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ARCHIVED DISCUSSION FROM 9/30/2006 All times are U.S. Mountain Time (Yesterday's Discussion.) Gandalf the White (9/30/06; 22:43:15MT - usagold.com msg#: 147976) Did you all see that the CONTEST ENTRY DEADLINE is near ? ----- all entries must be posted to the TableRound before Midnight on Monday, October 2nd, AND ALL ENTRIES must answer THE QUESTION !!===TICK TOCK !!! Gandalf the White (9/30/06; 22:40:15MT - usagold.com msg#: 147975) TAA TAA TAAAAAAAAAAAAA, TAA TAA TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ THE "PRICE of GOLD" GUESSING CONTEST!! $$$$$$$$$$$$OFFICIAL CONTEST ENTRY LISTINGS ----$$$ $8,752.0 $$$ The Invisible Hand (9/23/06; 14:30:09MT - usagold.com msg#: 147701)$$$$ $681.1 $$$$ Beamer (9/29/06; 01:14:22MT - usagold.com msg#: 147907)$$$$ $650.0 $$$$ Sundeck (9/22/06; 22:41:10MT - usagold.com msg#: 147683)### $643.0 ### Topaz (9/23/06; 04:57:44MT - usagold.com msg#: 147694)$$$$ $635.0 $$$$ Demosthenes (9/27/06; 21:18:04MT - usagold.com msg#: 147871)**** $634.0 **** jenika (9/28/06; 00:42:53MT - usagold.com msg#: 147878)$$$$ $626.3 $$$$ glockmaster19 (9/29/06; 13:22:18MT - usagold.com msg#: 147931)**** $626.2 **** Goldilox (9/23/06; 01:24:03MT - usagold.com msg#: 147686)$$$$ $620.0 $$$$ Clink! (9/22/06; 21:09:58MT - usagold.com msg#: 147681)$$$$ $615.0 $$$$ Armageddon (9/29/06; 22:17:10MT - usagold.com msg#: 147948)*** FRN606.7 *** Smeagol (9/23/06; 01:57:50MT - usagold.com msg#: 147687)$$$$ $606.5 $$$$ balzac (9/27/06; 21:35:50MT - usagold.com msg#: 147873)$$$$ $605.0 $$$$ Titan (9/27/06; 12:30:56MT - usagold.com msg#: 147853)$$$$ $602.9 $$$$ GOLD FINGER (9/29/06; 18:01:04MT - usagold.com msg#: 147941)$$$$ $599.9 $$$$ DryWasher (9/24/06; 15:10:57MT - usagold.com msg#: 147742)$$$$ $595.5 $$$$ Federal_Reserves (9/25/06; 19:01:55MT - usagold.com msg#: 147777)**** $590.3 **** arbyh (9/26/06; 09:30:45MT - usagold.com msg#: 147809)$$$$ $577.7 $$$$ Peculium Aurum (9/27/06; 23:55:29MT - usagold.com msg#: 147876)$$$$ $545.0 $$$$ Thoreauly (9/24/06; 10:22:14MT - usagold.com msg#: 147738)===Pick your lucky numbers, THINK of an answer to the QUESTION, and post your ENTRY.LOTS of room for your ENTRY, as only Sir Goldilox is being HUGGED ! <;-) Gandalf the White (9/30/06; 22:38:36MT - usagold.com msg#: 147974) TAA TAA TAAAAAAAAAAAAA, TAA TAA TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ A "PRICE of GOLD" GUESSING CONTEST!! $$$$$$$$$$$$We shall have a price guessing contest on the closing (Settlement price) of gold for the December COMEX contract (GCZ6) on Thursday, October 5, 2006, ---BUT all entries must be posted to the TableRound before Midnight on Monday, October 2nd, AND ALL ENTRIES must answer THE QUESTION !!The POG Contest winner -- the closest price guess to the actual Settlement Price -- will receive a "Dutch Treat" -- No, No, No ! I mean one of these four different types of The Netherlands 10 Guilders gold coinage. IT (<== See that Sir Smeagol ?) could be a: "King Willem", (Minted 1875 - 1889, Fineness: 0.900 and Actual Gold Content: 0.1947 troy ounce; or a "Young Queen Wilhelmina" (Minted 1892 - 1897, Fineness: 0.900 and Actual Gold Content: 0.1947 troy ounce); or a "Queen Wilhemina", (Minted 1911 - 1917. Fineness: 0.900 and Actual Gold Content: 0.1947 troy ounce); or an "Elder Queen Wilhelmina", Minted 1925 - 1933, Fineness: 0.900 and Actual Gold Content: 0.1947 troy ounce) !!!! IT just depends which one SIR MK finds first when he goes down into the dungeon. <;-)Please go to the USAGOLD link at: http://www.usagold.com/gold-coins.html to view these coins.There will be also be two runners-up prizes for the next closest prognostications --- each winning an one ounce pure Silver Canadian Maple Leaf coin. ( <=== See that Sir Rich ?)The QUESTION -- (Put on your THINKING HATS !) -- is: "Who or what put gold to sleep, and who or what is going to wake it up?"Answers should be in 30 words or more.===THE RULES -- (We MUST have RULES !!) --- PLEASE READ !!1) The Winner is the poster with the Price Guess closest to the Settlement price of the COMEX (most active) December 2006 Gold Contract (GCZ6) on the date of Thursday, October 5th, 2006. 2) Price "Guesses" shall be stated in Dollars and tenths !(Such as $ 666.6) 3) "Guesses" shall be SHOWN in the SUBJECT BOX location AND enclosed in markers of "Dollar Signs" so as to be OFFICIAL !(Such as $$$$$ $ 666.6 $$$$$$$ )4) ONLY one "Guess" per Knight or Lady is allowed, and once that "Guess" has been "taken" -- no one can duplicate it !! FIRST COME has rights to that "Guess".5) HOWEVER, All "Guesses" MUST be posted before the clock in Denver strikes MIDNIGHT (24:00) on Monday, October 2nd, 2006.6) AND MOST IMPORTANTLY (as this part MUST accompany your Price prognostication)--- In order for your entry to be valid, YOU will need to answer "THE QUESTION", in 30 words or more.