July 2006

US may be going Bankrupt! 20060714

[The United States is heading for bankruptcy, according to an extraordinary paper published by one of the key members of the country's central bank.

A ballooning budget deficit and a pensions and welfare timebomb could send the economic superpower into insolvency, according to research by Professor Laurence Kotlikoff for the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, a leading constituent of the US Federal Reserve.]

UAE Central Bank set to enter the gold market 20060703

[The United Arab Emirates Central Bank governor this week gave his strongest hint yet that the emirates will shortly enter the gold market and also purchaseeuros as a diversification of the national
currencyreserves presently held in US dollars. ]
 

June 2006

Russia's leading global stealth demand for gold 20060605

[President Vladimir Putin, a frequent critic of dollar hegemony, has ordered the Russian central bank to raise the gold share of foreign reserves from 5 percent to 10 percent.]

May 2006

Jim Rogers expects $1000 Gold 20060514

[``There will be some corrections in this commodities bull market just as there has been in every bull market in history,'' Rogers said, who predicted last month gold would reach $1,000, without saying when. ``Use those corrections as an opportunity to buy. Don't panic and get out.'' ]

Gold Price to Kick in Full Gear: Faber 20060508

[Well, the death of the Greenback, gold at $US6,000 an ounce with commodity and energy prices rising vertically, spurred on by growing international tensions and war - no, that's not the background to the latest sci-fi pot boiler, but the tentative vision of one of the world's most respected contrarian economic forecasters, Marc Faber.]

Finding Comfort (and friends) in Gold 20060507

[With gold trading at $683.80 an ounce, a 25-year high, it's a good time to be a gold bug like Mr. Sinclair, especially if, like him, you own a gold exploration company (his is in Tanzania) and were a buyer when the metal sank as low as $250 an ounce in 2001. Now Wall Street, traditionally a laggard when it comes to making the investment case for gold, has jumped on Mr. Sinclair's bandwagon.]

April 2006

Gold May Reach $1600 Swiss Asia's Kiener says! 20060425

[April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise to $1,600 an ounce in three years and silver may reach $50 an ounce if the dollar declines and the oil price keeps rising, according to Swiss Asia Capital (S) Pte.]

 Ltd.Sweden diversifies out of the Dollar 20060422

[The US dollar fell against the euro in European morning trade on Friday as Sweden’s central bank said it had slashed its dollar holdings almost in half.]

Jim Rogers predicts $1000 Gold 20060420

[April 19 (Bloomberg) -- Jim Rogers, the former George Soros partner who foresaw the start of a commodity rally in 1999, said the boom in energy and raw material prices will endure, driving gold to a record $1,000 an ounce. ]

New Gold Rush as price hits 25-year high

[GOLD hit 25-year highs last week and almost broke through $600 an ounce, sending investors’ hopes soaring that they could see a repeat of the gold fever of 1980 when people queued in the streets to offload heirlooms that had suddenly become valuable nest eggs.]

March 2006

Gold May Reach $2000 by 2010 mcEwen says 20060307

[March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices may reach $2,000 an ounce by 2010 on demand for an alternative to currencies, U.S. Gold Corp. Chief Executive Officer Robert McEwen said. ]

Golden Opportunity: The Case for $1000 Gold 20060301

[It's clear that fundamental forces are lining up to push gold to $600 an ounce very quickly, $640 and well beyond. That makes any short-term pull-back, if there is one, a buying opportunity.]

 BOC Set To Sell Gold For Dollars 20060301

[BEIJING, March. 1 -- The Bank of China, the country's biggest foreign currency lender, plans to allow investors to buy and sell gold using their US dollar accounts in a move to boost sales of the precious metal. ]

February 2006

China Hungry for Gold 20060214

[Shanghai Gold Exchange president Wang Zhe believes that China could become one of the world's biggest gold importers. ]

What buoys gold after a downturn 20060214

[The international gold price has soared 37 percent over the past six months and hit the peak for the past 25 years doubling that of five years ago. This has aroused much attention of the world financial circle. What are the reasons for the considerable rise following its plunge?]

