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

The second mystery has to do with:

U.S. lawmakers oppose sale of IMF gold stocks

WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - United States lawmakers have told U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow to oppose proposals for the sale of the International Monetary Fund's gold stockpile to finance debt relief for the world's poor nations.

In a letter to Snow, 12 senators -- from mainly U.S. mining states -- said sales of the IMF's 103 million ounces of gold reserves, the world's third-largest, would hurt gold producers and cause job losses, including in impoverished countries like Peru and Tanzania….

-END-

First you have Treasury Undersecretary Taylor breaking ranks from British Finance Minister Brown with Treasury Secretary Snow staying away from the meeting because of a cold – after he looked just fine on TV during Bush’s State of the Union Address. What is discussed and presented at these meetings is worked out in advance, behind the scenes. As mentioned by MIDAS earlier, the Taylor/Brown ditty was nothing more than a good cop/bad cop presentation for public consumption. The damage to the gold market was done by Brown.

Then out of nowhere 12 US Senators come out against any IMF gold sales. Since when do 12 US Senators come out so quickly on something so esoteric in the US mainstream financial/economic/political world as potential IMF gold sales? This had to have been orchestrated well in advance also. The intriguing part is WHY and by whom?

How can it be that the South African Finance Minister Emanuel gives his voice of approval to the IMF gold sale proposal and 12 US Senators along with the US Treasury oppose? Something is going on behind the scenes for SURE. This IMF gold sale routine was orchestrated for a hidden agenda. We should know that reason as the year winds on.

Nick is right. What is the matter with Emanuel? Could anything be more obvious?

GOLD GURU
Nick Goodwin: Gold analyst, T-Sec
Mineweb
Posted Fri, 11 Feb 2005

MINEWEB: We’ve got Nick Goodwin from T-Sec on the line with us. He’s our regular gold guru, and we are speaking this evening about the potential for gold sales by the International Monetary Fund. Some background to this Nick – the G7 nations calling for the IMF to help alleviate the debt burden of the world’s poorest, and suggesting that maybe the IMF could help by selling some of its gold. Do you think this is a good option?

NICK GOODWIN: Not really, because I think the people that they are trying to help are actually generally quite gold producers. Africa combined produces about 20% of the annual supply of gold. So, if you start selling gold – the thing is, the gold market is very finely balanced. The central banks sell about between 400 and 500 tons a year, the IMF has got about 3,300 tons, which is worth about $40bn. If they start putting extra gold onto the market, it could swing the whole bull cycle we’ve got on the gold price now around into a bear cycle, and we could have gold going to $400 again, which will have major negative effects on our mines in South Africa, and also the mines in the rest of Africa. And those are the people we are trying to help. So I don’t think it’s really the proven thing to do….

-END-

UBS puts brokers on leave
Senior brokers: Company notifies regulator of internal review of activity

Wojtek Dabrowski and Barry Critchley
Financial Post
February 11, 2005

UBS Securities Canada Inc. has placed two of its senior brokers in Toronto on paid leave as a result of an internal review of trading activity.

Zoltan Horcsok, UBS's head of sales trading in Toronto and an executive director, as well as Glen Grossmith, a director, have been placed on leave, a source close to the situation said.

They will remain on leave while UBS completes its review.

UBS has also notified Market Regulation Services Inc. (RS), which regulates trading on major Canadian exchanges, of its internal review. RS is considering what action, if any, will be taken….. – END-

Since the stocks involved are listed in the US and Canada, I wonder if this as anything to do with the strange UBS downgrade of Golden Star Resources.

The gold shared continued their rebound. The XAU closed at 94.90, up 1.75. The HUI needs a close above key resistance at 210 to complete a bottom and we didn’t get one. It finished the day at 208.91, up 4.81, after climbing to 210.14 early. As is almost always the case these days, the gold shares sold off, however, did rally going into the close. Dan Norcini noted we got a prominent weekly reversal, a healthy technical plus. So did a number of individual stocks, like Samex for example. This bodes well and should encourage beleaguered precious metal share investors to add to their positions or enter the fray.

The silver move the last two days was THAT GOOD. A move of this ferocity should not be discounted and could very well portend what lies ahead for the precious metals in the coming months. With the fundamentals so powerful, the bottom should be in for gold and silver. We are back from the dead.

Greenspan will be front and center in front of Congress for his Humphrey-Hawkins testimony the middle of next week. This should have The Gold Cartel on high alert. By the following week, gold and silver should be off to the races. Gold and silver share investors on the sidelines might want to keep that in mind.

GATA BE IN IT TO WIN IT!

MIDAS

Appendix

I still believe the failure of the US to come to grips with growing financial market problems (no sign of it so far) and a deteriorating situation in Iraq (the terrorists are focusing on killing those people designated to run with the ball so the US can exit) will be the major factors affecting the US financial markets as this year wears on.

Iraq is a mess:

Exclusively from NewsMax Magazine:

[Blockierte Grafik: http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/img2005/GIJane.jpg]

Women soldiers are being wounded and dying in record-breaking numbers. Practically no one is talking about it - not the media and not even Congress.

