To remember this, I had to get the Ovation out and play it.

For those that want to play along, it goes like this:

( D,G7,D,E,A7,D,G7,D,G7,D,E,A7,D,D7,G,A,C,G,A,C,G,Bm,Em,Asus4,A,D,G7 )

The lunatic is on the grass

The lunatic is on the grass

Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs

Got to keep the loonies on the path

The lunatic is in the hall

The lunatics are in my hall

The paper holds their folded faces to the floor

And everyday the paperboy brings more

And if the damn breaks open many years too soon

And if there is no room up on the hill

And if you head explodes with dark forebodings too

I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon

The lunatic is in my head

The lunatic is in my head

You raise the blade, you make the change

You rearrange me till I’m sane

You lock the door and throw away the key

There’s someone in my head but its not me

And if the cloud bursts thunder in your ears

You shout and no one seems to hear

And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes

I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon

Those younger than 20 or older than 60 may think I wrote this.

Everyone in between knows it was Roger Waters

At his prime

The right treatment for poster like Farfel last night is just to post I may respect your other views but you are wrong today so stop this nonsense and apologize. After that, giving him the same treatment as you are giving ROR today - no response.

Say what you HAVE to say but don't respond to any follow up discussions ( there is no reason to argue with temporary insane )

Namasté

D.A. wrote Ain't.no.such.thing.as.good.nickel.chart

And he posted this grim chart:

http://www.lme.co.uk/cgi-bin/php/Prices/choice.html

Consider:

Virtually ALL Russian PGM production comes as a byproduct of nickel mining. Record lows in nickel make it hard to put Norilsk on a paying basis.

My horizons are filled with platinum

Indeedy

I won't try to go any deeper, as I said there are better people to do that ( e.g. Karl Feilder from Greenwich Mean Time in South Africa, Tom Becker in the US, etc. )

Namasté

Promey

They had Al Gore do the press briefing on the Iraq Attack, trying to give him a head start at the next election, Commander in Chief and all that rot.

It occurred to me that I have never seen anyone look more un-presidential than Gore.

‘Cept maybe Dukemajen ( I know I spelled that wrong )

OK Robby,

I never could beat 4 aces

Well put.....

There are some here ( me ) who would have only inflamed the irresponsible poster, regardless of what they ( I ) said. Those who know me know where I would stand.

That said, I still share the guilt of watching a neighbor be mugged.

Meltdowns on this medium seem as regular as waves to the sea. Yet, they don't really diminish the value of the whole, merely obscure it temporarily.

Promey

Again I am empathetic to being attacked because of the defense of another.

I have learned though, that once passions are inflamed, the lightning rod effect takes over and those most vocal are those most visible.

I learned another thing:

I spent a lot of time and effort trying to prove something a few weeks ago.

Time just proved it for me.

I think JD tried to tell me that.

I am never to old to learn.

Huh uh

You know I am empathetic to being at the receiving end of the club, and I thank you for you stalwart and humorous support of me in the past.

The tone of the argument last night was so ugly and vicious, I can well see why most choose to stay right out of it. It was almost embarrassing to read, like witnessing a breakdown right before our eyes. Most were stunned into silence. There are no winners in that kind of brawl, but I believe the overwhelming majority of Kitco readers agree that that kind of rabid frothing is not welcome here.

You have good right to be offended.

Robby -

One final comment on the broker thingie.

If the client does not move, the broker is helpless.

Client and broker: its a two way street.

I spoke with another broker in New York recently who had a client loose some money in silver. I asked if he recommended a silver short in the 6.30 range, he said he did, but the client wouldn’t listen. I asked if he bought platinum down here when it was low, he said he made the recommendation but the client again did not listen. I asked him why, and he told me the client, Just wants to be sure.

There is no such thing in these markets.

It is all a risk

Yes

I have no illusions that you know your own mind

I just noticed the tilt

That's all

A bias is a bias is a bias

Let's be honest and call it such

OK

Enough said......

The Downunders have yet to be heard from....

From what my fair cousin South Africa?

And how say you New Zealand?

Gather Aussies and speak thy hopes

But pray, good brothers

Match them to our own

So thy heart’s flutter

may then be known.

It was interesting to note that Henry D, who has frequently chided me for my sometimes brutal logic, stood meekly aside while the stinking venom flew.

