(GATA) For members of Congress, Financial Times article, an eye opener.
The James Joyce Table
Discussion du Jour: Gold, Commodities, Midas du Metropole
Midas du Metropole "The Gold Market and Precious Metals Commentary"
February 14, 2000
MIDAS TIME
This past week Barrick Gold CEO, Randall Oliphant, and other Barrick
executives did their dog and pony show in New York trying to pump up
analysts and investors about how brilliant they are. Their Chairman,
Peter Munk, even took the time to do an interview with Janet Whitman
for Dow Jones.
Barrick Gold is making the rounds for a reason.
Their share price is stinking up the place.
New York Times - February 13, 2000
"This investor preference is seen in a comparison of the recent performance
of Newmont Mining, which is not a hedger, and Barrick. Since the gold rally
began in August, Newmont stock is up 24.4 percent. Barrick, which had a
guaranteed price of $370 an ounce this year, is down 1.7 percent."
Caf‚ members know that Midas and GATA have urged investors for 8 months
now to dump Barrick stock as a protest to their EXCESSIVE hedging strategies
that were hurting so many in the gold industry. We hoped that their stock
would under perform so other big hedgers would notice and do something about
their own hedging to prevent their stock price from suffering the same fate.
It was even hoped by us that Barrick would finally get its act together
and buy back their forwards.
Whether we had anything to do with what has gone on in the gold industry
about reducing forward selling is anyone's guess. We would like to think
we did make some kind of difference, of course. What I do know is that
that the publicity generated by Caf‚ member, Arthur Hailey (the great
prolific novelist who wrote such blockbusters as Hotel and Airport)
did cause many investors to unload Barrick shares - we know one who sold
3 million shares. This all occurred because Arthur responded to a GATA
plea to protest Barrick's hedging policy by faxing Barrick's executives
at the Denver Gold Conference in October. He did just that we had hoped
for by telling them in a letter that he had sold all his Barrick Gold
stock that he had held for many years. We put up his letter in the Caf‚.
Word got out and the press was all over it.
In the spring of 1999, Barrick CEO, Randall Oliphant, told a popular
New York journalist that the GATA folk were a "bunch of nuts."
This past Thursday at a presentation to loyal Barrick shareholders,
press and analysts, he told everyone from the podium that
"the only problem with Barrick's stock was the conspiracy crowd."
I guess he could not say those "nuts" in public.
Now, I have a question for Mr. Oliphant. What exactly did you mean by
that statement? Are you inferring that investors have analyzed the gold
market and have come to the conclusion that GATA is right about the
manipulation of the gold market, thereby staying away from buying the
shares of your company?
A bunch of "nuts" could do that?
Well, maybe they can! Financial Times columnist, Barry Riley, may be most
widely read and respected financial journalist in the United Kingdom.
That is what London's Marshall Auerback tells me.
The most respected financial journalist, who writes for the most respected
financial newspaper in the world. That is what we have here, Mr. Oliphant.
While many of you read the FT article, I wanted to highlight some of what
Barry Riley (not related to the "Hannibal Lecter" Goldman Sachs commodity
honcho, Riley) said in the article as it relates to Barrick Gold and the
manipulation of the gold market.
Financial Times - London - February 12
The long view - The battle over bullion
Conspiracy theorists have a field day as gold edges higher again,
writes Barry Riley
"All the attempts....."
Would you not say that he has listened to what GATA has to say and that
he tends to agree with us. His commentary was almost a casual, factual
tone. This is a stunning development. How can Randall Oliphant and their
PR crew go around denigrating GATA without denigrating this most highly
regarded of financial journalists?
Other financial journalists can now write about what GATA has to say
and always refer to Barry Riley as the precedence setter. It will give
them more confidence to write about the manipulation of the gold market.
I cannot stress enough what an important development this is. Certain
members of Congress and certain committees (Banking) are receiving copies
of this FT column, etc. It is an eye opener for them, I can assure you.
In that regard, Reg Howe deserves much credit as it is clear to me
that Mr. Riley has read what Reg has to say on the subject.
Three cheers for RH!
The "enveloping horn" juggernaut rolls on.
Oh yes, after all Barrick's rah rah of last week, their share price
closed today at 17 1/2 down 13/16.
Midas has been bullish on oil for a long time now predicting this big oil move
and now we have $30+ oil. It is conceivable oil is headed for $40 a barrel.
So you can get the flavor of what is going on out there. Some of today's
oil market feedback from Caf‚ member, Jon R:
"When the dust settles.....
"***TEXAS MARKETS SEE SEVERE PRODUCT OUTAGES.....
"SPOT GASOLINE SOARS IN CHICAGO"
Who knows how high the price of oil can go.?
Then there is palladium.....
"Rap up"
========
Methinks it is time that the gold shares do their thing and start
a long overdue move much, much higher.
Portfolio managers have been forced to sell the gold shares because
they have not been momentum plays, etc. With $30+ oil hitting the headlines,
bells and whistles have to be going off behind the scenes in the investment
board rooms that the inflation game is changing.
So is the investment scene.
My guess is the big money crowd is about to wake up and charge
into the gold shares, any day now.
There is one more thing. As a result of Barry Riley's column, GATA,
Reg Howe, Frank Veneroso and all of you GATA supporters that have helped
make a difference, the investment world is going to realize that the
gold price has been artificially held down and as Harry Schultz says,
"not allowed to rise." Thus, too much gold has been devoured at too
cheap a price for too long a time. As that becomes known and accepted
by that big money crowd, they will pile into gold and the gold shares,
for they will begin to understand that the price of gold is going to
explode - in a manner and fashion as if price controls were suddenly lifted.
Midas
Bill Murphy ( Midas )
Le Patron, Le Metropole Cafe lemetropolecafe.com
Bill Murphy, Chairman, Gold Anti Trust Action (GATA) gata.org
GATA related articles can be obtained at the pay for view site.
Bill Murphy, Le Patron, Le Metropole Cafe lemetropolecafe.com |
