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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: denekin who wrote (47652)	1/29/2000 2:22:00 AM
From: Eashoa' M'sheekha	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116759

Larry.To Be Blunt........ Gold as a negative beta to general equities is a misnomer. This has proven itself time and time agian during market " corrections " of recent past. What many are discussing here is far beyond the market.The market is a pig in a poke within the bigger picture.But I am assuming you are American,so you're considerations may be limited due to the slanted coverage of Global events your media is " allowed " to convey. Gold is a dead investment in America for you Larry. Don't bother. Buy Bonds.

To: denekin who wrote (47652)	1/29/2000 8:54:00 AM
From: Richard Mazzarella	Respond to of 116759

LH, <<some of us assume gold>> There's not a single, or simple answer. Crashes are panic selling, gold stocks get sold off in the panic with everything else. In a panic, cash is king. People used to believe that gold was cash. One has to look at the underlying reasons for a stock market crash in the first place. If it's just letting the air out of a bubble, nothing much happens with metals other than some buying by those that heard gold was a safe haven. If the stock market decline is because inflation makes other investments more attractive, an investment in coffee may be as good as gold. Gold isn't cash anymore and it probably will never be cash again in our modern society. Metals trade based on their supply and demand. Porkbellies, metals, the same market for this millennium IMO. When gold was cash, people could buy miners that were highly leveraged to the metal. Today, miners (the XAU) hedge and any move in metals even if they do occur minimizes the value for hedging miners. Metals will simply be valued on the worth for their use, the demand. PGMs and silver have promise for increased industrial use, gold's mostly just pretty. When people get used to the fact that gold's not hoarded and valued, anodized titanium may look just as pretty. There are some potential industrial uses for gold if the price was lower, condensation heat exchangers, etc. There may also exist for some time a historical traditional aspect for gold jewelry that continues, like diamonds. You asked a simple question that can be simply answered by viewing history, but I'm coming to the conclusion that as long as we live in this technological society, it may be different this time. Good question, thanks, this exercise helped firm my understanding, which may be very wrong. <VBG>

To: denekin who wrote (47652)	1/29/2000 11:10:00 AM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116759

<<I get the impression, but it's just an impression, that some of us assume gold should go up as the market goes down...isn't the fact that PM equities tend to go down with the overall market and then take off, days or weeks later...is there a general consensus or group speculation on this? I am talking about when there is a flight into PMs as other equities go down... >> If one looks back at some history, it is see to have gone up "as" the market declines only around 35-40% of the time. If the decline lasts quite some time there is often a lag involved.

To: denekin who wrote (47652)	1/29/2000 6:57:00 PM
From: Eashoa' M'sheekha	Respond to of 116759

To Further My Point................... This Is The General Answer Given to folks who inquire about gold investment in America.In Canada and other commod. producing countries,the answer may be more balanced.Mr. Waggoner took the gloom and doom approach,which underscores the negative perception of investing for bad times.This will not change.Good luck in whatever you choose.Your question was a very good one. T553 ************************************************************ 01/06/00- Updated 09:47 PM ET Q: Is gold any good as a hedge against the stock market? Joseph Langenderfer, Fort Knox, Ky. A: Gold, as one economist observed, is a direct bet against civilization. Why? Because gold increases in value at times when the future of the economic system - or the world - is in doubt. Gold, after all, is the currency of choice when paper currency fails, and paper currency fails when people lose confidence in the government that issues it. For example, gold soared in value in the 1970s when U.S. inflation soared more than 10% a year. And in World War II, when the future of many governments was in doubt, gold was the de facto currency for those displaced by the war. As an investment, gold is singularly annoying. If you buy gold ingots, you may need to get your ingots appraised before you sell them. If you buy gold coins, you have the problem of where to store them. After all, if you're hedging against catastrophe, your bank safety deposit box may not be accessible when you need your gold. Then you have to start thinking about secret hiding places and unpleasantries like guard dogs and high-powered rifles. Most gold funds invest in the stock of gold mining companies, which have an obvious drawback in the event of a stock market meltdown. Nevertheless, gold funds did hold up well during the 1987 stock market crash, and they might help in a future crash. On the other hand, there have been two major stock market crashes this century. Is it worth putting your portfolio in gold for a long period waiting for doom? The average gold fund has returned less than 5% a year the past ten years. Nevertheless, if you're interested in gold funds, here are the five best the past five years: 1 Year 5 Year Total Annlzd Fund Name, phone Return Return Midas, 800-400-6432 21.22% 20.46% IDS Precious Metals A, 800-328-8300 34.31% 20.20% United Svcs World Gold, 800-873-8637 19.52% 15.79% Scudder Gold, 800-225-2470 32.11% 14.95% Fidelity Sel American Gold , 800-544-8888 19.91% 14.31% Average gold fund 7.06% 8.07% Source: Morningstar. Dividends, gains reinvested through 12/31/96. John Waggoner will answer your questions about mutual funds at USA TODAY Online. His e-mail address is Waggon@usatoday.com. Include name, city, state, and daytime phone (for verification).