I once asked him where were his protestations when I was at the receiving end of endless attack? Only silence answered.

Last night, his initial assertion was that it was not the poster in question but some sort of joke, even though the ID number clearly identified the origin of these posts.

Never once, in the face of the worst sort of low-life trash this site has ever witnessed, did Henry D rise up in his righteous indignation to point his accusing fingers at the infidels and add his call to cast these unruly demons aside.

Instead, he seemed to enjoy it.

Just something I learned about a fellow poster last night.

The coin has only one side.

I will stick by my initial judgment of this fellow.

Yes

So what that they have always had a more stable platform?

Who cares that multitasking never needed to be defined because it was always possible?

Mac Moonies, that's what they are.

They are faster and leaner, and they must rub our noses in our MS mess.

Sigh

At least I didn't buy a BetaMax.

OK

As for the 100K....... Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....

If I only have one buy and one sell.......

Long

Yes

Robby -

I take no serious umbrage at your assessment of leverage, only in that my firm was somehow being less than straightforward. We run two types of ads, one geared toward delivery, another directed at the speculative investor. I mention leverage to every person I speak with, how else will I know if they are interested? That you witnessed a 90% loss rate in your greener years is a sorry state indeedy, but it has zero bearing on the here and now or in the profit/loss ratio of my clients or clients of others.

When you receive a call for some… let’s say… Morgan dollars… Will you not mention some of your more premium coins to the prospective client? You would be derelict if you did not. I cannot count the times a prospective client has told me he was not aware that certain things can be done in these markets, nor would they ever if it were not explained to them.

When a prospective client calls you at $400 gold and asks you what to buy, you will steer him toward this coin or that, yes? What if gold looks very bearish? Hard to short a numismatic. So you only have one direction in which to sell, yes? It must always be the right time to buy because that is the only direction you can trade. When one has the flexibility of trading both sides of the market, it would seem to offer twice the opportunity for profit. Yes, this would seem so.

I like your posts and I find your honesty particularly refreshing. I just caution against painting with too broad a stroke. You seem to indict an entire industry but these generalizations don’t work, do they?

Witness the racial hatred spewed on these very pages over the last couple weeks. Any thinking person realizes that the similarities in humans vastly outnumber the minute differences; as any thinking person also knows, these stereotypical representations foster misunderstanding and do nothing to recognize the individual. One may find many examples of a cliché, but when one looks with these kind of eyes, all that is perceived is what is expected, and the viewer is less than surprised to find it there.

The magic in life - is in the exceptions.

Indeedy

also, one problemo, mi cajones es nada, gold price moves have shrunk 'em

While copying a CD ROM to my CD recorder, I was able to launch Word, type this, log onto the Internet, and post this. All while the CDs hummed in the background. I like this Windows 98.

Indeedy

Robby -

I think you are being unfair with regards to my company. I believe the vast majority of our new clients take physical delivery of the metal. To say bait and switch is unkind and disingenuous. Many who call us have no idea that a leverage type program even exists, and many of those are interested in playing these markets for profit. That is why I always ask about a potential client’s suitability for this type of investment. There are folks who read this page who have called me to open a financed account. Because I believed they would be in over their head, or this was otherwise unsuitable for them, I have sent them away, or sold metal for delivery only. Perhaps some would come forward with an testament to that effect.

I have never made a secret of the fact that most of my business focuses on trading, but I have delivered better than 2000 oz gold this year and about 3000 oz of platinum. I know your line is numismatics, so we are not at odds with our approach, and we both appeal to a different mindset.

I agree with a buy and hold strategy, as long as it is properly balanced with the rest of a client’s portfolio. Let’s face it, no more that 25% MAX of a portfolio should be in metals and even that is 10% - 15% over the standard portfolio model. I have no idea where you get the 90% figure of losses on leveraged account. Nobody could stay in business long with that kind of attrition, let alone stay in business for 30 years.

These markets have risk. One who invest in gold for delivery has spreads, commissions, and shipping costs they must overcome before their investment breaks even. A financed account does not incur shipping costs, which can make up for a couple months interest costs. Regardless of which way you buy, the metal must rise to make a profit, yes?

