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Daily Dispatches

British banks probed over adequacy of collateral from hedge funds

Section: Daily Dispatches

By Peter Thal Larsen
Financial Times, London
Sunday, December 3, 2006

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20061203/bs_ft/fto120320061653056819

London's largest investment banks are to face a wide-ranging probe into their measurement and management of collateral amid concerns that some may not be properly prepared for a sudden market downturn.

The Financial Services Authority, the City watchdog, has launched an investigation into the banks' systems for measuring and managing the collateral they demand from hedge funds, banks, and other trading counterparties.

Ted Butler: What happens at $100 silver?

Section: Daily Dispatches

5p ET Monday, December 4, 2006

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Silver market analyst Ted Butler's new essay is a speculation on which silver-related investments will do best as the price of silver reaches $100. Butler's preference is for real metal rather than mining shares -- particularly U.S. silver eagles. His essay is titled "What Happens at $100 Silver?" and you can find it at GoldSeek's companion site, SilverSeek, here:

Britain's official inflation numbers are all lies too

Section: Daily Dispatches

Revealed: The Real
Rate of Inflation

By Edmund Conway
The Telegraph, London
Monday, December 4, 2006

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/04/ninflati...

The cost of living for many British households is up to four times the Government's published rate of inflation, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

Millions of families are experiencing inflation far beyond the official rate of 2.4 per cent, new research suggests.

Agnico-Eagle's huge success: organic growth, no hedging

Section: Daily Dispatches

2:25p ET Monday, December 4, 2006

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Today's Financial Post / National Post in Canada has a wonderful profile of Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., GATA's oldest financial supporter among producing mining companies. The company has reaped spectacular success in recent years by avoiding hedging and concentrating on what this profile calls organic growth.

Continuing its support, Agnico-Eagle was a sponsor of GATA's reception at the New Orleans Investment Conference last month. The company has been with us from the beginning, back in the days when it was considered bad for business and before GATA's case was proved and widely accepted. So we're deeply grateful for Agnico-Eagle's principled and fearless work on behalf of the gold cause and delighted with its well-earned recognition here.

Another Chinese scholar argues for shifting into gold

Section: Daily Dispatches

China Should Increase
Forex Holdings in Gold

By Gao Jie
People's Daily Online, Beijing
Monday, December 4, 2006

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200612/04/eng20061204_328023.html

China's foreign exchange reserves have become a thorny issue for the government.

Experts around the world have suggested ways in which China might address the surplus of foreign exchange reserves. However, many of these simply involve consuming the excess which could easily lead to inflation.

Weak dollar will figure in OPEC's decision on production

Section: Daily Dispatches

OPEC to take weak dollar into account

By Ghaida Ghantous and Karin Strohecker
Rtuers
Monday, December 4, 2006

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061204/bs_nm/oil_opec_dc_7

OPEC is worried by a fall in the dollar that is eroding member states' purchasing power and ministers will take up the issue when they meet next week to discuss new output curbs.

On Monday the dollar hit a 20-month low against the euro, punishing producers who sell their oil in dollars, when they buy goods and services from Europe.

U.S. believed happy with decline of dollar if it's 'orderly'

Section: Daily Dispatches

By Jitendra Joshi
Agence France-Presse
Sunday, December 3, 2006

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061203/ts_afp/forexuspolitics_061203220206

The US administration appears unfazed as the dollar plummets on currency markets, giving a helpful trade boost during an economic slowdown, analysts believe.

But a danger lies in the dollar falling so far that it unleashes inflation, sparking retaliation by the Federal Reserve.

Goldman's top alumni wield White House clout

Section: Daily Dispatches

By Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Ben White
Financial Times, London
Sunday, December 3, 2006

http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto120320061956506824&pa...

America's corporate elite has long upheld a tradition of joining Washington's corridors of power for a new career. JPMorgan executives gave counsel to President Woodrow Wilson during the first world war. President John F. Kennedy asked Robert McNamara, a war veteran who had risen to the top ranks of Ford, to become secretary of defence in 1960.

Bloomberg's weekly gold trader survey quotes GoldMoney's and GATA's Turk

Section: Daily Dispatches

Gold May Rise
for 3rd Week
as Dollar Slide
Spurs Demand

By Choy Leng Yeong
Bloomberg News Service
Monday, December 4, 2006

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adBzIdSVEjvo&refer=home

Gold may rise for a third straight week on speculation a slowing U.S. economy will erode the value of the dollar, increasing the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Treasury secretary polls industry leaders before China trip

Section: Daily Dispatches

By Eoin Callan
Financial Times, London
Sunday, December 3, 2006

http://biz.yahoo.com/ft/061203/fto120320061053046778.html?.v=1

Hank Paulson, US treasury secretary, will on Monday begin a series of discussions with industry leaders to hammer out the Bush administration's policy towards China ahead of a high-level delegation to Beijing next week.

The former head of Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, will on Monday meet executives from manufacturing companies, including Procter & Gamble, before on Wednesday sitting down with financial services companies -- including Citigroup -- as well as those from other sectors.

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