The Secret World Of Gold (Video)

FYI.


The Secret World Of Gold (ZeroHedge, April 20, 2014):

In light of the Chinese demand we discussed earlier, the ongoing manipulation of ‘rigged’ markets everywhere, and rising geopolitical tensions (as the de-escalation continues), we thought it worth dusting off this excellent  and wide-ranging look at the history and present of the barbarous relic, gathering many perspectives (pro and con) on gold.

The following documentary moves from historical shipwrecks to Nazi ‘death gold’ and England’s war chest to recent years where widespread economic uncertainty has given the yellow metal a “new luster in the world of high finance.” Valued for its permanence, beauty and scarcity, people will lie, cheat, steal and kill in the name of gold; and the clip provides color on many of the market manipulations of the last few years. As MacDonald says, whether it’s a few gold coins or gold bars stored in one of the many vaults around the world, many investors are taking a shine to gold. But there’s not a lot of it. It is said that, even melted down, there would not be enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool. Some claim that much of the gold held by the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve and Fort Knox is gone – that for every 100 ounces of gold traded, there exists only one ounce of real, physical gold. So, where is the gold – and who really owns it?

BNP Banker, His Wife And Nephew Murdered In Belgium

BNP Banker, His Wife And Nephew Murdered In Belgium (ZeroHedge, April 20, 2014):

In the beginning it was banker suicides. Then about two weeks ago, suicides were replaced by outright murders after the execution-style killing of the CEO of a bank in otherwise sleepy (and tax evasive) Lichtenstein by a disgruntled client. Then on Friday news hit of another execution-type murder in just as sleepy, if not so tax evasive, Belgium, where in the city of Vise, a 37-year-old Director at BNP Paribas Fortis was murdered alongside his wife and a 9 year old nephew in a premeditated and orchestrated drive-by shooting.

L’venir reports:

According to Marcel Neven, Mayor of Vise, nothing can yet explain what caused the violent shooting that rocked the neighborhood sports hall of his town this Friday, April 18, late at night. A man of 37 years, Benedict Philippens, bank manager Ans-Saint-Nicolas, was shot. A little 9 year old boy, living in Dolhain, was also killed. A lady, the wife of the man and the boy aunt and godmother, Carol Haid, 37 also died of his injuries on Saturday, in the morning. She was hit by three bullets in the back, said a judicial source.

According to information from the survey and some witnesses, a car waiting outside their house Berneau street near the sports hall Visé. When the victims’ car is back in the driveway, shots were fired from the car that waited patiently. The author of the shots is actively sought.

Read moreBNP Banker, His Wife And Nephew Murdered In Belgium

Detroit’s New Challenge: Clearing Blight (Video)


Al Jazeera April 18, 2014

Description:

Eighty thousand buildings fill Detroit’s landscape, the result of 50 years of decline. Unsightly and dangerous abandoned buildings line city streets in crime-filled neighborhoods. Now, Detroit is embarking on an effort to clean house. In its bankruptcy restructuring, the city has proposed to set aside half a billion dollars toward demolishing and fixing up rundown buildings. Bisi Onile-Ere reports from Detroit, Michigan.

‘More Sanctions Against Russia Is Mutually Assured Economic Destruction’

‘More sanctions against Russia is mutually assured economic destruction’ (RT, April 18, 2014):

Patrick L Young is expert in global financial markets working in multiple disciplines, ranging from trading independently to running exchanges.

At this juncture more sanctions is ultimately economic suicide, and mutually assured economic destruction, global financial markets expert Patrick Young told RT.

“The West is not remotely secure enough in its own economic recovery for the economy to actually withstand sanctions,” Patrick added.

“Stage one, stage two sanctions really don’t demand too much, they are the equivalent in naval warfare of firing a shot across the bows of another ship in order to warn them that there could be some other problems ahead,” he said.

On Thursday the President Barack Obama said that his administration is prepared to take further actions against Russia if the Geneva agreement concerning the crisis in Ukraine fails to bear fruit.

Patrick Young believes, the US is pursuing its own interests pressing with threats of more sanctions on Moscow.