If the market goes with you, leverage is the obviously superior trading vehicle. If the market moves against you, you will have to hold your physical metal or you leverage account until it goes up, or sell at a loss. Either way carries risk, yes?

Let’s look at 100k put into gold:

Spot is 297, ask for Maple leafs is 311 ( bid about 298.50 ) so the spread is about 12.50 per ounce. This must be overcome whether a person takes delivery or trades by leverage. Commissions vary, but let's assume a dollar an ounce. Add another couple bucks per ounce shipping costs and you need to see a $15 move to break even. I have a gold trade with initial break even at about $6. Add about 2.75 per month in carrying cost, and it would take almost four months to equal the break even on a delivery. If the metal rises $20 in that time frame, the leveraged client will net about 10% profit, while the delivery fellow will see the meager 2% or so profit he has made being eaten up by shipping costs on the return trip.

Buying anything on leverage is a double edged sword - it cuts both ways. A five to one leverage will loose five to one if the market moves against you as well as gain five to one should the market move in your favor. Saying one is superior to another ignores a person’s individual goals. For some leverage is the only way to go, for others, delivery is best.

Oh, yeah: To buy 100K in gold for delivery is a pretty safe bet, buy if the price is so low, and one believes it must rise, why not just put 20K down on the gold and free up the other 80K for other investments? This does make sense for a lot of folks.

Yes

Robby -

I think you are being unfair with regards to my company. I believe the vast majority of our new clients take physical delivery of the metal. To say bait and switch is unkind and disingenuous. Many who call us have no idea that a leverage type program even exists, and many of those are interested in playing these markets for profit. That is why I always ask about a potential client’s suitability for this type of investment. There are folks who read this page who have called me to open a financed account. Because I believed they would be in over their head, or this was otherwise unsuitable for them, I have sent them away, or sold metal for delivery only. Perhaps some would come forward with an testament to that effect.

I have never made a secret of the fact that most of my business focuses on trading, but I have delivered better than 2000 oz gold this year and about 3000 oz of platinum. I know your line is numismatics, so we are not at odds with our approach, and we both appeal to a different mindset.

I agree with a buy and hold strategy, as long as it is properly balanced with the rest of a client’s portfolio. Let’s face it, no more that 25% MAX of a portfolio should be in metals and even that is 10% - 15% over the standard portfolio model. I have no idea where you get the 90% figure of losses on leveraged account. Nobody could stay in business long with that kind of attrition, let alone stay in business for 30 years.

These markets have risk. One who invest in gold for delivery has spreads, commissions, and shipping costs they must overcome before their investment breaks even. A financed account does not incur shipping costs, which can make up for a couple months interest costs. Regardless of which way you buy, the metal must rise to make a profit, yes?

If the market goes with you, leverage is the obviously superior trading vehicle. If the market moves against you, you will have to hold your physical metal or you leverage account until it goes up, or sell at a loss. Either way carries risk, yes?

Let’s look at 100k put into gold:

Spot is 297, ask for Maple leafs is 311 ( bid about 298.50 ) so the spread is about 12.50 per ounce. This must be overcome whether a person takes delivery or trades by leverage. Commissions vary, but let's assume a dollar an ounce. Add another couple bucks per ounce shipping costs and you need to see a $15 move to break even. I have a gold trade with initial break even at about $6. Add about 2.75 per month in carrying cost, and it would take almost four months to equal the break even on a delivery. If the metal rises $20 in that time frame, the leveraged client will net about 10% profit, while the delivery fellow will see the meager 2% or so profit he has made being eaten up by shipping costs on the return trip.

Buying anything on leverage is a double edged sword - it cuts both ways. A five to one leverage will loose five to one if the market moves against you as well as gain five to one should the market move in your favor. Saying one is superior to another ignores a person’s individual goals. For some leverage is the only way to go, for others, delivery is best.

Oh, yeah: To buy 100K in gold for delivery is a pretty safe bet, buy if the price is so low, and one believes it must rise, why not just put 20K down on the gold and free up the other 80K for other investments? This does make sense for a lot of folks.

Yes

A report from London has a thought-provoking view of who has been accumulating all of the Central Bank gold sales in recent years.

Chris Osborne conjectures that it very well be the US Fed along with two well-known international banks as cohorts - who have aided and abetted clandestine accumulation of the yellow metal. His belief has some very weighty arguments.

