http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-25/here-fts-gold-price-manipulation-article-was-removed
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/25/2014 23:35 -0500
Here Is The FT's Gold Price Manipulation Article That Was Removed
Two days ago the FT released a clear, informative and fact-based article, titled simply enough "Gold price rigging fears put investors on alert" in which author Madison Marriage, citing a report by the Fideres consultancy, revealed that global gold prices may have been manipulated on 50 per cent of occasions between January 2010 and December 2013.
To those who hve been following the price action of gold in the past four years, gold manipulation is not only not surprising, but accepted and widely appreciated (because like the Chinese those who buy gold would rather do so at artificially low rather than artificially high fiat prices) and at this point, after every other product has been exposed to be blatantly and maliciously manipulated by the banking estate, it is taken for granted that the central banks' primary fiat alternative, and biggest threat to the monetary status quo, has not avoided a comparable fate.
What is surprising is that where the FT article once was, readers can now find only this:
And since we can only assume the article has been lost to FT readers due to some server glitch, and not due to post-editorial consorship or certainly an angry phone call from the Bank of England or some comparable institution, we are happy to recreate it in its entirety. Just in case someone is curious why gold price rigging fears should put investors on alert.
Gold price rigging fears put investors on alert
By Madison Marriage
Global gold prices may have been manipulated on 50 per cent of occasions between January 2010 and December 2013, according to analysis by Fideres, a consultancy.
The findings come amid a probe by German and UK regulators into alleged manipulation of the gold price, which is set twice a day by Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Barclays, Bank of Nova Scotia and Société Générale in a process known as the “London gold fixing”.
Fideres’ research found the gold price frequently climbs (or falls) once a twice-daily conference call between the five banks begins, peaks (or troughs) almost exactly as the call ends and then experiences a sharp reversal, a pattern it alleged may be evidence of “collusive behaviour”.
“[This] is indicative of panel banks pushing the gold price upwards on the basis of a strategy that was likely predetermined before the start of the call in order to benefit their existing positions or pending orders,” Fideres concluded.
“The behaviour of the gold price is very suspicious in 50 per cent of cases. This is not something you would expect to see if you take into account normal market factors,“ said Alberto Thomas, a partner at Fideres.
Alasdair Macleod, head of research at GoldMoney, a dealer in physical gold, added: “When the banks fix the price, the advantage they have is that they know what orders they have in the pocket. There is a possibility that they are gaming the system.”
Pension funds, hedge funds, commodity trading advisers and futures traders are most likely to have suffered losses as a result, according to Mr Thomas, who said that many of these groups were “definitely ready” to file lawsuits.
Daniel Brockett, a partner at law firm Quinn Emanuel, also said he had spoken to several investors concerned about potential losses.
“It is fair to say that economic work suggests there are certain days when [the five banks] are not only tipping their clients off, but also colluding with one another,” he said.
Matt Johnson, head of distribution at ETF Securities, one of the largest providers of exchange traded products, said that if gold price collusion is proven, “investors in products with an expiry price based around the fixing could have been badly impacted”.
Gregory Asciolla, a partner at Labaton Sucharow, a US law firm, added: “There are certainly good reasons for investors to be concerned. They are paying close attention to this and if the investigations go somewhere, it would not surprise me if there were lawsuits filed around the world.”
All five banks declined to comment on the findings, which come amid growing regulatory scrutiny of gold and precious metal benchmarks.
BaFin, the German regulator, has launched an investigation into gold-price manipulation and demanded documents from Deutsche Bank. The bank last month decided to end its role in gold and silver pricing. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is also examining how the price of gold and other precious metals is set as part of a wider probe into benchmark manipulation following findings of wrongdoing with respect to Libor and similar allegations with respect to the foreign exchange market.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has reportedly held private meetings to discuss gold manipulation, but declined to confirm or deny that an investigation was ongoing.
