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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: techguerrilla who wrote (63055)	10/27/2004 3:28:23 AM
From: elpolvo	Respond to of 89467

ché- did you see "the motorcycle diaries" yet? if not, then do so this week. it's a great escape. -polvito

To: techguerrilla who wrote (63055)	10/27/2004 10:16:22 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

For your bro,wherever he is this morning... Connecticut Post Monetary respect Price of copper puts focus on the penny By ROB VARNON rvarnon@ctpost.com Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - Some days, people don't need a full two pennies to put their two cents worth into a conversation. According to the Web site coinflation.com, the price for copper rose so high on Oct. 8 that the copper content in pennies made before 1982 was worth more than the denomination of the actual coin. On that day, copper prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at more than $1.47 a pound, making the pre-1982 penny worth 1.003 cents. Copper has since retreated and closed at $1.28 on Monday, which makes those same pennies worth a little more than 0.8 cent in copper. Robert S. Reimer, owner of the Westport coin store by the same name, said the price the Web site is tracking is called the melt value. That's the price that someone could get for the metal of a coin after melting it down, he said. He said the melt value has exceeded the buying power of the penny in the past. "That's happened in previous years and that's why [the U.S. Mint] switched to a zinc core with copper plating, Reimer said. In the 1980s, he said, copper broke the penny's melt value and the mint had to adjust because, after factoring in labor costs, it would actually cost more to produce the coin than it is worth. The fact that the last time copper hit this value was in the early 1980s, when the nation was battling a recession, doesn't sit well with Todd Martin, an economic consultant to Bridgeport-based People's Bank. Martin and other economists are debating the impact of rising commodity prices on the economy, with some projecting that a recession is imminent because those costs are so high. Martin said he remains optimistic that high prices will only slow the economy, not kill it. Reimer didn't venture an opinion on whether a recession is coming or not. But he said the cost of metals to make coins can affect one of the only profitable areas of the federal government - the U.S. Mint. The mint makes a profit by creating coins and also selling special coins to collectors, Reimer said. He said if the cost of the base metal exceed the coin's denomination, the mint would operate at a loss. There have been other occasions where the mint has had to change the metal content of its coins, he said. During World War II, for example, nickel was such a valuable commodity that the mint had to use silver in the 5-cent piece. And in 1943, copper was so valuable that pennies were made of steel with zinc plating. These coins are highly collectible now, Reimer said, and maybe someday the old copper penny might gain a collectible status. He said that may be a long time away, however, but the fact is that the copper penny is gaining more notice and might create more interest in collecting, which could help an already thriving business. "The rare coin market is up by 20 to 30 percent, he said. That's not to say pennies made before 1982 are rare. When Reimer says rare he means coins that are being auctioned off or sold for sometimes as much as $2,000. Those coins' values to collectors are worth much more than the melt values, he said. connpost.com

To: techguerrilla who wrote (63055)	10/27/2004 11:00:19 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

U.S. October Consumer Confidence Index Falls to 92.8 From 96.7 Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer confidence fell for a third straight month in October, a private survey showed, suggesting rising voter discontent with the economy a week before President George W. Bush seeks re-election. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dropped to 92.8 from a revised 96.7 in September, lower than previously estimated. Americans' assessment of the current economy and their outlook for the next six months fell. The survey is the Conference Board's last before the U.S. presidential election. Since the index began in 1967, every incumbent president* facing re-election with consumer confidence below 99 on Election Day has lost. quote.bloomberg.com * Ford 1976, Carter 1980, Bush I 1992