---LET the CONTEST continue !!<;-) Ten Bears (9/30/06; 21:44:16MT - usagold.com msg#: 147973) bad debt http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/willie/2006/0929.html The transfer of risk out of the banking sector; the loading of (bad debt) risk into the GSE's; and the possible final incidence of the losses, have been topics addressed at this site several times in past years.Jim Willie ("THE preeminent financial commentator in the marketplace today.") deals with these topics in a comprehensive way in "HOUSING OUT OF THE BOX".Snips:The upcoming bond market crisis will launch gold.Expect creation of debtor prisons in future years, without any doubt whatsoever in my mind. With a collapsing housing market, removed piggy bank with home equity, rising mortgage costs, and struggling wages, our American Dream will fade into memory.Is Fanny Mae dead? A great question. My simple answer is "yes of course,Two big reasons dominate my center argument for dead and not yet buried. First, it has not provided an annual financial statement since 2003, and has promised none. This constitutes a free pass, when its trading stock should have been delisted two years ago, and surely immediately. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) has shrugged its duty, with no reform likely, Warren Buffett called derivatives generally "financial sewageFanny Mae stands apart in a critical manner. Not only does it possess a mountain of financial sewage, but its core holdings are the worst quality in the industry.Fanny Mae therefore qualifies as what some have called a "financial centrifuge" in their eyes. This image requires an alteration. They accept refuse and garbage which serve as bank sector excrement. They return to the banks (who originate the loans) the cash for the recycled loan, Golden Lionheart (9/30/06; 21:33:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 147972) In EFT's as in banking? Why should we not suspect that EFT's lease out our gold or silver? After all the money in our bank accounts is handed out in loans all the time.If everybody, at the same time, demanded tha return of the cash they have deposited in their bank then complete chaos would ensue. They banks could not comply. I suspect the same with the EFT's.Great system! Chris Powell (9/30/06; 21:23:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 147971) Reply to Cousin R on silver ETF I agree with you that Morgan Chase probablyholds SOME silver in London in the name ofthe silver ETF and that the big questionsare whether the ETF holds exclusive titleto it and whether any of it is leased, and,if so, who does the leasing and how theleasing is timed and for what purpose. Ifthe silver is accumulated only to be leased,the ETF is just another racket by themoney-control crowd. The Invisible Hand (9/30/06; 20:19:48MT - usagold.com msg#: 147970) How long do they hope to ignore my namesake? http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1884724,00.html FEARS OF CRASH PUT FOCUS ON THE CITY'S DARK ARTS Concern is mounting that derivatives, hedge funds or private equity firms could spark a crisis, writes Richard Wachman Sunday October 1, 2006The Observer SNIPSIt is the NIGHTMARE SCENARIO EVERYBODY HOPES WILL NEVER HAPPEN: a financial crash that brings capitalism to its knees, affecting us for years to come.+A spokesman for the FSA says: 'What we are about is stress-testing, making sure that there are robust internal controls and good risk management. We are not promoting a zero-risk regime, that is not part of our business.' His sentiments are echoed by Peter Montagnon, director of investment affairs at the Association of British Insurers. He says: 'We look to regulators to preserve the system and to foster dynamic markets. They have to strike a balance.' Not any easy task, perhaps, but a necessary one.==How come it is possible to argue that Capitalism can no longer regulate itself? Has anybody ever made a cost-benefit analysis of government(-regulation)?The reason why this poster is hoping for the "nightmare scenario everybody hopes will never happen" is that he thinks it's the only way that regulators will be eliminated and that the world can start with a clean sheet.How do the regulators expect to extricate "the economy" from the mess? All exits have been closed, gentlemen! You can only postpone the catharsis. Please let us restart now.Give us Anarchy now!Ni dieu, ni maitre! The Invisible Hand (9/30/06; 19:51:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 147969) Why gold could glitter again ! http://news.independent.co.uk/business/comment/article1777705.ece The easing in tensions that worked against gold may not last By Mark Cliffe Published: 01 October 2006 R Powell (9/30/06; 17:59:04MT - usagold.com