NewsMax Magazine's special report "GI Jane at War" reveals the truth and explores the implication for our nation and its security.

This "GI Jane at War" edition of NewsMax Magazine is just hitting newsstands across the country (including many Barnes & Nobles and Books-a-Millions).

You can also check out our FREE offer by Going Here.

In this special NewsMax report "GI Jane at War," NewsMax reveals:

The true casualty count for women - and how the media are hiding the real numbers;
How the Pentagon is skirting rules that ban women in combat to place them in harm's way;
Why fraternization and sexual assault between soldiers is the dirty little secret of the Iraq war;
How pregnancy rates for female soldiers are soaring;
The feminist agenda within the U.S. military and why you need to worry;
Another reason Pentagon planners are deploying women in combat: they're running out of troops!
The true stories of female warriors and what really happened in Iraq;
New facts: why Private Jessica Lynch proves women cannot be in combat;
Secret intelligence indicates Iraqi terrorists are anxious to capture a female American GI;
and much, much more.
This blockbuster edition of NewsMax Magazine blows the lid off of the politically correct silence about women in combat.

In the new post 9/11 era, can America afford to not have an open debate about the role women should play in the armed forces?

-END-

CNBC is a mess:

CNBC Redefines the Word "Sacrifice"

Peter Schiff
February 11, 2005

One of the more amusing spectacles in the ongoing circus on Wall Street occurs monthly as economic contortionists attempt to twist horrific trade reports into positive news for the American economy. Such was the case today on CNBC, as Steve Leisman and a guest described American consumption as being "a sacrifice," and American consumers as "bearing the brunt of world consumption," and of having an "obligation to consume."

First of all, the word "sacrifice" implies some form of self-denial or restraint. What exactly do Americans sacrifice by indulging their every whim (other then their long-term solvency)? How is borrowing to consume a sacrifice? Actually it is "savings," the deliberate act of under-consumption that is truly a sacrifice. It is foreign consumers who are sacrificing so that Americans don't have to.

Similarly, how can one bear the "burden of consumption?" A "burden" implies suffering, something difficult to tolerate. "Consumption" on the other hand is fun, satisfying, and pleasurable. How can enjoying something desirable be described as burdensome? Production is the true burden. Consumption is its reward. Again, it is foreigners who are bearing America's burden.

Lastly, stating that "Americans have a duty to consume" implies that the rest of the world has "an obligation to produce." This reminds me of the old saying, "nice work if you can get it." It seems to me that foreigners are getting the short end of the economic stick. In fact, described in this manner, it is as if Americans regard the rest of the world as slaves in their global plantation. Would a dinner guest, after the hosts have bought the food, set the table, prepared the meal and washed the dishes, be able to assert with a straight face that the whole enterprise would have been impossible without the his own heroic ability to eat?

The reality is that this type of propaganda is intended to confuse the public with respect to America's true role in the global economy. It is designed to create the false impression that the caboose is in reality the engine, or more accurately, that the parasite is in fact the host. Unfortunately for America, the field hands, (once the cotton is removed form their eyes) will stage a long overdue revolt that finally leaves Americans to bear their own burdens, and to learn the true meaning of the word "sacrifice."

February 10, 2005
Peter Schiff
C.E.O. and Chief Global Strategist
Euro Pacific Capital, Inc.

The US fiscal situation is a mess:

February 07, 2005
Bush Damned Budget Lies and Voodoo Budget Magic: it will be a $600b deficit, not $233b by 2009...and over $1,100b by 2015!
by Noriel Roubini
Associate Professor Economics, NYU

The dishonesty of the administration about budget deficits has reached levels unheard of. These folks have absolutely no shame. Bush presented today a budget that claims that he will achieve his goal of reducing the deficit by half by 2008 (from a false 2004 baseline of $521 billion rather than the actual 2004 deficit of $412b) and will achieve a deficit of "only" $233b by 2009. Even better news, the administration claims today: the "halving" of the deficit will be reached by 2008, a year earlier than original 2009 target for it.

Who are these accounting scam artists trying to deceive? Do they think everyone in America and around the world is a mathematically challenged total idiot or an accounting moron?

The reality is, that based on realistic scenarios outlined last week by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the deficit by 2009 will be close to $600b (or 4.0% of GDP) rather than falling to $233b; and the deficit will reach over $1,100b (or 5.5% of GDP) by 2015.

How do they create the false $233b deficit by 2009?

1. They assume spending cuts that are, by any historical and political standard, impossible to achieve.
2. They assume revenue growth that is altogether wishful thinking and false based on current trends. And they do not consider the long-run costs of making all the Bush tax cuts permanent.
3. They do not count the ongoing costs of the continued defense and homeland security spending and of future military and homeland security build-ups.
4. They phase-in a budget busting social security privatization (that will cost alone $4.5 trillion in the next 20 years) only starting in 2009.

This is worse than dishonesty; it is the most squalid manipulation of budgets ever seen aimed at pretending to achieve a budget figure that is utterly unrealistic and false in every possible dimension.

What would be a more realistic and honest scenario for the 2009 and 2015 budget deficits, given the administration tax goals and the likely path of spending?

