Gold Price Hovers Near New Record

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South African Utility Loses Top Officers at Crucial Time

By ROBB M. STEWART JOHANNESBURG—Eskom Holdings Ltd., South Africa's state-owned power company, has lost both its chairman and chief executive officer at a time when the utility is looking to secure funding for a massive expansion. A two-week saga that was only clarified Thursday risks management efforts to rollout new power plants under a planned five-year 385 billion rand ($52.28 billion) program. It also has drawn criticism of political interference and racism, and divided allies of President Jacob Zuma's African National Congress. Bobby Godsell, a former CEO of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., stepped down Monday as chairman of Eskom, four days after he had told staff that the board on Oct. 28 had accepted the resignation of CEO Jacob Maroga. Mr. Maroga, a day later, denied resigning, sparking two weeks of uncertainty. Eskom said Mpho Makwana, a board member since 2002, will serve as chairman and CEO until appointments are made. The loss of both its chairman and CEO comes at a bad time for Eskom, which generates about 95% of South Africa's electricity. The utility has struggled to find the money for its expansion program as credit markets tightened amid the global recession. It has proposed tripling tariffs over the next three years to help cover some of its costs. The utility's lack of generating capacity and problems with supplies of coal that fuel most of its power stations resulted in months of rolling blackouts that culminated in a near collapse of the national grid early last year. Uncertainty over whether Eskom will be in a position to offer sufficient power last month prompted Rio Tinto Ltd. to shelve plans for a $...
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Billionaire Paulson Bets Big on Gold, Citi

John Paulson, the most successful, high-profile hedge fund manager of the last several years maintained a massive position in gold in his end-of-Q3 portfolio and was making a huge move into Citigroup (NYSE: C - News), the bank at the center of the drama in the financial sector over the last year. Alpha Magazine. Paulson's returns were fueled by prescient short bets in financial names as well as his usual strategy of taking advantage of arbitrage opportunities. In 2009, Paulson went long the big banks and has reaped huge gains as their shares rebounded from fear-stoked lows.Paulson uses complex securities to make many of his investments, but his funds also hold stocks, often those involved in so-called "special situations," usually M&A activity where Paulson looks for arbitrage opportunities to squeeze out some profit.Looking at Paulson's top, U.S.-listed, equity holdings from the end of Q3, one can see that, though building a new Citi stake, Paulson exited a large stake in Goldman Sachs (NYSE: ...
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Fund Managers Go for the Gold (Miners)

By ALLEN SYKORA Portfolio managers of gold mutual funds are trying to bolster returns in a bull market by identifying mining stocks that might outperform others, focusing on factors such as production growth and cash flow. Most tend to be fully invested in mining shares or close to it, rather than bullion, believing this is where there is the greatest potential for further gains. At Monday's high, the Philadelphia Gold Silver Index was up more than 50% this year, while spot gold was up 30%. Despite the advance, mining shares still lag behind bullion prices since they are below their 2008 peaks as gold continues to hit fresh record highs, said Caesar Bryan of Gamco Gold Fund. "If gold keeps coming up, these stocks are very inexpensive." Tocqueville Gold Fund's John Hathaway said his staff continues to study companies, meet with management teams and look for valuation "discrepancies" to capitalize upon. Mark Johnson, of USAA Precious Metals & Minerals Fund, said his fund aims to perform well on a relative basis regardless of gold's direction. "Consequently, we continue to emphasize low-cost producers with strong management and good balance sheets that have growth profiles and also relatively reasonable valuations," he said. Some junior miners have good values, Mr. Johnson said, listing Great Basin Gold, Aurizon Mines and Allied Nevada Gold. He also favors Agnico Eagle Mines, saying its stock was hampered by third-quarter results, but some of this was because of temporary mining issues. For instance, the company was in a low-grade section of one mine, but has moved back into a higher-grade section, he said....
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Gold Prices Trade Off Highs

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Trading Overview for Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. Issued by StockPreacher.com

DALLAS, Nov. 17, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StockPreacher.com announces an investment report featuring Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMY - News). The report includes financial and investment analysis, analyst consensus, and pertinent industry information you need to know to make an educated investment decision. The investment report on Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMY - News) should be of particular interest to other mining companies: Freeport-McMoRan Copper (NYSE:FCX - News), Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM - News) and Anglogold Ashanti Ltd. ADR (NYSE:...
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