Tag Archives: Precious Metals

China Banks Boost Precious Metals Hoard Amid Lease Demand

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“The value of precious metals held by China’s biggest lenders surged 66 percent from a year ago as banks lease more gold to customers because tighter borrowing rules make it harder to lend funds.  The growth since last year outpaced the gain in benchmark bullion prices, which rose 7.5 percent over the same period.  China is seeking to rein in credit by raising borrowing costs and cutting off lending to sectors considered at risk of default amid a property slump and rising number of bad loans. That’s prompting banks to hold more precious metals as they expand their gold-leasing business because it’s not subject to loan caps and is considered off-balance sheet lending, according to Industrial Bank Co.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-01/china-banks-boost-precious-metals-hoard-amid-lease-demand.html

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Granny’s Gold Bars Are Key to Vietnam Push to Boost Dong [2013]

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“The target of Vietnam’s campaign to stabilize its currency is in the locked bedroom wardrobe of retired civil servant Vu Thi Huong: gold bars.  Huong is among millions of Vietnamese who hold an estimated 300 tons to 400 tons of bullion to store their wealth — a legacy of more than a century of war, revolution and economic turbulence. The central bank wants to convert the hoard, much of it smuggled in, into dong deposits to strengthen the currency, which has slid 21 percent against the dollar in five years. To reduce contraband and persuade people to sell their bullion, the central bank made itself the sole importer and Saigon Jewelry Co. the only legal producer of gold bars.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-14/granny-s-gold-bars-are-key-to-vietnam-push-to-boost-dong.html

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Vietnam police force gold shop to close after USD exchange accusation

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“A gold shop in Ho Chi Minh City will temporarily close following a police raid that has raised eyebrows among legal experts.  Police stormed into the shop on Bui Huu Nghia Street at 1 p.m. on Thursday (April 24) claiming they had seen a man trying to exchange a US$100 note for Vietnamese dong.  The police then spent eight hours combing the shop from top to bottom, seizing more than US$14,000 in cash and equipment, including a security camera and a CPU.  Before leaving, the officers sealed off 559 taels of gold on display in the shop.  Police later removed evidentiary seals after Mai produced papers to prove she inherited the gold from her parents.”

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/vietnam-police-confiscation-forces-gold-shop-to-temporarily-close-25756.html

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US Gold Dealer Launches “Gold-Backed” Virtual Currency

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“Announced at FreedomFest 2014, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Independence Coin or INNCoin is the first open-source, gold-backed cryptocurrency. The currency was symbolically launched on July 4 by Anthem Vault’s technology team in collaboration with Vancouver-based Newnote Financial Corp.  All of the coins will be backed by 100 grams (3.5 oz.) of gold that is stored at Anthem Vault. This alt-coin is also commonly referred to as a Micro Gold Coin (MGC).  Anthem stated that it will launch 10 million INNCoins that will be backed by 100 grams of gold with all coins expected to be mined within the first year; all of he coins will be made available by July 2015.”

http://cointelegraph.com/news/112089/us-gold-dealer-launches-gold-backed-coin

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John Paulson holds onto gold ETF; Soros buys gold mining shares

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“Hedge fund Paulson & Co maintained its stake in the world’s biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, in the second quarter, while Soros Fund Management LLC sharply boosted his investment in gold mining stocks.  Legendary investor George Soros nearly doubled his ownership in a U.S. gold mining companies ETF and initiated new stakes in other gold producers, suggesting the big names in hedge funds continued to have confidence in the yellow metal.  Soros Fund Management increased his stake in Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF to 2.05 million shares valued at $54 million at the end of the second quarter, compared with 1.16 million shares in Q1.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/15/us-hedgefunds-filings-gold-idUSKBN0GF0HU20140815

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Every cloud has a gold lining

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“The gold price saw an epic 12-year bull run – something not even the mighty S&P 500 has been able to achieve – come to an end in 2013, when investors grew confident enough about the outlook for the global economy to move into more risk-sensitive assets such as equities, thereby boosting the dollar.  Since then, the gold price has risen by nearly 8 percent to just above $1,300 an ounce. That said, sentiment in the gold market is close to its worst in living memory, as miners and refiners deal with a price that has fallen by more than 30% from its peak and investment banks jettison their precious metals and broader commodities businesses for fear of falling foul of new U.S. trading regulations.”

http://blogs.reuters.com/global-markets-forum/2014/08/13/every-cloud-has-a-gold-lining/

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Russia seeks safe haven in gold, away from dollar and euro

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“‘Due to the worsening geopolitical situation, the Central Bank actively redistributed foreign exchange reserves, replacing US Treasury bonds with gold,’ Alfa Bank’s chief economist, Natalya Orlova, told Kommersant.  Instead of buying euros and dollars, Russia’s Central Bank is eyeing the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen.  Boosting currency swaps and bilateral payments with China and other strategic trade partners will continue to bypass the US dollar. Last week, Russia’s and China’s central banks have agreed to increase currency swaps.  Holding more of these currencies is a logical move for Russia, which has high trade volumes with both China and Japan.”

http://rt.com/business/180588-russia-central-bank-gold/

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What the Next Gold Confiscation Will Look Like

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“A windfall profits tax on gold would be much easier for the government to administer than what they did in 1933. And thanks to the system of citizenship-based taxation, a windfall profits tax on gold could be levied on Americans no matter where in the world they live.  There’s precedence for this, too. In 1980 the Congress passed the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act, which taxed up to 70% of what they deemed to be ‘windfall profits’ of domestic oil producers.  If gold were to explode to the upside (another way of saying the dollar crashes), we shouldn’t be surprised to see a bill like the Fair Share Gold Windfall Profit Tax Act get passed, which would levy a 80%, 90%, or higher tax on gold.”

http://www.internationalman.com/articles/what-the-next-gold-confiscation-will-look-like

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Gold: No Longer a Safe-Haven Asset?

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“Russia, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Serbia, Greece, and Ecuador all reported higher gold reserves for June. Contrary to mainstream expectations, almost no central bank liquidated their gold holdings—just the opposite, in fact.  Take a look at the recent buying habits of central banks:  In the first quarter of this year, central banks bought 122.4 tonnes (3.9 million ounces), a pace that that puts them on track to surpass the record 2013 purchases of 409 tonnes (13.1 million ounces). In dollar terms, central banks invested $22.2 billion in gold from January 2013 through March 2014. And this excludes all Chinese data.”

http://www.hardassetsalliance.com/investing-news/newsletter/gold-no-longer-a-safe-haven-asset

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Swiss Parliament Rejects Gold Standard Initiative Pending Popular Vote

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“Swiss parliamentarians urged rejection of a popular initiative that would curtail the Swiss National Bank (SNBN)’s independence by requiring it to hold a fixed portion of its assets in gold.  Members of the Swiss parliament’s lower house voted 129 to 20 with 25 abstentions today against the plan, which demands that at least 20 percent of the central bank’s assets be in gold. It would also disallow the sale of any such holdings and require all SNB gold be held in Switzerland.  No date for a national vote has yet been set. Parliament and the multi-party government issue recommendations on all national referendums as a matter of procedure.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-05/swiss-parliament-recommends-rejection-of-initiative-on-snb-gold.html

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