January 2006

Gold sales up in UAE 20060114

[Despite sharp increase in gold prices, customers in the UAE are buying gold as it is still seen as a safe haven from an investment perspective.]

Gold marks latest quarter-century high 20060113

[SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures climbed by more than 1% during a holiday-shortened trading session Friday to close their highest level since January 1981, gaining nearly $16 an ounce for the week.]

AngloGold says hedging unlikely for few years 20060112

[South Africa's AngloGold Ashanti is bullish enough about a strong gold price that it does not expect to resume most hedging for at least a couple of years, a top official said yesterday.]
 

December 05

Gold at New 24 Year High! 20051207

[Gold rose to a 24½-year high on Wednesday, touching $516.50 a troy ounce on Japanese private investor buying as well as benefiting from the flow of investment funds into commodities markets, which has pushed many metal prices to record peaks.]
 

Gold Jumps to 23 Year High 20051202

[NEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Gold galloped to its highest price in almost 23 years on Thursday, driven by further investment buying after it pierced the key $500 an ounce level earlier this week. ]

John Embry Talks About Gold and Gold Shares 20051202

[TORONTO (ResourceInvestor.com) -- In an exclusive interview with Resource Investor as gold breached $500 per ounce in New York, John Embry of Sprott Asset Management answered a number of relevant questions about the price of gold, the gold sector, and the companies at various stages of development within it.]

FED Money Supply report about to fall into the abyss 20051201

[In a little-noticed decision a few weeks ago, the Federal Reserve Board said it would stop publishing its weekly M3 money supply number as of next March, although it will continue to publish M0, M1, and M2.]
 

November 2005

Newmont's President Pierre Lassonde Predicts $1000 Gold 20051127

[SYDNEY -- Newmont Mining Corp., the world's largest producer of gold, says the price of the precious metal may rise to more than$1,000 an ounce in the next five to seven years as demand growth driven by Asia outstrips global supply.]

China Should Raise its Gold Reserves 20051122

[0232 GMT (Dow Jones) China should raise its gold reserves to around 2500 ton in short-medium term, to over 3000 ton long-term to diversify FX risks, Teng Tai, chief economist at China Galaxy Securities, says in article published on state-run China Securities Journal…---END-]

Putin: CB should increase gold weighting in reserves 20051122

[MAGADAN. Nov 22 (Interfax) - The Central Bank should review its gold and forex reserves policy in favor of increasing the weighting of gold, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Magadan. ]

The Manipulation of The Gold Market 20051117

[For seven years GATA has discovered one piece of evidence after another supporting our long-held contention that the gold market is managed by certain central banks and their agents, the bullion banks. It is a price-fixing case involving some very powerful people and institutions … in fact it is a Gold Cartel. The U.S. attorney handling the Samsung conspiracy conviction said in an interview this fall that the United States had experienced an "epidemic" of price-fixing cases in the late 1990s. All GATA has done is uncovered one of them, the grandest of all. ]

Global Gold Production set to decline dramatically 20051115

[Johannesburg - Global gold production is set to decline dramatically over the next four years and this is set to generate a scramble for gold ounces, DRDGold chief executive officer Mark Wellesley-Wood said in the company's latest investor newsletter released on Tuesday.]

South Africa's Central bank says might up Gold Reserves 20051114

[JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The central bank in South Africa -- the world's largest producer of gold -- might increase its gold reserves, its head said on Monday, but gave few details.]

Kuwait's Biggets Oil Field running out of Oil 20051112

[It was an incredible revelation last week that the second largest oil field in the world is exhausted and past its peak output. Yet that is what the Kuwait Oil Company revealed about its Burgan field.]

Volcker  Urges Inflation Vigilance
20051101

[NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rising inflation in the United States remains a concern and the newly-nominated head of the Federal Reserve will have his hands full dealing with it, former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.]