Realistic and sensible assumptions imply that the 2009 deficit will be close to $600b (or 4.0% of GDP), even excluding social security reform; and the deficit will reach over $1,100b (or about 5.5.% of GDP) by 2015, including the effects of social security reform.

So, how do we get the difference between the administration lies and the true figures?

First, note that the administration baseline assumes that all discretionary spending - apart from military and domestic security - will be frozen for the next five years. That is even more draconian than the CBO baseline where total discretionary spending was assumed to grow by the modest rate of inflation. Note that, since defense and homeland security have grown much faster than inflation and have grown and are likely to grow even faster than nominal GDP for the foreseeable future, in the administration baseline the growth of non-defense discretionary spending would be negative in real terms for the next decades. How likely is it that such draconian spending cuts in non-defense discretionary spending will be passed even by a Republican Congress? Zero likelihood, as it would imply starving basic public services, i.e. reducing them in real terms over time by amounts never seen before.

Note that historically, discretionary spending has grown close to nominal GDP (i.e. by a rate equal to the inflation rate plus real GDP growth): that is why government spending remains constant over the long run as a share of GDP. Discretionary spending growing even at the CBO baseline of the rate of inflation - let alone the zero% growth in the administration proposal - implies that, in the long run, such spending will become 0% of GDP and that in the short and medium term it will fall in real terms in ways that have never been seen in US history.

Even assuming there is some pork fat in current discretionary spending, the proposed cuts imply chopping fat, flesh, meat, vital organs, bones and blood out of basic public services. And everyone, including every Republican in Congress (down to the most hawkish ones) knows that such draconian butchery - utter outright murder - of public services will never ever happen. It is utterly pathetic and dishonest posturing for the administration to even pretend that they will be able to propose and pass such cuts or even a fraction of them.

A more realistic scenario is to assume that discretionary spending will grow by the rate of nominal GDP, as it has historically. Even if one were to want to be more conservative and believe that some non-defense spending can be sharply reduced, a reasonable inference would be that spending will grow faster than the inflation rate (the CBO baseline) but less than nominal GDP. The difference between the two extremes, inflation rate growth or nominal GDP growth is only $106b in 2009, $359 by 2015 and $1,705 over the 2006-2015 decade.

Second, note that the official objective of the administration is to make all the 2001-2003 tax cuts permanent, i.e. to cut permanently the dividends tax, the capital gains tax, the estate tax and the income tax rates. CBO gives a benchmark for the effects of such permanent tax cuts; by 2015 their cost would be $422 billion for that year alone including the additional debt service costs, $49b in 2009 (and $1,856b cumulative for the 2006-2015 decade). Add to those costs, the cost of fixing the AMT: $56 billion in 2009, $70b by 2015 and $503b over the 2006-2015 decade. Note also that the costs of making the tax cuts permanent are already high until 2009 but they become massive from 2010 on when the expiring income tax cuts would become permanent. So, the administration proposal, that already overestimates revenues until 2009, does not consider at all the post-2009 costs of making the tax cuts permanent.

And the overestimation of revenues is another farce in the current budget plan. The administration originally estimated that revenues would grow by $200b in fiscal 2005 alone and that the deficit in 2005 would fall from $412b to about $350b. Then, we got news from CBO and administration sources that revenue growth is slower than expected and that the 2005 deficit will be, at $427b, even larger than the 2004 level. Then, instead of correcting the 2006-2009 revenue forecasts, the administration put into its new budget revenue growth that does not make any sense and that is altogether inconsistent, based on CBO scenarios, with the effects of keeping the tax cuts and making them permanent. What a pathetic arrogance and dishonesty! Who they think they are fooling with their voodoo economics plus black magic supply side revenues forecasts...these are not forecasts: they are worse then black magic wishful delusional dreams...only a delirious mind could make such far-fetched forecasts...

Third, add sensible assumptions about the costs of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other military spending. The budget announced by administration does not include any of these costs. Even their 2006 budget showing a deficit falling from the high $427 in the current $2005 to $390b in fiscal 2006 does not include any of the supplemental costs for this defense spending next year, a supplemental that in 2005 alone was over $80b. And on top of this add sensible assumptions, as the CBO does, about the "Continued Spending for the Global War on Terrorism". That last item alone will cost - according to the CBO - $59b in 2009, $57b in 2015 and $590b between now and 2015.

Fourth, consider the transition costs of Social Security privatization based on the tentative proposal of the administration. Again, to optically minimize the effects on the budget deficit of this proposal, the administration decided to phase-in such privatization in 2009. What a cheap shot: start privatization after Bush is out of power so that the next Prez had to deal with the budget mess and bankruptcy created by such privatization. Even using such a pathetic political trick, the transition costs would be over $754b in the 2009-2015 period, about $1 trillion in the first decade and another $3.5 trillion in the second decade (plus more later, as you got to have all the 55-plus aged folks to die before you see any savings in the very long run). So, privatization would cost over $4.5 trillion in the first two decade since its start. And by 2015, it annual cost would already be over $150b. A sure path to the complete bankruptcy of the US government in the next decade: no exaggeration as you can look at Argentina for what a botched debt-financed social security privatization brings.