Read more‘More Sanctions Against Russia Is Mutually Assured Economic Destruction’

‘Everything We Are Told About Deflation Is A Lie’

“Everything we are told about deflation is a lie” (The Cobden Center, April 9, 2014):

“The European Central Bank has given its strongest signal yet that it is prepared to embrace quantitative easing to prevent the euro zone from sliding into deflation or even a prolonged period of low inflation.”
– ‘Draghi strengthens QE signal’, Financial Times, April 4, 2014.

Yes, heaven protect Europe’s embattled citizens and savers from a prolonged period of low inflation. How could they possibly survive it ?

Read more‘Everything We Are Told About Deflation Is A Lie’

Iran Gets An Unlikely Visitor, An American Plane Owned By The Bank Of Utah, But No One Seems To Know Why

Despite complex trade rules against doing business with Iran, a corporate jet with a small American flag turned up in Tehran
Despite complex trade rules against doing business with Iran, a corporate jet with a small American flag turned up in Tehran.

Iran Gets an Unlikely Visitor, an American Plane, but No One Seems to Know Why (New York Times, Aprill 18, 2014):

President Obama has warned that Iran is not open for business, even as the United States has loosened some of its punishing economic sanctions as part of an interim nuclear pact.

Yet on Tuesday morning, Iran had an unlikely visitor: a plane, owned by the Bank of Utah, a community bank in Ogden that has 13 branches throughout the state. Bearing a small American flag on its tail, the aircraft was parked in a highly visible section of Mehrabad Airport in Tehran.

But from there, the story surrounding the plane, and why it was in Iran — where all but a few United States and European business activities are prohibited — grows more mysterious.

Read moreIran Gets An Unlikely Visitor, An American Plane Owned By The Bank Of Utah, But No One Seems To Know Why

The Political Conspiracy Behind The Bankruptcy Of Detroit: Anatomy Of A Crime

George Carlin: The American Dream:


The Political Conspiracy Behind the Bankruptcy of Detroit: Anatomy of a Crime  (WSWS, Feb 21, 2014):

The Workers Inquiry into the Bankruptcy of Detroit and the Attack on the DIA & Pensions was held Saturday February 15 at Wayne State University. The WSWS published an initial report on the meeting on February 17. Today we publish an edited version of the report to the Inquiry delivered by Larry Porter, assistant national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party and chairman of the Workers Inquiry.
Video coverage of Lawrence Porter’s full report to the Inquiry

[Click for slide 1]

[Click for slide 2]

Why was Detroit taken into bankruptcy?

In my report, I have the responsibility of uncovering the evidence of a crime.

Read moreThe Political Conspiracy Behind The Bankruptcy Of Detroit: Anatomy Of A Crime

Bankers Are Behind The Wars

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Image by Terry Robinson

Bankers are Behind the Wars (Washington’s Blog, April 18, 2014):

All Wars Are Bankers’ Wars

Former managing director of Goldman Sachs – and head of the international analytics group at Bear Stearns in London (Nomi Prins) –  notes:

Throughout the century that I examined, which began with the Panic of 1907 … what I found by accessing the archives of each president is that through many events and periods, particular bankers were in constant communication [with the White House] — not just about financial and economic policy, and by extension trade policy, but also about aspects of World War I, or World War II, or the Cold War, in terms of the expansion that America was undergoing as a superpower in the world, politically, buoyed by the financial expansion of the banking community.

Read moreBankers Are Behind The Wars

BP Manager In Charge of Cleaning Up the Gulf Oil Spill – Instead of Actually Cleaning Up – Committed Insider Trading and Sold $1 Million of BP Stock Before the Extent of the Spill Became Public Knowledge

BP Manager In Charge of Cleaning Up the Gulf Oil Spill – Instead of Actually Cleaning Up – Committed Insider Trading and Sold $1 Million of BP Stock Before the Extent of the Spill Became Public Knowledge (Washington’s Blog, April 18, 2014):

The Head of BP Also Sold Shares After Problems With the Well Were Apparent to Insiders

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today:

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former 20-year employee of BP p.l.c. and a senior responder during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill with insider trading in BP securities based on confidential information about the magnitude of the disaster.  The price of BP securities fell significantly after the April 20, 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig and the subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, resulted in an extensive clean-up effort.