Mr.Osborne cites five important benefits the US Government might accrue in the alleged covert operations - as bogus rumors are circulated to maintain a downward price trend to facilitate gold accumulation at lower prices.

He attempts to answer the question: One might understandably ask WHAT MONETARY IMPORTANCE THIS MIGHT HAVE?

The upshot of Osborne's thesis WHO IS BUYING ALL THE GOLD? is that the U.S. Fed will be in a leveraged position to REVALUE the price of gold at an astronomically higher price.

His full report at the following URL - as usual it is necessary to delete the extra letters en in word golden of the URL before posting it to your Internet locator:

http://www.golden-eagle.com/editorials_98/osborne061898.html

One night, probably in 1880, John Swinton, then the preeminent New York journalist, was the guest of honour at a banquet given him by the leaders of his craft. Someone who knew neither the press nor Swinton offered a toast to the independent press. Swinton outraged his colleagues by replying:

There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone.

The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread.

You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other

men. We are intellectual prostitutes.

Fibonacci time chart for the XAU, to predict the timing of turns:

http://tiger.golden.net/laird/TimeXAU.htm

FWIW, this timing method seems to have about 7 or 8 bars between buy and sell signals, and they just went long:

http://homepages.together.net/~ejmiller/gcchart.htm

***********************************************************************************

I just arrived from another journey.

Thank you for your e-mail

We had a month full of success for the Islamic Dinar. I can now say

that the Islamic Dinar will become the currency of the Muslim nation.

We have crossed the point of no return. It is now only a cuestion of time.

The support is coming from everywhere. The Mufti of Egypt, one of the

most reputable personalities of the Islamic world is now in favour of the

Islamic Dinar. It follows a translation of an article from the Arabic

Newpaper 'Al-Bayan' from Dubai ( United Arab Emirates ) about the Mufti

and the gold and silver.

From Morocco to Indonesia, we are receiving more and more support from

the Islamic authorities. One thing you have to bear in mind is that

the Islamic Dinar is the end of Islamic Fundamentalism, that sickness

that twisted the spirit and the law of Islam. Islamic Fundamentalism

is as distant to Islam as puritanism is to the teachings of Jesus, may

Allah be pleased with him.

From the first of September a system of accounts 100% based on Dinars

( gold ) and Dirhams ( silver ) will be in operation. The new institution

called Islamic Wakala or Islamic Agency is inspired on the traditional

wakils or agents in Islam. Most Muslims traders in the days of the

Islamic Dinar had their own agents in the key trading cities. They hold

accounts, made payments, transfer money and merchandise under the

instructions of the trader they represented. The Islamic Wakala

therefore will be not a bank, but a means to make the Islamic Dinar

function as a world currency. Unlike banks, our aim is to keep the gold

in the pockets of the people, which is the safest place in the world.

The Islamic Wakala will mantain in accounts only whatever is the minimum

required to facilitate instant payments accross the world for those who

need it. It will not intend to replace the use of the physical

currency, but on the contrary it will encourage the use of the physical

currency. No lending will be involved. No usury will ever again touch

our Dinars and Dirhams. This is the end of the banking system.

Time to remember that Allah says in the Qur'an:

Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden usury

( Qur'an, 2, 275 )

Al-Bayan

Friday 22 May 1998

The Mufti of Egypt calls for linking the Islamic economy to gold

and silver in order to face the American dollar

Cairo - 'Al Bayan' office 21 May 1998: Dr Nasr Fareed Wasel, the Mufti of

Egypt demanded that Arab and Islamic countries reinstate the monetary

policy which has historically been practiced and endorsed by Islam and

which is based on linking all the monetary and economic transactions to

gold and silver, pointing out that this policy will lead to the

establishment of a powerful Islamic economy capable of facing up to the

international economic blocs. This is so because the policy is based on

stable standards, which enable clear definition of the current and future

rights and obligations on the local and international levels of

transactions.

He also pointed out in the seminar, which was held in the Islamic Charity

Association in Cairo, under the title Financial Transactions and the

Monetary Policy in Islam, that paper money, which appeared more than 150

years ago, has caused monetary and financial turbulence which has

corrupted international relationships and usurped rights and obligations.

