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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: blankmind who wrote (42968)	4/8/1998 8:31:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 61433

**OT** Gold prices have perked up all of a sudden, giving folks like Michael Metz and James Grant something to nosh on in their darker moments. The rise of gold, now trading above $310 per ounce, comes after gold was left for dead in the fall. Recall that central bank selling of gold stocks had contributed to the view that gold was just "another commodity." Now gold is moving about, creating some noise. It won't be long before the inflation-mongers jump on this issue, saying it's just one more cog in a troubling wheel that includes exploding wages, rising real estate values and higher prices for good red wine. The inflation-phobes are certainly getting a better hearing on Wall Street. Bond prices have backed up, and yields have fallen. I don't believe that inflation is rocketing ahead beneath our wary eyes. If anything, the specter of deflation continues to loom beneath the surface. If Japan can't get its act together and Asia continues to limp along, the likelihood of rollicking inflation is not very high. Moreover, American consumers -- other than the overpaid ones on Wall Street and in the technology sector -- remain very stern about how much they will pay for goods. Pricing power remains nearly nonexistent at the consumer level. The recent increase in the price of gold may reignite the inflationary fires, but it's more likely that chaos in Indonesia, fear in Japan and other international tension issues are driving the rise in gold prices. Inflation remains a dead duck.