Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: IngotWeTrust who wrote (49581)	2/24/2000 12:36:00 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

Poor taste, Reece, very poor taste. So was Al Gore's taking money from supposedly "poverty stricken" Buddhist monks (of course.. it was Chinese money). I should have known YOU would be the one I would have to explain the joke to. I could care less if people are Buddhist anymore than if they are Sikhs. Btw, are you still hustlin' innocents out of their money for a chance to "win" some of that $1200/ounce gold?

To: IngotWeTrust who wrote (49581)	2/24/2000 1:02:00 PM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116764

FOCUS-S.Africa gold output at lowest since 1954 Reuters Story - February 24, 2000 12:21 Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. By Darren Schuettler JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) - South Africa saw gold output drop to its lowest for almost 50 years in 1999 as companies tried to cope with volatile bullion prices. The Chamber of Mines said its members produced 449.5 tonnes in 1999, down from 464.4 the previous year and 492 in 1997. It was the lowest annual production since the mines yielded 411 tonnes in 1954, said the Chamber, which represents most of the country's gold mines. "It was the gold price and restructuring that we have seen in the past year," said Standard Bank gold analyst Joachin Berlenbach. Annual output peaked at about 1,000 tonnes in 1970, but has fallen steadily since then, particularly in the 1980s after gold peaked at $850 an ounce at the start of the decade. When gold plumbed then-record lows of around $274 an ounce in late 1997 and financial losses mounted, the industry embarked on a radical restructuring, cutting tens of thousands of jobs and closing or selling unprofitable shafts. Companies were forced to tighten their belts further in 1999 when gold fell to its lowest in two decades in late August following Britain's first gold auction. The market recovered to a two-year high in early October after 15 European central banks pledged to limit gold sales, lending and derivatives activities. Gold was trading around $299 an ounce on Thursday. Berlenbach said if gold stayed around $300 an ounce this year, some mothballed operations could become economic again. South Africa's oldest gold mine, East Rand Proprietary Mines (ERPM), re-opened under new ownership this year after it fell into liquidation last August. "There are good reserves still in South Africa even at depths of over 2,500 metres. If the gold price recovers or stays where it is around $300 an ounce, I think these reserves will get another look," said Berlenbach. Most South African companies still source the bulk of their production from domestic operations, but they are increasingly looking offshore for new projects. AngloGold Ltd , the world's biggest gold company, has said its output could reach just under 7.6 million ounces in 2000 from 6.9 million ounces last year. But much of that increase will likely come from a new acquisition in Australia and its operations in the Americas. Both AngloGold and Gold Fields Ltd , the world's number two producer, are on the prowl for acquisitions that will broaden their exposure outside South Africa and at the same time lure foreign shareholders. Harmony Gold Co and Durban Roodepoort Deep have also made forays into offshore markets in recent months. Analysts said the expansion drive would be a major theme of the South African industry this year, with the government providing some support on Wednesday when it further relaxed foreign exchange controls on companies seeking to make investments abroad. hoovershbn.hoovers.com

To: IngotWeTrust who wrote (49581)	2/24/2000 1:28:00 PM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

February 24, 2000 Irrational Exuberance Won't Save Social Security by Andrew G. Biggs Andrew G. Biggs is a Social Security analyst at the Cato Institute. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan warned against letting "irrational exuberance" cause us to ignore stock market fundamentals, and we should be also careful that today's booming economy doesn't make us ignore the fundamentals of Social Security and wishfully conclude that the system does not face a crisis after all. Some commentators have gotten great publicity by doing just that. The status quo faithful, led by Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot of the Economic Policy Institute, claim that "any shortfall that Social Security may have in the future can result only from a dismal economic performance." If economic growth exceeds the low 1.7 percent annual rate projected by Social Security's Board of Trustees, they say, "the Social Security system will be solvent into the stratosphere of America's science-fiction future." But close examination shows how irrational this exuberance is. Social Security's trustees predict low economic growth not because American workers will suddenly become unproductive -- in fact, the trustees actually predict that future wages will grow at twice the 1975-95 rate -- but because low birth rates and retiring Baby Boomers will slow the growth of the labor force. Not enough workers equals not enough economic growth. But Baker and Weisbrot, authors of Social Security: The Phony Crisis, believe the economy will grow faster. Faster growth means higher wages, and higher wages generate more tax revenue to pay benefits. Voila! Crisis averted. The truth is that, regardless of economic growth, Social Security promises more than it can pay. Here's why. Social Security pays benefits with money it collects from a payroll tax of 12.4 percent on wages up to a ceiling of $76,200. But income tax return data collected by the Congressional Budget Office show that 79 percent of income growth from 1993 to 1996 went to individuals earning more than the payroll tax ceiling. In other words, most of the economic growth in recent years hasn't added a red cent to Social Security -- it simply passes it by. (cont) cato.org

To: IngotWeTrust who wrote (49581)	2/24/2000 2:52:00 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116764

Maybe they are right for the next 20 years: Two-thirds of adults in the UK have trouble with basic financial terms and are ignorant about investment opportunities, a survey suggests. Basic financial terms and concepts appear to baffle them, even though four-fifths of those questioned agreed that saving for old age was very important. The ICM survey was sponsored by the Motley Fool personal finance website. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Misapprehensions An Isa is a specialist financial adviser Gold is the best long-term investment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Its results show that two-thirds of those polled do not know the FTSE 100, the UK's top stock market of 100 leading shares, even though it has been around for nearly 20 years and is quoted nearly daily in the press, radio, television and the internet. A similar proportion does not know what Individual Savings Accounts (Isa) are and four-fifths could not describe a retirement annuity. Some of the glaringly inaccurate answers given include describing an Isa as a specialist financial adviser and an annuity as an anonymous insurance policy! However, mistakes were not only made by those interviewed. The Motley Fool press release sent to the BBC could not get it right either - it described an Isa as as Independent Savings Account!! (cont) news.bbc.co.uk