RE:RE:Currency question...I think it really depends.
any prudent company who feels that a stronger (or weaker) US dollar can significantly effect the bottom line would purchase a hedge to minimize that effect somewhat.
But that being said, it isnt always practical to do this. and you can never hedge away all the risk (because that usually impacts profits as well)
The general rule is this: If you make money on your hedge, that means your company is losing money as a result of the currency (or commodity) price change, and that loss is partially offset by the profit on your hedge. If you lose money on your hedge, that means that the currency (or commodity) price change is good for your company overall and the hedge you lost money on will offset some of that profit.
Essentially what the hedge does is gives a company a certain amount of price stability.
so for example, if ESM had a hedge to sell 20% of their gold production for $1400/ounce If the price goes up to $1700, they are losing money on the hedge but making far more money on the open market for gold.
if the price of gold dropped to $1000/ounce, then they will make $400 per ounce on the hedge, but the rest of their production would be at $1000/ounce and substantially less profitable.
so if the breakeven point is $1100 per ounce. That hedge effectively means that when gold is at $1000 per ounce, they are losing (on average) only $20 per ounce because the hedge shielded them from the worst of the losses.
When gold is at $1700 per ounce, the reverse will happen.
I hope this makes sense to you.