He explained that the United States of America is trying to control the

world economy by force, without considering other countries' rights. This

has led the European countries, through the Common European Market, to

establish a monetary policy which can compete with and confront the

American domination.

He added that in 1945, during the Bretton Woods Conference, the countries

of the world tried to reinstate the standard of gold and silver. The IMF

and the World Bank were established at that time in order to supervise

and monitor that policy, except that this trial ended in failure, and in

1971 the rules that governed the world monetary policy were scrapped.

Consequently, the US dollar broke its last ties to gold and silver, and

the price of gold per ounce increased from $35 to more than $800, then

declined to around $380.

The Mufti described how that since that time, the US dollar has been

ruling international monetary policy through force of arms. As a result,

the just rule of recognizing rights and obligations between various

countries of the world ceased to apply, and the only option left for them

was to reconcile their monetary policies with those of the USA. On the

whole this has led to large increases in the average inflation in most

countries of the world.

---------End of Article--------

This article is history, because the Arabs had never been exposed to this

matters before. Would you imagine if they would demand gold for petrol?

You better get ready.

The Islamic Dinars are very soon coming to the US.

Regards,

Umar Vadillo

Islamic Mint and Islamic Wakala

- A falling US$ signals higher oil prices? Yes? No? I bet on YES. The US is at a critical point. Push the dollar higher, or keep it there, keep oil prices low and ASIA tanks.... to be followed by the US. Let the US$ drop, consequentially providing a new incentive for the EURO to replace it as a currency for OIL, but keep ASIA viable at least for the short term.

- A strong EURO will itself force a lower US$? Yes? No? I bet on yes.

- When in this senerio will the Mid East declair its intention to use a second currency for exchange? Jan 1999? Sooner?

- Has an Asian Bank been buying Gold in order to achieve a secure ( relative to the EURO ) oil purchasing position? Which is it... China? Japan? ANOTHER implies that it is not the Japanese, since the Yen will go over the cliff before the US$ and they will not have a parachute ready! Or has the US agreed to try the balance beam approach of keeping the Yen at a stable position, while the Japance achieve at least a foothold in a gold backed currency by giving them time to purchase gold?

- Is a new Mid East crisis building, to prove once again that the US is needed to provide and protect? That scene is starting to set stage, and the outcome could spell a complete change of mind on the part of the Mid East oil producers.

Will any of these possibilities or a combination of them enhance Gold's value?

Gentlemen... place your bets! and debate the possibilities, rather than focus on Ethnic or Religious matters. This forum is too valuable to let it degrade.

http://www.drudgereport.com/matt.htm

You really need to get out more, cats as in { catfish }, they love something stinky , yes the worse it smells the better they like it.

This hasn't been reported for quite a while on the forum. This data is from yesterday 06/29/1998:

Gold 195,823 Oz

Silver 44,265,070 Oz

Hmmmmmmmmmm. How will Kodak buy 50 MM Oz of silver from COMEX?

Would be interesting what kind of policy was set up for the Iraq 'no fly' zone regarding how our F16 pilots are to respond to Iraqi radar 'locks', or whatever the phrase is. Recently the news coming from Iraq has been conflicting -- with official messages indicating pending relaxation of UN sanctions -- to revelations about Iraqi missle fragments with traces of VX nerve gas. Doesn't seem like a well coordinated foreign policy to me.

If the MonicaLewinskigate stuff heats up, a fracas in Iraq would be a great diversion.

Just to expand on D.A.'s comments ( thanks again for the input D.A. ) , If Kodak has taken delivery, this would be as significant as Buffett's purchase. As the largest consumer of silver, Kodak would never intentionally do anything to bull the price. For it to take physical delivery of COMEX stocks, could mean only two things IMHO. One, they are having, or sense trouble coming in securing physicals from their normal sources, or two, they feel physicals have become more secure to hold than paper derivatives.

Against a backdrop of the largest paper short position the world has ever seen, Kodak's actions, if true, will rock the market.

HOLLYWOOD -- In what can only be described as a bizarre media coincidence, news of the American F-16 fighter firing a

missile at Iraqi installation came to the minute that Linda Tripp arrived at Washington courthouse to testify bfore a

grand jury.