So, now make the following realistic - not voodoo magic false - assumptions about the budget: all the tax cuts are made permanent (as strongly desired by Bush), the AMT is fixed (as planned by the administration and as not doing so would sharply increase the tax burden of an additional 30 million middle class households), discretionary spending grows at the rate of nominal GDP and the extra costs of national security and homeland security are fully counted in.

Then, using the most recent CBO figures one gets a budget deficit of about $600b (or 4.0% of GDP) by 2009, well above the 2004 level of $412 (3.5% of GDP), well above the fake administration target of $233b (1.5% of GDP) for 2009. Moreover, using again these realistic scenarios, by 2015 - counting the effects of the permanent tax cuts and of the phase-in of Social Security privatization - you get an explosive budget deficit of over $1,100b or 5.5% of GDP.

Then, if you do not like this realistic scenario make even the heroic assumption that discretionary spending is sharply reduced and is contained to grow well below the rate of nominal GDP (i.e. well below the historical experience). So, assume that is grows somewhat above the unrealistic CBO scenario of inflation-rate growth of discretionary spending but below the rate of growth of nominal GDP: say, discretionary spending grows exactly in between nominal GDP and inflation rate. Note that even this scenario implies very sharp reductions for non-defense/non-homeland security discretionary spending, cuts that would be very difficult to achieve even in a Republican congress; but let us royally assume that, by some miracle, such spending controls are somehow achieved.

Then, under these most conservative assumptions about spending (the most conservative assumption any honest analyst could make unless you want to just shut down the government), the budget deficit would still be $547b in 2009 (or 3.6% of GDP) and $921b (or 4.7% of GDP) by 2015.

So, expect deficits at most as low as $547b (and as high as $600b) by 2006 and deficits at most as low as $921b (and as high as $1,100b) by 2015. This is honest budget accounting...Instead, the 2009 figure of $233b, shown by the administration today is a LIE, LIE, LIE, LIE, as many lies as 233 billion of them...

They may think that they can fool everyone, the taxpayers, the American people, the media, the bond markets, Wall Street and the disappearing bond vigilantes, the world, the central bankers of the world that have financed 90% of our budget deficits in the last four years and who would have to finance 100% of these ballooning budget deficits in the next decade. But they are only fooling themselves. No one is so dumb and idiotic to believe half of the damned lies they have been peddling in their budget. As a Bloomberg headline put it today, in the most understated terms: "Bush Fiscal Projections Questioned on Capitol Hill, Wall Street". Or, as the headline of the sharp Andrews article in the New York Times put it today: "Trim Deficit? Only if Bush Uses Magic"...Voodoo magic indeed!

Put it less politely, this is not a budget, it is a multi-trillion dollar decade-long scam, a voodoo black magic to the power of two, the biggest Ponzi game in the financial history of humanity that would lead the US to certain bankruptcy by the next decade.

Posted by nouriel at 10:14 PM

February 13 – Gold $420.40 – Silver $7.14

GATA To Replace World Gold Council

"The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think." – Aristotle

GO GATA!!!

There were a couple of significant technical developments this past week in the financial markets. The HUI gold index gave us an outside weekly reversal to the upside. AND so did the CRB and silver.

My bet is what is taking place is a pretty big deal. The financial market pundits have spent a fair amount of time this past year trying to figure out whether inflation or deflation will rule the day. One can easily make the case for either. My bet is the US and our Fed will go all out to defeat deflation which means running the presses and creating "helicopter money" which will lead to inflation. This week’s technical developments may foreshadow what lies ahead.

The CRB has gone sideways since August:

CRB weekly
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CR/W

While many commodity markets have been very much on the firm side, the grain and oilseed complex have been weak. If they turn and move higher to any degree, the CRB will quickly vault into new high ground. The odds of that occurring are very high. The reason being is the odds of a serious weather disturbance are high. There really hasn’t been one in the US which affected the crops that much in a long time. Scares here and there yes. Yields affected, yes, but no serious disasters like we have seen in yesteryear. One is way overdue.

From a technical standpoint, we have a potential set-up for some serious fireworks. Wheat, corn and beans have been sucking wind because of some weak fundamentals from a supply/demand standpoint. This is all reflected in their price charts. However, that is old news now. All have built powerful bases. Should any of these markets encounter overdue weather problems, the prices of any of these grains or oilseeds could rocket higher and send the CRB well above 300.

Weekly soybean chart
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/SB/W

Weekly corn chart
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CN/W

Weekly wheat chart
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CW/W

From beans to silver. Back in the hay day of inflation in the late 70’s, they were equated to each other for a time. If beans were up 20 cents, silver was likely to rise 20 cents. Those days are long gone.

What happened this week in silver is a BIG DEAL in my book. When silver makes a move, it does it on its own. Forget gold, forget the dollar. I remember in 1987, silver leaped $3 in a single week. It did so all by itself. Today the silver fundamentals are better by an enormous degree versus 87, thus there is no reason silver cannot go bananas in a similar fashion again in the coming months.

Many in the silver bull camp have been calling for a huge silver move for some time now because of the very favorable fundamentals. We have been talking about a supply/demand deficit for what seems like forever. Result: Nada. There have been no lasting moves to the upside worth a dork. The action the past two days suggests we might finally have our day.

