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  CHRIS POWELL, Secretary Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
  * * *
  TORA! TORA! TORA! 
  GATA'S RIGHT FLANK LAUNCHES  SURPRISE OFFENSIVE AGAINST  THE HANNIBAL CANNIBALS 
  Sunday, October 17, 1999 
  At 7:50 a.m. Central Daylight Time today the Gold Anti- Trust Action Committee launched a surprise strike  against the Hannibal Cannibal gold bullion dealers and  their closet allies. We intend to catch them flatfooted  in a Pearl Harbor-type assault.  
  The focus of GATA's attack is the Denver Gold Group  Gold Conference convening today at the Westin Hotel in  Denver, Colorado. Among those in attendance will be the  bullion dealers that colluded to drive the price of gold  down to an unnaturally low price, as well as their primary  accomplices, the extremely hedged gold producers. The  conference continues through Wednesday. 
  Participants in the conference begin arriving today in  Denver and will not be ready to counterattack. 
  But for this surprise strike to work, GATA requires a  little help from every gold stock shareholder in the  world. Now is the time to stand up for your investment  and for the gold cause. 
  This conference is a prestigious one. Its managing  director, Michelle Stell, has done a marvelous job  organizing it since she came up with her idea 10  years ago. Most big gold producers and many smaller  ones will be there, along with bullion dealers, gold  fund managers, and gold analysts. The conference will  be a "Who's Who" of the world gold industry. 
  When the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee was formed,  we came up with a battle plan to take on Hannibal  Lecter and the other Hannibal Cannibal bullion dealers.  Our plan was patterned after the tactics of the  ferocious South African Zulu chieftain, Shaka. To  defeat his foes, Shaka positioned his troops in a  diamond formation. The point made a thrust in the  middle of the enemy position, and then the diamond's  left and right flanks would suddenly flare out and  attack from the sides. The resulting formation became  known as "the enveloping horn." 
  The "point" of GATA's attack was our retaining the law  firm of Berger & Montague of Philadelphia, the premier  anti-trust law firm in the United States. Our lead  attorney at Berger & Montague, Merrill G. Davidoff, has  extensive knowledge of the gold market. The firm is  assisting our investigation of the manipulation of the  gold market, and the bullion dealers know that with  Berger & Montague, we are a force to be reckoned with. 
  The forces of GATA's left flank have been letting the  Internet, the news media, and the U.S. Congress know  about the manipulation of the gold market. GATA  officials have gone to Washington and conferred with  three committees with jurisdiction over economic  matters. We remain in regular contact with them.  Further, GATA's associates in Europe were instrumental  in getting the price manipulation issue raised in the  House of Commons when the Bank of England began to sell  gold to bail out the reckless but influential gold  shorts. 
  The forces of GATA's right flank have been working to  mobilize gold producers against the manipulators and to  get the producers to cover their forward sale hedges.  Meanwhile we have been encouraging gold company  shareholders to invest in good producers that are only  modestly hedged or have no forward sale positions at  all. This part of our plan does far more than suit our  own purposes. For only by changing their stock  allocations from heavily hedged to lightly hedged and  unhedged producers will investors participate fully in the  coming bull market in gold. 
  Ashanti Gold and Cambior were virtually destroyed this  month because the bullion dealers had sold them  extensive "structured deal" hedge programs that failed  to take into account a quick and substantial rise in  the gold price. Other gold producers that have  made such hedging deals with the Hannibal Cannibals may  blow up in the next quick rise in the gold price. Do  gold investors want to take that chance by owning shares  in heavily hedged producers? 
  Chris Thompson, the chairman of the world's second  largest gold producer, Gold Fields Ltd., had the  following to say last Thursday after his company bought  back the bulk of its hedged position: 
  "Having looked at the fundamentals of the current gold  market and the implications of the Ashanti situation,  it seems inevitable to us that higher, if not much  higher, gold prices are inevitable. Accordingly it  seemed prudent to retrieve our hedge positions." 
