All times are U.S. Mountain Time
(Yesterday's Discussion.)
Waverider (12/31/04; 23:33:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 127844)
Best Wishes for 2005
A Happy New Year to everyone and best wishes for 2005. Many thanks Sir MK for the forum.
For Tsunami Aid I contribute via the Red Cross - we're all so fortunate and blessed here I ditto the suggestion to help those truly in need.
The Forest (12/31/04; 23:25:29MT - usagold.com msg#: 127843)
Tsunami Aid
2023 and all,
You are correct to be concerned that the money you donate is well used: having lived in the 3rd world, I've personally witnessed how many NGOs operate as gravy trains for their executives.
That being said, the 2 (I am SURE there are others of integrity) that I personally have contributed to in this disaster are the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Doctors Without Borders.
Blessed be the healers, for, how fragile we all ultimately are.
It was 200 years ago that a Tsunami hit southern CA, at San Juan Capistrano. The water reached to 800 ft above sea level (vertically measured) and stopped just before the Mission. Because hardly anyone lived there then, "only" a handful of cowboys (who in reality were Indians) and hundresds of cattle perished.
Seems all of us here have our "eyes" peeled for a different type of Tsunami, which could prove just as destructive, albeit a bit more drawn out in its time frame. It is good and prudent to be prepared for any type of Tsunami - natural, political, financial - in order to protect self and loved ones, as well as a stranger in need. And correct knowledge is the best form of preparation. (LUCK = Labor Using Correct Knowledge)
Many thanks to all on this forum, the best one of its kind, for helping me construct a buoyant craft and an accurate map.
YGM (12/31/04; 20:39:31MT - usagold.com msg#: 127842)
2023...SE Asian Aid.....
http://www.directrelief.org/index.html
This organization (Direct Aid) is ranked by Forbes and others as one of top 5 aid agencies in world...1% goes to admin...Best Wishes to you & yours in New Year...YGM
2023 (12/31/04; 20:14:39MT - usagold.com msg#: 127841)
Tsunami aid/donation
White Rose and all,
My wife and I too have discussed donating money to the people involved in this terrible tragedy but do not know where to start. How can we know that the money actually helps those that need it? Would the Red Cross be a reasonable place to start? I really want to help but just don't want my $$$ to end up as a bonus in some executive's pocket.
I look forward to others thoughts.
dave
2023 (12/31/04; 20:03:06MT - usagold.com msg#: 127840)
Happy New Year
I have been enjoying the site often in 2004 so I wanted to wish everyone at USAGold a prosperous and healthy 2005.
dave
Liberty Head (12/31/04; 17:05:18MT - usagold.com msg#: 127839)
Have A New Year
Don't forget to smell the roses and while you're at it check the buds for aphids. Aphids remind me of Congress. Truth be told, I love to pop aphids as much as smelling the rose.
I will gladly leave 2004 behind with this parting thought:
Precious though gold and silver be,
None can shine more brightly than the twinkle of life in a loved one's eye.
Best Wishes
YGM (12/31/04; 14:59:37MT - usagold.com msg#: 127838)
Even Amidst the Truly Horrific Times of SE Asia...
http://web.icq.com/friendship/swf/0,,16961_rs,00.swf
we must still remain (however hard it may be) positive and look toward a new and better year to come...So for all my GoldHeart Knights/Friends...Happy New Year!
TownCrier (12/31/04; 14:46:17MT - usagold.com msg#: 127837)
December 26th quickly becoming annual day of dread?
Latest news reports have the earthquake-generated tsunami of December 26, 2004 causing a death toll of over 124,000 lives.
In the wake of this present disaster, it is easy for the world to forget the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that hit Bam, Iran last year, also occurring on December 26th (2003). As the historic mud-built city was flattened 26,271 lives were lost and approximately 70,000 people were left homeless.
It was also on a December 26th, in 1939, when an earthquake struck Erzincan, Turkey, killing 32,700 people.
A mere two days off the mark was a more devastating earthquake striking on December 28, 1908 in Messina, Italy, killing 70,000.
Coming close was a December 16, 1857 earthquake in Naples, Italy which ended 11,000 lives.
On the same day but 37 years earlier, a December 16, 1920 earthquake in Ningxia-Kansu, China killed an estimated 200,000 people.
More recently, in 1988 on December 7, an earthquake killed 25,000 in Spitak, Armenia.
Another recent quake causing massive loss of life at this season of the year struck Gujarat, India on January 26, 2001, killing 20,085.
And the mother of them all was the January 23, 1556 earthquake in China's Sahnxi (Shensi) and Henan provinces which ended the lives of approximately 830,000 people there.