South Africa's H1 Gold output drops 12.4% 20051101

[production for the first half of 2005 declined by 12.4 percent to 147.9 tonnes from the same period last year, with total sales revenue also falling, the department of minerals said.]

October 2005

Matt Simmons says oil could hit $190 this winter 20051019

[OTTAWA - Consumers should brace for crude oil and natural gas prices possibly doubling or tripling this winter, Matthew Simmons, a best-selling author and oil-supply bear, said on Wednesday.]

PPI surges 1.9%, most since 1974 20051018

[WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. wholesale prices rose a larger-than-expected 1.9% in September, the biggest jump in 31 years, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Price increases were led by a 7.1% rise in wholesale energy prices, the biggest jump in 15 years. Food prices also soared, rising 1.4% on a record 49% increase in egg prices.]

Inflation Soars on Surge in Energy Prices 20051018

[WASHINGTON (AP) -- Inflation at the wholesale level last month soared by the largest amount in more than 15 years, reflecting the surge in energy prices that occurred following the Gulf Coast hurricanes.]

Gold Rush India amid Inflation worries 20051017

[NEW DELHI, Oct 16: Indian households are on a record gold-buying spree as oil price-driven inflation threatens to wipe out savings from rising incomes in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.]

US Inflation Highest in 25 Years 20051014

[WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer inflation surged at the fastest pace in more than 25 years in September, rising a bigger-than-expected 1.2%, the Labor Department said Friday.]

India's Gold Demand to rise 33% in 2005 20051006

[NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Gold consumption in India, the world's largest importer, is expected to surge nearly 33 percent in 2005 to 850 tonnes because of higher incomes and good farm output, the World Gold Council said on Thursday.]
 

September 2005

Central Bank sales likely to fall 20050926

[DENVER -- Gold sales by central banks will likely decline in the near term as gold prices continue to climb, the chairman of the World Gold Council said Monday.]

IMF warns of $80 Oil by Christmas 20050923

[The world economy could be plunged into recession by soaring oil prices or a sudden collapse in the dollar, the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday. The world's financial watchdog said there was a one in five chance that crude prices could hit $80 a barrel by Christmas - surpassing, in real terms, the prices witnessed during the 1970s oil crisis.]

Harmony Reserves fall 13% 20050921

Editor's note : See also Chapter IV Gold & Supply SA Gold production is falling of a cliff !

[Johannesburg - Reserves of gold contained in the ore at the deposits mined by Harmony Gold fell 13 percent in fiscal 2005 as it closed mine shafts, the company said yesterday.]

Why is the Yellow Metal not taking off ? 20050919

[The Gold Anti Trust Action Committee (GATA, www.gata.org) feels a scandal is brewing. Central banks may not be able to control the price of gold, as was the case before 1971, but they have the motive, means, and appearance of
influencing it. The United States in particular, since its dollar has in good measure replaced gold as a reserve asset around the world, has an interest in seeing low gold prices, and a quiet gold market.]

UAE will decide on Conversion of Forex Reserves into Euros 20050905

[Dubai: The UAE Central Bank will decide this month whether it should convert some of its foreign exchange reserves into euros from dollars, Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, governor, said yesterday.]

Saudi Arabia Riyal Looks to Re-align 20050904

[RIYADH – China's revaluation of the yuan increases the possibility of  the re-alignment of the Saudi Riyal  to a weak U.S. dollar especially while trading links with Asia and Europe continue to grow. ]

August 2005

How Much Oil do we really have ? 20050829

[As oil prices remain volatile the markets do their best to forecast future prices. Unfortunately this is not an easy task]

Why Mining Companies Should Support GATA- speech Jeff Dahl SAMEX CEO at GR21 20050817

S[o I believe that it's fair to speculate that the industry’s overall encompassing costs to discover, prove, engineer, environmentally prepare, construct recovery systems for, and produce an ounce of gold is north of $600. Yet all the miners want to chat about, it seems, is their respective "cash costs" to mine an ounce. What a pile of baloney.]