  A few months ago Thompson was the first major gold  company executive to speak out about the nefarious  activities of the Hannibals. On April 16, denying  persistent rumors that that Gold Fields had recently  sold a large amount of its gold production forward,  Thompson said: 
  "These rumors appear to be emanating from New York- based bullion dealers." 
  Gold Fields was also the producer that bought gold at  the second Bank of England gold action, thereby  alerting the world that producers had begun to buy back  their hedges and sparking the recent rally in the gold  price. 
  Thompson will be attending the conference in Denver. So  will the top brass of the heavily hedged Barrick Gold,  whose chief executive officer recently had this to say: 
  "London, Sept. 17 (Reuters) -- Barrick Gold President  and CEO Randall Oliphant today told gold miners to stop  criticizing central bank gold sales and concentrate on  how to survive in the current low gold price  environment. Oliphant said that while he would prefer  that the Bank of England did not sell its gold, he did  not think that moaning was the right answer. 
  "Oliphant said, 'The Bank of England tried to do what  we asked them, which was to be transparent in what they  did.' 
  "Barrick runs the largest hedge book in the industry,  with its entire planned production sold through to the  end of 2001, some 13.3 million ounces as of July 22,  committed at secured prices averaging $385/ounce." 
  In a recent conference call, Barrick gave no indication  that it was planning to cover its hedges, and then  alerted its shareholders that in addition to its  forward sales, it had written 4 million ounces of  calls. I spoke to two major shareholders in Barrick  prior to this conference call, and they said they knew  nothing about these calls. 
  Do you see what is happening here? 
  One leading gold producer is taking action that  supports the price of gold and thereby stands to  benefit all gold investors. 
  And another leading gold producer talks down the market  and the whole gold industry, and refuses to take action  that will benefit even its own shareholders in the long  run. 
  Barrick Gold will be represented at the Denver  conference too. 
  So I urge gold investors around the world to proclaim  their support for the position taken by Gold Fields   and to give notice to Barrick and its accomplices that  if they continue to hinder an advance in the gold price  and do not start covering their hedges: 1) Gold  investors may boycott their stock, and 2) Their  managements may be held personally accountable as a  matter of law if the gold price rallies sharply before  they have taken the prudent action that is their  fiduciary duty to their stockholders. 
  What fundamentals of the gold market does Gold Fields  understand that Barrick does not? 
  One must ask why Barrick and the other heavily hedged  producers are listening to the bullion dealers who are  advising them to remain short. 
  These are same bullion dealers that failed to alert the  heavily hedged producers to cover before the recent  surge in the gold price. 
  In the weeks before the announcement of the European  central banks that they would cease cooperating in the  gold carry trade, www.LeMetropoleCafe.com disclosed  that government-to-government negotiations were under  way and that their result could be very supportive of  the gold price for a change, instead of harmful to it.  Why were the bullion dealers seemingly so uninformed  and unprotective of the producers they had induced to  hedge so much, producers like Ashanti and Cambior? Or  were the bullion dealers really so uninformed? 
  The Denver conference will be crucial to the direction  of the gold industry, and this is how I see it. 
  There will be two camps. The modestly hedged and  unhedged producers will be one camp, and the heavily  hedged producers and the Hannibal Cannibals that got  them into the current mess will be in the other. 
  The Hannibal camp will seek to assure the mining  companies that governments and central banks will  intervene in the gold market again to push the price  down, so the mining companies should not worry about  covering their forward sales. The Hannibals will say  that they have the cooperation of Eddie George at the  Bank of England and he and others in government  authority are intervening in the gold market at the  moment.
  Indeed, certain "official sectors" are still trying to  hold the price of gold down; I have reported as much  over the past few days now. 
  It is obvious. On Friday the U.S. Producer Price Index  was up a whopping 1.1 percent for the month, far  greater than any estimate. The dollar and the U.S.  stock market fell hard, but gold was held to a $2 gain. 
  All week gold rose on markets around the world only to  sell off in New York as Peter Fisher and Co. at the New  York Fed and others moved against it. They have long  experience at this and are pretty good at it -- in the  short run. 
  Yes, the Hannibals will talk gold down to all who will  listen. Why? 
