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Strategies & Market Trends : YEEHAW CANDIDATES -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sergio H who wrote (10459)	8/7/2005 8:05:13 PM
From: Ditchdigger	Respond to of 23958

Hello Sergio..I think PAL might be an excellent play. My gut is telling me we are going to see commodities prices soar into mid Winter, just a feeling. I still think the proverbial feces is going to hit the fan soon, but I've been saying it for awhile..Haven't invested much new cash in quite awhile, have been concentrating on paying down debt..preparing for future offers of 50 cents to the fella who bought property during the height of the boom at a dollar<vvbg> I don't think this will effect bgo, not yet anyway "South Africa gold miners say start strike Sun Aug 7, 2005 2:19 PM ET By James Macharia JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African gold miners launched their first industry-wide strike in 18 years on Sunday to demand higher wages in the world's biggest bullion producer, the country's main mining union said. "I can say now that the strike is on," Gwede Mantashe, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), told Reuters. The union had said the strike would start across the country at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). "All the workers who were due to go on the 6 p.m. shift are out, all the four companies (involved in failed wage talks) have been affected." Around 100,000 gold miners represented by the NUM would remain on strike until a solution was found, he said. Despite improved offers from two companies, last-minute talks failed to yield a deal, according to an official from the Chamber of Mines, which negotiates on behalf of gold producers. Mantashe had earlier said even if any better wage offers were forthcoming, it would be too late to call off the strike. South Africa's gold industry accounts for around 15 percent of global output, and the mining sector contributes about 8 percent to the nation's gross domestic product. A strike would lead to the loss of around 28,000 ounces of gold production and 79 million rand ($12.21 million) in lost revenue per day, a Deutsche Securities analyst has estimated. The failed wage talks are symptomatic of wider discontent in a country plagued by huge income gaps between the rich and mostly black poor more than a decade after the end of apartheid. Recent weeks have seen a wave of work stoppages by city workers and supermarket clerks and a six-day stoppage by employees of the national airline. Two unions called the strike after rejecting the latest offer by the Chamber of Mines, of a 4.5 to 5 percent wage rise plus bonus payments. STIKE MAY SPREAD The Solidarity union with about 10,000 members will join the strike just before midnight on Monday, and a third 15,000-strong union will decide on Monday whether to also take part. Unions are demanding a rise of between 10 and 12 percent. Wages make up around half of total costs in the labor intensive sector, the biggest in terms of mining employment. The strike would paralyze the South African mines of the world's No. 2 gold producer AngloGold Ashanti, fourth-ranked Gold Fields, sixth-placed Harmony Gold and South Deep, a joint venture of South Africa's Western Areas and Canada's Placer Dome . In 11th-hour talks, AngloGold and South Deep offered wage hikes of between 5.25 and 6.5 percent, the NUM said. The union would seek out the views of its members on the new offer and respond on Monday afternoon. Frans Barker, head negotiator for the Chamber of Mines, told Reuters: "There was some informal contact between AngloGold and South Deep and the NUM, but there was no agreement." "If the strike goes on for too long, the country will start feeling the impact, especially on its export account." Miners, who descend more than 3 km (nearly 2 miles) underground to drill ore in sweltering narrow tunnels, typically earn 2,500-3,000 rand ($387-$464) per month. Mantashe said the NUM could consider a wage increase of between 7 to 8 percent, but such an offer would have to include a 1 percent increase in the miners' risk cover under their provident fund, and higher allowances for those living outside the gold companies' hostels. Mining firms, which gave workers a 10 percent wage rise two years ago, say they cannot afford rises much above inflation, which is running below 4 percent."

To: Sergio H who wrote (10459)	8/7/2005 8:24:34 PM
From: Ditchdigger	Respond to of 23958

PS: here is a question for you or anyone. I'd like to hear an explanation of how and what these "carry trades" are the big finanial centers use..How due rising treasury rates effect these trades? I see many of the large banks reported less earnings as a result of some of this stuff..I guess I need to due some research..;^)DD Winter will be here soon enough, then I'll have time and energy to come out and play again, bear with me<g> edit, guess I have some reading to do<g> "You borrow money at 1%, and you earn 4% on the notes you bought with the borrowed money. Your profit is 3% for every year you can keep that position in place. Maybe 3% doesn't sound like a lot to you? Then you're missing the point. That 3% was to be earned on what amounts to an investment of zero — it was all done with borrowed money. That's functionally an infinite return. Sweet. Wall Street calls it the "carry trade," because a trader is effectively being paid by the Fed to carry bonds in his trading account."