March Gold News 2014

A second class action anti-trust lawsuit has been filed against the five permanent members of the London Fix.

The lawsuit was filed last week in a New York court. It complains the London fix is anti-competitive as it allows market competitors to privately set prices. The lawsuit has been filed by two firms and draws on evidence supplied by both news organisations and work undertaken by GATA consultant, James McShirley.

This is the second class action lawsuit filed against the permanent members of the London fix following AIS Capital Management’s decision to sue for damages.

Gold dropped 2.5% last week to $1,295 per ounce as Chinese gold demand weakened and confidence in the U.S. economy grew. Hedge funds reduced their long exposure to gold and silver last week suggesting they believe gold’s recent rally is over. Over the last two weeks, gold has retreated 7% from its 2014 high of $1,392 per ounce.

The spot price of gold in China is close to its lowest level in 18 months relative to the international benchmark in London, indicating waning demand from the world’s largest consumer.

The value of the world’s largest ...

A mini gold rush has started in California as previously unexplored riverbeds have become accessible following record droughts. Record numbers of amateur prospectors are flocking to the Sierra Nevada foothills, just miles from the original site of California’s gold rush in the mid-1800s.

"With the drought going on, we're able to dig in more locations that wouldn't be accessible at later times" said Tim Amavisca, an amateur prospector panning the Bear River.

As the water receded, old cars, trains, railroad tracks, tunnels and Indian villages have re-emerged, painting a picture of the original gold rush.

Barclays bank is predicting that Chinese demand for gold jewellery will remain robust over the short to medium term. According to figures released for the World Gold Council, almost 80% of Chinese consumers plan to spend the same or more on gold jewellery in 2014 as they did in 2013.

Chow Tai Fook the world’s largest jewellery maker, also expects demand to remain strong in China with senior management confirming they expect the mass luxury jewellery market to continue to expand.

Jewellery demand in China has experienced significant growth since 2006, with an average growth over 10% per year.

Silver investors have failed to show that JPMorgan violated antitrust and commodities laws by manipulating the price of silver.

The class action lawsuit was initiated by investors claiming that JPMorgan conspired to accumulate large short positions and then initiate fake trades during periods of light trading.

The panel, appointed by the court, confirmed, “an inference of intent cannot be drawn from the mere fact that JPMorgan had a strong short position."

JPMorgan is not the only financial institution under scrutiny as authorities around the world shift their focus from investigating interest rate benchmarks to the currency and commodity markets.

Deutsche Bank recently decided ...

According to German Central Bank official, Henner Asche, 69 tonnes of German gold has so far been repatriated, from New York and Paris back to Frankfurt. Under the repatriation program Germany has requested that 674 metric tonnes are returned from vaults in New York and Paris by 2020.

Asche also confirmed Germany has no plans to repatriate all its gold to Germany instead preferring to keep a percentage of their reserves in New York and London in case they wish to sell.

By 2020, the amount of gold held in Germany will increase by 50%, Paris will no longer hold any German ...

Gold dropped to $1,300 per ounce following the release of positive manufacturing data out of the U.S reduced gold’s appeal as a hedge against a faulting U.S. economy. Orders for U.S. manufactured goods picked up in February causing gold to fall to a 5 - week low.

Silver declined 0.9% to $19.74 per ounce, palladium decreased 0.9% to $774.60 per ounce and platinum dropped 0.8% to $1,401.50 per ounce.

In other news, Russia added a further 7.247 tonnes to their central bank reserves in February, whilst Turkey increased their gold reserves following a sharp contraction in January.

Barclays bank revised its 2014 gold ...

Gold demand in Japan has been given a major boost as investors try to complete purchases prior to the Japanese consumption tax increasing from 5% to 8%. Unlike in the UK, Japan charges a consumption tax on all gold purchases and this is the first time in 17 years that the tax has been increased.

Last Thursday, customers in Tokyo reportedly queued for 3 hours to ensure they could make their purchases. Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewellery, who runs seven stores, has seen its sales of gold ingots increase by 530% so far this month.

According to data released from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, China imported 109.2 tonnes of gold from Hong Kong in February. Not only were net imports 30% higher than January, but 79% greater than recorded in January 2013. These latest figures contradict recent reports which suggested that gold demand in China was slowing with many experts originally forecasting demand to slow in February following the Chinese New Year.