Free Gold... Grease the Banks - Speech Reg Howe at GR21 20050816

[As Alan Greenspan himself once observed: "[T]he gold standard in any form ... is incompatible with chronic deficit spending -- the hallmark of the welfare state." A. Greenspan, Gold and Economic Freedom (1966, reprinted in A. Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. You can't forever buy people's votes with their children's money except on a regime of unlimited government-issued legal tender paper.]

The Price of Gold should be Hundreds of Dollars Per Ounce Higher ... The Press 20050815

[There is one particular point I would like to hammer home at this conference and that is the price of gold should be many hundreds of dollars per ounce higher than it is now, and would be if not for the shenanigans of The Gold Cartel.]

Where GATA has been - speech Bill Murphy at Gold Rush 21 Conference 20050815

[A year later on May 10, 2000 a GATA delegation, consisting of Frank Veneroso, Reg Howe, Chris Powell and I, met with the Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. A short meeting became a long one and the Speaker quickly arranged another meeting with Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus, chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy - the committee with gold oversight.]

Three Revolutions - Speech Ferdinand Lips at Gold Rush 21 Conference 20050814

[There is not enough gold. Who wants to produce gold and silver as long as prices are held artificially low? This whole manipulation of the gold market has to end. It will end like the Gold Pool in 1968. Just collapse. The gold pool was created in 1960 by the central banks to keep the price of gold at $35.00. It could not last.]

Gold and Gold Equity Markets Witness Rally 20050811

[LONDON, August 10 (newratings.com) – Analysts at Merrill Lynch say that the annual rally in gold and the gold equity markets has begun.]

CBC interviews John Embry at Gold Rush 21 in Dawson  20050809

[Host: Manipulating the price of gold. Whose responsible for this, in your view?

Embry: I think it's the world central banks led by the United States working with their associates, their bullion banks: the Goldman Sachs, the Citigroups, etc.]

Gold Rush 21 Adopts the Dawson Declaration 20050810

[Since they issue competing currencies, governments have a powerful interest in suppressing what is perceived as the value of the monetary metals. Governments have achieved this suppression through strategic and often surreptitious lending and dishoarding of their metal reserves. While it is seldom officially acknowledged as such, this is the manipulation of currency and commodity markets that should be free and transparent.]

Saudi Oil and the World Economy 20050807

[Matthew Simmons: The biggest worry I have as a result of doing the research on Saudi Arabia's oil is that there is a real risk that they have already exceeded sustainable peak oil production and the longer the produce at current risk the higher the risk that they could start into a production collapse. If that turns out to be true than the odds are 95% that the world has then exceeded sustained peak oil production]

Gold Bulls say Long-Term Outlook Turning Positive 20050805

[SYDNEY(Dow Jones)--Despite unconvincing near-term chart patterns, gold's long-term prospects are brightening as those of the U.S dollar darken, according to market participants. Reports overnight that Russia will cut dollar holdings in its currency basket and Middle Eastern oil proceeds are being converted from dollars into euros add weight to the argument that the dollar's days as the world's reserve currency are numbered.]

Dollar slips as Russia raises Euro purchases 20050802

[The Russian central bank said Monday that it had increased the euro share of its target currency basket to 35 cents from 30 cents, and had reduced its dollar share to 65 cents from 70 cents. Traders have frequently cited Russia as a buyer of euros in recent weeks and months. ]

July 2005

A Golden Solution to the China Syndrome ? 20050728

[Holding large gold reserves can serve China's domestic economic policy, as well. China does not want to see its citizens investing abroad. Allowing Chinese citizens to buy gold would help satisfy domestic saving and investment desires while also giving the government a means of regulating the money supply. Gold has a long history with individual Chinese as a way to hide and preserve wealth -- a way made no less attractive by the mistrust that is always present with an autocratic central government.]

