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Strategies & Market Trends : Strictly: Drilling II -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank Pembleton who wrote (4931)	12/4/2001 8:44:13 PM
From: Frank Pembleton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36161

A gold bug -- By Investor's Digest Gold bug Irwin Yamamoto, editor of Yamamoto Forecast, says the current pause in the bullion could be a refreshing one. While the gold price did retreat from the $290-area, the bulls believe the advance will continue after the consolidation in the industry settles down. The bears, however, see the latest move backward as another failure of the metal to surpass the psychologically important $300 mark. Mr. Yamamoto, however, remains optimistic about the prospects for gold and says the bulls definitely have a case. For one thing, the situation in Afghanistan could be positive for gold for both the short and long term. "On the other hand, if Osama bin Laden ever gets caught, the price of the metal will plunge overnight. At best, the positive background seems to be fragile." It's the long-term picture that holds the most promise. The Federal Reserve has been "printing money like there's no tomorrow." This could potentially give rise to inflation which will be the boost gold needs. In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open. For the average investor, says Mr. Yamamoto, a five per cent stake in gold shares is appropriate and generally the lower-priced stocks tend to be riskier than the higher-priced ones. Yamamoto Forecast Box 573 Kahului, HI 96733 808-877-2690 $350 a year

To: Frank Pembleton who wrote (4931)	12/5/2001 12:10:32 AM
From: isopatch	Respond to of 36161

Right on!! And speaking of copper and the LME.... <Tuesday December 4, 8:01 am Eastern Time Copper market braces for large stocks increase By Martin Hayes LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Swollen warehouse stocks of copper are expected to rise further before the end of the year as metal related to Enron Metals continues to flood into stores, traders and analysts said. On Monday London Metal Exchange (LME) stocks of copper jumped 25,150 tonnes to 780,225 tonnes, the highest since March 2000. Although there was a decline on Tuesday, traders say another 50,000 tonnes or even substantially more might be added to inventories within the next few weeks. `Some people are talking about up to 100,000 tonnes -- most, if not all, would have been there some time. It depends on how much off-warrant has to be registered yet,'' a senior trader said. Big shifts in inventories of copper and other base metals have been taking place in recent weeks as the crisis surrounding Enron Corp (NYSE:ENE - news), the parent of LME ring-dealer Enron Metals (EML), deepened. ``The liquidation of the Enron physical book has been a feature of stock rises for many months now. What will (say) a 100,000 tonne rise in LME stocks in December do to market confidence?,'' Macquarie Equities said in a report. LME copper inventories have been climbing steadily since March this year, but the pace of increases quickened in November. Since the middle of last week, stocks have jumped from around 740,000 tonnes. Enron Corp filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, while its European units, not including EML, were put into administration last week. On Tuesday Enron Corp said it had secured $1.5 billion in emergency financing to run a skeleton operation. EML is ring-fenced to an extent as a regulated firm on a recognised investment exchange where trades are guaranteed and cleared. Analysts said much of the short covering seen on the LME in recent weeks probably reflected Enron buying back hedges against physical long positions which are then delivered on the market for cash. ``Although copper stocks are down by 700 tonnes this morning, aluminium stocks are up by 7,075 tonnes and nobody is sure exactly how much metal is waiting to be delivered,'' GNI Research analyst Lawrence Eagles said. LME-deliverable metal is often stored in LME-registered warehouses, but not placed on warrant, and so not recorded in data issued daily. When it is warranted, metal can then be lent to the market and, as financing stock is an important element in physical trading, the likelihood is that all Enron's holdings will be visible soon, traders said. In Europe, Enron's woes have not had a direct affect on copper premiums, which are largely unmoved and somewhat nominal, approaching the year-end. ``No one is really doing much spot business -- it is all forward stuff for next year,'' another trader said.> biz.yahoo.com