China overtook India as the largest importer of gold last year with imports increasing from 807 tonnes to 1,065 tonnes. In 2013, India and China accounted for more than ...

The Central Bank of Iraq purchased $1.56 billion of gold this month, the largest monthly purchase by a central bank in over 3 years.

In an emailed statement, the bank confirmed they bought the 36 metric tonnes of gold to help stabilise the Iraqi Dinar in the international currency markets. Prior to this purchase, Iraq held around 29.8 tons of gold according to the International Monetary Fund.

According to Mark O’Byrne, director at GoldCore Ltd, "gold is quite attractive to central bankers, they see it as an important asset diversification and a safe-haven element within foreign-exchange reserves.”

Gold rebounded overnight from a four week low as western governments increased the pressure on Russia by threatening further sanctions.

Western leaders also cancelled their upcoming G8 meeting in Sochi and instead plan to meet without Russia in June. Gold is up 9% this year as tensions escalated in the Ukraine and economic data from the U.S. indicated the world’s economy is slowing.

The political turmoil in the Ukraine has boosted gold’s appeal as a safe haven asset. Gavin Wendt, founder and senior analyst at Mine Life, expects this to continue. “I can’t see any other direction for gold other than going ...

Auroracoin, the world’s first national digital currency, is to be distributed to Iceland’s population later this week. The distribution process, which has been nicknamed airdrop, will initially circulate 50% of the total coins mined.

To claim the digital currency, each resident will have to register their national ID number on the Auroracoin website. once launched, it will be the fourth biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Auroracoin was specifically designed to give the Icelandic population an alternative form of money to the Krona. Only time will tell how the currency will be received. Initial reports suggest most Icelanders are unaware of the launch. ...

According to the World Gold Council global gold demand reached 3,756.1 tonnes in 2013. Overall annual demand was down when compared to 2012, as exchange traded products experienced negative outflows, however, retail bar and coin sales jumped 28% as investors took advantage of the price decline. Central Bank buying increased to 368.9 tonnes well above the five year average of 282.6 tonnes.

Below is a list of the top ten nations with the largest central bank gold reserves according to the World Gold Councils latest figures.

1. United States

2. Germany

3. Italy

4. France

5. China

6. Switzerland

7. Russia

8. Japan

9. Netherlands

10. India

Police have found 42kg of gold and $4.8 million in cash in the apartment of former Ukrainian energy minister Eduard Stavytsky. Arsen Avakov, the newly appointed Interior minister confirmed the raid was part of an ongoing investigation into corruption within the energy sector.

Stavytsky was appointed energy minister by former President Viktor Yanukpvich in 2012 and is by many considered part of presidential inner circle.

Ukrainian police also detained Yevhen Bakulin, the Chief Executive of Naftogaz, as part of the investigation into corruption which is thought to have cost the Ukrainian taxpayer $4 billion. Naftogaz has a monopoly for distributing and importing ...

Despite gold’s strong performance so far this year Goldman Sacs are predicting that gold will dip to $1,050 this year.

Goldman argues that the recent surge can be attributed to an increase in Chinese physical demand, bad weather in the U.S. and geopolitical tensions in the Ukraine. Goldman is predicting that these catalysts will fade during the remainder of the year and as such the gold price will be under pressure.

More importantly Goldman believes the continued tapering of the Feds asset program will reduce gold’s appeal as a hedge against inflation.

Following the largest weekly loss since 2013, gold rebounded on expectation the lower gold price would increase physical buying despite the Fed signalling that interest rates may rise. In Asia, trading bullion for immediate delivery rose by 0.6% to $1,335.63 per ounce

Janet Yellen, the new Fed chairwomen, implied that interest rates could start to rise in six months’ time after the Fed had completed tapering its monthly assets purchase program known as quantitative easing.

Goldman Sacs head off commodities, Jeffery Currie, believes the strengthening of the U.S economy will lead to lower gold prices and attributed the recent surge to cold ...

Gold retreated overnight as the Fed decided to taper its monthly asset program known as quantitative easing by a further £10 billion and forecasted that interest rates may start to rise in 2015.

