Thai Guru's Gold und Silber ... (Informationen und Vermutungen)

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Fed 'prepared to do what is required'

Rate hikes likely to be measured but that could change

By Greg Robb, CBS.MarketWatch.com

Last Update: 11:00 AM ET June 8, 2004

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Federal Reserve rate hikes are likely to be measured, but the central bank is "prepared to do what is required" to fight inflation, Alan Greenspan said Tuesday.

Fed officials have said in recent weeks that future rate hikes would be measured.

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"That conclusion is based on our current judgment of how economic and financial forces will evolve in the months and quarters ahead," the chairman of the Federal Reserve said in a speech prepared for delivery via satellite to the International Monetary Conference in London.

Greenspan noted, however, that the Fed could become more aggressive if inflationary pressures mount.

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"Should that judgment prove misplaced, however, the FOMC is prepared to do what is required to fulfill our obligations to achieve the maintenance of price stability so as to ensure maximum sustainable economic growth," he said.

Businesses are becoming more confident about the economy and are now hiring "with some vigor," Greenspan said. At the same time, many new hires are temporary workers, an indication that "business caution remains a feature of the economic landscape," he said.

Recent financial indicators, including rapid money growth, "underscore that the FOMC has provided ample liquidity to the financial system that will become increasingly unnecessary over time," he said.

Financial markets appear prepared for higher interest rates, unlike 1994, Greenspan said,

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"though history cautions that investors' anticipations of the cumulative magnitude of policy actions and their timing under such circumstances are far from perfect."

U.S. treasury prices turned lower after Greenspan's comments. The benchmark 10-year note declined 9/32 to 99 19/32, while its yield rose to 4.80 percent from Monday's close of 4.77 percent. See Bond Report.

Greenspan said that there has been a return of pricing power to businesses and the threat of deflation has ended.

Core consumer inflation, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures index, has increased, Greenspan noted. The core PCE is up 1.4 percent over the last year ended in May, compared with a 0.8 percent annual increase in December of last year.

But he said cost pressures have been "relatively subdued."

The rise of energy prices is a "worrisome element" that has been a net drain on the economy and could boost inflation if the high price level persists.

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"The recent modest declines in oil and natural gas prices may or may not signal a trend but are nonetheless welcome," Greenspan said.

Greg Robb is a senior reporter for CBS MarketWatch based in Washington.

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Press Release Source: Golden Eagle International, Inc.

Golden Eagle Announces 25% Increase in Gold Production as Momentum Builds at Cangalli Mine
Monday June 7, 9:49 am ET

Targeted Mining System Shows 88% Increase in Production Levels

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040607/75625_1.html

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Associated Press

Coeur D'Alene: Wheaton Rejection Hasty

Monday June 7, 2:44 pm ET

Coeur D'Alene Mines Calls Wheaton River Minerals' Rejection of Takeover Bid Hasty, Disappointing

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/040607…lene_wheaton_river_1.html

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TSX SYMBOL: NSU

JUNE 7, 2004 - 14:43 ET

Nevsun Announces More High Grade Gold, Silver, Copper, and Zinc Assays From Bisha Project

http://www2.ccnmatthews.com/sc…pl?/current/0607058n.html

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Associated Press

Coeur d'Alene Mines urges Wheaton stockholders to buck management

Monday June 7, 5:27 pm ET

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) -- Rebuffed a second time by opposing management, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. called on stockholders of Toronto-based Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. to reject a rival merger bid and at least review Coeur's $2 billion offer.

"Coeur's proposal is clearly superior," Chairman Dennis Wheeler said in a statement Monday.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/040607…lene_wheaton_river_2.html

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North American stock markets rally on strength in gold and metals sectors

03:08 PM EDT Jun 08

CRAIG WONG

TORONTO (CP) - Stock markets rallied Monday on strength in the gold and metals sectors.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index rose 36.42 points to 8,385.16 and the junior TSX Venture Exchange was up 8.34 points to 1,593.19. The Canadian dollar gained 0.35 of a cent to 74.37 cents U.S. The gains in the gold sector came as the board of directors of Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. said it is sticking with its support for a planned merger with Iamgold Corp. despite two rival offers. Wheaton River shares were up two cents to $4.06, while Iamgold shares added 10 cents to trade for $7.80.

