“UBS says sentiment toward the metal has been dealt a severe blow. With some concerned about gold’s credibility as a safe haven after the violence of the recent sell-off. And, as a result, the market needs time to heal”

That pretty much says it all. UBS has made what I think is an accurate call here. Sentiments, credibility…..confidence. At its heart, the market for precious metals have suffered a body blow that will impact mainstream investor interest for an extended period of time all things being equal. The hard core enthusiasts meanwhile have suffered a near mortal hit in some cases and many will have withdraw in disgust while others will likely follow if no solid price recovery materializes. Safe haven status is certainly now in doubt as were the much anticipated gains based on a plurality of rationalizations that just did not pan out as expected. And yet in the background there is a growing interest in the equities side of the equation from a wide variety of sources and for mines to prove performance we will eventually need to see metals prices gradually rise in concert with a greater focus on shareholder returns as the miners rationalize operations and focus on the demands of their new constituents. There is a very big question mark out there about how long that will take. In the meantime it is probable that some very good properties run by weak or underfunded companies will be absorbed by the solid players. I am anticipating a consolidation in the industry as an outcome that will see many of the smaller players disappear altogether as strong hands move onto the scene.

I give no credence to these bank analysts. If they have a name lie Golman or USB (Warburg comes to mind ha!,ha! I view them to be as biased and censored as our main stream media. just my caustious thoughts.