The Fed confirmed their commitment to unwind quantitative easing and forecasted that interest rates will rise to at least 1% by the end of 2015 and 2.25% by 2016. The Fed will evaluate a wide range of data points before deciding when the time is right to increase rates. On the back of this news, The Bloomberg Dollar Index rose to a three week high and gold dipped.

Gold ...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has confirmed they are going to allow more banks to import gold, this has led many analysts to believe the RBI is about to lift the gold import tax.

According to industry insiders, both Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis bank have been given authority to import gold under what is known as the 80/20 rule. The rule permits banks from exporting more than 20% with the remaining 80% kept for domestic purposes.

Currently there are only 6 banks and 3 other financial institutions which have permits to import gold. Since the gold import tax was introduced ...

After reaching a six month high, gold slipped back for the third consecutive trading session as investors wait for news from the latest Fed policy review meeting. The meeting will be Janet Yellen’s first meeting as chairwoman and analysts are predicting that the Fed will continue to reduce its quantitative easing by a further $10 billion, even though data suggests the U.S. economy is softening.

According to Joyce Liu, investment analyst at Philip Futures, the gold market is ultimately driven by the health of the U.S. economy.

"Whatever happens in the world, whether it's the Crimean crisis or China's bond default, they ...

A new gold trading platform is to be launched in South Korea on Monday in an attempt to regulate the market and reduce tax invasion.

South Korean consumers own an estimated 720 tonnes of gold and officials believe that 70% of the 100 tonnes traded annually in Korea is done illegally without being taxed.

Authorities are encouraging approved retailors, futures firms and wholesales to join the exchange by offering zero commission fees until March 2015. Gold will be bought and sold just like stocks with 1 gram gold units used to add liquidity with participants being able to take delivery in the ...

Silver imports into India reached record highs in 2013 as gold imports fell due to the gold import tax. Indian silver imports were up 180% to 5,500 tonnes with jewellery demand strong.

A survey undertaken by the Silver Institute also suggests silver jewellery sales in the U.S. remains strong with 73% of jewellers experiencing an increase in sales, 12% indicated a decline and 15% reported no change.

The outlook for 2014 looks just as bullish with 92% of the 2,700 jewellers surveyed believing silver jewellery sales will remain robust for several years to come.

According to the Futures Industry Association's annual report, the amount of Gold futures traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange has increased by a staggering 416% to 20.09 million contracts in 2013 when compared to 2008. The amount of silver future contracts have also significantly increased with 173.22 million contracts traded in 2013.

Chinese demand for both gold and silver has reportedly remained strong at the start of 2014.

Gold retreated yesterday after reaching a six month high as traders return to high-yielding assets and turn their focus to the Feds policy meeting which starts later today.

As it is widely expected that the Fed will taper its assets purchase program known as quantitative easing by a further $10 billion, the impact on gold should limited.

Gold dealer Ronald Leung believes sentiment is mixed at the moment, but stresses any political break down in the Ukraine could give gold a further boost.

The E.U and the U.S imposed sanctions on a number of Russian officials yesterday with many anticipating that further sanctions ...

Gold was trading close to its six month high as tensions escalate following yesterday’s vote by the Crimean people to reject the Ukraine and join Russia.

The political events in the Ukraine is providing support to the gold price as traders move from risk assets such as equities into safe haven assets such as gold. Gold bullion has gained 15% this year as tensions between the West and Russia escalate, with many analysts expecting gold to break through $1,500 within the next couple of weeks.

The vote was unanimous with 96% in favour of leaving the Ukraine and joining Russia. The West ...

Legendary investor and founder of Matterhorn Asset Management Egon von Greyerz told King World News there will be massive destruction of wealth over the next two years as shares, bonds and paper curriencies all fall in value.

Greyerz recommended gold back in 2001 and expects the slide in the dollar to cause gold to rally and potentially break through the August 2013 high of $1,413.

Greyerz recommends that all investors must hold physical gold outside the banking systems to eliminate counterparty risk and believes gold will continue to maintain its purchasing power.

