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To: lorne who wrote (34359)	5/22/1999 5:01:00 PM
From: John Hunt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

OT - NATO bombs Kosovo guerrillas by mistake << But the alliance admitted its warplanes mistakenly attacked a barracks captured by the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) from Yugoslav forces over a month ago. The KLA said seven fighters were killed and 25 others were injured in Friday's raid on the Kosare barracks in Kosovo about 10 km (six miles) from the Albanian border. The KLA had taken Western reporters to the barracks since capturing it. >> abcnews.go.com Are these intelligence guys drunk? **** KLA kills serving Russian officer << Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas have killed a Russian army officer who was fighting alongside Serb paramilitary forces in the disputed province, Albanian television reported on Saturday. ''From the ID of the deceased, it is clear he was an officer with the rank of captain and was still a member of the Russian army,'' Naim Maloku, a member of the KLA headquarters staff, told Albanian TV. >> abcnews.go.com Source is KLA, but still interesting ... They may be letting regular army serve as volunteers in Kosovo. **** Hi Lorne, I saw a joke a day or two ago on the Gold Eagle Forum that gave me a real chuckle.... Apparently two more central banks are going to announce in the near future that they will sell all their gold reserves ... Bangladesh and Haiti ... 3 ounces and 13 ounces respectively. < vbg > John

To: lorne who wrote (34359)	5/22/1999 6:10:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

well, did Gold selling help Argentina? INTERVIEW-Dollarization only Argentine wild card By Alejandra Labanca BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Reuters) - After a week of hotly denied rumors of an Argentine devaluation, the only possible change in the nation's current economic scheme is dollarization, a government official said Friday. ''It's absurd to think that Argentina is going to change its (economic) regimen and if there is one sole change that may be contemplated it's dollarization, in the short or long run if the people want it,'' Economy Vice Minister Pablo Guidotti told Reuters. Economy Minister Roque Fernandez has said the country has no intention of adopting the dollar in the short run, but that there are on-going talks over the issue with the U.S. Treasury and U.S. Federal Reserve. Since 1991 Argentina has had a convertibility system pegging the peso 1-to-1 with the dollar and prohibiting the printing of unbacked money. Adopting the dollar as the national currency was first put on the table by President Carlos Menem just before Brazil's real currency was devalued in January. Dollarization was presented as a full-proof safeguard against the spectre of an Argentine devaluation. Besides talk of devaluation, Argentina has been touched by other ill winds. Friday rumors of the eventual resignation of Fernandez and the possibility that Argentina would ditch convertibility shook Latin American markets despite being heavily denied at home. The Argentine bourse closed down 4.3 percent, while Brazil dropped 1.88 percent and Mexico fell 2.98 percent. Financier George Soros added fuel to Friday's fire by saying convertibility may be causing Argentina's recession and that the country's peso is probably overvalued. ''Soros' comments are simply a reflection that whichever currency is attached to the dollar, in a case where the dollar is stronger, the currency attached to it is also strong,'' said Guidotti. ''There has been a lot of commentary to that effect over the last five years, there are always people with one opinion and others with another, and because of that people win and lose money,'' he added. Guidotti noted that in the face of the dollar's appreciation in international markets in recent years Argentina's growth has averaged five percent and exports have gone up. The country's two-quarter-old recession, which is expected to drag the GDP down 1.5 percent this year, is a consequence of the increase in interest rates provoked by Russia's debt moratorium, he maintained. Analysts argue there are no good technical reasons for Argentina to devalue since its currency is fully backed by dollar reserves, the financial system is highly liquid and the government is six months ahead in its debt financing. The rumors of a currency plunge were largely based the government's desire to shave $700 million out of the budget in a move supported by the legislature. The maneuver will permit Argentina to have a new fiscal deficit goal of $5.1 billion according to its agreement with the International Monetary Fund, far above the $2.95 billion initially projected at the top of the year.