Shanghai Gold Exch: Need Higher Gold Reserves 20050727

[SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--China should increase its gold reserves to lower its foreign exchange risk from growing foreign exchange reserves, said the head of the Shanghai Gold Exchange on Wednesday. ]

Saudis warn of shortfalls as oil hits $61 20050707

[But private warnings also point to a worsening long-term outllook, with Saudi officials saying that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will be unable to meet projected western demand in 10 to 15 years. ]

Barrick Trial Is Delayed as Judge Orders More Settlement Talks  20050704

[July 4 (Bloomberg) -- The judge in a lawsuit that accuses Barrick Gold Corp. of manipulating the price of gold delayed the start of the trial to give the company and the plaintiff, Blanchard & Co., more time to settle the case.]

June 2005

BIS says further dollar decline almost inevitable 20050627

[BASEL (AFX) - The Bank for International Settlements said a further decline in the dollar is 'almost inevitable' as part of the correction of global current account imbalances. ]

Japan to reduce Dollar Holdings in Forex Reserves 20050626

[TIANJIN, China, (AFX) - Japan hopes to rebalance its foreign exchange reserves with less US dollars when the dollar regains enough strength to withstand such a reform, a Japanese finance official said at a meeting of Asian and European finance ministers here.]

Gold rush may mean Inflation Bust 20050624

[NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Gold rising along with the dollar -- and with oil jumping to record highs near $60 a barrel -- may signal serious inflation woes ahead. It's enough to give a gold bull deja vu. A handful of precious metals insiders at the recent New York Institutional Gold Conference predicted that the price of spot gold will hit $850 an ounce in the next few years from its current level near $440. ]

Gold May Rise on Speculation Central Banks Will Reduce Sales 20050620

[June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise for a fifth straight week, the longest rally this year, on speculation European central banks will begin to slow annual bullion sales just as investor demand is growing, a Bloomberg survey showed. ]

European Crisis adds to Market Rush for Gold 20050619

[The European Union's political crisis, which has hit the single currency, has helped gold rise for four weeks in a row. The precious metal has also benefited from its appeal as a hedge against inflation while other commodity prices rise sharply.]

Bill Murphy - Presentation to the World Gold.PGM & Diamond Investment Conference 20050613

[So I am asking you to go to the mining companies at this conference and to the ones you are investing in and implore them to attend Gold Rush 21 -- for the good of all of us. This is a historic opportunity for GATA to help you and the gold mining industry to be HUGE winners.]

No IMF gold sales - G8 Finance Ministers 20060612

[JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com) -- In their proposal for cancelling the debt obligations of 18 impecunious nations to the World Bank, G8 finance ministers agreed over the weekend to exclude gold sales by the IMF. ]

Newmont sees $525 by Jan 2006 20050610

[NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - The price of gold should rise to $525 an ounce by the start of 2006, a top executive of gold giant Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday.]

Gold's Marriage to Dollar set to end 20050609

]NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold's lengthy coupling to the dollar will end as supply/demand dynamics change and other currencies may come to the fore, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) CEO Greg Wilkins said at the Reuters Mining Summit on Wednesday. ]

IMF sales talk resurfaces 20050606

[Fresh talk emerged about International Monetary Fund (IMF) gold reserves being used to fund debt relief. Reaction was muted in Asia but dealers would keep an eye on this week's meeting of the Group of Eight industrial nations in London.]

May 2005

ECB sees risk of disruptive unwinding of imbalances, severe pressure on dollar 20050531

[FRANKFURT (AFX) - Global current account imbalances pose a threat to financial market stability, the European Central Bank said.

'Large and growing financial imbalances continue to pose medium-term risks for the stability of foreign exchange and other financial markets,' the ECB said in its latest Financial Stability Review. ]

GCC Urged tp Peg its Currency to Gold 20050529

[SHARJAH, 29 May 2005 — The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) should peg its proposed currency to gold rather than the American dollar or euro in view of the currency fluctuations in the international market, says an expert in currency and gold.]

