De Beers Gets $500 Million Loan

The other day I questioned whether a diamond investment fund was a good idea and now here's more news that suggests you might not want to put your money in diamonds right now. The grandaddy of all diamond companies, De Beers, has announced plans borrow $500 million from Anglo American Plc and other shareholders to bulwark itself against a falling gem market. The loan is a preventative measure in response to the fact that jewelry sales are plunging around the world. Diamond prices have already dropped, some say by as much as 50 percent and exports are down across the globe. De Beers has already cut the amount of rough stones it is offering to clients by half until April and has enacted production slowdowns at several of its mines. It is being predicted that diamond demand might not rise until the end of 2010 and even that may be optimistic.
The List #0147: Escape a Car Underwater
Visit the Maldive Islands Before It's Too Late
H&M's Plus-Size Model Jennie Runk Says She Chose To Gain Weight
Okla. Sheriff's Deputy Finds Dog Guarding Body Buried Under Destroyed Home
Reptiles Make Home in UK Man's Cable Box
Springtime Budget-Busters -- Savings Experiment
Is This Woman Too Pretty To Work?
Mariah Carey Suffers Wardrobe Malfunction on Good Morning America
Parents Face Tough Choice When Tornadoes Bear Down
The Story Behind Hairspray
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bill Feb 21st 2009 6:08AM
De Beers has artificially been inflating diamonds prices for years by holding stock in it's vaults. Therefore, I have no sympathy for them.