Silver & Gold ETF

Barclays Global Investors filed an initial prospectus for the first exchange
traded fund (ETF) to reflect the price of silver bullion. If approved by the
Securities and Exchange Commission, the ETF's shares would trade on the
American Stock Exchange under the symbol "SLV." Each share of the ETF
would be equivalent to 10 ounces of silver.

The silver held by the ETF would be valued on the basis of that day's
announced London Fix, the price per ounce set by 3 market-making
members of the London Bullion Market Association at approximately
noon, London time, each day.

The silver ETF appears structured similarly to 2 existing gold ETFs
(Read our past posting) -- StreetTracks Gold Trust (GLD) and
iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU). Shares of the gold ETFs represent
ownership in fractions of ounces of gold bullion held in a vault. The
introduction of StreetTracks Gold Trust, the first gold ETF, in
November was one of the most successful mutual-fund launches of 2004,
as the ETF gathered about $550 million in its first day of trading. It now
has roughly $2.5 billion assets, compared with $175 million for the
iShares Comex Gold Trust, which began trading in January.

Like the gold funds, the silver ETF launch could tap the demand from
institutional investors who cannot hold silver directly. In recent weeks,
market observers have said anticipation of the first silver ETF filing may
have been pushing price of the metal higher.

Remember that similar to investing in gold ETFs, silver is classified as a
"collectible" by the IRS -- if held for more than one year, gains are taxed
at a 28% rate, compared with the 15% rate applicable to most other long
term capital gains.