Get Ready For Gold's Rebound 20050526

[MISSOULA, MONT. - The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index and the Gold Bugs Index both topped out last November at about 30% higher than they are presently. These corrections in the metals can be brutal, but there is little evidence in my technical work that the bull market in commodities--or in precious metals specifically--is over. In fact, it appears that the correction has all but run its course, and the next significant move will be to the up side.]

China's Gold demand likely to surge tremendously coming years 200505245

[China's gold demand is likely to surge tremendously in coming years, with market liberalization and increasing popularity of jewelry. James Burton, chief executive officer of the World Gold Council (WGC), believes the favorable policies decreed by the central government may make ownership of gold as an investment vehicle easier. ]

Intervention Against Gold Rising Sharply GATA Says  20050523

[The increase in intervention, GATA said, was disclosed last week in the Bank for International Settlements' semi-annual report on the issuance of derivatives by major banks and dealers in G-10 countries.]

Greenspan says renminbi/yuan float would not reduce US trade deficit 20050521

[In an answer to a question following a speech on energy to the Economic Club of New York, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that a decision by China to float the renminbi/yuan would "probably quite unlikely" reduce the US overall trade balance. ]

China likely to revalue yuan; move may fuel inflation: Greenspan 20050521

[NEW YORK : Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Friday he expects a revaluation "at some point" of the Chinese yuan, but noted that the move could impact inflation in the United States. ]

Foreign Central Banks Dump Treasuries 20050516

[Net foreign capital flows into the US assets dropped 46% to $45.7 billion in March, reaching its lowest level since October 2003. Capital flows fell below the March trade deficit of $54 billion, the first short fall since October 2004.  Net foreign purchases of US stocks dropped 77% to $1.7 billion, the lowest level since May 2004 when foreigners were net sellers. ]

A rush for Gold 20050508

[GOLD is making a comeback on world markets as increasing demand and a shortage of supply push up prices. As global stock markets wobble, interest rates rise and the US dollar falls, one Australian analyst is predicting gold will double in value as producers scramble to overcome supply bottlenecks and possibly find new deposits.]

India seen cutting its dollar reserves 20050503

[Fears of a weakening appetite for dollars among Asian central banks were re-ignited on Tuesday when India became the latest nation to talk of reserve diversification.]

APRIL 2005

Barrick Says Gold Supply Crucial to Prices 20050428

[TORONTO (Reuters) - With few major gold projects coming on stream, increasingly tight supplies of the precious metal will play a bigger role in driving prices higher, Barrick Gold Corp.'s founder and chairman said on Thursday. ]

Dollar could push Gold to $500 level in 2005 20050428

[Gold prices could reach $500 a troy ounce this year if the dollar continues to be forced down by concerns about the twin US deficits, said GFMS, the precious metals consultancy, on Thursday.]

Saudi Arabia Fails to Assure US over Oil Supply 20050425

[Saudi Arabia failed to provide the United States with any new promises or assurances over oil supplies ahead of a key meeting between Crown Prince Abdullah and George W. Bush at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas on Monday. ]

Oil Tapping Out : Crude shortage Looms 20050421

[CALGARY - World oil production is set to peak in the next two years, at which point there will not be enough new projects coming on stream to offset global oilfield declines, according to a new study.]

Will oil strike $380 a barrel by 2015 ? 20050421

[A report prepared by energy economists at the French investment bank Ixis-CIB has warned crude oil prices could touch $380 a barrel by 2015.]

U.S. Treasury's Snow says no consensus on gold 20050419

[WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow on Tuesday dismissed chances a proposal to sell International Monetary Fund gold stocks to help fund debt relief for the world's poorest countries could succeed.]

