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To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (14301)	7/9/1998 5:56:00 PM
From: Al Gordon	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116757

George:I agree.There are so many interconnected catch 22's going on right now in this global economy that it's impossible to come up with a clear picture(for me anyway)of which way things will unfold.I mean you have the Euro,Y2k,massive currency devaluations,stock market bubbles here and Europe,deflation in some places,hyperinflation starting in others and then throw in the biggest wild card Japan.My own personal opinion on Japan is that the dyke that has been holding back the water these last few years will finally give way.All the rhetoric from their government and Rubins intervention in the currency markets last month,is just putting another finger in another hole in the dyke.Japan could sell the U.S. debt it is holding but in doing so they would destroy the market that is allowing them to barely hang on.It would be suicide for them.Eventually the debt and bad loans they have are going to sink them.Even non-action has a price. When push comes to shove however it would be highly unlikely that Rubin will support the yen at the expense of devaluing the dollar significantly.So the dollar will continue to strengthen probably for the rest of this year which probably won't help gold a whole lot in the near term.:(

To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (14301)	7/9/1998 11:53:00 PM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116757

What ever happened to transparency????????? U.S. regulator defiant on plan to probe derivatives By Joanne Morrison WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. government agency that regulates futures trading vowed Thursday to press ahead with a probe of the multi-trillion-dollar over-the-counter derivatives market, defying the wishes of the country's most powerful financial regulators. Brooksley Born, chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said it would be ''irresponsible'' to bow to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and members of Congress who want to curb her agency's oversight of the market. Born has angered them by launching a review of whether the lucrative derivatives transactions outside regulated exchanges need tighter supervision. ''It's of nobody's interest not to study this market,'' Born told reporters at a briefing. Her tiny agency for years has been forced to defend its turf as the financial markets have grown and changed dramatically. But the 57-year-old native of San Francisco, with a history of fighting legal battles as an attorney, has now placed her agency in the middle of a huge turf battle in Washington. The agency's over-the-counter derivatives review, launched in May, has angered the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which have urged the futures trading regulator not to meddle in this sophisticated market. Key lawmakers in Congress are considering legislation that would block the agency from imposing any changes on the derivatives markets. Born, worried that U.S. firms doing business in Asia may suffer losses, asserts it is her agency's duty to consider whether new rules are needed. She said she would be ''disappointed'' if lawmakers curbed the agency's powers. ''These markets are enormously important. There's a lot of money by individual investors locked up in these markets either through the commitment of pension funds, tax revenues, insurance funds or mutual funds, and the safety and soundness of the markets is very important to the American public,'' she said. Greenspan, Rubin and the others disagree. They fear that even questioning how business is done would cause chaos and legal uncertainty. ''I don't believe that information or asking questions can hurt,'' Born said. The OTC market is thinly regulated because most of its institutional participants are considered sophisticated enough to know what they are doing. Their transactions outside of regulated exchanges are based on the value of underlying currencies, interest rates or other assets. They are often used by companies to hedge the risks of their investments. Born said she could not agree to calls in Congress and among other federal regulators to curb her agency's authority. ''They are asking for concessions that I think would be irresponsible for me to make,'' she said. Born has argued that it is time to review how the over-the-counter market is regulated. The agency last took regulatory steps in 1993. Regulators including Born and Fed Chairman Greenspan will air their differences later this month at congressional hearings, but time is running out this year for Congress to intervene in the dispute. biz.yahoo.com