Read moreBP Manager In Charge of Cleaning Up the Gulf Oil Spill – Instead of Actually Cleaning Up – Committed Insider Trading and Sold $1 Million of BP Stock Before the Extent of the Spill Became Public Knowledge

Are You Ready For The Price Of Food To MORE Than Double By The End Of This Decade?

Are You Ready For The Price Of Food To More Than Double By The End Of This Decade?  (Economic Collapse, April 18, 2014):

Do you think that the price of food is high now?  Just wait.  If current trends continue, many of the most common food items that Americans buy will cost more than twice as much by the end of this decade.  Global demand for food continues to rise steadily as crippling droughts ravage key agricultural regions all over the planet.  You see, it isn’t just the multi-year California drought that is affecting food prices.  Down in Brazil (one of the leading exporters of food in the world), the drought has gotten so bad that 142 cities were rationing water at one point earlier this year.  And outbreaks of disease are also having a significant impact on our food supply.  A devastating pig virus that has never been seen in the U.S. before has already killed up to 6 million pigs.  Even if nothing else bad happens (and that is a very questionable assumption to make), our food prices are going to be moving aggressively upward for the foreseeable future.  But what if something does happen?  In recent years, global food reserves have dipped to extremely low levels, and a single major global event (war, pandemic, terror attack, planetary natural disaster, etc.) could create an unprecedented global food crisis very rapidly.

Read moreAre You Ready For The Price Of Food To MORE Than Double By The End Of This Decade?

18 Stats That Prove That Government Dependence Has Reached Epidemic Levels

Heritage-Foundation

18 Stats That Prove That Government Dependence Has Reached Epidemic Levels (The American Dream, April 17, 2014):

Did you know that the number of Americans getting benefits from the federal government each month exceeds the number of full-time workers in the private sector by more than 60 million?  In other words, the number of people that are taking money out of the system is far greater than the number of people that are putting money into the system.  And did you know that nearly 70 percent of all of the money that the federal government spends goes toward entitlement and welfare programs?  When it comes to the transfer of wealth, nobody does it on a grander scale than the U.S. government.  Most of what the government does involves taking money from some people and giving it to other people.  In fact, at this point that is the primary function of the federal government.

Read more18 Stats That Prove That Government Dependence Has Reached Epidemic Levels

Two More Victims Of The Retail Apocalypse: Family Dollar And Coldwater Creek

Recovery!


Two More Victims Of The Retail Apocalypse: Family Dollar And Coldwater Creek  (Economic Collapse, April 17, 2014):

Did you know that Family Dollar is closing 370 stores? When I learned of this, I was quite stunned. I knew that retailers that serve the middle class were really struggling right now, but I had no idea that things had gotten so bad for low end stores like Family Dollar. In the post-2008 era, dollar stores had generally been one of the few bright spots in the retail industry. As millions of Americans fell out of the middle class, they were looking to stretch their family budgets as far as possible, and dollar stores helped them do that. It would be great if we could say that the reason why Family Dollar is doing so poorly is because average Americans have more money now and have resumed shopping at retailers that target the middle class, but that is not happening. Rather, as you will see later in this article, things just continue to get even worse for Americans at the low end of the income scale.

I was also surprised to learn that Coldwater Creek is closing all of their stores

Read moreTwo More Victims Of The Retail Apocalypse: Family Dollar And Coldwater Creek

Krugman, Who Is Paid $25,000/Month To Study Inequality, Says ‘Nobody Wants Us To Become Cuba’

Paul-Krugman-Keynesians-Fail

Krugman, Who Is Paid $25,000/Month To Study Inequality, Says “Nobody Wants Us To Become Cuba” (ZeroHedge, April 17, 2014):

When it comes to Krugman’s views on any particular topic, he may be right and he may be wrong, but whatever his opinion he always has a much to say about it (even if the factual backing is of secondary importance or outright missing). Today, his chosen topic is inequality, and in an interview with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene, shown and transcribed below, he certainly says much, encapsulated perhaps by the following gem:

“There’s zero evidence that the kind of extreme inequality that we have is good for economic growth. In fact, there’s a lot of evidence that it is actually bad for economic growth. Nobody wants us to become Cuba. The question is, do we have to have levels of inequality that are getting close to being the highest levels ever anywhere. We’re really starting to set new records here. Is that a good thing for anybody? If you look at our own history, it’s not true. The fact of the matter is since inequality began soaring around 1980, the bottom half of America has been pretty much left behind. It has not been a rising tide that raised all boats.”

