To: ild who wrote (60085 ) 5/2/2006 12:32:33 PM From: ild Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 110194 Date: Tue May 02 2006 12:20 trotsky (@silver shares) ID#248269: Copyright © 2002 trotsky/Kitco Inc. All rights reserved one more thing: the silver ETF is now doing to the silver shares what GLD did to the gold shares - it invites the long SLV/short silver producers paired trade. Date: Tue May 02 2006 12:06 trotsky (@pm stocks) ID#248269: we're on red alert in more ways than one. Date: Tue May 02 2006 11:57 trotsky (@silver shares) ID#248269: Copyright © 2002 trotsky/Kitco Inc. All rights reserved as i posted here a while back, i got out of this sub sector on account of its glaring underperformance vs. the metal ( while keeping some calls as a low-risk replacement for the shares ) , and so far i have obviously no regrets. the latest problem confronting many of the US based primary silver miners is Bolivia's crazy new socialist economic illiterate at the helm of government, and the NEXT problem is already cropping up in run-off presidential elections in Peru. those are between two leftists, one of whom appears slightly more radical than the other, and is highly likely to win ( he already announced during his campaign that he's going to come down on the mines ) . this is also a heads-up for all traders and holders of NEM: when Peru falls to yet another leftist radical, NEM's biggest cash cow, Yanacoccho in Peru, will be in danger. recall that NEM's takeover of this mine has been shrouded in rumors of corruption involving Peru's former chief of intelligence ( now behind bars ) and even the highest court of the country. it's not inconceivable that the incoming government decides to revisit the issue to gain some leverage over NEM. the political climate/backlash in South America is starting to look very troubling. it's no exaggeration to say that the US administration has suddenly 'lost' its backyard so to speak - there are now mini-Castros everywhere. the property grabs could well become more audacious now that yet another semi-communist is showing the way in Bolivia. all of a sudden, Africa and Russia look extremely safe by comparison. note also, by going back to long discredited command economy models, the South American countries will likely relinquish many of the economic gains of recent years in coming years. the world is about to lose an economic engine.