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

To: long-gone who wrote (24460)	12/17/1998 6:26:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116927

Bombs away -- impeachment delayed By Joanne Gray, Washington Tom DeLay, the Republican numbers man in the House of Representatives, was greeted with hisses and boos for bringing up politics, demanding from Defence Secretary William Cohen whether there was any reasons why the impeachment vote should not go ahead even as military action was underway. Well, yes, Cohen responded at his briefing -- such a vote could hurt the troop morale. That answer infuriated DeLay who as Republican majority whip had been salivating over delivering Bill Clinton's impeachment in a matter of hours. It was just one event in an extraordinary day in the US capital where war and impeachment were irrevocably intertwined, no matter how hard officials tried to keep them separate. At one point, there was uncertainty whether President Clinton would use the Oval Office to give his national address explaining why the attack on Iraq had been launched. That was the traditional venue for such broadcasts, but the Oval Office had recently become famous for other Monica Lewinsky-style activities. It went ahead there anyway. As Clinton spoke, it looked at one point as though a brown shadow had appeared behind his left shoulder, perhaps a head of hair? Surely not. Just before the broadcast, a car fire outside the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue caused confusion. An attempt at political assassination? No need, that was already underway, some would argue at the President's own hand. Television networks which has been geared to the impeachment drama, the biggest political story in 130 years, were forced to drop it as air strikes were unleashed in Baghdad. And all through the evening, the question persisted. Why now? Gerald Solomon, the outgoing House rules committee chair had no doubts. In a sharply worded press release, titled 'Bombs Away -- Leave Impeachment for another day' he accused the president of planning the attack solely to delay the vote. Instead of the persistent references to Wag the Dog, the Hollywood movie where an American president manufactures a war to distract attention from a sex scandal, it became Wag the Elephant, a reference to the Republican party mascot. One of the lead actors in that film Robert De Niro was yesterday trying to use his celebrity clout to lobby against the impeachment vote. Hollywood, which has been a bastion of funding for the Democratic party rallied in Los Angeles with Jack Nicholson and Clinton buddy Barbra Streisand making speeches warning about the threat to democracy of impeachment. Probably no-one persuaded anyone, but there would have been a great party afterwards. They clearly had not got the news on Iraq in California. A politically wary public appeared to be only slightly less cynical than the Washington establishment. A CNN poll found that 75 per cent of those surveyed supported the air strikes. While 62 per cent of the public thought the President was motivated solely by America's national interest in ordering the attack, 30 per cent believed it was a ploy to divert attention from the imminent impeachment vote. afr.com.au

To: long-gone who wrote (24460)	12/20/1998 7:39:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116927

18 December 1998 Anglo to buy various De Beers assets before listing David McKay ANGLO American Corporation moved closer to restructuring yesterday before listing in London, saying it had reached agreement with De Beers to acquire various listed and unlisted assets from the diamond group - with one exception. Contrary to a previous announcement, De Beers said it was to retain its 4% stake in Anglogold, the world's largest gold producer. "Although it was previously announced that Anglo American Corporation would acquire De Beers' interest in Anglogold, it has since been decided by the parties that De Beers will retain its interest," De Beers said. The move surprised analysts who said that one reason for retaining the stake was that the dividend yield from Anglogold was likely to be better than that from the corporation. "When you are expecting to be cash-strapped and operating in a difficult market, as De Beers is doing, then every penny will make a difference," one analyst said. De Beers recently announced its lowest annual rough diamond sales in more than a decade and there is speculation that the group is to cut its year-end dividend, the first time since 1992. Another analyst said it could be a mistake for De Beers to retain the stake in Anglogold. "De Beers has said that it wants to become a dedicated diamond company and now here it is with a small stake in a gold company." Another theory is that De Beers believes Anglogold to be undervalued and hopes to get a better price for the stock at a later date. Anglogold recently bought the gold mines of Minorco and is easily the largest gold producer in the world with the largest gold resources. Analysts have said that Anglogold, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange this year, is due for a large positive share rerating relative to its North American rivals. The joint announcement yesterday forms part of the restructuring of Anglo American and follows the announcement that Anglo and Minorco have agreed in principle to combine their businesses to establish Anglo American plc, a UK company with global operations which will have a primary listing in London. Subject to shareholders' and SA Reserve Bank approval, Anglo will from January 1 acquire a portfolio from De Beers including interests in Anglo American Platinum Corporation, Mondi, Namakwa Sands and Samancor. bday.co.za