Gold-mining shares were eagerly bought on the world's stock exchanges last week. In London, trading was the heaviest in 3½ years, and prices climbed to the highest in nine months. Canada had a flurry in low-priced gold shares. In Wall Street, where gold shares have steadily climbed in the past year, Investment Bankers Dillon, Read let out that they are forming an investment trust ($30 million to start) to buy South African gold shares, thus adding another fillip to the London buying.
Part of the investors' interest could be attributed to gold's traditional role as a hedge against recession. While...