Life in the face of natural hazards is risky enough as it is. Why add further risk in the form of economic exposure to a network of complicated and oftentime tenuous financial contracts? Choose a solid foundation -- choose gold as your unshakable bedrock of wealth.
R.
balzac (12/31/04; 13:48:55MT - usagold.com msg#: 127836)
EXCESSIVE SALARIES -GOLD MINER
R.McEWEN ceo of Goldcorp reported total salary {globe &mail}
$94.6 million cdn-highest in all corps. in Cda. Forty million above the next closest exec. This is the reason I would not touch
Goldcorp. shares. all the profit goes to the boss. Happy New Year!!
balzac
TownCrier (12/31/04; 13:31:55MT - usagold.com msg#: 127835)
John Locke on property
http://www.usagold.com/goldenchalkboard/gc_John-Locke-2nd-Treatise.html
For any who may have missed it.
R.
USAGOLD / Centennial Precious Metals, Inc. (12/31/04; 13:30:08MT - usagold.com msg#: 127834)
Peace of mind, 24/seven
http://www.usagold.com/buy-gold-coins.html
Camel (12/31/04; 13:23:27MT - usagold.com msg#: 127833)
Locke
Thanks for posting the Locke, but how about a little Hobbes to go along with it. He really had a handle on things. What was that famous quote? Homo Lupus Homo or something like that. "Every man a wolf to the other". Thats my kind of guy . All these scum with their worthless golden rule only get in the way.
CoBra(too) (12/31/04; 12:24:34MT - usagold.com msg#: 127832)
@ White Rose
Thank you for your pledge.
I do think it's essential to think along your line in order to help those poor people, who have been struck with a natural catastrophy, we can't even contemplate. A disaster, which may prove to be the greatest natural disaster ever hitting mankind in known history.
As the hardest hit parts of the countries, with the terrible exception of Sumatra's Acee province, involved were only over the latest few decades becoming the tropical paradise for many of the globe's tourists, insuring somewhat better living standards for the indigenous population; It seems like irony that all of the advances have been wiped out.
I've been in touch with our (Austrian) Ambassador to Bangkok. He's been on a Christmas vacation up north, only to fly back as soon as he's heard of the calamity.
Tourists from mostly over Europe are complaining about the little or scarce help from their own countries. Well, the diplomatic missions only have very limited staff and were doing more than their share.
One would be inclined to think that tourists spending their holidays in "Paradise" should be aware of potential mishaps and dangers. ... I'll not continue these thoughts as my ambassador's son asked me to take care of the family dog, Tessa, a beagle as long as he's needed to help the people in Thailand.
No fireworks or any New Year gadgets - as we'll also pledge all of these savings to the International Red Cross. And more to come ... as we're still looking for some 1.300 Austrians missing ...
Take care all and have a save, healthy and reasonable prosperous 2005!
cb2
ge (12/31/04; 10:49:12MT - usagold.com msg#: 127831)
VERA'S ANALYSIS
http://fcvera.blogspot.com/
This article refers to various pipelines:
For maps of Balkan pipelines'see,
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/balkans.html
For maps of Ukrainian pipelines (Odesa-Brody) see,
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/ukraine.html
White Rose (12/31/04; 10:12:13MT - usagold.com msg#: 127830)
My Pledge to the Tsunami Relief Funds
I have been struggling with an appropriate response to the disaster is South Asia and Africa. I am concerned about making sure that money gets into the best hands. After a few scouting trips into relief request blogs and some deep thinking, I offer the following:
My family pledges 12 donations to be made at the end of each month, each one equal to the current dollar value of a quarter ounce of gold. We will double up the donation for today, leaving 10 equal amounts for the end of the months of January through October 2005.
It would be my greatest pleasure if others on this forum would join me in making a pledge for a consistent flow of funds based on true wealth, i.e. the value of gold.
I get several advantage for this form of pledge. One is that finally my wife will start wishing for the dollar price of gold to go up. As she is a force to be reckoned with. Second, by not doing everything at once, I get to send most of the money to organizations that have truely proven themselves to be effective. Finally, I know that it will take donations over a long period of time to sustain the relief effort.
Can I get anyone to join me?
Ned (12/31/04; 08:47:31MT - usagold.com msg#: 127829)
Wow o' wow o' wow!
Looking at a 5 day USDX chart gets extremely frightening. The DX took 3 shots at 80.6, one on Monday, second on Tuesday and third on Wednesday. That was broken today and we have 2 shots so far this morning at 80.4!
