POG

The AUD and POG have been relatively unscathed yet gold miners have largely been savaged. Why? Why? Why? POG dipped towards USD$1500 per oz and AUD fell to mid 90's. Both have bounced back to levels that have been quite stable for some time.

China's economy is not going to fold overnight; the Chinese are great at saving. I visited my eldest cousin's eldest son's porcelain factory in China. He said the European financial problem has affected his export volume but Brazil is taking some of his stock. Overall, it is down but it hasn't been bad.

The infrastructure development in China is very progressive. There will be long term benefits. The roads between regional cities are usually dual or triple carriageways; better than in NSW.

Hence I expect Australia to be insulated for a longer period. And gold is still the best hedge, so I am still concentrating mostly on gold miners/producers. European, US and Japanese problems won't be disappearing for a long time.

By the way, I managed to buy some Chinese music CDs in Xiamen and KL; all produced in China, Taiwan and HK. The quality has improved by leaps and bounds. In 10 more years, the Chinese tourists will be lamenting how the quality in the West is not what it used to be! Unless the goods are still made in China! My biggest problem is getting non-pop music; I wanted classical Chinese music and lao ge (old 30's to 60's music) but hardly anyone listen to it. In good Chinese movies by famous directors, they use those music to evoke nostalgia or sensuality/emotion. Too much piracy maims the music industry in the Orient and the youths are very orientated towards modern pop music style of the west. I must be getting on...