Why:

Last Spring I reported from a European source that the Chinese had tied up 75% of the silver production for 2005 via various derivatives agreements. A little over a month ago I confirmed what I wrote from my source and stated, that if true, the price of silver HAS to go bonkers. There is no other option for the price should my information be correct. The proof will be in the pudding and we should have some idea if we have a tasty desert coming our way within a month or two.

When silver wants to move, it does so with gusto:

Weekly silver – a smart upside reversal pattern:
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/SV/W

If you are one who believes the shares lead the way, you must be salivating this weekend. Talk about a dramatic reversal pattern:

HUI weekly
http://bigcharts.marketwatch.c…&o_symb=hui&freq=1&time=8

My bet is what we saw this week from a technical standpoint is tres importante. Only time will tell.

CARTEL CAPITULATION WATCH

The esteemed Richard Russell:

February 11, 2005 -- Odds and ends --

Iraq insisted that it had NO weapons of mass destruction. This was confirmed by inspectors. The US attacked Iraq anyway. North Korea comes out and announces that it definitely has nuclear weapons and furthermore, it will not attend any more disarmament meetings. We think, we wait, we ask China to do something. ??

"Not since Napoleon tried to take Moscow had there been such a flight of fancy among military planners, but it pales in comparison to Washington's plan to democratize the so-called Greater Mideast. The Greater Mideast is the 22 Arab counties, which include the northern half of Africa, plus the area from Turkey to Pakistan. This is 26 countries, 14.8 million square miles with a population of 620 million" -- from the "US and World Early Warning Report" by Richard Maybury, (800)509-5400. (A very interesting publication).

"The (economic) story is not a happy one. It is a tale of slumping sales, falling orders and backlogs, plunging prices, building inventories, excess capacities and job losses.. . The stock market's detachment from reality has been a long-running show, longer than I care to remember. However, this particular period's disconnect is as wide as any other I've experienced in all the decades that I've followed tech." From Fred Hickey's "The High-Tech Strategist," PO Box 3133, Nashua, NH 03061-3133. I find this publication fascinating.

-END-

Normally, there would be no reason to do a MIDAS this weekend, however this story out late on Friday blew me away as far as the World Gold Council is concerned, the proverbial last straw:

Gold Firms Oppose IMF Gold Gale,
Citing Chance of Falling Prices

By Eric Onstad
Reuters
Friday, February 11, 2005

http://www.reuters.co.za/local…Key=en_ZA&storyID=7605233

JOHANNESBURG -- The world's biggest gold firms are banding together against proposals to sell gold from International Monetary Fund stockpiles, fearing tumbling gold prices.

"Already the gold price has fallen $10 an ounce as a result of their announcement that they might be looking at it," said an official from industry body the Chamber Mines in South Africa, the world's top ranking gold producing nation.

On Thursday, the world's leading gold miner, U.S. Newmont Mining Corp., said it would lobby U.S. officials against the sale of IMF gold reserves to fund debt relief for the world's poorest countries.

Mining companies argue that sales of some of the IMF's 103 million ounces of gold reserves would hurt developing countries that depend on export revenue.

South Africa's Harmony Gold urged officials to take a quick decision on IMF gold reserves, the third biggest in the world, since uncertainty was hitting prices.

Gold slid to four-month lows of $410.50 an ounce this week on worries about IMF sales, although spot gold had recovered to $418.45/419.20 an ounce by 1454 GMT on Friday.

"The gold market cannot suddenly handle the quantum of gold that we're talking about here," Roger Baxter, the South African chamber's chief economist, told Reuters.

The World Gold Council, which groups global gold producers, said it would have to wait for specific proposals from the IMF conference in April to assess possible effects, but was worried.

"We are very concerned at the effect these undefined proposals have already had on the gold market, especially when bearing in mind that gold exports are a substantial source of revenue to a number of developing countries, including some of the poorest," the group said .

Opposition to the proposal also came from a dozen U.S. lawmakers, mostly from mining states, who told Treasury Secretary John Snow to oppose sales of IMF gold, a letter obtained by Reuters showed on Thursday.

Finance chiefs of the rich Group of Seven nations asked IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato last weekend to report by April on proposals for using IMF gold reserves to write off debts owed by the fund's poorest borrowers.

The South African Chamber of Mines, whose members include the world's second largest gold producer AngloGold Ashanti and fourth-ranking Gold Fields, has not issued a formal policy on the issue, but was due to plot strategy next week, Baxter said.

The body would likely take a stance similar to one six years ago when a similar IMF plan was floated, he added. Opposition from gold producers and governments such as South Africa was instrumental in sinking the previous proposal.

South Africa's Mining Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka came out in opposition to IMF gold sales this week, even though her cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel had earlier voiced cautious approval.

South Africa's Harmony, which ranks sixth in global output, urged a quick move by the IMF, whatever decision it took.

"Although we're against it, we would like certainty about it as well because it does influence the market...it's like an overhang in shares," Marketing Director Ferdi Dippenaar told Reuters.

