Australian Silver Review
By: Tony Locantro, Senior Private Client Advisor | 23 February, 2004
Although the initial move proved to be short-lived, silver has already breached my 2004 upside target of $6.80. Some recent USD strength ignited some profit taking in the precious metals arena, with silver dipping 14c to $6.49. In my 2001 publication, “The Green Room A Guide To Speculating On the Australian Stock Market” I reviewed a number of market sectors and came to the conclusion that silver was the standout. Whilst I managed to underestimate the powerful rally occurring in commodities and the revival of the PGM’s after strong performances from 1998-2000, the fundamentals for silver remain compelling with limited opportunities on the ASX at present likely to exacerbate the upside potential once Mr. and Mrs. Mainstream come along for the ride. Full Story

Australian Silver Juniors
By: Tony Locantro, Senior Private Client Advisor | 27 April, 2003
The Bullish Case For Silver


· Silver has run multi-year deficits, which is contributing to an exhaustion of stockpiles.

· Conditions for precious metals investment have improved significantly with a deflating USD, a mixture of inflationary and deflationary concerns and a post-war rally that has created a higher-risk environment for equities.

· New uses in timber treatment, fridge lining, and bactericidal applications.

· On an historical basis adjusted for inflation, the POS is near 100-year lows.

· Small market where the downside appears negligible, yet with a minor increase in the participation rate the POS could undergo a stunning transformation.

· New projects will take years to ramp up to full production, whilst the current lull in price activity has kept new entrants in the sector to an absolute minimum.

· Silver remains a cheap option on the gold price, however recent activity would indicate the potential to eventually disengage from gold and run on it’s own unique fundamentals.

· The press do not like it, anyone that openly discusses the looming silver bull market is dismissed as a loony tune, whilst we are unlikely to see silver covered in any great depth until we arrive at a short-term peak.

· Apart from a near-term revisit of biotech stocks, where else is there to go in terms the next speculative wave apart from gold? Full Story