Read moreKrugman, Who Is Paid $25,000/Month To Study Inequality, Says ‘Nobody Wants Us To Become Cuba’

WTF Moment Of The Week: No One Bought Japanese Bonds For 36 Hours This Week

WTF Moment Of The Week: No One Bought Japanese Bonds For 36 Hours This Week (Dollar Collapse, April 17, 2014):

Here’s something you don’t see very often: For a day and a half this week, the Japanese government’s benchmark 10-year bonds attracted not a single successful private sector bid. At today’s artificially-depressed yields, no one wants this paper — except of course the Bank of Japan, which is buying up the bonds with newly-created yen. As the Gulf Times noted:

Read moreWTF Moment Of The Week: No One Bought Japanese Bonds For 36 Hours This Week

Yahoo’s Henrique de Castro Got $58 MILLION For 15 Months On Job

Yahoo’s de Castro got $58M for 15 months on job (USA Today, April 17, 2014):

Henrique de Castro’s 15 months as Yahoo’s chief operating officer may have ended on a sour note, but it was sweetened by a severance package valued at nearly $58 million.

All but about $1 million of de Castro’s severance was based in the value of his equity award in Yahoo, which began appreciating after former Google colleague Marissa Mayer joined the company in July 2012. He became Mayer’s first big hire just four months later. But in a letter to employees following de Castro’s Jan. 16 ouster, Mayer said she “made the difficult decision” that he should leave.

His exit package outpaced Mayer’s 2013 compensation, valued at $24.9 million. She gained an additional $21.2 million from vested shares, Yahoo said in a preliminary proxy filing Wednesday.

Read moreYahoo’s Henrique de Castro Got $58 MILLION For 15 Months On Job

Li Ka-Shing … The Richest Man In Asia … Is Selling Everything In China

Related info:

Hong Kong’s Li Ka-Shing Says Wealth ‘Underestimated’ (Bloomberg, Feb 28, 2014):

Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man, said his fortune is at least 40 percent underestimated and that he won’t “admit” to being a Hong Kong mogul.

Li has a net worth of $29.2 billion, making him the 22nd-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.


Li-Ka-Shing-The Richest Man In Asia Is Selling Everything In China

The Richest Man In Asia Is Selling Everything In China (Sovereign Man, April 16, 2014):

Here’s a guy you want to bet on– Li Ka-Shing.

Li is reportedly the richest person in Asia with a net worth well in excess of $30 billion, much of which he made being a shrewd property investor.

Li Ka-Shing was investing in mainland China back in the early 90s, way back before it became the trendy thing to do. Now, Li wants out of China. All of it.

Since August of last year, he’s dumped billions of dollars worth of his Chinese holdings. The latest is the $928 million sale of the Pacific Place shopping center in Beijing– this deal was inked just days ago.

Once the deal concludes, Li will no longer have any major property investments in mainland China.

This isn’t a person who became wealthy by being flippant and scared. So what does he see that nobody else seems to be paying much attention to?

Simple. China’s credit crunch.

Read moreLi Ka-Shing … The Richest Man In Asia … Is Selling Everything In China

General Motors Asks Bankruptcy Judge For ‘SPECIAL PROTECTION’ To Head Off Lawsuits

H/t reader M.G.:

“GM now wants bankruptcy protection from any of their vehicles from before 2009…….pay nothing, dump it all on the people. The courts will probably go along with it, they are corporate owned and corrupt.”