G7 Fails to reach a Deal on Debt Relief 20050416

[WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Group of Seven economic powers on Saturday failed once again to agree on how to free Africa from debt and poverty. Their final statement after a Saturday meeting went no further than thanking the International Monetary Fund for a study on how its gold reserves could be used to help fund 100 percent debt relief and promising more discussion.]

Barrick Denied Use of Canadian Information in New Orleans Suit 20050415

[April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Barrick Gold Corp., accused by a New Orleans coin dealer of manipulating the price of gold, can't introduce at trial interviews conducted in its Canadian libel suit against the dealer, a Louisiana state court judge ruled. ]

South African gold production fell to 342.7 tonnes last year, the lowest in 73 years. 20050411

[According to a release by the Chamber on Monday, only 342.7 tonnes (11 Moz) of gold was produced in South Africa last year, the lowest level since 1931 and a third of the country's peak annual production. Despite the 8.8% or 33 tonnes (1.1 Moz) drop in production, South Africa remained the world’s largest gold producer.]

AngloGold sees Gold soon Trading at or Above $500/oz 20050411

["I believe there is every reason for the gold price to trade in a range of $400-$500 (per ounce) for the foreseeable future," AngloGold Chief Executive Bobby Godsell told the Australian Gold Forum meeting of miners and investment bankers. ]

US will block Brown campaign to beat poverty with Gold sale 20050410

[Gordon Brown's year-long anti-poverty crusade is in jeopardy this week, as the US prepares to block his plans for a sale of International Monetary Fund gold reserves to raise cash for debt relief. ]

GATA : The Gold Cartel is Dead Meat 20050406

BundesBank opposes IMF Gold sales 20050404

[FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund should not sell or revalue its gold reserves to fund debt relief for poor countries, Germany's Bundesbank said on Monday. A Bundesbank spokesman confirmed that a document quoted in the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday warning about the consequences of using gold reserves for development aid is the official position of Germany's central bank. ]

A Dollar Cartel Buys US Bonds 20050402

[But those central banks can be seen as a cartel trying to keep the dollar high, and in that light they might face the same risk that all cartels eventually face: cheating members. In this case, it is clearly to the advantage of the cartel to keep the dollar high. But each individual member might like to sell some of his dollar holdings without affecting the overall market.]

MARCH 2005

IMF presses for Gold Sales 20050330

[The International Monetary Fund believes the best way to provide more debt relief for the world's poorest countries is for rich countries to come up with new resources to pay for up to 100 per cent relief on the sums owed to the IMF and World Bank. Given the political difficulties in coming up with those funds, the IMF says the next best alternative might be carefully planned sales of a small portion of the IMF's gold.]

Mahathir : US dollar collapsing 20050330

[THE US dollar is facing an imminent collapse, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned yesterday.  The former prime minister told a conference of some 650 chief executives from 30 countries in Kota Kinabalu that a standard gold currency was the best alternative for international trade.  ]

Gold May Rise, Spurred by Speculation Inflation Will Accelerate 20050328

[March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rebound from a six-week low on speculation that inflation will accelerate and boost the allure of the precious metal as a hedge.  "Gold will rebound as people start to focus more on inflation and less on the recent interest-rate hike,'' said Thomas Au, a principal at brokerage R.W. Wentworth & Co. in New York. Au said he has as much as $1 million in personal investments, including 10 percent in gold stocks.]

Gold Rush 21 Sellout Expected 20050326

[GR 21 is going gangbusters. We have 20 written acceptances and around 20 other verbal "yes" commitments. We are waiting for them to officially sign up before we send out the above letter. This means we are half sold out with 4 ½ months to go.

Most importantly, the acceptances thus far have come from some of the most notable figures in the gold industry from all over the world: Hong Kong, the Philippines, South Africa, London, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, Japan, etc. We even have one highly regarded individual coming who works for a major bullion dealer.]