msg#: 147968) Chris Powell Thanks! Unless I'm interpreting wrong, it is as I thought, the market bid-ask sets the ishares price. Apparently that quoted price was the average price for one day + was used to determine a fee ishares has to pay. And yes, I'll agree that silver held in my own possession is preferable to that held by proxy. But, I do believe the physical does exist in storage and the ETF is probably a price supportive vehicle for silver. This may be just my opinion but most mutual funds (all mutual funds?) are long only funds...only selling that which they do own, unlike the world of futures + options wherein the number of longs always equals the number of shorts. Long only players usually support prices but probably amplify or enhance the volatility of downturns as they can not effectively hedge their long positions....so they often sell in bulk + in a panic. Now we'll see if there is enough silver available (in 50,000 ounce lots) to deposit with the ETF's trustee (JPM + others!) to get more ishares into circulation. I'm sure the silver is available but I doubt if that much is available at the current price, most assuredly (imho) not so in a short time period. Might rising lease rates which have crashed down to almost nothing recently, foretell of more physical going to the trustee? Lease rates were unusually high during the early deposits + subsequent issuance of ETF shares. I do believe the physical is held by the trustee for shares issued, but I see no reason or assurance that that silver handed over to the trustee might not be leased..? The same may be true of the gold now held in ETFs, but this is just speculation on my part. Mayhap it will, as some opine, take a real shortage of physical metal in the physical (as opposed to paper) market, in response to demand, to reveal the true state of existing supply. If such occurs, then I will remember how the copper market reacted during these last few years. It was about a 5X move from the lows to present prices (off exuberant highs or just a temporary consolidation?). Thanks again for this news which I believe to be quite noteworthy...(grin). It's a cold one here on the Cape...as it may be in Conn. Winter is neigh, again! happy weekend Goldilox (9/30/06; 17:56:02MT - usagold.com msg#: 147967) Gold prices abnormally high despite big imports http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2006/09/617186/ snip:VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam had imported 50 tonnes of gold by the end of September; however, the big supply cannot help cool down the market. According to Huynh Trung Khanh, Adviser to the World's Gold Council in Vietnam, Vietnam has imported 37.5 tonnes of gold in the first half of the year. The total gold imports had climbed to 50 tonnes by the end of September, an increase of 30% over the same period the previous year. Considering that the average price is $20mil/tonne, Vietnam had to spend $1bil for gold imports. Meanwhile, the demand for gold in the domestic market, though on the rise, is not big. Analysts have pointed out that the gold prices in the domestic market are abnormally higher than the world's levels with the gap between the domestic and international prices reaching VND400,000 per tael. The analysts said that it is quite normal to see the domestic prices go up in accordance with the world's price hike. The problem lies in the fact that there is too big a gap between the world's and the domestic price levels. The import prices are VND400,000/tael lower than the prices offered by Saigon Jewellery Company (SJC). With the current world's price level at $602/oz, the price in the domestic market would need to be only VND11,760,000/tael to be high enough for gold trading firms to make profit. Meanwhile, domestic firms all are selling at VND12,150,000/tael, an overly high level. Despite the high profit, banks are still selling gold at moderate levels, reasoning that they cannot process enough bar gold for sale. In general, gold trading firms need time to process gold from the imported material gold, and it seems that the processing work goes too slowly to meet the increased demand from people. In addition, banks do not want to sell gold in big quantities, because they must reserve gold for other businesses. Analysts have denied the opinion that the gold supply is short which has caused the gold price increase on the domestic market. The analysts have said that the gold in reserve is abundant. SJC gold is selling best on the domestic market, though it is much more expensive than the gold offered by other gold trading firms.