"If these guys are intent on selling, and will listen to nobody, what they owe us is certainty as to how, in what quantities and over what time they sell it."

-END-

Wait? For what, death? Somehow 12 US Senators got it in their craws to decry the IMF gold sales for the most obvious of reasons, yet the World Gold Council has to think about it. Think about what? How to destroy the industry? They spend their time promoting gold in high fashion jewelry and then when they have a chance to speak out on a matter which will materially affect the market, they spend their time stuttering.

They are beyond pathetic. What is remarkable is you have an industry, like gold, in which the formal organization in existence to promote it is allied with those who want to suppress its price. Perhaps bizarre is a better adjective to describe gold and the WGC?

There is a significant vacuum out there when it comes to gold advocacy which is why it is time for some entity to step up to the plate. Seems that entity is GATA, which is why GOLD RUSH 21 is a big deal. Right about that time many of the world financial market leaders will be meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It just might very well be the more important meeting will be in Dawson City in the Yukon.

Too audacious a comment by me? I don’t think so. I say that because gold is a tiny market which stands for so much. There is no one out there as an advocacy group because the powers in the world want it that way. As my colleague Chris Powell says, the World Gold Council exists to make sure there is no real world gold council.

For many it is a lazy day Sunday, which brings me to the why for this MIDAS. One of the main reasons for GATA’s Dawson City conference is to take our organization to a higher level…to do what we can to make it a spokesorganization for gold companies and gold shareholders around the world – silver too - to fill that enormous vacuum.

As I mentioned the other day, the response thus far is already more than encouraging, even though we are only in the early stages of sending out invitations. There is no doubt in my mind we will be sold out. As this is a new venture, we are learning as we go along on how to make this gathering in a relaxed setting (no suits) the success we expect it to be. What strikes me the most so far is the effect YOU can have by simply making a phone call to your favorite gold company CEO and asking him, or her, to consider attending the conference on behalf of shareholders. From the feedback I have been receiving thus far, it is making a difference and has a number of these CEOs paying serious attention.

I am sure all of you are aware of the enormous effort it takes to make this international conference a world class affair. The GATA team will be working every day for the next 7 months to get the job done. I am asking you to give us a few MINUTES of effort to leave nothing to chance and assure us (thus YOU) of success. Please call your gold company CEO about the conference. Tell him what we are doing and why it is so important the firm be properly represented in Dawson City. I realize it sounds strange, however the days when a gold company CEO would run from a GATA picture will gradually end. As time goes by, those who are not involved in what GATA is doing for the gold industry will seem Neanderthal.

MINUTES...that is all we ask of your time. If you are not happy with your gold/silver investments of late because of what The Gold Cartel is doing to you, then do something about it. Don’t just sit there and whine and complain. Don’t let your fellow investors run with the ball all by themselves. Here is a sample of what is being done, from fellow Café members:

February 11, 2005

Richard D. Caccavale
203 Pine Knot Trail
Hendersonville, NC 28739

Chief Executive Officer
Board of Directors
Re: GATA’s Gold Rush 21

Dear Sir or Madame:

As a shareholder with a significant position in your company, I have suffered exceptional losses during the past year. Moreover, I have studied the precious metals bullion markets on a daily basis and observed disproportionate selling in a manner commensurate with price fixing. Seemingly, this manipulation is conducted by a cartel of bullion banks, including but not limited to: J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Citibank, etc. Astute investors recognize this price fixing as the carry trade in which central bank gold is leased to increase the perception of supply. It is the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone notices, but no one discusses. However, the tacit acceptance and long term silent acquiescence to this price fixing can no longer be tolerated by producers, because investors are being forced to cut their losses and reallocate their portfolios to other hard asset groups, which are not manipulated.

Accordingly, I strongly suggest that you proactively address this precious metal price fixing and become involved in the marketing of your product in a manner comparable to other industries. Otherwise you risk the total disgust of your investors and their capitulation of share ownership.

In this connection, you now have a fantastic opportunity to exponentially increase the amount of consumers of your product, as well as having a public relations promotional campaign that will serve to expose and eliminate this sinister, covert price fixing. This is a win, win situation for the producer and investor, because substantial increases in product consumption at a much higher price will benefit both.

Accordingly, I urge you to attend, or otherwise support, GATA’s Gold Rush 21 conference being held on August 8th and 9th, 2005 in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. I have provided a link to the conference’s web site (http://www. goldrush21.com), which will describe the agenda and guest speakers. In the event that you are unaware of GATA (Gold Anti Trust Action Committee), suffice it to say that they are a non-profit, educational organization, whose sole purpose is to make the public aware of the price manipulation of gold, and the greatly diminished supply of bullion due to the carry trade leasing. Additionally, GATA promotes precious metals bullion as a currency, which is both a safe harbor investment and hedge against inflation. That message better serves both the investor and producer because it markets the bullion product to a much greater audience than the existing jewelry consumer. Imagine the phenomenal financial benefit that you could achieve if every equity and bond investors’ portfolio consisted of just a five percent holding of bullion.

