4 replies to this topic

[fib_1618]

I ran across this article from 8/31.

Fib

NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Gold-backed securities known as streetTRACKS could soon start trading on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a statement posted Monday on the Securities and Exchange Commission's Web site.

The previously unnamed equity trust, sponsored by the World Gold Council, is designed as an alternative to investing in physical gold, which is difficult and expensive for nonprofessional to move, store and insure.

The NYSE and the World Gold Council, which filed the amended registration with the SEC, said they are forbidden to comment during the process. The registration was initially filed in May 2003.

The prospectus document, which can be found on http://www*sec.gov and is subject to further amendment, indicates it will be launched in 2004 "as soon as practicable after this registration statement becomes effective."

Financial markets have been anticipating its debut, and rumors have circulated among gold traders and analysts in recent weeks that a launch was imminent.

The New York securities are similar to Gold Bullion Securities Ltd. (GBSx.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , which started trading on the London Stock Exchange in December 2003.

The U.S. version has registered 60,400,000 shares, each representing ownership in 1/10 ounce of gold, according to the prospectus. Share prices, which will trade under the ticker symbol GLD, will be determined by the spot price of gold at the time they are sold to the market.

The actual gold will be warehoused by the custodian, HSBC Bank USA. The trust will be administered by The Bank of New York.

The gold industry has looked to exchange traded funds to sustain investor interest in gold, which reached its highest price in 15 years five months ago near $430 an ounce, about $20 above the current price at $409.25.

Exchange traded funds offer the small investor the ability to play in gold, without handling the physical asset. Investors can also buy shares in gold companies, but may be discouraged by the financial nuances of the mining industry and by influences on stock prices which may not be related to the underlying value of gold.

San Francisco-based Barclays Global Investors, N.A., also filed a registration with the SEC this year for iShares COMEX Gold Trust, which will mimic the price of gold futures at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

[mss]

The more that play, the less it will mean in real money.

[TomD]

It seems to me that unless you put in a mechanism that allows to take delivery then this will be a "game" where people try to play the Comex gold price...you might as well get into the pool at kitco.com and play there.... if you have mechanism for delivery...and people start demanding it...then you would have a whole new dynamic...but otherwise....anyways according to Lenard Kaplan these things have been disappointments in the other place they have been tried.

[bobalou]

very good pt. tom..were is it ,when you will need it. still adds some action.

[norton]

this is a test only