-GoldiloxEarly servering of actual prices from "official" prices? melda laure (9/30/06; 16:02:24MT - usagold.com msg#: 147966) Chinese chess, checkers, or no-limit poker? I will spare us a discussion laced with differential geometry...so China abandons buying more dollars and goes for Gold and Oil.Now they want to abandon Oil and go for something "New". Cold Fusion next? Yes, when I heard Simmons say "a crash manhattan type project" it almost was as though I were hearing the words of a different energy "expert", one living in the backwoods of Louisiana. Simmons quotes someone as saying it could take 20 years to do the research to implement a solution, adding that "we dont have 20 years" and suggesting that peak oil occured back in december 2005.But we have to think strategically. If peak oil were comming eventually, and since there is not enough oil in America, why then was there no secret manhattan project to deal with the eventual problem? I think the answer is that there was a plan, there was research, there ARE known solutions, there exists new theoretical models, and that a crash plan is not needed except maybe as a feel-good window dressing. But that is just my interpretation.Thinking stragegically again, we see that the international dollar system is a creatrure of western greed but also of control. And while the modest free lunch has been enjoyable, TPTB do not see it as their duty to provide free lunches for anyone; therefore, given the choice between defending their control over economy and defending the comforts of the shire, they will choose the former, Samwise Six-pints be damned.So we come back to "systematic genocidical remove'lence" (as Frank Zappa put it) and mysterious documents such as NSSM200 or what ever the designation was. If the little brown peoples of the world wont accquiesce, then we'll just starve them to death; these latter-day irishmen will watch as their grain is loaded onto ships for england where it will be turned into ethanol and biodiesel for the pleasure of the "republic", while the "outer-rim" starves.Regardless, I have no idea how it will play out. But I can guess that when oil is being produced from pure "unobtanium" that those nations with great needs and great brains will crack open the physics books and attack them with eraser and pencil and correct the present ignorance: among these Japan (already officially doing cold fusion research) and China come to mind. Likely also Singapore (home base of World Scientific, publisher of many of the key theoretical texts on this new physics) will play a role. Indeed, while american heretical researchers are at the forefront of the public development of new energy technologies, yet a look at the contributors to Aklesh Lahtakhia's book, or of Terrence Barrette's efforts will show a list of papers from such Giants of Physics such as Poland, Portugal, Brasil, King Fahd univerity, University of Alexandria (the one in egypt, not the other ones) and the Theoretical Van-guard of physics: autonomous university of mexico city.The new energy research movement is worldwide, and their more vocal proponents propose to replace fossil fuels forever. But like the gold advocates, they face political problems.But in concept, a society built on nearly zero cost energy is not actually new, and we needen't go back to the time of legends to find one. During the years of 1900 to 1970, the US enjoyed energy costs that were generally falling, and per-capita energy use was rising along with the standard of living. So there is yet hope, even should the americans fall from grace into a new fascism. The world is bigger than the lower 48.Moreover, the transmutation of metals into gold is still very difficult. And it will be some decades before this source of wealth becomes easier than pressing a few keys on a computer at the FED.bibliography:Generally covariant Unified field Theory. Myron W. Evans.Modern Nonlinear Optics (volume 119, not vol 85) Myron W Evans editor, Series editors Stuart A Rice and Ilya PrigogineAdvanced Electromagnetism, foundations theory and applications. Terence W Barrett, Dale M Grimes.Essays on the formal aspects of Electromagnetic Theory. Aklesh Lakhtakia.Those not wishing to do that much homework can entertain themselves with Energy from the Vacume, T.E.Bearden, (though it is not any more readable than the mathout listed above.) A prerequisite is a good grasp of differential geometry, and an open mind... Though most people want FACTS and Numbers so I have listed the hard literature above. Indeed Bearden's book despite its many many limitations has an excellent bibliography.But that is no challenge here, most of us already belive that derivatives are a zero sum game, that is, one where the banking system enjoys free lunch at our expense. That knowledge was gained at a high cost. Understanding the world's "liquidity superstructure" (as greenspan called it) and the role of Gold in it, and the future of gold in the minds of the giants and powers, and nations is no