Allen - Thank you... I shall remember your words as I pull the marauding Indians axe from my head. :- ) )

Earl - As a result of Ted's action, should I switch from whiskey to Rum? :- ) )

Another admission of guilt; Agnico Eagle lowered their dividend payout to two cents per share from ten cents….

BTW, how did all of these 'concerned' folk get to this glorious meeting in the first place? In nice, big, jets and limos? Hmmmmm, what did those machines burn for fuel? Hmmmmmm. I guess some people are more 'equal' than others are. Thus it ever was...

O.K. On to important stuff.... Now, how do people feel about Stillwaters hedging? When platinum went to $450+, the managment looked pretty stupid and inept. Now, with $350 platinum, they don't look so dumb. The problem is this; The 'Street' seems to undervalue the stock regardless of the price of the metal or the hedging program in place.

What to do? Is it a buy here? $14 and change was a good price, and appears to be a long term floor for the stock. What are the negatives for the metals platinum and palladium? Japanese jewelry and catalytic converters? Jewelry I don't really figure in to the equation. So, we are left with South Africa and Russia as the wild cards. Not so much South Africa as Russia. Anyone care to step up to the roulette table? Do I hear ten chips on 21?

Secondly, the changes in the bankruptcy laws have made it much easier for a household to declare bankruptcy AND get credit right back. If you declare bankruptcy today, you are prohibited from doing so again for seven years, making you a good risk for more credit. The credit card companies view someone just out of bankruptcy as a good bet. Hence you get record high levels of bankruptcy with little impact on a consumers ability to get credit.

Karlito, apply for the post of head of the IMF immediately! You have the answer. Simply instruct all the Asian Central Banks to declare bankruptcy. Presto, the can't go bankrupt for seven years and are therefore a good credit risk. Problem solved! Mr Camdessus will be in awe of you.

He once mentioned that he only takes off when he thinks the market will be quiet.

Unfortunately he's usually wrong. And he always sounds like he knew all along what would happen in the week just ended.

Have you noticed that his monologues are getting longer and longer?

Isn't it strange how so many would like to believe that this is the norm and not the exception? Were that the markets as predictable as, It's a Wonderful Life, being on the tube as I write this.........

Happy Holidays all... ( If I said, Merry Christmas, then would I be accused of discrimination? My real problem is that I can't spell all of the other holiday names. So I will chicken out and be ...... PC )

My My Peter - well aren't you a smart little fellow. oboyoboy

Im sure your mama is proud of you -

For Cmax - Your comment on Kiwi girls was surprisingly tasteless.

I dont dislike you because you are American. I believe you are

quite capable of being disliked in your own right.

For Ray - quarterlies start coming out around january 10th through

January 25th or so. They are published in Business Day. I'll summarize

as they come.

For Werner - thanks for your comment.Aren't you new here You may

find this hangout addictive.

For Karlito - You still never told me why you are here. You hate

gold and think we're a bunch of jerkoffs. Why do we fascinate you so

I think Carter was so stupid he was WORSE than evil. Reagan at least

fooled the russians with star wars and Nixon gave us CHINA !!

And what are those speeches of yours all about the benefit of big

Government and how people dont need freedom anyway

For Cherokee - Didnt mean to stir you up. I hate it when the Indians

get restless. Where my flak jacket

werner: Do you know what newsmedia outside the US is the most unbiased? I really don't know. Financial Times? Christian Science Monitor? ......?

It is tiresome to always scour the net --

I hope that what you are saying is true in most parts of the world -- if it is, perhaps we will see our problems through and meet our ultimate destiny -- which I think is to reach the stars. It is our govenments that have to grow up the most, I think. The New World Order is a perfect example of this -- great concept, but key elements missing. Perhaps the problem is that age old one -- that humans are corrupted by the concentration of power. Our greatest leaders were generally uncorruptable - a rare trait indeed.

We can only hope that eventualy they learn what they are missing. But the process cannot be accelerated, no matter how much we might wish it to be.

I think you have put your finger on it. The US used to be great.

Take Baseball on the RADIO. I loved it. I remember the Giants and the

Dodgers. - Sal the Barber Maglie, His Nemesis Carl Furillo, Antonelli,

and football with sam HUFF and c Bednarik _ I dont even like to watch

it much now - they make too much money and the FUN went out of it - sorry.

