Global market downturn hammers gold, silver

摘要

The biggest story for the week ended March 2, the ninth trading week of 2007, was the worldwide stock-market meltdown that started with a surging yen and a 9 percent drop on the red-hot Shanghai Exchange, and then quickly translated by Feb. 27 into some of the worst declines North American equities have seen since the days after 9/11. Gold companies and Bay Street brokers will hesitate to do it, so we'll be the ones to point out the uncomfortable truth that physical gold and silver and precious metals stocks all failed spectacularly as a safe haven during the market turmoil. While broad North American stock indices dropped 3.5 percent-4.5 percent over the week, gold bullion fell 4.5 percent, gold indices sank around 8 percent, and silver bullion plummeted almost 12 percent.