Car giant wants court to shield ‘new GM’ from legal claims for problems with its cars that occurred before its 2009 bankruptcy

GM
GM has said at least 13 deaths have been linked to the switch problem. Photograph: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

GM asks bankruptcy judge for special protection to head off lawsuits (Guardian, April 16, 2014):

General Motors revealed in court filings late Tuesday that it will soon ask a federal bankruptcy judge to shield the company from legal claims for conduct that occurred before its 2009 bankruptcy.

The automaker’s strategy is in a motion filed in a Corpus Christi, Texas, federal court case, and in other cases across the nation that involve the defective ignition switches that have led GM to recall 2.6 million small cars.

Read moreGeneral Motors Asks Bankruptcy Judge For ‘SPECIAL PROTECTION’ To Head Off Lawsuits

Chinese Growth Is Weakest For Two Years

“…slower, more sustainable growth…”

Even ‘more sustainable’ than that?

China’s Credit Pipeline Slams Shut: Companies Scramble For The Last Drops Of Liquidity

China’s Credit Bubble Hits Unprecedented Proportions – A Walk Thru Of China’s Hard Landing, And The Upcoming Global Harder Reset

China’s Corporate Debt Hits Record $12 Trillion

rofl


Chinese growth is weakest for two years (Guardian, April 16, 2014):

China’s GDP grew 7.4% in the first quarter amid growing evidence that the powerhouse economy is easing off

China’s economic growth slowed to 7.4% in the first quarter, raising the risk of job losses and a potential impact on the global economy.

The figure reported on Wednesday by the national bureau of statistics (NBS) was down from the previous quarter’s 7.7% and was below the full-year official growth target of 7.5% announced last month.

Beijing is trying to guide China to slower, more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption rather than trade and investment following a decade of explosive expansion

Read moreChinese Growth Is Weakest For Two Years

Los Angeles, A City Of Poverty And Unemployment

escape-from-LA

Los Angeles, a city of poverty and unemployment (WSWS, April 15, 2014):

On Wednesday, the second part of the Los Angeles 2020 Commission report was published. The report, taken together with its December 2013 predecessor, lifts the lid on the brutal, crushing conditions facing workers in the second largest city in the US.

In its introduction, the first report, “A Time for Truth,” declares that “Los Angeles is barely treading water” and is “becoming a City in decline.” This is an understatement. The report reveals that 40 percent of families either make poverty wages or are unemployed. In the author’s own words, four out of every ten residents live “in what only can be called misery.”

Read moreLos Angeles, A City Of Poverty And Unemployment

And The Markets Tumble, Except …

The S&P 500 Enters “Vertical Straight Line Up” Formation (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2014):

The comedy from yesterday continues. Sure enough it is market open on a Tuesday (remember – the market never goes down on Tuesday) – the two most bullish catalyst to momentum ignition vacuum tubes. The rest is indescriminate panic buying history.

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European Stocks Tumble As Investors Rush Into “Safe Haven” Italian Bonds!? (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2014):

Consumer confidence slumps in the core and Ukraine fears weighed heavily on European stocks despite getting a push from the insanity in US equity markets this morning. Europe closed at their lows of the day led by Italy and Portugal stocks fading fast. It would appear that these worried investors greatly rotated into safe-havens such as Italian government bonds – which broke to their lowest yield on record today… makes sense right?

Russell 2000 Breaks Below Key Technical Level (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2014):

For the first time since Novemeber 2012 (when QE4EVA was kicked off in style), the Russell 2000that long-heralded indication that everything is great in the US economy and the indicator that stocks are great at discounting the future that is undoubtedly rosyhas broken back below its 200-day moving-average. In the meantime, an oddly dominant algorithm is swamping options markets with millions of fake orders…”rigged?”

“Growth” Stocks Tumble To 7-Month Lows To “Value” As Bond Yields Collapse (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2014):

It is perhaps worth reflecting on the smorgasbord of free advice given out by the talking-heads after last night’s closing ramp proclaiming the dip to be bought and that everything was fixed once again. It was not. Stocks are making fresh cycle lows and the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 are both now below the 200-day moving-average and appraoching the 10% (correction) from their highs. 10Y is back under 2.6% and the 30Y yield is back at 10-month lows… which perhaps explains why “growth” stocks are back at 7-month lows versus “value” stocks

Gold Tumbles Most In 4 Months On China Demand Slowdown Fears (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2014):

Gold prices are down almost 2% this morning (over $25) as last night’s slowdown in Chinese money-supply growth and fears that China’s insatiable gold demand has become less insatiable send the barbarous relic back towards $1300. Slowing GDP expectations, increasing restrictions on shadow-banking commodity-backed financing, and a need for liquidity are all factors weighing on the precious metal this morning.