Other gold stocks trading higher included Miramar Mining, up six cents to $1.72, and Cambior, up 13 cents to $3.63. Mining shares advancing included Inco, up 89 cents to $44.75, and Teck Cominco, up 63 cents to $23.15.

weiter...

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/040607/b060765.html

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TSX SYMBOL: ARZ
AMEX SYMBOL: AZK

JUNE 7, 2004 - 18:40 ET

Aurizon Arranges up to $9 Million in Flow-Through Financing

http://www2.ccnmatthews.com/sc…pl?/current/0607091n.html

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TSX SYMBOL: NGX
AMEX SYMBOL: NXG

JUNE 7, 2004 - 19:48 ET

Northgate Minerals Corporation: Federal Environmental Review of Kemess North Commences

http://www2.ccnmatthews.com/sc…pl?/current/0607099n.html

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http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/040607/b0607147.html

Wheaton River sticks with Iamgold merger plan; Iamgold vote may be delayed

03:18 PM EDT Jun 08

DAVID PADDON

TORONTO (CP) - Iamgold Corp.'s plans for a shareholders vote on a proposed merger with Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. could be put on hold at the last minute Tuesday if an Ontario judge rules in favour of requests for a court-imposed delay.

While the two companies' boards have rejected recent overtures by two U.S. mining companies, Iamgold's plans for a shareholder vote was challenged in court Monday by lawyers for rival suitor, Golden Star Resources, and a group of shareholders.

Denver-based Golden Star argued that a stand-still agreement it signed with Iamgold in September should not be used to block Golden Star from making a formal rival offer. Iamgold has refused to provide a shareholders list, citing the agreement.

Lawyers for Golden Star and a group of shareholders with 15 per cent of Iamgold's stock also asked for a court order to delay the Iamgold vote to give shareholders time to consider both the Wheaton and the Golden Star alternatives.

Justice Alexandra Hoy of Ontario Superior Court said she would issue her ruling Tuesday morning at about 10 a.m., just two hours before Iamgold has scheduled its meeting and an hour before Wheaton River is to hold its vote in Toronto.

Earlier Monday, Vancouver-based Wheaton River - also the target of a separate takeover bid - rejected a sweetened takeover offer from Idaho-based silver miner Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp., which is offering $2.8 billion in shares and cash.

The Coeur offer for Wheaton, announced on May 27, was initially worth $2.5 billion but was increased last week. Wheaton River's board rejected the latest offer in a meeting on Sunday.

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"Following a thorough review of the revised proposal by (Coeur d'Alene), Wheaton continues to believe that the Iamgold transaction is superior," Wheaton chairman and CEO Ian Telfer said Monday in a release.

He said Wheaton's board confirmed the decision after Coeur's chairman and CEO, Dennis Wheeler, made a presentation to the directors on Sunday evening.

Wheeler stated Monday that he had been granted only a 30-minute meeting and was "surprised and disappointed by the hasty rejection of our increased proposal by the Wheaton River board."

Golden Star lawyer Jeffrey Leon has asked Justice Alexandra Hoy for a three-week delay of the Iamgold vote until June 29. He said his client could have a formal offer ready within two days.

Jim Douglas, counsel for five Iamgold shareholders with 15 per cent of its stock, said Iamgold's board and management had not only rejected Golden Star's overture but also prevented shareholders from seeing the rival offer.

The combined Canadian company, to be called Axiom Gold, would be owned 74 per cent by Wheaton shareholders and 26 per cent by Iamgold investors.

Wheaton River's board said Monday that this combination "continues to offer the best prospects for long-term value" and that Coeur has a history of losses.

Coeur d'Alene's Wheeler said it was "unfortunate" that the Wheaton River board refused to postpone its stockholder vote.

Wheaton River shares (TSX:WRM) were dropped one cent to close at $4.03 on the Toronto stock market Monday, while shares in Iamgold (TSX:IMG) rose seven cents to close at $7.77.