The ASSOCIATED PRESS issued news alerts covering both developments twenty-three seconds apart -- with the missile flash

moving first.

I also would like to know how you discerned that the yen/dollar ratio was slowly relaxing after RR 'tweaked' it. What time scales do you use? I am interested more in the concept than the actual numbers.

Speaking of time scales, have you noticed that the POG seems to be slowly creeping up the alst few days, as if the 'big boys' are waiting on the sidelines, trying to see which way the equilibrium trend is going. This is not just a 'thin' market effect -- the trading volume may be low -- but it is evident also that the 'pushers and pullers' are only weakly effecting the POG.

away.....to sit back and wait.......hum dee dum

Éßeatcrazy

this Monday 7/6 the 'Kuston' and I will be knocking the white ball around some Phoenix course...... ( hot ) ...... ( phew ) .............anyone care to join us yahooo!

I've noticed that; whenever spot gold is active the price window locks up. Bookmark this image from USA Today, it shows spot price and is ( usually ) available.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/gold.gif

-Tom

It certainly does not take much intervention near a turning point.

You make a good point about the rate at which the dollar/yen ratio has recovered. If you are right ( this is not something I know ) this would suggest that we are indeed at a turning point and that the Yen is oversold.

Making a physics analogy, a system far from equilibrium will recover rapidly if it is pushed. A system close to equilibrium ( close to a turning point ) will recover much more slowly when tweaked.

What I have trouble understanding is two items:

First, Europe is still struggling with an attempt at economic recovery with a desire for easy credit post the belt tightening period of the EURO launch. Hardly the time to sell dollars and buy gold.

Secondly, how can Rubin etal really effectively intervene to manipulate the value of the US dollar, given that the US dollar is being traded at 1 trillion plus per day ( derivatives ) ? All RR can do is tip the scales a bit.

Thirdly, we have seen so many false recoveries come from Japan it is hard to believe that this current rumor of Japan reducing taxes is a sign of real constructive change. What really needs to happen is for Japan to let a great number of bankrupt corporations fall -- to cut out the dead wood. Perhaps this is it -- probably not yet.

So, my take in all of this is that gold will not really move until Europe is on the path of a solid economic recovery, and Japan is on the mend. Till then, the US dollar and the US markets remain strong as a 'flight to safety'. One alternative scenario is a gold rally ( in US dollars ) if US commodity prices take off -- not likely for months -- given the long term cycles of commodity prices.

Comments, anyone?

From Business Day

June 30 1998

Slumping rand a boon

for gold mining

companies

Paul Vecchiatto

ANALYSTS are reviewing their outlook for gold mining shares, which have been scorned by investors in recent months as the metal's dollar price remains stubbornly below $300/oz.

While the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's all share, industrial and financial indexes gyrated as much as three percentage points a  day as the rand lost ground against the dollar, the all gold index has emerged relatively unscathed in thin trade.

Yesterday, however, the all gold jumped more than 31 points or 4% to 836, while the other indices slumped along with the rand. The gold index started the year at 801 and peaked at 1 101 in April when gold hit $313,80/oz.

The rand gold price mirrored the movements of the all gold index until June 5, when they separated suddenly as the local currency began its freefall against the world's major currencies and investors were distracted by financial and industrial share woes.

Reuter reports that SA gold mining companies are expected to turn in vastly improved performances in the third quarter of the year as the weak rand means significantly higher rand-denominated income on gold sales. Gold is traded and priced internationally in dollars, and the rand has fallen by more than 26% against the dollar this year and by 13% in the last three days alone.

The rand gold price rose to a high for the year of R1806/oz yesterday, from R1 404 on January 1.

Since mining costs for local producers are borne largely in rand, a depreciating currency means higher margins of return. With a recent wage agreement locking in mining salaries for at least another year, wage costs are not likely to rise in the near future.

At the current exchange rate, no SA gold mining company should be making losses on a cash-cost basis,

said David Hall, gold analyst at Merrill Lynch Smith Borkum in Johannesburg.

For most SA gold miners the second quarter ended on June 21. The majority of the rand's depreciation has come

in the past three days, meaning much of the benefit of the currency's slide will be reflected on third-quarter financial

statements.

The spot price average for the quarter would have added about R1bn to the revenue stream of gold companies, and

that's prior to hedging, one analyst said.

