Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (25115)	12/31/1998 8:27:00 AM
From: Enigma	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116779

Bobby "again thanks so very much for your out of sight comments" Out of sight - as in out of mind? Sorry, I know you're a fan E

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (25115)	12/31/1998 9:01:00 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116779

Last I saw was 1.167 US$ to Euro, Yen winner at 113.445=$1. gold up fraction(.70). No big moves, just slow steady higher gold(or is that lower $?) then one day, we will all wake up to them talking about $390 to oz.

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (25115)	12/31/1998 6:56:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116779

Happy New Year everybody! Brazil Gets Set For Its Spiritual New Year's Bash 04:56 p.m Dec 31, 1998 Eastern By Tracey Ober RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilians dressed entirely in white streamed by the million to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro Thursday to start a spiritual and captivating celebration of the New Year. In what they say is the world's biggest New Year's party, Rio's residents, irrepressible at any time, have been particularly rowdy, setting off firecrackers and showering the streets with confetti since last weekend. Hundreds have camped out on the city's plentiful beaches, chanting prayers and making offerings of flowers, perfume and fruit for their annual homage to Iemanja, the goddess of the sea and fertility. They will be joined by a crowd that has reached over 3 million in past years -- more than 2 million are expected this year on the famous Copacabana beach alone -- to send lighted candles and other offerings floating into the waves as a petition for good fortune in the new year. ''We cast away all of the year's misfortune and pain and make an offering to Iemanja for a fresh start next year,'' Herceilia Freitas, 66, told Reuters as a white-clad group of worshipers prepared for the celebration early Thursday on a beach in Rio's upscale neighborhood of Urca. She is one of three spiritual leaders -- chosen because they are the oldest members -- of a Rio-based sect. Her group makes an annual pilgrimage from an outlying village to the secluded beach in Urca at the foot of Rio's landmark Sugarloaf rock. Members beat African drums and sway slowly back and forth around the shrines they set in the sand. The offering to Iemanja is surrounded by candles and flowers. A sandy platform like a dinner table without legs holds bottles of vodka, wine and Brazil's fiery spirit, cachaca, along with elegant glasses to hold the drink. The table setting is completed by lavish arrangements of fruit and by soap, perfume and other cosmetics meant as presents for the female goddess, associated with the Virgin Mary in this largely Roman Catholic country. According to local historians, Brazil's blend of African spirituality and Christianity started in slave times, when Africans were brought over and forced to take part in the Catholic rituals of the Portuguese colonial leaders. The slaves used what they knew -- African languages and customs -- to adapt to the Catholic rites, and the symbols of the two systems of belief became interchangeable for great parts of society. Later sects, like the Umbanda cult that Freitas adheres to, moved into the mainstream culture by shedding some of the magical aspects of traditional African spirituality but maintaining their belief in the benevolence of spirits. ''We don't sacrifice animals or anything like that. We simply offer good things to bring us good fortune,'' said a male member of Freitas' flock who was wearing prayer beads. Whatever the source of the practice, the sight of throngs of people dressed in white, along with millions of candles and a spectacular fireworks show, has made Rio's New Year's celebration one of the world's most magical, according to the many repeat visitors. ''It's something I'll treasure for the rest of my life,'' one Englishwoman said, describing the festival. ''There are people everywhere, but they are peaceful. It's hard to describe. It's so beautiful you just have to see it.'' The hotels spend 500,000 reais ($415,000) on the annual fireworks display, which begins at midnight with a 10-minute cascade of fire down a tall shorefront building. The city, which has a reputation for violence, deploys thousands of police to keep the beaches safe, as well as thousands of municipal workers to clean up the nearly 800 tonnes of garbage that accumulate before dawn on the first day of the new year. Some of the mess will be strewn blossoms washed up on shore, along with other offerings that never made it out to sea. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.