Fighters like Lamotta, robinson, Moore, Basilio - fighting is pretty

lousy now. Holyfield is good but jesus - biting somebody's ear - I think

Tyson should be put down.

Im sorry Roebear - the US WAS great - but something happened - when

we weren't looking - Maybe it was the Vietnam war the Nixon years women's

rights then the carter looney tune period ( but by then it was done - I had decided to leave ) - I just didnt like it any more.

Maybe some of the way I felt was because I could no longer find the

things I had known when I was a kid.

Its like Clintons speech - so smoothe so practiced so false so self

serving - who needs that crap.

I think DD is going to have a really lousy quarter. But at a higher

gold price I think it will be great - It's very marginal. So is harmony.

I tend to like Harmony the better of the two. It is a really solid

mining operation - but its grade is low and it cant get its costs

much under 300. I am told that if the harmony miners were at Kloof

- all 3 of kloofs operations would be profitable and it would be the

world's top mine. Harmony by the way has become very cheap now.

George S. Cole does post on the SI site occasionally, and he doesn't appear to be impersonating anyone but the GSC we all knew. He thinks the Veneroso discussion was excellent. This link may work:

http://talk.techstocks.com/investor/rolling-2-0-Full

D.A. Comments on US inflation despite SEAsia price drops?

SDRer: Comments on why the SDR index of commodities is up 8x more than in US dollars, and industrial goods down 1/2 as much in SDR units than in dollar units? Looks like commodity prices in SDR units may be a better indicator of future inflation ( from foreign shores ) than in domestic dolars!

All: It appears that SEAsian production may actually be decreasing -- perhaps dramatically in some countries, like SKorea. Hopefully this is short-term. This latter possibility might further reduce deflationary pressures on the US, rather than increase them.

And the Barron's article follows:

Monday, December 22, 1997 Lower prices may not indicate deflation

By Michael Santoli:

At various times in recent years, the dreaded D-word that was said to be threatening global financial health was debt, default or derivatives. Now comes a new alleged assailant, deflation, which a fair number of forecasters have been warning the markets to expect in the event of an Asian slowdown.

Always in these warnings is a recitation of the recent rollover of the commodity indexes stemming from major declines in the prices of base metals, gold, lumber and any number of other materials reliant on demand from Asia's heretofore fast-growing economies. So it seems a good time to revisit the links between commodity prices and inflation or deflation.

There are several holes that can be punched in the argument for commodity-driven deflation. First, economists forever caution against mistaking a rise or fall in some prices as inflation or deflation, which represent a real increase or decline in the general price level. While a linear foot of lumber has become cheaper, the cost of an hour's labor in this country is rising and the vast service sector is posting annualized inflation near 3%. The falling cost of a commodity, it should be remembered, is often in part just the flip side of an appreciating dollar. One way to glimpse this relationship is to peruse the Economist's commodity indexes, which the magazine compiles in terms of dollars, pounds sterling and the IMF's Special Drawing Rights. The SDR index for all items was recently up nearly eight times as much as the dollar index over the past year, and industrial-goods prices in SDR terms were down just half as much as their dollar equivalent -- a good sign that what looks like nascent deflation on these shores is largely the filtering effect of dollar-shaded glasses.

Wall Street analysts like to generate reports on the correlation of commodities with inflation, usually to show the strength of commodities as a portfolio hedge. Data on commodities' links with deflation aren't around because real deflation hasn't really been witnessed for any period since the Depression, but the inflation analyses would seem a good mirror-image proxy. Work by David Seaman at J.P. Morgan shows that the correlation over a 10-year stretch between the J.P. Morgan Commodity Index returns and the quarterly inflation rate was 0.41 ( with 1 being 100% correlation ) and was somewhat lower over 20 years. That means the JPMCI would be a potent hedge to financial assets, which are quite negatively linked to inflation. But it says little about the predictive power of commodity prices and inflation. Crude oil, probably the most important commodity in its final price impact, has shown a 10-year correlation of just 0.45.

Commodity indexes have proven considerably better at forecasting producer, as opposed to consumer, prices. But this isn't very helpful in figuring ultimate inflation, partly because basic materials represent a relatively small -- and shrinking -- portion of corporate expenses and their often-volatile prices are absorbed by producers far more than they are passed along to buyers.

