Much appreciated.
We think gold and the gold sector look decent today; IF rates peak and the US dollar weakens, gold should do better. Mining companies have been hit with a combo of inflation and labour issues. We do think AEM looks better than NGT. Its weakness stems from several factors: investors do not like the Newcrest acquisition much, and it is a very large transaction, all in stock. It has missed estimates in five of the past eight quarters. At Penasquito it has had labour issues. EBITDA has been in decline with weaker-than-expected production. Management has also essentially over-promised and then under-delivered. Even this year the company wil have trouble meeting the low end of its expected production guidance. AEM is not problem-free, certainly, but does look better currently.