Three King World News Blogs
1. Art Cashin: "Truth About Russia, Ukraine...and the IMF Deal". 2. Rick Rule: "2014 is Going to Be One Hell of a Year For Gold and Silver". 3. Dr. Stephen Leeb: "Germany, Russia, China, the U.S., Gold and World Dominance".
Gold Bullion Premium in Shanghai Goes Negative as China's Yuan Sinks
Gold bullion prices in China today fell below the world's London benchmark for the first time since November as the Yuan sank at its fastest pace in 3 years on the currency markets.
Despite rising 0.8% in Yuan terms, the most active contract on the Shanghai Gold Exchange closed Tuesday at a discount of $3.60 per ounce to London spot.
That compares with the Shanghai premium's 3-year highs above $50 per ounce hit when world prices first sank to $1180 last summer.
Shanghai's gold trading volumes today nearly doubled yesterday's levels by value, just lagging last Monday's 3-month high, while the city's stock market dropped 2%.
China’s Gold Shipments From Hong Kong Decline as Demand Weakens
China’s gold imports from Hong Kong fell in January as jewelers and fabricators in the world’s largest consumer of the precious metal reduced purchases on expectation demand may weaken after Lunar New Year holidays.
Net imports totaled 83.6 metric tons last month, compared with 91.9 tons in December and 19.6 tons a year earlier, according to calculations by Bloomberg News based on data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department today. Exports to Hong Kong from China declined to 19 tons in January from 34.8 tons in December, the Statistics Department said in a separate statement. Mainland China doesn’t publish such data.
“Fabricators tapered their raw material purchases in anticipation of slower physical demand after the Lunar New Year,” said Bruce Liu, a gold trader at ANZ Bank China Co. “But the level remained well above the same period last year, befitting China’s new status as the world’s largest gold consumer.”
Metal delivery failure complaints piling up against Tulving
Submitted by cpowell on Tue, 2014-02-25 01:57. Section: Daily Dispatches
8:55p ET Monday, February 24, 2014
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
King World News tonight calls attention to growing complaints of delivery failures against the well-known gold and silver dealer The Tulving Co. in Newport Beach, California, as reported this month by the Orange County Register --
-- and quotes Stephen Quayle, founder of Renaissance Precious Metals in Bozeman, Montana, as cautioning monetary metals investors that "delivery is everything," far more important than price:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
'Pony' botnet steals bitcoins, digital currencies, security firm says
Submitted by cpowell on Mon, 2014-02-24 23:11. Section: Daily Dispatches
There was very little movement in the Comex gold warehouses yesterday.
Gold was a little stronger than silver today, but both settled back close to evens at the close.
The option expiry was quiet, not unexpected for the less consequential March contract. We *might* get a gutcheck on the new longs if there was a significant amount of call options coming in the money.
Have a pleasant evening.
By Jim Finkle
Reuters
Monday, February 24, 2014
Reuters
Monday, February 24, 2014
BOSTON -- Cyber criminals have infected hundreds of thousands of computers with a virus called "Pony" to steal bitcoins and other digital currencies in the most ambitious cyber attack on virtual money uncovered so far, according to security firm Trustwave.
Trustwave said on Monday that it has found evidence that the operators of a cybercrime ring known as the Pony botnet have stolen some 85 virtual "wallets" that contained bitcoins and other types of digital currencies. The firm said it did not know how much digital currency was contained in the wallets.
"It is the first time we saw such a widespread presence of this type of malware. It was on hundreds of thousands of machines," said Ziv Mador, security research director with Chicago-based Trustwave. ...
... For the full story:
25 FEBRUARY 2014
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Comex Option Expiration - Far From Any Road
There was very little movement in the Comex gold warehouses yesterday.
Gold was a little stronger than silver today, but both settled back close to evens at the close.
The option expiry was quiet, not unexpected for the less consequential March contract. We *might* get a gutcheck on the new longs if there was a significant amount of call options coming in the money.
Have a pleasant evening.
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