(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) 
   By Carolyn Cui 

NEW YORK -- Hedge-fund manager John Paulson has hired two high-profile gold analysts as he ramps up his new gold fund.

John Reade, who was head of precious-metal strategy at UBS AG before briefly joining Credit Suisse in October, will join Paulson & Co. in mid-January and be based in London, according to people familiar with the fund. Victor Flores, a senior mining analyst with HSBC Holdings PLC, joined the firm in New York.

Mr. Paulson told his investors this past week that he will start a new fund in January that will invest in shares of gold miners and other bullion-related investments.

Mr. Reade, who spent 13 years at UBS, is well-regarded in the industry. In early February when gold was trading below $900 a troy ounce, his team at UBS raised its goldforecast to an average $1,000 an ounce from $700. Gold has averaged $953 this year.

In August, Mr. Flores, as a lead author of "The Senior Gold Book" at HSBC, wrote that the dollar "continues to pay the price for years of financial indiscipline," which should support gold prices.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 20, 2009 20:18 ET (01:18 GMT)

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