easy task. The understanding of how China intends to solve its energy needs may have an equally high price tag- they will not bow down to the west. We spoke of our honour, they called our bluff. GOLD FINGER (9/30/06; 15:54:57MT - usagold.com msg#: 147965) The economy's next time down has begun http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ContrarianChronicles/TheEconomysNextTimeDownHasBegun.aspx He has some good points for MSN.......When unmasked at last Meanwhile, the Fed will become thoroughly discredited at some point. It will ultimately be seen as the culprit that created the conditions for the bubbles (the cause of the next time down). And, more importantly, the Fed will be seen as impotent to do anything about it. The Fed will cut rates, which really won't be effective, though it will put tremendous pressure on the dollar. Of course, the Fed won't care about dollar weakness until it's a problem, in the form of funding the Treasury market. So, in the environment that I envision:Stocks will decline dramatically in value.The dollar will see serious weakness.Foreign currencies (as lame as they are) will do well.Precious metals will do the best, because they are currencies beholden to no central bank and without liabilities.We are now only starting the process with metals, and metals (as well as foreign currencies) have done well before the point in time where I've felt they would provide debasement insurance. And, when we are in the period that I see us eventually entering, metals will go up, even as stocks go down. Likewise, metal stocks will rise, even as stocks generically decline.En route to the zero-correlation zone None of that has been the case thus far, because just the opposite of what I expect to happen has happened. By that I mean: The Fed has managed to maintain its credibility. Currently, everyone is afraid of the Fed, which causes all asset classes to trade off together. Thus, there is no discrimination among them (creating casual correlations that will turn out to have been ephemeral). As you can see from what I've said, I expect quite a good deal of discrimination prospectively.GET YOUR GOLD NOW!!!OR BE LEFT HOLDING AN EMPTY BAG~ Goldilox (9/30/06; 13:45:03MT - usagold.com msg#: 147964) TOP 10 IMPOSSIBLE INVENTIONS THAT WORK http://www.atlantisrising.com/issue4/ar4topten.html snip:When Leonardo da Vinci sketched out an impossible invention, fifteenth-century scholars probably put him down. Forget it, Leon. If machines could fly, we'd know about it.Throughout history, experts tell innovators that their inventions are impossible. A few examples:The English Academy of Science laughed at Benjamin Franklin when he reported his discovery of the lightning rod, and the Academy refused to publish his report.A gathering of German engineers in 1902 ridiculed Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin for claiming to invent a steerable balloon. (Later, Zeppelin airships flew commercially across the Atlantic.)Major newspapers ignored the historic 1903 flight of the Wright brothers airplane because Scientific American suggested the flight was a hoax, and for five years officials in Washington, D.C. did not believe that the heavier-than-air machine had flown.Perhaps in the 21st century the following inventions will be standard science, and a history student may wonder why 20th-century pundits disregarded them.1. THE SPACE ENERGY CONVERTER2. COLD FUSION3. SYSTEM TO SPLIT WATER FOR FUEL BY USING RESONANCE4. SYSTEM FOR SENDING POWER WIRELESSLY5. ANTI-GRAVITY DEVICE6. A METHOD FOR TRANSMUTATION OF ELEMENTS7. ORGONE ACCUMULATOR8. The CLOUDBUSTER9. THE RIFE MICROSCOPE & FREQUENCY GENERATOR10. ELECTRONIC TELEPATHY DEVICE-GoldiloxGreat list. The titles will bring shouts of "scientific heresy", but these are "inventions"with demonstrated success, but lacking theoretical basis to move them forward in traditional developmental means. Chris Powell (9/30/06; 13:26:14MT - usagold.com msg#: 147963) The silver ETF's new SEC statement ... http://www.secinfo.com/d14D5a.v61fn.htm ... can be found at the link above.Here is its preface:"The iShares Silver Trust issues shares representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in its net assets. The assets of the trust consist primarily of silver held by the custodian on behalf of the trust. The objective of the trust is for the shares of the trust, called 'iShares®,' to reflect the price of silver owned by the trust less the trust's expenses and liabilities. "The iShares are listed and traded on the American Stock Exchange (the 'AMEX') under the symbol 'SLV.' Market prices for the iShares may be different from the net asset value per iShare. Barclays Global Investors International Inc. is the sponsor of the trust, The Bank of New York is the trustee of the trust, and JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., London branch, is the custodian of the trust. The trust is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The trust is not a commodity pool for purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act, and its sponsor is not subject to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity pool operator, or a commodity trading advisor."Silver owned by the trust will be held by the custodian in England, and other locations that may be authorized in the future. The agreement between the trust and the custodian is governed by English law." Now, everybody who wants to own claims on silver supposedly held by Morgan Chase in a British bank subject to British law, raise your hands! R Powell (9/30/06; 13:08:46MT - usagold.com msg#: 147962) Cousin Chris...// ishares From your report.... "On September 27, 2006 the iShares Silver Trust [AMEX: SLV] filed a S-1 to register 15,222,727 shares at a proposed maximum offering price of $110.00 per share for a maximum net offering proceeds of $1,674,449,970." Thanks for the news. Can you provide a web site or offer any more info about that S-1? Is this a form filed with the SEC? Ishares issues shares that can be sold on the stock exchange and then traded as shares of stock. The initial ratio is one share issued per 10 ounces of silver received but shares are issued 5,000 at a time so 50,000 ounces of silver must be deposited per 5,000 share lot issued. My understanding from the original prospectus is that the physical must be delivered BEFORE the shares are issued. After issuance, they can be held or sold and thereafter sold or bought on the exchange. Barclay's does not buy any silver. They accept it and issue shares against it. The buyers and sellers determine the share price with the usual bid-ask system so I do not understand how ishares can set a maximum share price. Obviously I am missing something. Can you explain? mikal (9/30/06; 13:08:42MT - usagold.com msg#: 147961) China steps out with plasma http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060929/NEWS07/609290334/1001/RSS01 China pulls off a test of fusion reactorSystem creates little radioactive wasteSeptember 29, 2006 | Detroit Free Press | Alexa Oleson |ASSOCIATED PRESS - BEIJING -- Excerpts: "Scientists carried out China's first successful test of an experimental fusion reactor Thursday, powered by the process that fuels the sun, a research institute spokeswoman said.China, the United States and other governments are pursuing fusion research in hopes that it could become a clean, potentially limitless energy source.Fusion produces little radioactive waste, unlike fission, which powers conventional nuclear reactors.China is eager for advances, both for national prestige and to reduce its soaring consumption of imported oil and dirty coal.The test by the government's Institute of Plasma Physics was carried out in the eastern city of Hefei, said Cheng Yan, a spokeswoman at the institute.Cheng said the test was considered a success because the reactor produced plasma, a hot cloud of supercharged particles. She wouldn't give other details."This represents a step for humankind in the study of nuclear reaction," she said."Mikal - China's "contribution" to the international effort may be safely emphasized here so long as the story implies nothing further. But China's efforts are independent of the multinational "ITER" reactor only slated for completion in 2015, and hint at further solitary progress, despite the pessimismtic tone of the closing remarks:"China is eager for advances, both for national prestige and to reduce its soaring consumption of imported oil and dirty coal.The test by the government's Institute of Plasma Physics was carried out in the eastern city of Hefei, said Cheng Yan, a spokeswoman at the institute.Cheng said the test was considered a success because the reactor produced plasma, a hot cloud of supercharged particles. She wouldn't give other details."This represents a step for humankind in the study of nuclear reaction," she said.Important advancementU.S. and other scientists have been experimenting with fusion for decades but it has yet to be developed into a viable energy alternative.I think it is a considerable step ahead for China," said Karl Heinz Finken, a senior scientist at the Institute for Plasma Physics in Juelich, Germany, who had no role in the Chinese research.The Chinese facility is similar to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, being built by a seven-nation consortium in Cadarache in southern France, according to government media. That reactor is to be completed in 2015.China is a partner in the ITER reactor, along with the European Union, the United States, Japan, Russia, India and South Korea.Gabriel Marbach, deputy