With respect, cashflow and profitability are totally irrelevant...

With respect, cashflow and profitability are totally irrelevant when your balance sheet melts down. This is beautifully demonstrated as follows:

http://www.businessday.com.au/business/anger-as-profitable-miner-goes-belly-up-20081130-6nqx.html

To be sure a recipe of hedge, loan and poor management will not make any cake rise. These hedges were the right way around for this company and they still managed to blow up. Hedging is dancing with the devil.

The 'read more widely' was directed at those who scoff at US$2,000 gold.