The traditional harbingers of inflation pressure and expectations, base and precious metals, together make up just 9.4% of the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index, which is weighted by each good's proportion of global output.

The Fed, don't forget, also has access to the producer price index and is always striving to intercept inflationary or deflationary forces before they reach Americans' wallets. The details of the Fed's November meeting, released last week, showed just how mindful the governors were of the Asian crisis in deciding against the inflation-fighting maneuver of tightening monetary policy.

To Peter Schiff, a broker with EuroPacific Capital who believes inflation remains the main danger, there's another flaw in the logic of deflation adherents: One reason commodities are weak is that Asian buyers are canceling orders. These are the inputs for their export products. So while import prices here may be pressured down, there likely won't be as much imported from Asian nations where current production levels are unaffordable.

There's no denying that the washout in many commodity markets is a disinflationary event and wouldn't stand in the way of true deflation, should such a rarity occur. But the cheapening of goods in dollar terms in itself tells us little about the chances of deflation. It only presents the deflated hopes of all those commodity bulls who were sure they'd ride the wave of Asian demand to riches.

Key Commodity Indexes

CRB Group Indexes 12/19 12/12 Yr. Ago CRB Futures 233.38 235.86 245.70 Industrials 215.06 215.82 269.85 Grains/Oilseeds 213.26 218.10 215.51 Livestock/Meats 241.03 242.30 253.19 Energy 188.58 187.44 220.91 Precious Metals 246.91 243.99 254.38

Barrons

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Copyright c 1997 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

away...to uncover truths throughtout this godforsaken land of milk and honey

Éßouttahere

Can't we all just get along?........

Rodney King....

away...to get bored elsewhere

Éßgototherfishtofryandyankstobash ( mybrothersareintown )

go gold.......fight on.....'til the end.

I lived in Japan for a long time. Japanese exports are not as influenced by exchange rate as most countries. Reason is all raw materials and energy are imported so exchange effect tend to wash through. Local Labor content is low and so is profit margin - Yen has moved from 360 to $ in late 60s to 85 a year or so back.Not much effect on exports. Lots of talk about exchange rate but not much real effect. Japanese know this well, and tend to use it as a straw man in negotiations with much sucking of teeth.

For Cmax - This has little to do with politics. There are many good colored players. But Local Blacks are quite small compared with West African Blacks which form much of US bloodline. US Blacks were also bred for size and strength through generations of slavery - what goes around comes around.

Afrikaaners can get to be very big. If voting in RSA was on a one pound one vote basis - Afrikaaners would win every time.

They are scouring the countryside for a black guy who can play rugby and live to tell the tale.

But none of this explains the decline of NA White males in sport.

Are you implying that they have NOT declined relative to US Blacks.

Really ? You must be joking then

The following analysis are not the original thoughts of this writer - credit must go to Randall W. Forsyth, who in early 1996 first discovered the uncanny relationship between foreign Central

Banks increased holdings of U.S. Treasuries and the unprecedently long bull market in Wall Street stocks. Forsyth's initial recognition of the correlation was published early last year in Barron's. Subsequently, Economist George S. Cole mentioned the relevance of the two factors in several of his Internet postings earlier this year. The contribution of this writer was to expand upon the original thoughts of Forsyth and Cole. -

http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest/oracle707.html

Between one and five Dresdner Bank officials in the upcoming 1998 year will resign over company policys, directions,etc, ( David Clementi, Simon Robertson ) or tax evasion ( Hansegeort Hofman ) .

I swear Americans didnt used to be like this. They used to be quite

civilized. They could even spell. They never said things like vested

self interest - Maybe self interest or even vested interest but

vested self interest ? -

I think it all changed when H. Bogart died. Look we had G Cooper,

J Wayne, even J Stewart. Guys you could trust. Straight up dudes that

would back you up. Real role models. Then came Brando - and the rot set in. Leading men even got SHORTER.- and weedier.

Black Americans now dominate sport. Hey how come The US pro football teams are maybe 2/3 Black with a Black population of only 12 %. The SA Rugby Team has no actual Black African speaking players despite the

relatively large number of Blacks in the country.

Many North American White males seems to be in remarkable decline.

I would be interested in comments from a few of the particularly

desparate cases that inhabit this illustrious site.

