The Investment Reporter, in its Aug. 13, 2010, issue, says buy Barrick Gold Corp., recently $42.26. The Reporter said buy 18 times from Nov. 17, 1995, to May 22, 2009, at prices ranging from $23.52 to $41.57. An investment of $1,000 for each of the 18 buys would now be worth a nice $25,989. Barrick's adjusted earnings (the Reporter does not say what the adjustment was for) for the six months to June 30 were $759-million (U.S.) or 77 cents per share, up 57 per cent from $431-million (U.S.) or 49 cents per share in the same period in 2009. Production in the first half of 2010 increased to over four million ounces from 3.62 million in the first half last year, the price of gold rose to about $1,158 per ounce from $923, and cash costs dropped to $446 per ounce from $467. Not bad. Barrick expects more of the same from its projects in development, Pueblo Viejo and Pascua Lama. Its dividends, now at 48 cents per share, have increased 118 per cent since 2006. It will start paying dividends twice as often, too -- quarterly instead of semi-annually. The Reporter's recommendation is brief, commenting only on matters relating to the company's financial statements.