Copper Joins Precious Metals Rout, Tumbles Below $3.00 (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2014):

The fears over ongoing commodity-financing restrictions and slowing money supply growth are contagiously spilling over into other collateral. Copper prices are in free fall this morning, crashing through critical levels (especially Dennis Gartman’s “long punt”) and back below the Maginot Line of $3.00. These are near 3-week low levels and the biggest drop since the cash-for-commodity financing deals came under real pressure.

Stocks moderate slide after Nasdaq nears correction territory (CNBC, April 15, 2014)

H/t reader M.G.:

“Yesterday, these stocks were darlings. They are so desperate, they are telling lies to steal pennies……”

U.S. Stocks Decline as Tech Selloff Resumes Amid Earnings (Bloomberg, April 15, 2014)

And the ECBs buying spree continous…..

The “Shocking” Buying Spree Of America’s Mysterious Third Largest Treasury Holder Ramps Higher (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2014):

In summary: someone, unclear who, operating through Belgium and most likely the Euroclear service (possible but unconfirmed), has added a record $141 billion in Treasurys since December, or the month in which Bernanke announced the start of the Taper, bringing the host’s total to an unprecedented $341 billion!

Baltic Dry Index Drops For 15th Day To Lowest In 9 Months (Back Below $1000)

Baltic Dry Drops For 15th Day To Lowest In 9 Months (Back Below $1000) (ZeroHedge, April 14, 2014):

And still the mainstream media’s discussion of the collapse in the Baltic Dry shipping index is entirely absent. As we have been pointing out for weeks now, something extreme is occurring in the cost of shipping dry bulk around the world. 2014 is now witnessing the biggest drop in price (a typical seasonal pattern) to start the year since records began. Today’s drop to $989 (the first time below $1000 since June 2013) is the 15th drop in a row and it’s not just this index that is fading: Capesize, Panamax, and Supramax rates are all falling. As we noted previously, the shipbuilding industry is already feeling the pain.

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‘Death Spiral’: Harvard Professor Predicts Up To Half Of US Universities May Fail In 15 Years

“Death Spiral” – Harvard Professor Predicts Up To Half Of US Universities May Fail In 15 Years (Zerohedge, April 14, 2014):

Soaring student debt, competition from online programs and poor job prospects for graduates are shrinking the applicant pools for many universities and, as Bloomberg reports, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities warns “there will clearly be some institutions that won’t make it…through these difficult steps.” Rather stunningly, Moody’s found that expenses are outpacing revenue at 60 percent of the schools it tracks even as many try to slash their way to balanced budgets,” and concluded “what we’re concerned about is the death spiral… this continuing downward momentum for some institutions.” As Harvard professor Clayton Christensen has warned, as many as half of the more than 4,000 universities and colleges in the U.S. may fail in the next 15 years, and is “not sure a lot of these institutions have the cushion to experiment with how to stay afloat.”

Read more‘Death Spiral’: Harvard Professor Predicts Up To Half Of US Universities May Fail In 15 Years

Is China Already The World’s Largest ‘Owner’ As Opposed To ‘Holder’ Of Gold?

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Chinese Checkers with Gold Prices (Euro Pacific Capital, April 10, 2014):

For decades many of us in the hard money world have speculated that cloak and dagger activity by large financial interests has played a large role in determining performance in the gold market. The focus of this alleged manipulation is believed to be in the London market, and has been widely referred to as “The London Fix.” However those who have blown the whistle have been dismissed as alarmists, gold bugs, conspiracy theorists or worse. But recent revelations should bring us closer to the truth.

Read moreIs China Already The World’s Largest ‘Owner’ As Opposed To ‘Holder’ Of Gold?