Ambrose -Pritchard Evans Discusses The Current Crises With Banks and CDOs

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Ambrose reports stories that most British business journalists are either unaware or cannot. That makes him one of the most important journalists who reports business news. I read everything he writes - and I do not necessarily agree with everthing. Yet, I still rate his reporting as honest, factual, experienced and knowledgeable. He also does this for a living and I do not. In this five minute discussion he talks with a fellow Telegraph journalist Tom Stevenson about the current crises for US and British banks. The discussion also ranges over the economic state of the world, including Japan and China. Stevenson gives the expected arguments of "The Yellowbrick Road".

Rob McEwen, ex CEO of Goldcorp, thinks we'll see $2000 Gold by 2010

Press here


And it will be the present financial crises that that will bring us there.

The CDO mess satirically exposed by the two Johns having "The Last Laugh"

It's brilliantly done and funny, too.

Minerva find gold nuggets up to 10mm in diameter at Tulu Kapi (Ethiopia) after heavy rains

I own some shares in Minerva Resources and I find it amusing that such large nuggets would be ready for anyone to pick up. It's like finding REAL money in the wild! The shares appreciated today by over 81% and are likely to do handstands on Monday too.

Here's the official announcement. If only this type of thing happened every few days or months!

Minerva Resources Operations Update

RNS Number:4055H
Minerva Resources PLC
09 November 2007

9 November 2007

Minerva Resources Plc (AIM:MVA)

("Minerva Resources" or "the Company")

Operations Update - Tulu Kapi Gold Project, Ethiopia



Highlights:

* Drilling intersects extensions of mineralised zones at Tulu Kapi
* Second drill rig arrives at Tulu Kapi
* Gold nuggets picked out of soil at Tulu Kapi after rains

Minerva Resources' recent drilling has intersected extensions of mineralised zones at Tulu Kapi. The Company is targeting a 500m section of a larger gold zone delineated by numerous mine workings and recent exploration activity.

A second Ethiopian Geological Survey (EGS) drill rig has started drilling at site. The first EGS drill rig has completed 644m of the 3,000m, Phase 2, drilling programme.

The EGS rigs are drilling holes 10 and 11 at Tulu Kapi. Samples from holes 8 and 9 have been submitted for analysis to the ALS Chemex Laboratory in South Africa and results are expected in early January 2008.

The drilling to date confirms that there are three broadly continuous sub-parallel zones of mineralisation, which dip to the southwest. Each of the three zones appears to be approximately 10m thick, with good strike and depth continuity. Most recently, hole 10 has intersected two mineralised zones, one of 20m from 17-37m downhole and one of 34m from 41-75m downhole. Hole 11 has intersected a similar 25m thick mineralised zone, from 12-37m downhole and is now at a depth of 45m.

The drilling to date has concentrated on a 500m long limb that strikes to the northwest, although indications of gold mineralisation extend beyond this central section both to the northeast and to the southwest. Minerva Resources is grid drilling this central resource with fence lines 80m apart and initially 3 holes 40m apart on each fence.

Minerva Resources has also entered into negotiations with private drilling companies to drill an additional 3,000m. In addition to further drilling at Tulu Kapi, drilling will also be undertaken at the nearby Guji prospect and a number of satellite prospects close to Tulu Kapi and Guji.

Finally, after seasonal heavy rains gold nuggets up to 10mm in diameter were picked from soil at Tulu Kapi. The gold nuggets are highly angular grains and aggregates indicative of a local source with little or no transport occurring.

Commenting today Terry Ward, Managing Director, said "We are delighted at the continued delineation of gold mineralisation at Tulu Kapi. The good core intersections, good strike and depth continuity to the mineralised zones, and presence of gold nuggets at surface all add to our confidence that Tulu Kapi is
shaping up to be an asset of merit."

For further information please contact:

Terry Ward
Minerva Resources plc
Tel: +44 (0)20 76294800/(0)7989571576


Jane Stacey/Ed Portman
Conduit PR
Tel: +44 (0)20 74296606/(0)7922923306


James Joyce / David Porter
W. H. Ireland
Tel: +44 (0)20 72201666


The information in this release which relates to exploration results is based on
information compiled by Chris Wilson, BSc(Hons), PhD, FAusIMM (CP), FSEQ. Dr. Wilson is a consultant to Minerva Resources plc and has provided Best Practice and QA/QC training resources to the Company's geologists in Ethiopia. He is auditing the current drill programme and is responsible for signing off exploration results for news releases to the market. Dr. Wilson is a Competent Person as defined in the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves and has reviewed and approved this release.