Expert: PPI/CPI Differential indicates Serious Inflation Problem 20050323

[Today's Consumer Price Index increase of 0.4 percent and yesterday's Producer Price Index increase of 0.4 percent may point to future economic problems, according to Duke University professor Campbell R. Harvey. "I believe we have a more serious inflation problem than is widely acknowledged in the market," says Harvey. " The Producer Price Index (PPI), an indicator of wholesale prices, has been running above the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since March 2003.  "This is ominous," Harvey said. "On a year-over-year basis, the PPI exceeded the CPI in 2000, 1989, 1978 and the last half of 1972. When this happened over a sustained period, a recession has followed." ]

The Death of the Dollar  20050318

[On March 15th, 2005, (the ides of March) we may have just witnessed the beginning of the death of our financial system as General Motors stock took a nosedive from $34/share down to $30.]

Peak-Oil Presentation in the US Congress 20050317

[Let me mention that M. King Hubbert looked at the world situation. He was joined by another scientist, Colin Campbell, who is still alive, an American citizen who lives in Scotland. Using M. King Hubbert's predictive techniques, oil was predicted to reach a maximum in about 1995, without perturbations. But there were some perturbations. One of the perturbations was 1973, the Arab oil embargo. Other perturbations were the oil price shocks and a worldwide recession that reduced the demand for oil. And so the peak that might have occurred in 1995 will occur later. How much later? That is what we are looking at this evening. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that if not now, then very quickly we should see world production of oil peak. ]
 

Barrick, Morgan ordered to settle with Coin Dealer 20050315

[A judge ordered Barrick Gold Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to try to settle a two-year-old lawsuit filed by coin dealer Blanchard & Co. to avoid a 10-day trial scheduled to start in July. Blanchard accused the miner and the banker of illegally profiting from the manipulation of gold prices.]

Mexico Mulls Silver Lining on Currency Crash 20050313

[MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - An influential Mexican businessman wants to reintroduce silver coins as legal currency -- as in Mexico's 16th century heyday -- and, far-fetched as it may sound, the idea is winning support.

The Senate has already passed the initiative, and the lower house is expected to vote soon on the bill, which has struck a nerve in a country where decades of financial crisis have fomented a deep distrust of paper currency.]

The Break-Down of the Dollar System 20050311

[In the early 70’s, France first, and then other countries, started to peel off the dollar standard and started to ask the Fed for gold instead of dollars. The result was inevitable as the race for the dollar door began. In the last couple of weeks the exact same dynamic began anew as Korea, then China and Thursday Japan, all expressed their interest in diversifying their dollar holdings. The race to the door is likely about to begin."]

Peak Oil is No Longer on the Way. It is Here  20050310

[Peak Oil is no longer on the way. It is here. Forget for a moment whether or not global oil production has actually begun (see below) its hopelessly irreversible decline.]

Japan needs to mull Diversifying Reserves
Koizumi says 20050310

["I think it's necessary to diversify the investment destinations" of foreign reserves, Koizumi said today at the budget committee of the upper house of parliament in Tokyo. "At the same time, we have to make a judgment in general, considering what's profitable and what's stable."]

Greenspan : Budget Deficits Pose Big Threat 20050310

[Greenspan has been steadily beating the drum about the urgent need for policy-makers on Capitol Hill and the White House to get the nation's fiscal house in order. ]

Size seen pinching world's biggest Miners 20050308

[The world's biggest gold producers won't be able to sustain the millions of ounces mined every year, according to an industry consultant, because discoveries are not keeping pace with output and building new mines takes a long time.]

Buffet deepens dollar worries  20050306

[Warren Buffett has warned that the US trade deficit risks creating a "sharecropper’s society" as his letter to shareholders sounded an increasingly bearish tone about the value of the dollar.]

Greenspan sounds US deficit warning 20050303

[U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan issued one of his toughest warnings yet to Congress yesterday about the danger of letting the country's giant budget deficits persist, saying "the consequences for the U.S. economy of doing nothing could be severe." ]

FEBRUARY 2005

US Deficits risk crash : Treasury 20050225