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To: Giraffe who wrote (42951)	10/14/1999 9:32:00 AM
From: Giraffe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116764

GOLD: South Africa launches 22-carat coin for 2000 By Nicol Degli Innocenti in Johannesburg South Africa yesterday took advantage of a rising gold price to launch a millennium version of the world's best-selling gold bullion coin. The 22-carat Krugerrand 2000 gold coin was launched yesterday by the mint in Johannesburg in four different sizes: the classic one ounce of gold, half an ounce, one quarter and one tenth of an ounce. The country, the world's biggest gold producer, is the first to introduce a gold bullion coin to celebrate the end of the millennium. The Reserve Bank has granted special permission for the first ever release before the date inscribed on the coin. According to Rand Refinery, responsible for marketing the krugerrand worldwide, demand for the newly-minted coins is expected to exceed 4m ounces in 1999 - almost four times the level in 1996. Ordinary krugerrands are trading at $325-$330 an ounce. The Krugerrand 2000 will be launched in New York today. Although South Africa never stopped producing gold coins, demand and sales suffered because of international sanctions imposed on the apartheid regime. Production and sales fell drastically from the mid-1980s and have not fully recovered, even though it remains the world's most actively traded gold bullion coin in the secondary market. However, the past continues to haunt the new South Africa. Attention yesterday focused on the side of the coin with the Year 2000 and outline of a springbok. The other side, which still bears the image of Paul Kruger, the 19th century Boer who was president of the original South African republic, was discreetly hidden. ft.com

To: Giraffe who wrote (42951)	10/14/1999 12:41:00 PM
From: Tunica Albuginea	Respond to of 116764

Giraffe," Bond defaults rise to 5.78% " because those Bonds had no Gold collateral. The only collateral was " the god faith of the borrowing country". they had access to capital at relatively cheap rates despite their low credit ratings and poor cash flow generation. This was our exported inflation: US Dollars. They in turn were to provide us with cheap " foreign products" " to keep our inflation down". This cocamany scheme I guess is unrravelling now in a big way bonds, loans, derivatives and all. And, the Fed can't come to the rescue like last Oct by " loosening credit ". TA To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (42950) From: Giraffe Thursday, Oct 14 1999 9:29AM ET Reply #42951 of 42967 Bond defaults rise to 5.78% By Edward Luce, Capital Markets Editor The level of defaults on bonds globally surged to its highest level since 1991, driven mostly by bankruptcies in the US and emerging market turmoil. In a report, Moody's Investors Service, the credit rating agency, said the proportion of defaults had risen to 5.78 per cent of all bonds. The ratio had been climbing steadily since early 1997 when it hit a low of 1.4 per cent. Of the 30 defaults in the third quarter of 1999, 18 were from the US and two each from the UK, Mexico and Canada. Analysts said most of the defaulters were high-yield companies that came to the market in its most bullish phase between late 1996 and mid-1998. This meant they had access to capital at relatively cheap rates despite their low credit ratings and poor cash flow generation. "There was an enormous flood of weak credits who came to the market in that period," said Sean Keenan, an analyst at Moody's in New York. Recent defaulters include Drilling Technologies and TransAmerica Energy, of the US, and ICO Global Communications of the UK. The default rate was aggravated by the recent rise in US interest rates that hit highly geared companies harder than others. It also triggered a shift of funds into short-term deposits and government bonds, which deprived many emerging markets of access to capital. Both Ecuador, the South American country, and Daewoo, the Korean conglomerate, have defaulted on obligations in the past two months. However, analysts said the default rate was still relatively low when judged against previous credit cycles. It surged to more than 13 per cent in early 1991, following the Savings & Loan bankruptcies in the US and the onset of a deep recession in the US and UK. The ratio may have peaked since the shakier credits have been denied access to the market over the past 12 months. "The default rate is likely to plateau or even fall over the next few months," said Mr Keenan. ft.com