© The Canadian Press, 2004

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06…ness/yourmoney/06ubs.html

Of the $680 billion in cash that the Fed has in circulation, more than $400 billion, or nearly 60 percent, is outside the United States. That overseas supply, particularly in economically unstable regions, is the financial lifeblood of businesses, and even of pensioners who stow dollars in their mattresses. The authorities constantly monitor that supply to keep counterfeiters from tainting it, and hub banks like UBS play a pivotal role in ferreting out currency forgers.

Those billions overseas, however, also grease the wheels of more nefarious commerce - arms trafficking, smuggling and the timeless crafts of political and financial graft.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06…ness/yourmoney/06ubs.html

WHEN a United States Army sergeant broke through a false wall in a small building in Baghdad on a Friday afternoon a little over a year ago, he discovered more than three dozen sealed boxes containing about $160 million in neatly bundled $100 bills.Later that day, soldiers found more cash in other hideaways near the Tigris River, in an exclusive neighborhood that elite members of Saddam Hussein's government once called home. By the end of the evening, they had amassed 164 metal boxes, all riveted shut, that held about $650 million in shrink-wrapped greenbacks. The cash was so heavy, and so valuable, that the Army needed a C-130 Hercules cargo plane to airlift it to a secure location.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06…ness/yourmoney/06ubs.html

Mr. Baxter and the New York Fed, along with the Treasury Department and the Customs Service, immediately began an investigation into Baghdad's currency stockpile. The continuing inquiry offers a rudimentary road map of illicit dealings - including lucrative oil smuggling - in Iraq and neighboring countries during the Hussein years, the federal authorities say.

The investigation led quickly to the vaults of four Western banks that were among a select group handling the sensitive task of distributing freshly printed dollars overseas: the Bank of America, the HSBC Group, the Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS. Several other commercial banks and foreign central banks, which the Fed did not name, also served as stopovers along Baghdad's money trail, according to a written account Mr. Baxter provided to the Senate Banking Committee about two weeks ago.

None of the four main banks the Fed scrutinized had sent currency directly to Iraq. But as the inquiry wore on last year, investigators learned that UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, had transferred $4 billion to $5 billion to four other countries that were under sanctions: Libya, Iran, Cuba and the former Yugoslavia. Over an eight-year period, UBS employees had quietly shipped the money to those countries from a vault at the Zurich airport, undetected by Fed auditors who made regular visits to the site.

EARLY last month, the Federal Reserve Board fined UBS $100 million for the currency violations. 

It was the second-largest penalty ever levied by America's central bank, surpassed only by a $200 million fine imposed on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, or B.C.C.I., in 1991 for violating American banking laws. The B.C.C.I. case was part of a global investigation of fraud and money laundering.

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Gold at $350/oz or $500/oz by Christmas?

By: Gareth Tredway & Stewart Bailey

Posted: '08-JUN-04 16:00' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2004

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com) -- Gold prognostication is in full swing, with a gaggle of commentators weighing in with their year-end price predictions. The range is wide, with the bears, led by Barclays Capital analyst Kamal Naqvi, forecasting $350/oz. The bulls meanwhile – and there are no shortage of them despite a becalmed bullion market - are touting bullion at between $450/oz and $500/oz by Christmas.

weiter....

http://www.mineweb.net/sections/gold_silver/327888.htm

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http://www.mineweb.net/sections/gold_silver/327877.htm

Another gold junior soap opera

By: Stewart Bailey

Posted: '08-JUN-04 15:00' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2004

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com) -- Afrikander Lease, the battling gold and uranium hopeful, today said it had settled a long-running dispute with Peter Skeat, the former chairman and chief executive, who was shopped by the company’s board last year for allegedly capitalising costs that should have been expensed.

Notwithstanding the allegations of malfeasance against him, Aflease said today it had paid Skeat a R3,1 million settlement. The settlement was more or less equal to the cumulative salaries paid last year to Aflease’s current chief executive (R1,3-m), its financial director (R1-m) and the chief operating officer (R0,85-m). But it is a fee that it hopes will end the bitter feud that has threatened to plunge a struggling Aflease into a lengthy and damaging court battle, against a highly motivated and well-funded adversary.