Note to Editor

Minerva Resources plc ('Minerva Resources' or 'the Company') is a UK based mineral exploration and development company quoted on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM: MVA). The Company is intent on delivering shareholder value by increasing and developing its mineral resources in a socially and
environmentally responsible manner.

The main focus is resource development in Ethiopia where the Company has first-mover advantage on prospective ground on the Arabian-Nubian shield. Key projects include the gold resources at the Tulu Kapi and Guji prospects and the Yubdo Platinum Mine, located in western Ethiopia.

Drilling programmes are underway at the Tulu Kapi and Guji gold projects in western Ethiopia. The two projects are 7km apart, allowing significant sharing of logistics and infrastructure.

Tulu Kapi was mined in the 1930s by an Italian company. In the 1970s the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mapped and drilled Tulu Kapi. Tan Range carried out soil sampling and further mapping and drilling in the 1990s. These two phases of work confirmed mineralisation extending over a strike length of 1.5km and the project is undergoing second phase drilling after encouraging early Minerva Resources drill results.

The Company also has a strong presence in Central Asia, operating a Technical Services Division undertaking contract geology and contract drilling work from the Kyrgyz Republic. In Sierra Leone the Company holds gold, platinum and diamond exploration licences which will for the most part continue to be developed by existing Joint Venture partners.

This information is provided by RNS

Professor John Mullan's interview in early September 2007 with Louis de Bernieres on "Captain Corelli's Mandolin"

It's an informative interview that will be beneficial for students, particularly for AO4 ( that is, the reception of the text and students own and others'interpretation of the text) and AO5ii (The cultural and historical contexts). I learned a few things from this. It's well worth a listen.

Press here

Credit derivatives' volumes exceed $ 45 trillion: ISDA survey

The half-yearly credit derivatives data released by ISDA says that credit derivatives volumes, as of end June, 2007, have gone beyond $ 45 trillion, at about $ 45.46 trillion. This scales a growth of 32% from the $ 34 trillion data as of end 2006, and nearly 75% growth over the half year of 2006.

Credit derivatives have been growing at an annual rate of nearly 100% over the past 3-4 years.

During the tremendous credit squeeze that started in the wake of the subprime crisis, credit derivatives volumes are likely to be affected this year. There are several reasons for this - hedge funds who became primary players in credit derivatives in 2004 onwards are likely to stage a retreat, or at least slow their activity this year. CDO activity is completely moribund post July 2007. In general, the market has become risk averse.

Increased role of hedge funds has increased risk of correlated movements in credit markets: Fitch

Rating agency Fitch recently came up with a special report on the role of hedge funds in the credit markt [Hedge Funds: The Credit Market's New Paradigm, report dated 5 June 2007]. The report states something that anyone having an insight into the credit derivatives market might surely know, but what might look shocking to an outsider. The credit derivatives market is not where banks meet to swap each other's credit risks. It is fast becoming an arena for risk-takers and betters who take leveraged positions on credit risks. Hedge funds occupy nearly 60% of this market today.

Apart from the sheer volume of trade, "(T)he impact of hedge funds on the credit markets can not be measured simply by trading volumes, but also must consider hedge funds’ willingness to be risk takers by investing lower in the capital structure. By investing in instruments that are themselves levered, hedge funds are able to create a multiplier effect by
combining financial leverage with so-called economic leverage. The combination of the two can be thought of as the effective leverage", says Fitch.

There is ample evidence that hedge funds, in search for high returns, take subordinated positions in pools of credit. That apart, they are major players in equity tranches of the indices.

What does this highly leveraged position of hedge funds imply for the credit market? The downgrades for GM and Ford in May 2005 brought sharp MTM losses for several players because of the highly correlated moves by several hedge funds trying to unwind their positions due to their mandates or deleverage triggers. Fitch says that a similar result is almost inevitable. "Credit assets could behave in a more correlated, synchronous fashion if one or a number of hedge funds were forced to liquidate positions following some catalyst event in the markets. Investor redemptions and/or increased margin calls from prime broker banks could exacerbate a larger unwind of credit assets". Hedge funds are far more unstable investors than buy and hold investors of relationship banks.

Besides, hedge funds are typically short-term strategy based. Many of them have short horizons within which they either perform or must wind up. While hedge funds have continued to improve their risk management abilities, there is no way they can eliminate risks, and the next downturn in business cycle may really bring forth this critical situation.

It's a great day for PMs and associated stocks!

The Rally Monkey!


The big Kahuna is being landed! Rally Time is here! What follows is some consolidation before higher highs.