head of fusion research at the ITER facility, said producing plasma was only one step toward the fusion that ITER aims to perform, and that the project could be helped by the Chinese experiments."It was important for China to show that it is part of the club, and that adds value to its participation in ITER," Marbach said."That is not to say that it is at the level of the Europeans or Americans," he said. However, he added, "We are rather admiring of the Chinese for conducting this test. It was conducted well, and they constructed" the machine "rather quickly."" Gandalf the White (9/30/06; 13:05:48MT - usagold.com msg#: 147960) Yes, --- BUT, Sir Thoreauly --- Thoreauly (9/30/06; 11:04:49MT - usagold.com msg#: 147954)----@ Gandalf the White re Chris Powell's last postLooks like vindication of my answer to the contest question, wouldn't you say?===MANY Goldhearts have LONG felt that the "GS Commodities Index" was invented for a single purpose, by one of the evil Dark Wizards (Goldman Sachs)!--THAT purpose was to have ANOTHER method of controlling the market in their hands. WHICH Comex floor trader has the necessary FED and CB backing to go onto the floor and issue challanges to ALL, to give him an ASK price ?Many of the Contest answers have "Rung True" in my mind, that "other than true market forces have control" of the economy UNTIL after the forthcoming elections.NOT TO WORRY, games can be played only so long --- <;-) Goldilox (9/30/06; 12:17:24MT - usagold.com msg#: 147959) GS Commodities Index I posted that info last Monday from Rob Kirby's FSN Market Report. The gasoline price issue seems to be making the rounds, but the question is - will it be bantered about as "politicization", or be recognized as the market manipulation that it really is?There's an even chance that it's both, given the timing, but while the media takes sides on the political issue, the more potentially criminal market manipulation issue will probably fly right over their non-investigative heads.I think the Amaranth issue is quite related, as it was also a victim (perhaps self-inflicted) of some serious NatGas market manipulation.When the local TV channels figure that it is not newsworthy because only some "rich retirement trusts" were affected, it demonstrates their lack of understanding - do they for a moment think that their viewers do not rely on those "rich retirement trusts? Goldilox (9/30/06; 12:03:49MT - usagold.com msg#: 147958) Simmons interview http://www.netcastdaily.com/fsnewshour.htm One of the best I have heard recently. He openly discusses why higher energy prices are a major weakpoint of globalization, since it was founded on the principle that labor and transportation costs would always be negligible.His other concern with globalization is that labor costs are moving closer to parity, with the gutting of manufacturing in the West, and growing consumer demand in the East.His solutions:TRANSPARENT oil numbers - current "estimates" are just that, often based on marketing spin more than real analysis.ALT ENERGY INVESTMENT - believing that peak oil is here leads him to support the idea that Manhattan Project levels of investment are needed to transform energy, transportation, food production, and the workplace (telecommuting, etc) into more efficient models.LOCALIZATION - build infrastructures that can produce goods and food with fewer transportation dependencies.GREAT INTERVIEW! Flatliner (9/30/06; 12:00:07MT - usagold.com msg#: 147957) No. http://news.silverseek.com/SilverSeek/1159546321.php iShares silver trust will not clean out the COMEX. They didn't last time they found metal to sell, why would anyone expect them to do it this time? The fun part will be watching where the metal came from. Flatliner (9/30/06; 11:57:24MT - usagold.com msg#: 147956) More insight on how the game is played. http://gold.seekingalpha.com/article/7663 Straight forward writing that takes some of the magic out of the metals market. Goldilox (9/30/06; 11:11:19MT - usagold.com msg#: 147955) Matt Simmons on FSN http://www.netcastdaily.com/fsnewshour.htm 2nd Hour of Financial Sense NewshourBrew a pot for for this one. Thoreauly (9/30/06; 11:04:49MT - usagold.com msg#: 147954) @ Gandalf the White re Chris Powell's last post Looks like vindication of my answer to the contest question, wouldn't you say? Chris Powell (9/30/06; 10:13:23MT - usagold.com msg#: 147952) Change in Goldman index played role in gasoline price drop http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/business/30trading.html?