Also Im fascinated how some American males ESCAPED this fate and

have retained their individuality, intellectual curiosity, and sense of

freedom ( and fun ) . Cherokee, Brave Oris, DJ, many others. How does it

work What do they do to you ? I left long ago and like to think I

escaped in time - Do I delude myself

Sad to see you leave the air - NOT

For Oris

Any time you want to see the Cape, you can stay at my place.

For Salty

See above - same goes.

For Zadek -

I think Ive met you before in a piece by a guy named Handel. Eat

dat oatmeal - They say it helps the brain and I suggest you go from

3 times a week to 10 times a day

TO A MOUSE, November 1785

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,

O, what a panic's in thy breastie,

Thou need na start awa sae hasty

Wi' buckering brattle!

I wad be laith to rin an'chase thee,

Wi' murdering pattle!...............................

Not only have we advanced beyond Oatmeal, we can now talk in a form understandable to most persons.

Aye, Haggis

Running out of gas. Time to crash. 'night all.

G'Day

Thanks for our advice.

One issue that IS relevant to gold mining in South Africa is the on-going and future capitalisation of new mining projects. I cannot recall the statistics off hand, but yearly South Africa % of world production is declining. Outside the Witwaterand Basin there is limited scope for new major gold discoveries. Bringing a new gold mine on-line in South Africa is VERY EXPENSIVE.

In general, Rothchilds associated companies ( Anglo American, Rio Tinto ) may be expected to look elsewhere in the world. A good example of this has been the sustained growth of the gold mining industry in Australia over the last ten years. Similar growth in gold exploration and mining could be expected in India over the next ten years, if they sort out their Mining Act laws.

Therefore, one may expect growth in gold exploration and mining elsewhere in the world, and on-going decline of the South African gold mining industry. They have

YOU should have told me. Look it will cost you 400$ a year but you

can be rolling in gold mining info if you like.

Subscribe to the Mining Journal - PO box 10, Edenbridge, Kent,TN85NE,

England - phone +44 ( 0 ) 1732 865747. Ive subscribed for years - an excellent quarterly plus a monthly suppliment - Covers ALL golds - Sadly no plats. Its a bit pricey but worth it if you like gold mines.

On plats good general info from johnson matthey. Ill post the platinum

mining results when they come out. Only 3 companies now Amplat, Implat,

and Northam.

Your comment on gold in currencies is spot on - Its in steep down

trend channels for over 2 months now and is looking to break out I

hope. I am intriged also by the ag/au ratio at one fibo since the

gold collapse against silver

I think you have a very clear picture of the situation.

Mostly I have given up on trying to research RSA stocks. Now I just buy what John says to buy. :- )

1. How could a man spend One year in the Free State and Not Know

HOW TO SPELL SOWETO for chrissake. Means South West Township.

2. I am not a Liberal by any stretch of the imagination. Do you say

that because I prefer my Black Gardener to most Scots

3. Im not a South African at all. I was born in Virginia and became

a Aussie citizen. I live here simply because I like the place.

4. Regarding your township comments, I have no idea what you're

driving at, and frankly dont give a st*ff.

For Haggis

Eat some more oatmeal and no more silly buggers for today

Your thumbnail sketch of Afrikaaner attitudes is anecdotal dated

and wrong.

Silly argument and lets just see what happens..

Aye oboyoboy

Distict 6 was years ago ? This dates you a bit. Try Khayalitsha. I did live in Constantia but found people a bit too snobby my taste. I wouldnt wish a year in the Free State on anyone - not even a Scot - but then it probably beats Glascow and your daily ration of oatmeal.

G'Day,

How will the Afrikaners react to Botha's arrest........ it has to happen first. Then, well ?!! In general, the English speaking South African will compromise and reconcile with the Black population - the Afrikaner will not do this. A Free State Afrikaner once said to me.... We understand them ( Blacks ) , but we can give them nothing.

South Africa, from my perspective and understanding, has a world significant crime rate, in particular murder rate, with limited success in crime prevention and solution. The unemployment rate amongst Black Males is 30%, possibly up to 50%. Crime is a major employer in South Africa. The African National Congree ANC has not addressed the issues relevant to the Black population, in particular housing, eduation, and jobs.

South Africa is not for me.

