HONG KONG -- It would be the biggest run on gold since the attempted French invasion of Britain of 1797 that sent
prices through the roof. The precious metal, long a safe haven for investors, yesterday was predicted by a leading
analyst to quadruple within three years as buyers seek shelter from prolonged turmoil in mainstream financial markets.
According to Christopher Wood, chief strategist at the broker CLSA, market ructions and a collapse of the dollar could
send gold prices to more than $3,400 an ounce within the next three years. Gold futures last night hit a 28-year high
at $733 an ounce, but are more than $100 short of the record. Mr Wood said that the sub-prime conflagration would
be the catalyst for a wider breakdown in markets. However, Wood predicted that investors would soon realise that
the sub-prime crisis is simply the catalyst of a much wider breakdown, arguing that it has been the "Archduke
Ferdinand assassination event" that sparks a bigger calamity. "This is not a sub-prime crisis. Sub-prime has merely
exposed the bigger scam of structured finance; a scam that is about pretending that bad credit is good credit," he
said.
Click here to go back to the NEWS page...