INet-Bridge reports that Rice Rinaldi Turner & Company gold analyst Tony Cadle said the gold industry had undergone a major restructuring which improved productivity while lowering costs.

Cadle said US markets were worried about the extent of their exposure to the Asian crisis, which would cause a

general cooling of their equity and bond markets.

Should the US economy begin to wobble and the dollar weakens, then gold and the related shares will definitely

become a key part of an investment strategy, Cadle said.

Earl -

You know I always agree with you.

ERLE -

Didn't you get mad at me once?

Aurator -

I know of no heavier coin than the 1 kilo Kookaburra, I do however, know of a much more valuable coin of the same weight:

The 1 Kilo Platinum Koala

YES!

PS

This Windows 98 thingie has all sorts of cool animated menus that pop up in the most unsuspecting places. I like it……..

Earl/Erle/ERLE/.......Duke ( ? ) ....I'm getting confused. Just when I think I have the Earles figured out Cheerleader-Ogler-Lad gets 'em all confused.

RJ...I think Earl was giving me some Candlestick lessons not ERLE or Earle or Erle or URL.... ( huh? )

When you finish that CD ya need to make a few copies, eh?

Earl - thanks for the 'stick' talk. Good stuff. I will look into that book to find any ancient Asian secrets........uh huh. I love a good chart and a good key reversal.....AND a good formation like the ones forming for the PM's...................go PM's.

And what's wrong with a good chicken bone toss now and then As long as you have some good entrails to decipher too. And break out the darts too......and the ouiji ( sp ) board and the...........oh hell.........go gold.

And look at the action in that ¥en tonight........hmmmmmmmm. All bodes well for goldie.....

away.....to read good kitco tonight

Éß

Harami's, Doji's, Hammers - upright and inverted

Morning and evening stars and hanging men

These and more candlesticks offer the believer

I agree with ERLE that their best use is to locate tops and bottoms and short term key reversals; used as an adjunct to other indicators.

Sometimes candlesticks make sense to me

Other times it feels like casting the bones

Spent some time this week moving to Windows 98, adding a CD recorder, a blazing fast 32x CD ROM, and a 56K modem. I feel primed. My computer is leaving testosterone puddles which is a decided embarrassment when company comes to call. I don’t care. It’s like owning a muscle car - only much more cerebral.

I managed to put the last year of Kitco together in a coherent form and have succeeded beyond what I thought was possible. From 6/1/97 through present day, I’ve got every day saved except five: 8/16 - 8/18/97 ( My fault ) , and 9/30 - 10/1/97 ( when Kitco crashed and Bart switched ISP. The whole year takes up just 103 MB and I can now put it all on CD ROM to be read by any computer. Do I dare set this loose upon Kitcoland?

The past is a wondrous thing, it haunts and vindicates, and reminds us that today’s lofty perch was built on yesterdays gathering of twigs. It is also immutable and therein lies the rub. Who we are today was shaped by those we were then, and the process , while not always pretty, keeps pulling us forward, inexorably, inevitably, and irrevocably. ( the three Is ) . The past of this perticular place is as thrilling and chilling a ride as any I’ve seen.

Some may wonder how I pull those posts from the distant past. I saved it all. I’m a bit of a fanatic about backup and the only data I trust occupies at least two different forms of media, one of which must be non-volatile. The CD recorder is a gift from the Gods and I am thankful.

Damn computer stuff kept me in the house most of the weekend so, Sunday afternoon, I was determined to lace up the skates and put in a hard 20 miles. There was a stiff onshore wind blowing and I leaned into my task, always preferring to make the upwind leg the first half of the trip.

The Back Newport Bay snakes past my home; escorting about five miles of meandering, smooth-as-glass asphalt bike path all the way to the beach. The fist leg is directly into the maws of an ornery and harassing wind, exacerbated by a funnel effect caused by all that wonderful sea breeze being squeezed through the half mile gap between the 200 foot cliffs that rise on either side of the Back Bay. I don’t know squat about geology and could not tell you what these cliffs are made of, but they look like a smaller version of the White Cliffs of Dover. It is a pretty cool place to skate.