UBS has confirmed it is to review its foreign exchange trading business which includes its precious metals division, following increasing scrutiny from regulatory authorities. This latest announcement closely follows the Hong Kong Monetary Authorities decision to reprimand the firm for interest rate manipulation.

Authorities around the world are now shifting their focus from investigating interest rate benchmarks to the currency and commodity markets.

This latest news from UBS closely follows Deutsche Bank decision to sell its seat on the gold fix following an investigation by the German regulator into possible gold price manipulation. British regulator The Financial Conduct Authority is also undertaking ...

Gold has just hit a new 6 month high and is posed to make gains for the six consecutive week, as the price is driven higher by rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine and concern the Chinese economy is unravelling.

Gold is up 3% this week as investors exit equities and other risk assets and divert capital into safe haven assets such as gold.

Exchange traded products have been big winners with many experiencing positive inflows following a disastrous 2013. The world’s largest gold backed exchange traded product the SPDR Gold trust increased its holdings by 2.10 to 813 ...

With industrial applications expanding and investment demand increasing, is there a possibility of a silver shortage on the horizon. Andrew Chanin founder of popular silver ETF (SILJ) certainly thinks so.

Chanin, whilst speaking to mining weekly explained that mine closure, rising investment and industrial demand could cause supply to be squeezed.

Chanin is not alone in predicting a silver shortage, Ted Butler has been suggesting that the ongoing silver manipulation has been affecting the supply demand dynamic for years, and Byron King believes large multi nationals are stockpiling silver in case the price spikes.

All these developments could potentially cause the price to ...

Gold reached a near 6 month high yesterday as traders became concerned over the ongoing political turmoil in the Ukraine and the possibility of further corporate defaults in China which caused an equity sell off and boosted gold’s appeal as a safe haven.

European stock markets have retreated from recent highs and the dollar has lost ground against a basket of major currencies.

The markets will also be focusing on U.S. Federal Reserve meeting next week where it is widely expected the Fed will once again cut back its monthly stimulus by a further $10 billion.

Gold has climbed by more than 13% ...

The last time China reported its official gold holdings in 2009 their reserves stood at 1,054 metric tons.

In 2013, China’s gold consumption was estimated at 2,400 metric tonnes.

It is illegal to export gold out of China.

The Chinese government encourages their citizens to buy physical gold.

In 2013, China surpassed India as the largest importer of gold.

China buys gold to build up its foreign wealth fund for future generations.

In the last 13 years, gold priced in Yuan has risen by 240% making Chinese consumers extremely happy with the performance of their gold.

Swiss refiners are working around the clock to meet Chinese demand.

All U.S. based assets held by former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles have been frozen by a Chicago court. In addition, Judge Gary Feinerman took the decision to freeze all assets relating to the Mt. Gox exchange.

The freeze comes after lawyers representing former customers alleged that Karpless had been transferring assets from Mt. Gox abroad.

Lawyers are attempting to retrieve customer’s assets and importantly discover why the exchange was brought to its knees earlier this year.

Charles Oliver, gold and silver fund manager at Sprott Asset Management, is forecasting gold to reach $5,000 per ounce within the next few years.

Although the price dropped significantly in 2013, Oliver believes the fundamentals for gold only got better as the Chinese bought record amounts of physical gold and the Federal Reserve continued money printing.

Oliver is concerned the inventories held at the Comex are at record lows and the market could be broken as someone demands more gold than what can be delivered. For this reason, Oliver is recommending investors only invest in fully allocated gold products.

Oliver also notes that ...

Indian gold smugglers are stuffing kilos of gold inside the panels of airplane toilets in the attempt to avoid the 10% import tax. Last week Indian customs authorities found $650,000 of gold stuffed in the toilet cubicles on two Jet Airways flights.

The attempted scam works as follows. Firstly a smuggler will board an international flight, hide the gold and then depart undetected through customs. The next smuggler then boarders a domestic flight on the same plane uncovers the gold and disembarks at a local airport where there are no custom officials.

Gold smuggling has become extremely profitable as a result of ...

Gold reached a 19 week high at £1,357.09 per ounce during Asian trading as tensions between the U.S. and Russia intensify and traders become nervous China’s economy is slowing.

