A guy named AmericanPatriot posted this on Marketwatch:
“Gold and Silver Go Bonkers” TIME
“In one hectic week, the long surge in gold, silver and other precious metals crested into a wild pay-any-price frenzy. While bullion traders from Hong Kong to Zurich to Kansas City gaped in amazement, panicky investors big and small reacted to the worsening turmoil in the Middle East and the increasingly troubled world economy. They sent precious metal bars, coins and trinkets on the most dizzying roller-coaster ride in memory. Prices touched levels that were inconceivable a few months ago. Said a New York commodities expert, George Clarke, in a revealing if overwrought explanation of the market’s extreme volatility and nervousness: “In my opinion what is happening is that the world is looking at World War III.”
On a single day, gold climbed $74.50 per oz., or more than twice its total value as late as 1971. During the week, it climbed an incredible $148, to hit $660 per oz. before slipping back suddenly at week’s end to a still dazzling $603, or an overall gain of 18% in only five days.
The sell-off was spurred partly by rumors that the U.S. was planning a surprise gold auction of as much as 6 million oz. in an effort to break the price runup. Though the Administration denied the rumors, the U.S. could well afford such an auction. The nation’s gold reserves are still far and away the largest on earth, totaling some 276 million oz. At last week’s closing price, the reserves were worth some $165 billion, or more than twice as much as those of second-ranked West Germany. By comparison, the Soviet Union’s official reserves, though never disclosed, are estimated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to be less than 45 million oz.
THE SNOW JOB 