But before the White Cliffs of the Back Bay proper, the route snakes past the campus of the University of California, Irvine, which abodes about a mile down the path from my home. This is a pleasant mile, a time to warm up and get the legs loose; gotta’ make sure the Achilles tendons are stretched and the quads are starting to heat up. Past a picturesque golf course, by the Athletic field of the University and….. Wait a minute here…. What’s all this, then The fieled is loaded with scores and scores of nubile lasses bouncing and high-kicking with a bubbling, enthusiastic vigor reserved in all the universe exclusively to college freshman cheerleader wannabes. Yes…. It was cheerleader tryout day at the College….. A mile down the road from my house.

I only skated 2 miles Sunday……………….

That’s all

Yes

PS

Any double entendre’ perceived by the reader in the fifth paragraph of this post, is entirely in the readers mind.

PPS

Followers of ANOTHER will be pleased to know that his every post is there; from his very first - in quite the Queens English - to the more mysterious ones of his later days. It is a fascinating evolution to see.

Indeey

OH Yeah, this forum IS about metals, yes?

A couple of interesting tidbits on PGMs can be found at:

http://www.MONEX.com/mt.html

I have nary an unkind word for gold either.

None

Naught

COMMENT: In my latest Y2K REPORTER #23, I raise the odds of a global Y2K recession from 60% to 70%. I can no longer say with any confidence that there is enough time to avoid a severe global recession. Progress is occurring, but not as fast as January 1, 2000 is approaching. I intend to stay open-minded: If I see that governments and businesses around the world are making faster progress and preparing contingency plans for inevitable computer problems, then I'll be happy to back off. For now, I remain an alarmist ( though not a doomsayer ) on this important issue. In my latest report, I also discuss the possible investment implications of a Y2K scenario.

PRESS EMBARGO: The contents of this report are embargoed to the press until Tuesday, June 30, at 10 am, at which time I will discuss my new Y2K economic assessment at a press roundtable in Washington, DC hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers.

Please forward this message as appropriate. Thanks to all the folks that continue to help me stay as informed as possible on Y2K.

Ed Yardeni

HOME: http://www.yardeni.com/

Just recall from last night; hanoi jane has little 'uns, and 50's JAYNE had biggun's.

Earl is a real OK gentleman, try to be civilised.

Good night to the spoonerism specialist.

And before you rip me up, I will say that I find your posts quite entertaining.

Feeling overtaxed? Does it seem that no matter how much governments crow about lower

deficits, higher wages and good times ahead, you never seem to come out on top?

It's not just you. Your taxes really did hit an all-time high.

Statistics Canada made it official last week, releasing a study showing more than one-fifth

( 20.5% ) of family earnings went to income taxes in 1996 - higher than ever before.

The average person paid $11,597 in income tax in 1996, not counting municipal taxes or

GST. Overall, taxes were up 4.2% over the previous year. In fact, the study found, real family

income after taxes was actually almost 5% lower than in 1980.

More bad news: even though incomes went up an average $662 in 1996, the various tax

hikes and a drop in transfer payments effectively left no more money in our pockets.

So is there any good news? Just this. Today you can go to work knowing that that starting this

week, the money you earn is your own. Saturday was Tax Freedom Day, as calculated by the

Fraser Institute - in other words, up to that day every penny you earned this year was gobbled

up by federal, provincial and municipal taxes.

Now, thanks to modest economic recovery and some government restraint, Tax Freedom Day

this year is three days earlier than last year, the institute reports. But the fact remains that, as

Canadian Taxpayers Federation spokesman Walter Robinson says, We work half of the year

simply to satisfy government's never-ending appetite for tax dollars. The pressing need for tax

cuts is evident to everyone except the government of Canada.

He's right. All we hear from Ottawa these days is how Prime Minister Jean Chretien's cabinet

is plotting new and more innovative ways to spend their ( our ) budget surplus. This year they

blew it on the ill-conceived Millennium Scholarship Fund, which did nothing to address

Canadians' main concerns - taxes and jobs.

Earlier this month, a Sun/Roper Canada poll asked Canadians how the surplus should be

spent. Some 81% said the feds should restore funding to health care, but they stressed any

surplus should be split between tax breaks, debt reduction and social spending.

The message has been repeated in poll after poll and study after study - our taxes are too

high. So, what part of tax cuts don't the federal Liberals understand?