Gold is up 13% in 2014 as the events in the Ukraine increase the demand for gold’s safe haven status and turmoil continues in emerging markets. Data out of China is also giving gold a boost following the confirmation that industrial output in February slowed.

Silver closed 1.5% up at $21.16 per ounce and platinum finished 0.6% higher at $1,473 per ounce.

Gold held in the world’s largest exchange traded product SPDR Gold ...

A special addition silver coin bearing the name, face and signature of the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is to be launched on the 14^th of March.

The coins have been minted by Swiss refiner Valcambi SA and 15,921 coins will be minted to match the number of test runs scored by the little master during his 24 year international career.

FBI agents have flown to the Ukraine to help the interim leaders investigate alleged financial crimes by the previous regime in an attempt to repatriate billions of dollars. According to Ukrainian officials over $20 billion of gold may have been stolen under the previous regime.

Ukraine is cash strapped and needs as much money as possible as it struggles to service its $75 billion of debt. Since the start of 2014 the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia has lost over 20%.

A team from the International Monetary Fund is currently in process of arranging $15 billion emergency loan for the struggling country.

U.S. Investment firm AIS Capital Management has filed a lawsuit against the 5 permanent members of the London Gold fix alleging that the banks colluded to manipulate the gold price.

The Connecticut based firm filed the class action late on Monday in the district court in southern New York. The lawsuit is for damages incurred by AIS and other investors who traded gold and gold derivative since 2004.

The five members of the gold fix are HSBC Holding, Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia and Societe Generale.

The gold fix is benchmark used by industry participants such as central banks and ...

There are rumours circulating that Ukraine’s gold has been airlifted out of Kiev. The story first surfaced in the pro-Russian newspaper Iskra and has since been picked up by a number of industry commentators.

William Kaye hedge fund manager out of Hong Kong and former Goldman Sachs employee suggested the decision would have been made by Stepan Kubiv the newly appointed head of the Ukrainian central bank.

“The United States installed a former banker in Ukraine who is very friendly to the West. He is also a guy with central bank experience. This would have been his first major decision to ...

Gold rose yesterday as traders weighed the prospect of further U.S. tapering against increasing political tension in the Ukraine. Gold closed Asian trading at $1,342.63 per ounce following five consecutive weekly gains.

Even though the Federal Reserve has cut is stimulus program by $10 billion at each of its last two meeting gold has increased by 11% since the start of the year.

Mark To research analyst at Wing Fung Financial believes gold is stuck in a trading range with traders looking for further indications from the Fed or for new developments in the Ukraine.

Silver and platinum also finished positive, while palladium ...

Private bank Coutts & Co are increasing their client’s exposure to gold from 1%-2% to 3%-4% as tensions remain in the Ukraine and wealth creation continues in China.

Gary Dugan, Chief Investment Officer, has seen considerable demand for physical gold which only accelerated as a result of the tensions in the Ukraine.

"There’s a real robustness to physical demand and the spark that we got from Ukraine took us to a spike, but even before that there was genuine demand from our clients to diversify their wealth into a greater fraction to gold.”

Dugan expects Chinese demand to continue and according to the ...

Morgan Stanley has lowered their gold price forecast for 2014 and 2015 to $1,160 and $1,138 per ounce respectively.

The bank cites the Federal Reserve’s decision to scale back on its quantitative easing program known as QE as the major driver behind the downward revision. Morgan Stanley also believes the decision by Investment banks to scale back on their commodity operations will cause further downward pressure on the gold price.

In a release to the market the Bank expects physical demand in China to continue and legal demand into India remain sluggish.

Eric Sprott, CEO of Sprott Asset Management and long term gold bug believes the gold manipulation story is gaining momentum. He cites the recent research paper published by researchers at New York University and the article issued by the Financial Times as evidence that the manipulation story is gaining traction.

Sprott also believes that the Western Central Banks are running out of gold and last year’s price decline was orchestrated so banks could drain ETF’s of their physical gold. On India, Sprott suggests that once the gold import tax is relaxed there will not be enough physical gold available to meet ...

Gold closed 1% higher yesterday as tensions in the Ukraine persist. In the latest development the pro-Russian parliament in the Crimea called for a referendum within 10 days to decide if the region wants to be part of Russia.