A reminder that taking out 80.3/80.4 takes us back to early 1991 and taking out 80 goes back to early 1995. So what we have here is the dollar on the knife's edge o breaking 21/23 year old support. We are at the verge of mayhem in the currency markets.
I do not understand why the POG is meandering at 437 and I do not understand that bull-loney the other day (-$12) other than London reopening to "coordinate efforts" w/ NY.
We break 80.3 and we've got potential fireworks, we break 80 and it's all over but the crying. Caution...this could tip back as well!
Crash helmets on!!
Happy New POG Year.
Cometose (12/31/04; 08:06:11MT - usagold.com msg#: 127828)
Our Esteemed Host speaks with us from TOKYO
U.S. Dollar Crisis Could Catapult Gold Over $600
(Ischcabibo) Dec 31, 10:01
U.S. Dollar Crisis Could Catapult Gold Over $600
By Jim Hawe
TOKYO -- The price of gold could surge to levels not seen since the early 1980s if a big chunk is taken out of the value of the U.S. dollar in coming years, one market insider says.
A further devaluation of the greenback by 20-30 percent would make bullion more attractive as an alternative store of value and could propel the yellow metal over $600 a troy ounce, said Michael Kosares, founder and president of gold firm USAGOLD-Centennial Precious Metals Inc.
Kosares said crumbling confidence in the U.S. currency due to America's enormous budget and current-account deficits has left investors scampering for safe havens such as gold.
Phones at his Denver-based office have been ringing off the hook recently and there has been a sharp increase in requests for gold-investing information packets over his company's internet site, he said.
"There has been increased buying by our regular customers, but also by a lot of first-time investors," said Kosares.
These investors have taken note that gold has been moving higher in a very tight inverse correlation to the drubbing of the U.S. dollar.
Kosares, author of "The ABCs of Gold Investing: Protecting Your Wealth through Private Gold Ownership," said the weak dollar trend will likely continue for the next four years with the Bush administration taking an almost benign stance toward the waning dollar.
"The euro bottomed against the dollar at 82 cents (October 2000) and has since peaked at around $1.30, an appreciation of 58 percent. In a similar manner, gold has risen 72 percent since its bottom," said Kosares. Gold hit a low of around $255 in April of 2001, but has been trading just under $440 in recent sessions.
The Wall Street Journal and Japan's Nikkei Financial Daily in recent days have both reported what currency traders have long suspected -- that while the administration under President George W. Bush continues to say it favors a "strong dollar," it is happy to let the greenback fall. Barring increased U.S. saving or decreased consumption, a weaker dollar is one of the few remedies for the country's current-account gap.
The Nikkei report, in line with many economists' estimates, concluded the dollar would need to fall by 20-30 percent to halve the ratio of the U.S. current account deficit to the gross domestic product -- now near 6 percent.
This is the same 20-30 percent devaluation Kosares said could kick gold over $600.
In addition to the flagging U.S. currency, Kosares said market supply and demand fundamentals also offer some compelling reasons to get into gold.
One of the most promising developments has been the trend among mining companies to close out their hedge positions.
As gold prices fell during the 1990s, mining firms aggressively hedged some of their gold, essentially locking in fixed prices for a portion of their future production.
However, this strategy backfires when gold prices are on the rise as miners are still forced to sell the hedged portion at the promised prices.
This trend reversed from around 2001 as miners began actively dehedging, or buying back hedged gold, to give themselves greater exposure to the suddenly rising spot prices.
Kosares described the huge swing in hedging to dehedging as the "backbone of the current gold bull market."
And this trend is expected to continue. A GFMS report out last week stated that the global hedge book is still saddled with around 60.4 million ounces, or 1,877 tons, which is equivalent to 75 percent of annual mine production. Kosares said this figure could actually be more than 2,000 tons.
Kosares said he believes miners will keep buying back their hedged gold in what he says will be like "having built-in market support for the next five years."
Looking ahead, Kosares said gold could be sitting in the $460s by the end of the year, with a move over $500 in 2005. A foray over $550 and even $600 is possible if the dollar loses another 20-30 percent.
Gold opened Monday in Sydney at $437.20, compared with $437.85.
So just how much gold should investors be stuffing into their portfolios? Kosares said the commonly cited 5 percent weighting may be too small in light of the current environment and suggests placing 10 percent of one's portfolio in gold.
"Gold isn't so much an investment as it is a type of savings or insurance against currency devaluation," he said. "I think if you look at an investment pyramid you would have savings at the bottom and I think gold should be a part of that savings."
ViewYesterday's Discussion.