Aye, Haggis

1. It's just an accident that the curves overlay. As soon as I invest money in this relationship, they will jump apart like they were spring loaded. With my luck, it might happen, but I doubt it.

2. There is no cause/effect relationship. They are both driven down by the same external force, thus they track each other. This possibility will eat up mega-Kitco-bandwidth, as all the consiracy theorists jump in. It may even be true. Who knows.

3. The price of gold in US$ terms, is the main driving force behind the weakening of the currencies of the gold buying countries. Somehow I doubt this.

4. The weakening currencies of the gold buying countries makes gold seem expensive, thus they stop buying. The price drops because of lower demand. This seems reasonable. Is this explanation too simplistic to explain it? I admit, it is very simple.

Any that I missed? Fortunately, we don't have to really know why, as long as the relationship holds. Right now I am betting on it!

How will Whites react to PW BOTHA refusing to show

at the Truth and Reconciliation Commision ?.

- they think the TRC is a big joke and dont give two hoots about PW.

How will Blacks React

- They think TRC is a big joke too.

Same goes for coloreds, Muslims, Indians

How will Bishop Tutu react

He will probably cry.

How will Mandela react ?

He will say PW Botha is not above the law

How will PW botha react ?

Penalty for not appearing at TRC is imprisonment OR

a 2000 RAND Fine ( 400$ ) . I predict PW will pay

the 400 bucks and not show up.

How will foreign press react?

They will try to make a big deal out of it for about

a week and say that Whites must give up power ( which

they did several years ago ) .

How will Zadeek react

With more half smart hysterical crap.

Will there be a revolution

No - sorry - I could use a little excitement - pretty

dull around here.

USD - This of course is the ratio of the price of gold in US$ to its price at the beginning of the period, multiplied by 100.

WMG = USG/WMC*100. Note that the price of gold in this world gold currency remains relatively stable. My only explanation for why WGC tracks USG so closely is that when the price of gold is high in the eyes of the buyers, they quit buying and demand drops, and vice versa. This seems to explain the drop in the price of gold in US$, without elaborate conspiracies.

Your Fregold will be rolled into Vaal as part

of anglos resturucturing. Dont worry - its a good

deal. Entire group rising in price.

For savage - If I had to stick to ADR, Id buy

Rangold ( rangy ) otherwise Id buy Randfontein ( not sure

if ADR exist )

For Haggis - Where did you live in SA, a township

Ive lived in Australia for 5 years, Japan for 6,

Turkey for 3, Arabia for 1, Andorra for 3, SA for 8,

and the rest in the US. I wouldnt live any place

else although I do have a warm spot for Australia. I

live in the Cape. Regarding crime, I was burgled twice

in Australia during a 5 year period. In 8 years here,

other than an abortive attempt to pinch some avocados

from one of my trees, nothing has happened inshallah -

I have a Black gardener. I like and trust him. I

would prefer him to a Scot any day. Another SA

story along the lines you mention is that White

Afrikaaner weight lifters always used to have a Black

along to take the weights out of the box. That's true.

For Zadeek - The great instability you speak

of in SA exists in the corners of your troubled

brain ( ) . The kind of half smart crapola that you

talk been preached since the First Boer war. SA is

still here. I think your natural maliciousness is

thankfully offset by your lack of intelligence. You

are a veritable fountain of misinformation. Im sure

you will keep up the bad work.

http://www.xe.net/currency/

http://www.gold.org/Gedt/Gdt20/Menu20.htm

IMO, The US Global World Gold is one of the best funds. It has fallen over 40% this year, like most others, but seems to go up quicker.

The US Gold Shares has mostly South African stocks and has fallen further than any other gold fund this year. However, if the gold rally has duration and the rand appreciates, then Gold Shares will also benefit from the currency improvement.

Most mutual fund sites regard gold funds as an evil stepson, and most gold funds don't even have a webpage.

The best website on gold funds is, by far, http://www.eaglewing.com

This week an unusual thing happened with the funds; almost all had a good week. Several over 7% for the week.

Checkout http://www.eaglewing.com/compare.htm

http://pacific.commerce.ubc.ca/xr/

The info on the share of the gold market comes from the WGC web page

http://www.gold.org/

I use Excel to do the calculations and generate the chart. Here is the latest. Check out how they track each other during this rally.

Merry Christmas