The gold price has been heavily influenced by the events unfolding in the Ukraine and this latest development caused the spot price to jump by $8 to $1,345 per ounce.

Weaker than expected productivity figures out of the U.S. also gave gold a boost, with productivity falling by 0.7% in February. Gold traders will now be shifting their attention to the release of ...

Japans chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga has confirmed the Japanese government does not view bitcoin as currency and it should be taxed. The Japanese government has also banned all banks from providing customers with bitcoins.

Earlier this year China stopped all banks from handling bitcoin trades and Russia declared all bitcoin trades illegal.

The government of Japan is trying to calculate the total value of bitcoins in circulation with initial figures estimating this to be as high as £4.2bn.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $640.96 per coin.

Gold retreated yesterday as investors attention switches to the release of Fridays U.S. nonfarm payroll data and information from the European Central Banks latest policy meeting.

Traders will look to the nonfarm payroll data as an indicator of the health of the U.S economy and in turn the future of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program known as quantitative easing.

Whilst in Europe the ECB is expected to keep interest rates on hold, but investors will be focusing on forward guidance and insight into future monetary easing.

The U.S. mint has confirmed they will resume selling their 1oz platinum coin from March 10^th as investor’s interest in platinum returns.

1,000 coins have already been sold to eager retailers looking to stock the product. The mint previously halted sales in 2008 after the price spot dropped from $2,300 to $730, as demand fell off a cliff during the height of the financial crisis.

Platinum is primarily used in the manufacturer of catalytic convertors and the price has strengthened alongside improving car sales in North America and Asia.

Ireland’s first bitcoin ATM is to be launched in Dublin this week in the heart of the financial district. The ATM is located in a trendy cafe in the famous Temple bar area a stones throws away from the Central Bank of Ireland.

The company behind the launch BitVendo plans to install a further 3 ATM’s across the UK later in the year.

Irish Pub the Baggot Inn located in central Dublin claims to be the first pub to have accepted Bitcoin for the payment of a pint of Guinness earlier this week.

CEO of Barrick Gold Jamie Sokasky is forecasting gold can reach $1,500 per ounce in 2014 and $2,000 within two to three years. Speaking at a Bloomberg event, Sokasky also believes the market overshot to the downside last year as investors liquidated their positions from exchange traded funds.

Institutional investors are split on their forecasts for gold. Goldman Sachs are predicting gold will finish 2014 at $1,050 per ounce, Westpac’s are predicting gold will drop to $1,011 by December and UBS AG has increased its 2014 forecast to $1,300 from $1,200.

Marc Faber, one of the few investors recommending gold in 1999, believes gold is one of the few cheap assets left, especially when compared to real estate, equities, bonds and collectables.

In an interview with Sprott Global Resource, Faber senses that the current price correction in gold is over and that there has been manipulation in the market. When discussing China, Faber believes a recession in China and a weakening of the Yuan would cause Chinese consumers to redirect their savings in physical gold.

In an interesting interview, Faber also discusses the geopolitical tensions in Asia and the current state of the ...

According to HSBC, consumer demand out of China and other emerging economies is likely to be the key driver behind bullion prices in 2014.

As institutional investors became bearish on the yellow metal, Chinese consumers have picked up the slack. In 2013 Chinese consumers took advantage of gold’s price decline to overtake India as the biggest consumer of gold. HSBC analyst James Steel confirmed that China is now consuming over 50% of global mine production and we are witnessing an historic migration of gold from the Western Banks to Eastern consumers.

Despite record consumer demand in China, HSBC believe gold will average ...

The 5 permanent members of the London Gold Fix, Barclays Bank, HSBC Holding, Bank of Nova Scotia and Société Générale have been accused in a lawsuit lodged in New York of manipulating the London gold fix.

New York resident Kevin Maher, who traded gold futures and options, is suing the banks claiming they worked together to manipulate the century old benchmark.

The lawsuit cites a recent report undertaken by researchers from New York University which highlighted unusual pricing patterns relating to the fix. Maher is attempting to seek damages for investors who traded gold and gold derivatives based on the London fix ...

Bitcoin storage company Flexcoin announced their intention to close after criminals hacked into the company’s hot wallets stealing $600,000 worth of Bitcoins.

