Gold and Silver Blog

StockPickReport.com issued a "strong sell" recommendation on Durban Roodepoort Deep (NASDAQ: DROOY) today. Good thing I don't listen to such silly nonsense; DROOY is up big today. Link to article.

This Street.com article, by James Altucher, recommends investing in Pan American Silver (NASDAQ PAAS) and Apex Silver Mines (AMEX: SIL) (see What Happens if I Die?).

He cites the usual rasons: (1) return to precious metals; (2) demand has outpaced production since 1990; (3) U.S. government since mid-2002 a buyer of gold instead of a seller.

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Durban Roodepoort Deep did well enough yesterday in the stock market to merit its own article in Reuters (see S.African DRD shares soar on gold, overseas buys).

Wow! What a great day for gold and silver. Why is it soaring today? I have no idea. (See Mineweb: Gold's manic Monday.)

The Year in Gold and Silver Investing

Was 2003 a great year for gold? Not if you were invested in Durban Roodepoort Deep (NASDAQ: DROOY). Durban started the year at $4.05 and ended it at $3.17, a painful decline of 22%. I wish I had sold my Durban way back when it was worth something.

However, it has been a great year for silver stocks. Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS) started the year at $7.84 and closed at $14.30, a very nice 82% gain. Coeur d'Alene Mines (NYSE: CDE) did even better, starting out at $1.97 and closing at $5.78, a whopping 193% gain. My regret here is that I didn't my more when it was cheap. Finally, Apex Silver Mines (AMEX: SIL) also had a good year, opening at $14.80 and closing at $20.90, a respectable gain of 41%.