For the past six years GATA has stood alone, with minimal corporate support, battling the cartel of bullion banks as they manipulated the bullion price. Moreover, GATA has denounced the disinformation campaign by the World Gold Council, which relegates precious metal ownership to only jewelry applications, and also aligns itself with the hedging producers; who both are rewarded by lower bullion prices.

In closing, please take advantage of this watershed event and learn what GATA can do for you. Even if you can not attend this conference and directly benefit by the message of the renowned guest speakers, I implore you to utilize GATA as your industry representative so we both can enjoy a more prosperous future.

Sincerely,
Richard D. Caccavale
Ricgin2@mchsi.com

***

Peter, good speaking with you briefly today regarding the Gold Rush 21 summit being hosted by Bill Murphy, Chris Powell and the folks at GATA.

I am a shareholder in both WHT and GG and look forward to holding these shares in the combined company. Congratulations on the 1st vote; my WHT shares have been tendered. I look forward to the 2nd vote.

As Rob McEwen is frequently quoted, "Gold is Money." I am also a firm believer in this position. What bothers me today is the constant manipulation that occurs by the activities promoting their alternatives to real money. This manipulation has a highly leveraged negative impact on the price of our shares. There are many ramifications that I could go into but I doubt there is anything new that I can offer as you’re better versed in this market than most.

I would like to request that you and Ian Telfer support this conference by attending. We need executives like yourself to understand and work together to expose the behind-the-scene manipulation. I believe that ending this price manipulation will have a far greater impact on our share price than any operational efficiency, merger of other activity.

I am attaching the brief from GATA below in case you have not seen it. Please discuss this request with Ian when he is back in the office.

Thanks, Steve

***

The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee is pleased to announce that we will be hosting an international conference on August 8 and 9 in Dawson City in Canada's Yukon, the center of the Klondike Gold Rush at the turn of the 19th century.

Since it represents the golden excitement of the past, this historic location is just the place for our conference as we enter a new time of excitement for gold. So we will call our gathering GOLD RUSH 21 and here's what we aim to do there:

Expand GATA's role as an advocate for the precious metals industry.
Offer the mining industry and precious metals investors an alternative to the World Gold Council, which represents no more than 20 gold companies and has done so little for those it purports to represent. GATA will seek to include more of the industry, and we will not align ourselves with the bullion banks and jewelry interests, which want precious metals prices suppressed. More than 40 mining and precious metals-related companies have supported GATA in recent years. We believe we can raise that total to 200.
Spread GATA's message that the gold and silver markets are not free and not fair, and develop ways to change that. Renowned gold experts from five continents will explain and discuss the price manipulation committed by the gold and silver cartels. We will cover who has done it, why they did it, and what can be done about it.
Give conference participants a memorable trip to Klondike Gold Rush country so they can see what a gold rush was and what one might be again. We expect that conference participants will forge some memorable relationships.
Receive suggestions from conference participants about how GATA can best build long-term support from the precious metals industry.
The speakers at GOLD RUSH 21 will include:

Ferdinand Lips of Zurich, Switzerland. He has been managing director of Rothschild Bank AG in Zurich, CEO of his own private bank (Bank Lips), and a director of Randgold Resources, Durban Roodeport Deep, and Aflease. Now he is chairman and manager of the Top-Gold Fund, based in Liechtenstein. He has written four books on the gold market, his latest being "Gold Wars."
Peter George of Cape Town, South Africa. A graduate of Oxford University in England and the University of Cape Town, where he received his MBA, George was a member of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange from 1969-1981 and was senior partner of the Johannesburg stockbrokerage Saunders & Taylor. He became known as South Africa's "Mister Gold," during that period. Peter helped organize the GATA African Gold Summit in Durban, South Africa, in May 2001. Five sub-Saharan African nations attended that conference, along with representatives of major South African gold producers and the South African mine workers union. The summit was heavily reported by the South African Broadcasting Co.
John Embry of Toronto. Just as George is known as "Mister Gold" in South Africa, Embry is becoming known as "Mister Gold" in Canada. After an illustrious career at the Royal Bank of Canada, where he oversaw $5 billion in mutual fund assets and recorded an astounding return of 153 percent in 2002, in 2003 Embry became chief investment strategist at Sprott Asset Management. He was co-author of Sprott's important research study, "Not Free, Not Fair: The Long-Term Manipulation of the Gold Price," which validated GATA's work. There is no more admired figure in the mining industry.
Hugo Salinas Price, who may be regarded as Mexico's "Mister Silver." Salinas Price is leading the campaign to remonetize silver in his country, the world's foremost producer of silver. Last November governors of all 31 Mexican states sent a letter to the Ways and Means Committee of the Mexican House of Representatives to urge approval of legislation to remonetize silver. Nearly 200 Mexican journalists signed a declaration in support of the legislation. A poll by the Mexican television network TV Azteca found that 96 percent of viewers approved the remonetization of silver. It seems that the only major opponent of the silver legislation in Mexico is Mexico's central bank.
Reginald H. Howe of Massachusetts. A successful trial lawyer in Boston and proprietor of the GoldenSextant.com Internet site, Howe took on the entire Gold Cartel in U.S. District Court in Boston in 2001 by suing the Bank for International Settlements, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, the U.S. Treasury Department, J.P. Morgan & Co., Chase Manhattan Corp., Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group, and Deutsche Bank AG. Howe stood against more than a dozen of the highest-powered lawyers in the world. His lawsuit has been renewed by Blanchard Coin & Bullion's suit against J.P. Morgan Chase and Barrick Gold in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.
James Turk of New Hampshire. Turk, a former banker and manager of the commodity department of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, is editor of the Freemarket Gold & Money Report and founder of GoldMoney.com. He is also the co-author of "The Coming Collapse of the Dollar," just published by Doubleday.
I am proud to call these distinguished men my friends. They fight every day for you gold and silver investors and the mining companies exhibiting in the next room.

