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

To: Bob Tate who wrote (4967)	12/31/1997 4:31:00 AM
From: PaulM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116767

Gold as an industrial metal is probably the most useful, being the most ductile, malleable, non-corrosive and an excellent conductor of electricity. However, there is much too little of it for major applications. Hence the price and hence the reason telephone wires will never be made out of gold. And why gold will only be used where very small amounts are necessary (nanotechnology, microprocessors, dentistry, jewelry). The decrease in gold price has nothing to do with its usefulness waning, but rather is a result of the deliberate dis-hoarding of a large above ground supply for political or other reasons. Even at current price levels, I guarantee lots of new applications will be found, which is why current levels can't last. Most of what is said about gold has little to do with reality and more to do with the peculiar economic and political circumstances in which we live. Ask yourself why the usefulness of the most useful metal is questioned. Even in the relatively frivolous area of jewelry. I'm about to pay $13000 for diamond, despite the existence of "cubic zirconia" for years. Am I stupid? Probably, but no one seems to have a problem with that. The reason the powers have a problem with gold is that unlike diamonds, gold's qualities make it excellent competition for dollars (and in the end, will win the war between the two). Ask yourself why the CB's and IMF would advocate dumping and talk the price down when the world's countries, all strapped for cash, had the opportunity to instead form cartel as lucrative and powerful as the DeBeers diamond cartel. Just to be nice? Naivete is alive and well. "IMF is a proponent of decoupling gold from all currencies" Actually, all currencies have been decoupled for quite some time. Whis is why the IMF is so busy these days. Without the knowledge and ability to make unlimited money, the world could not incur so much unsustainable debt in the first place. And of ocurse the IMF and CB's would be far less important, as "monetary policy" took care fo itself. But then who would play big shot?