_r=1&oref=slogin As reported a week ago by Bill King in The King Report, redistributed by GATA:http://www.gata.org/node/4404* * *Change in Goldman Index Played Role in Gasoline Price DropBy Heather TimmonsThe New York TimesSaturday, September 30, 2006LONDON, Sept. 29 -- Politics and worries about oil supplies may have caused gasoline prices to go up at the pump earlier this year, but one big investment bank quietly helped their rapid drop in recent weeks, according to some economists, traders, and analysts.Goldman Sachs, which runs the largest commodity index, the G.S.C.I., said in early August that it was reducing the index's weighting in gasoline futures significantly. The announcement did not make big headlines, but it has reverberated through the markets in the weeks since and some other investors who had been betting that gasoline would rise followed suit on their weightings. "They started unwinding their positions, and those other longs also rushed to the door at the same time," said Lawrence J. Goldstein, president of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation. Wholesale prices for New York Harbor unleaded gasoline, the major gasoline contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, dropped 18 cents a gallon on Aug. 10, to $1.9889 a gallon, a decline of more than 8 percent, and they have dropped further since then. In New York on Friday, gasoline futures for October delivery rose 4.81 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $1.5492 a gallon. Prices have fallen 9.4 percent this year.The August announcement by Goldman Sachs caught some traders by surprise. The firm said in early June that it planned to roll its positions in the harbor contract into another futures contract, the reformulated gasoline blendstock, which is replacing the harbor contract at the end of the year because of changes to laws about gasoline additives. Later in June, Goldman said it had rolled a third of its gasoline holdings into the reformulated contracts but would make further announcements as to whether the remainder would be rolled over. Then in August the bank said it would not roll over any more positions into gasoline and would redistribute the weighting into other petroleum products. Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Some traders speculated that Goldman might have been concerned about the liquidity of the reformulated contract and whether other traders would embrace it because there were so few contracts outstanding. The open interest, or number of futures contracts taken out, has increased ninefold in the reformulated contract since then. Unleaded gasoline made up 8.72 percent of Goldman's commodity index as of June 30, but it is just 2.3 percent now, representing a sell-off of more than $6 billion in futures contract weighting. Like many market indexes, trading in the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index is publicly available, allowing individual investors and third-party asset managers to participate in that market. The $100 billion invested comes from brokers, fund managers and individuals, probably including some of the same people who were hurt by high gasoline prices earlier in the year. Goldman's announcement on Aug. 9 was not the only downward pressure on prices that week, market participants stress. And while it may have played a part in sending prices down, the market would never have continued its downward trend unless supplies had loosened up, they say. Also during that week, climatologists revised their hurricane forecasts, easing fears that oil supplies could be disrupted. And BP said it would still produce some oil from its field in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, where leaks were being repaired. Meanwhile, the peak gasoline season was ending, and new supplies of ethanol were coming online. The week started with "everyone talking about $4 gasoline and ended with the market down sharply," said Phil Verleger, an independent economist in Aspen, Colo. In following weeks, "traders all tried to push themselves through that door," Mr. Goldstein added."We saw gasoline fall 82 cents in the wholesale market over a four-week period, which is unprecedented," he said. Mr. Goldstein said that the decline in gasoline prices helped send prices of the whole group of energy-related products down. Now, rather than highs, these products are hitting lows -- natural gas, for example, traded on Wednesday at its lowest price in four years. Chris Powell (9/30/06; 09:50:01MT - usagold.com msg#: 147951) Is silver ETF preparing to clean out Comex or just divert demand? http://www.gata.org/node/4422 Latest GATA dispatch.To subscribe to GATA's dispatches, use the "Joining Mailing List"box in the right column of the GATA Internet site's home page here:http://www.gata.org/ USAGOLD / Centennial Precious Metals, Inc. (9/30/06; 07:51:25MT - usagold.com msg#: 147950) Step inside and shop at your convenience. Open 24/seven. http://www.usagold.com/buy-gold-coins.html ViewYesterday's Discussion.
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