understand it !! -- ANYONE wish to try and explain this in simple "American" ?
<;-)
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