The company has confirmed the theft and closure on its website, “as Flexcoin does not have the resources, assets or otherwise to come back from this loss, we are closing our doors immediately".

Flexcoin has assured coin owners they can retrieve coins held within Flexcoin cold storage accounts as long as they can provide the necessary identification.

Ned Goodman, president and chief executive of the Dundee Corporation, believes gold represents an investment of a lifetime. Goodman is also bullish on the wider commodity sector as it provides protection from future inflation.

Interestingly, he believes China is buying as much gold as possible so the Yuan can one day be backed by gold and thereby removing the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency. Goodman believes if China does return to a classical gold standard the broader commodity sector would benefit for years to come.

Not surprisingly Goodman is negative on stocks and can envisage the S&P falling to as ...

Deutsche Bank has hired the services of Charles River Associates to investigate the banks role in the London gold fix. According to reports Charles River was appointed several months ago after the process came under scrutiny from German and UK financial regulators.

This latest investigation into the potential manipulation of the precious metals markets, closely follows previous investigations into the rigging of interest rate and foreign exchange markets by some of the world largest financial institutions.

In January Deutsche bank informed markets that they wish to sell their seat on the fix. The remaining permanent members of the London Fix are Barclays ...

Gold has fallen from its recent four month high as tensions eased overnight in the Crimea peninsula.

Gold reached $1,354.87 per ounce yesterday its highest level since 30^th of October as Russia and the Ukraine threatened each other over the war ships based in the strategic port of Sevastopol.

Gold eased back after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered troops position in Western Russia back to their bases and Ukraine Prime Minister confirmed he wanted to find a diplomatic solution to the dispute.

U.S. consumer data released yesterday beat market expectations fuelling speculation that the Fed may continue with its tapering of quantitative easing. ...

Mining giants Barrick Gold, Goldcorp and Newmont mining have confirmed that global gold out is likely to decline as a result of last year’s price decline as company’s scale back spending and exploration plans.

Jamie Sokalsky CEO of Barrick Gold added "I think ultimately gold production in the industry could start to decline more than people think." In addition Sokalshy believes lower mine production will eventually support a higher gold price.

Although, there is no consensus amongst industry insiders as to when mine production will fall, McEwen Mining CEO Rob McEwen believes it could start to happen as early as this year.

HMRC has confirmed that VAT will not apply to the mining of bitcoin as EU law does not allow such a tax to be levied on currencies, however, income and corporation taxes would still apply. In particular, the profits and losses relating to currency movements will be subject to UK corporation tax.

Financial regulators and tax authorities have been undecided as to how they can regulate bitcoin with many seeing it as a route for money laundering and criminal activity. Russia has effectively outlawed all transactions and China has banned all banks from executing trades. Pressure is also mounting on the ...

Gold up 2.2% as Russia threatens military action

Gold has climbed over 2.2% to a 4 month high as tensions escalate in Ukraine. In the last few hours Russia has told Ukrainian forces that they must surrender control of the Crimean region by 3 am or face military action.

Lawsuit targets Mt Gox CEO

Whilst gold is soaring a potential law suit is being organised by a UK law firm against former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles to recover the $233 million of bitcoins lost as a result of exchanges bankruptcy.

Legendary investor and founder of Matterhorn Asset Management Egon von Greyerz told King World News that gold is as good value today as it was back in 2000 when it was trading at $300.

Greyerz believes the world’s financial system is bankrupt and is concerned that all the money printing since 2008 could potentially result in a worldwide hyperinflationary depression.

In addition, Greyerz believes the Western central banks don’t have any gold left and once this is understood by the markets gold will rise by several hundred dollars a day.

Gold is currently trading at $1,346 per ounce following a weekend of heightened tension in the Ukraine as investors seek safe haven assets.

Riots in Ukraine began last week when the then President Yanukovch rejected the EU and sided with Russia for its economic future. After a series of riots between pro EU protestors and government forces Yanukovch fled to Russia.

Now the Russian armed forces have entered the Crimean peninsula, setting the stage for a counter coup. The UN is attempting to calm the situation and President Obama has been in touch with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to stop further escalation.