In all, the debacle has simmered for more than a year. Skeat had claimed undisclosed compensation from Aflease for unpaid salaries and for a series of rental charges for equipment he was said to have leased to the company. That he was going to vigorously pursue Aflease for some pecuniary satisfaction was never in doubt. It is little secret that he has wanted to put the boot into a cash-strapped Aflease as retribution for management’s public allegations of impropriety on his part. He has doggedly denied the charges.

Instead, an often-overwrought Skeat, has argued that the boardroom putsch was a mutiny orchestrated by Brett Kebble and executed by a vindictive management team, eager to wrest the company from his control. Divining a motive to back Skeat’s claims is difficult, though, given that he had in any event showed himself eager to exit Aflease. Skeat’s argument becomes all the more inexplicable when one notes that the conspirators, which include Froneman and Aflease finance director Marais Steyn, were his business partners in a deal which saw the New Kleinfontein mine bought and quickly flipped into Aflease for a tidy profit. All made out handsomely, supposedly to the tune of some R16-m each. It was a match made in heaven, at least until it went sour.

Whatever the truth, Skeat has found it hard to garner any sympathy from his peers, particularly in light of the fact that he has made out handsomely – some say to the tune of more than R150-m – from his entrepreneurial venture. He will never go hungry, but he has bemoaned the damage his unceremonious ejection from Aflease has done to his reputation.

Though he is one of the more garrulous personalities in Johannesburg’s business circles, Skeat never disclosed the size of his putative claim against Aflease. Those close to him say he was looking for between R20-m and R30-m. Skeat would not confirm the figures, citing confidentiality agreements attached to the Aflease settlement.

Whatever the quantum of the claim, it was a worry for Aflease, given that it has no producing assets, a prodigious cash burn and has flirted with insolvency more than once. Chief executive Neal Froneman would also have been keen to get Skeat off his back – his predecessor is angry and no doubt gloating over the company’s fall from grace. Avoiding the potential for the public airing of Aflease’s dirty laundry – past and present - would also have been a key factor in deciding to settle.

Kebble in the cross-hairs

But Skeat is not done yet. Later this week he will do battle in court with Brett Kebble’s JCI and Trinity Asset Management, two of Aflease’s largest shareholders. Last year Skeat sold 23-m shares to Kebble at R4 each. The purchase price of R22-m, was to be paid in two tranches – the first, of R40-m was paid on delivery of all the stock, while the second of R52-m, has not been paid. Trinity and JCI stood joint surety, leaving them jointly liable for the cost.

Kebble has contended that Skeat, through a number of public utterances, helped put pressure on the Aflease share price, so devaluing the stock before he had paid for it in full. It is on those grounds that he is refusing to pay the final instalment, though he says he has made provision in the event that he is forced to make good on his promise.

The first hearing is scheduled for this week, when Skeat’s attorneys are expected to force Kebble to prove that he still holds the stock and has not sold it on. Kebble had not returned calls for comment at the time of publishing. Any sale will require some explanation, however, given that he is the architect of a gambit by Randgold & Exploration, a company effectively controlled by his family, to build a stake in Aflease of at least 34% through a series of lifesaving equity purchases. That could be 41% if Kabusha mining’s share is taken into account, the two claim to be unrelated, but Kebble did stand surety when the empowerment company first bought its shares from Skeat. Kabusha is unlikey to go against Kebble.

Kebble’s involvement already looks like blind faith or charity, given that his first purchase from Skeat at R4 a share was followed by a private share-placement directly from Aflease at R3,68 a share. Aflease is now mired at around R2 a share or below, with scant prospect of recovery under the current set of macroeconomic conditions, leaving Kebble little chance in the short term of realising any return on his investment. Randgold has also agreed to underwrite a crucial rights issue to raise R100-m, so any sign that it is getting cold feet, could prove terminal for Aflease.