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To: Alex who wrote (29380)	3/4/1999 5:54:00 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116858

Alex, My theory is as follows: The USA has the ability(cash) to fulfill its consumption lust and is doing so as the end approaches. The fact that we are doing it by loading up on debt will be addressed at a later date...and it won't be pretty! We're like lemmings.

To: Alex who wrote (29380)	3/4/1999 7:18:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116858

Swiss delay earliest approval for gold sales 02:59 p.m Mar 04, 1999 Eastern ZURICH, March 4 (Reuters) - Switzerland has delayed until next year the earliest possible approval of its plan to sell excess gold, but said this will not necessarily alter the timetable for selling 1,300 tonnes of gold. ''It is still the same timetable,'' finance ministry spokesman Daniel Eckmann said on Thursday of plans to sell excess gold. ''We have simply said the earliest (start of sales) is spring 2000.'' Eckmann said Switzerland has decided to use a revision of the constitution's currency article now working its way through parliament and due for a referendum in early 2000 as the basis for any gold sales. Until now, officials had said that either the new Swiss constitution -- which voters address next month -- or the separate, parallel revision of the currency section could lay the groundwork for selling excess gold reserves. Both sever the Swiss franc's outdated link to gold and lay the constitutional groundwork for gold sales, but are moving on separate tracks in a complex legislative procedure. Eckmann said the separate revision of the currency section ''is the only constitutional basis that is sufficient, and this will come up for a referendum in early 2000'' if parliament approves it as expected. The lower house has already passed the currency amendment, and the upper house is set to address it on March 17. The new overall constitution faces a referendum on April 18 but ''would not be a sufficient constitutional basis'' for gold sales, Eckmann said, noting it would be too confusing if the separate currency article was then rejected. Even if voters agree to the idea of gold sales in a referendum, parliament would still have to pass specific legislation on such transactions. But Eckmann played down prospects that the whole timetable for sales could be pushed back significantly, noting legislation on gold sales could be drawn up and ready to go by the time of the referendum in 2000. Even if voters adopt the plan and legislation sails quickly through parliament, sales could be pushed back even further if opponents to gold sales forced a referendum on underlying legislation governing such transactions. The Swiss government plans to revalue the 2,590 tonnes of gold reserves on the Swiss National Bank's books and gradually sell off the half not needed to conduct monetary policy. It has earmarked 500 tonnes of sales to finance a humanitarian fund and the rest for general budget purpoases. The government has said it would pace any gold sales so that they did not disrupt the market, which has been driven lower for months by recent and envisioned official gold sales. Switzerland is the last major industrial country to link its currency to gold. It has by far the largest per-capita gold reserves in the world and only the United States and Germany have more among Group of 10 countries. ((Zurich newsroom +41 1 631 7340 fax +41 1 202 5538, zurich.newsroom+reuters.com)) Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.

To: Alex who wrote (29380)	3/6/1999 10:29:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116858

Kremlin Criticizes PM Primakov Saturday, 6 March 1999 M O S C O W (AP) THE KREMLIN publicly criticized Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov on Saturday, an ominous sign that followed a spate of rumors that Primakov or other top cabinet ministers were about to be fired. President Boris Yeltsin's deputy chief of staff, Oleg Sysuyev, complained on television that Primakov had exhibited signs of complacency, Interfax reported. He added that Yeltsin "undoubtedly has no complacency about the government." Moscow has been filled with rumors that Yeltsin was about to launch a series of high-level firings, possibly starting with Primakov. Yeltsin calmed the rumors somewhat Thursday when he ordered the dismissal of business tycoon Boris Berezovsky as executive director of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the loose confederation of post-Soviet republics. The move to dismiss Berezovsky, who is widely reviled in parliament, and, reportedly, by Primakov, was hailed by people across Russia's political spectrum. But even so, some observers warned that Yeltsin might yet drop the other shoe. "The president does not make 'asymmetric' firings," the daily Izvestia noted Saturday, suggesting that someone else would be sacrificed for the sake of balance. Yeltsin himself remained hospitalized on Saturday, recovering from a recurring ulcer. But he has made quick trips to the Kremlin during his hospitalization to fire officials in recent weeks. The 68-year-old president has been plagued by repeated illness in recent years, and has been largely inactive since the country's economic crisis hit six months ago. Primakov is currently on vacation in the Black Sea city of Sochi. With Yeltsin ill, he has been almost solely in charge of setting government policy since his appointment last September. Primakov "has repeatedly made very positive assessments of the performance of the government as a whole," Sysuyev said. "It seems to me that Yevgeny Maximovich should be advised to be more critical of the performance of the government because this position of complacency can make the prime minister and ourselves miss something that is of key importance," he added. Sysuyev said Yeltsin was worried about negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. "If it becomes necessary, the president will personally interfere in this process because he realizes how important the results of the negotiations will be for Russia," he added. Russia is seeking billions of dollars in loans, but has been reluctant to carry out economic policies demanded by IMF officials. Asked whether Yeltsin might reshuffle the government, Sysuyev said that was "the prerogative of the president." "It is impossible to guarantee any pattern here that could lead anyone to believe they are in the government forever," he said.

To: Alex who wrote (29380)	3/6/1999 10:33:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116858

Chernobyl's Only Reactor Restarted Saturday, 6 March 1999 K I E V , U K R A I N E (AP) THE ONLY operational reactor at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, was restarted Saturday after lengthy repairs. Chernobyl's reactor No. 3 was shut down Dec. 15 for repairs that were initially delayed because of energy shortages in the former Soviet republic. It was to have been restarted Feb. 16, but the state nuclear energy company Energoatom said it needed more time to fix it. Repairs included safety upgrades and a check of the reactor's regular and emergency cooling systems, which had 50 defects, the report said. Reactor No. 3 is the only one remaining of four originally operating at the plant. One of the Soviet-made RBMK reactors was closed in 1996, a second has been inactive since a 1991 fire, and the third was destroyed in the 1986 explosion and fire that spewed radiation over much of Europe. Ukraine has pledged to close Chernobyl by 2000, but it wants international aid to build two new reactors to compensate for lost energy. The country's five nuclear plants account for more than 40 percent of its electricity. Meanwhile, hundreds of nuclear energy workers protested to demand unpaid wages and more government controls over the energy industry, plagued by consumer nonpayments. Last week, the government pledged $33.3 million to pay back wages but never issued the actual order to pay, union leaders say.