  Derivativesville! The bullion dealers and many of their  clients have massive option exposure on gold. If gold  rises above $325-$330 area, it will cause them terrible  problems, as many owners of the calls the Hannibals  have sold could ask for the actual gold. This could  cause massive buying and drive the price sharply  higher. 
  The Hannibals are a frightened lot now. Having long  denied that the price of gold was being manipulated  down, their apologists now are bleating that the world  financial system will be engulfed in chaos if gold  rallies further and governments don't move to suppress  the price again. The Hannibals want government to bail  them out again. Meanwhile these same bullion dealers are  putting the heat on Ashanti CEO Sam Jonah, whose  company they have helped to ruin. These people are  hypocrites of the first order. 
  Yes, the Hannibals will be at the Denver conference  talking gold down -- just long enough so they can cover  their short positions to protect against a bull market.  They don't want anyone to know this. (Quietly, some are forming gold vulture funds to take advantage of the infant bull market in gold).   This is exactly why hedged producers should be  buying back their forward sales. 
  Yes, some central banks are putting liquidity into the  market now, if only to prevent it from seizing up. That is  good. Gold producers can buy back their forward positions  without running up the gold price too much. But these same  producers may not have another solid opportunity. Everyone  knows that the short position and supply deficit of  gold are so huge that there is significant exposure to  the upside. How can a prudent chief financial officer  of a gold producer keep his company heavily short at  this time and still be fulfilling his fiduciary duty to  his company's shareholders? 
  So, gold share investors, man your battle stations. 
  In an accompanying mailing GATA provides you with contact information for the gold companies  participating in the Denver Gold Group conference. We  ask you to contact them to support the Chris Thompsons  of the gold world. 
  With enough urging from shareholders, other gold  companies will close out their hedges too and the gold  price should rally sharply. 
  The fax number at the Westin Hotel is 303-572-7288. Of  course callers outside the United States will have to  add the appropriate prefaces for international calls. 
  The Westin's fax number is connected to backup fax  machines to avoid logjams. 
  If you can't send a fax, you might leave a message for  the representative of your favorite (or least favorite)  gold company. Just call the main phone number at the  Westin: 303-572-9100. 
  The chief executive officers of the gold producers are  the ones who usually attend this conference. The people  on the list we are sending you are just our best  guesses as to who will be there. If you want to know  exactly who is representing a particular company at the  conference, you can always call the company directly  or check with the hotel. 
  GATA urges all gold company shareholders to send faxes  to two gold companies at the Westin, or to send email or  regular mail to 10 companies at their headquarters. 
  When you are finished, please contact two other gold  shareholders and ask them to do just what you have  done. Them ask them if they would find two other gold  shareholders to join us in this effort, and so forth.  We can reach hundreds of thousands of gold investors  if everyone does just a little bit here and the chain  holds. 
  In your faxes and letters, you might urge the gold  companies: 
  1) To ask Chris Thompson of Gold Fields why he believes  the gold market's fundmentals are so bullish. 
  2) To ask the bullion dealers why any producer should  stay short when there is such upside potential because  of the enormous short positions that have not been  covered yet. 
  3) To ask if there is even one bullion dealer at the  conference advising producers to cover. 
  Of course ask you might like to add your own questions  as well.  Just remember to be courteous in everything  you do. 
  The manipulation of the gold market by the bullion  dealers is the great financial scandal of our time. It  has inflicted devastation on many countries and  millions of people -- gold miners and their dependents  and gold company shareholders, and, really, everyone  who was not part of the scheme to deny the world the  benefits of gold's traditional monetary function as the  truth teller about paper currencies and as a  competitive form of money in itself. 
  Gold investors now must fight back. 
  These next few days are the time to act and Denver  is the place. 
  YOU can make a difference. If the producers at this  conference start covering their hedges, the gold price  will go up, probably way up. Isn't that what we  all want? Isn't that what THEY are SUPPOSED to want  too? 
  "Carpe diem" -- "Vox populi, vox Dei" -- "So be it."
  Go get 'em. 
  BILL MURPHY, Chairman  Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee
  -END-
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