Facilities in Dawson City are very limited, so we will have to restrict invitations to mining company executives and investment fund managers, the people who are in the best position to help us push the industry forward. Mining company executives and fund managers who would like to attend GOLD RUSH 21 should write to us by e-mail at GATAComm@GOLDRUSH21.com and we'll send confirmations soon after that. More information about the conference can be found at its Internet site: http://www.goldrush21.com/

GATA extends its profound gratitude to Samex Mining and Klondike Star for their exceptional efforts behind the scenes to make this international conference a huge success.

Thank You

***

February 14, 2005

Ian Telfer, CEO
Wheaton River Minerals, Ltd.
200 Burard Street, Suite 1560
Vancouver, BC
V6C 3L6 Canada

Dear Mr. Telfer:

As a shareholder of Goldcorp as well as Wheaton River, may I say that I'm delighted at the turn of events that will place you in Goldcorp's driver's seat one of these days soon. I cast my 5000 share proxy at GG for the Wheaton acquisition, needless to say, and will be voting my 5000 shares of WHT in the same direction.

Of course anyone as savvy as you obviously are would necessarily be aware of the price of gold manipulation, and therefore GATA's heroic work in attempting to correct this malfeasance. To use street vernacular, we gold shareholders are being 'ripped off', royally, and that the mining companies would repeatedly turn the other cheek is a never ending source of amazement to me.

While Rob McEwan has done a brilliant job in taking Goldcorp as far as he has, it's time for a more aggressive CEO and, bless his heart, he knows it. Some months ago, I wrote to him about the gold suppression scheme and accompanying cartel, to no avail as I never received a reply. "Well," I said to myself recently, "I'll bet Ian Telfer will take action!" You have, after all, made Wheaton grow exponentially, much to your credit.

So I am writing to urge you to attend an international conference August 8 and 9, 2005, entitled Gold Rush 21, in Dawson, Yukon. Presented by GATA, such luminaries in the precious metals world as James Turk, Ferdinand Lips, John Embry, Hugo Salinas Price, Reginald H. Howe will be speakers. Let's see some solidarity in the world of mining; let's see all of you put your heads together, resolving to eliminate the criminality involved in manipulating the price of gold and silver. Please see: http://www.goldrush21.com

Your shareholders need you to be in attendance at this conference in August. (Off the record, word has it that the former chairman of Harmony Gold, Adam Fleming, as well as Neal Froneman of Aflease in SA have offered their support.) I should be interested in learning of your own intention, Mr. Telfer.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Marilyn A. Guinnane
973 Mirror Lake Drive
Reno, Nevada 89511

maguinnane@cs.com

***

Some Silver Insights

I went to my coin dealer in Quincy, IL yesterday to buy a few more 10 oz. bars and some rounds, but he is out of bars and has only 200 rounds left. He has lifted his asking price from .50 over spot to 1.18 over spot. He said people have been coming out of the wood work buying silver and have cleaned him out of bullion. No sellers at all, just buyers. The word is out about silver to a few more lucky people. Is this a bullish sign or what? Ted Butler's articles have been quite bullish lately, but I have come to the conclusion that his big bang theory is farther off than he leads to believe and I get the feeling you do too. It does help in getting people very excited about silver and speeds the process up. Ted wrote about some new big hands that have come into the market on this last pull back. Any idea who it may be and will they take delivery? I feel right now is a critical point for silver. We need to somehow get people who have been buying paper silver (stocks, futures, etc.) to start buying real silver RIGHT NOW. The people who truly believe in silver as a group all over the world should make a group effort to buy some real silver every week. I don't care if its 1 oz. or 100 oz.'s each week. Do it just like a payroll deduction going into a 401k each week. Every silver bulls newsletter should give an ALL OUT ALERT right now to their followers that as a massive group effort we CAN make a difference at this point in time and lets put as much pressure on supply as we can by emptying the shelves of our local dealers.

Quelle: Homepage Silver Investor

Auszug aktueller Tageskommentar Pro Aurum:

Erneut kam es am Silbermarkt zu kräftigen Aufschlägen. In der Spitze kostete das weiße Metall 7,22 US$ pro Feinunze. Dies ist eine Steigerung von ca. 10% innerhalb von nur zwei Handelstagen. Dsofort hat sich die Nachfrage nach Silberbarren sprunghaft erhöht. Unsere Kunden räumten am Freitag unsere gesamten Handelsbestände ab. So bleibt uns nun nichts anderes übrig, als bei diesen recht anspruchsvollen Kursen zu ordern.