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To: Zardoz who wrote (83174)	3/11/2002 9:28:46 AM
From: c.hinton	Respond to of 117019

re ,"is gold that boring?"Gold is boring,no matter what you do to it you never get a reaction.g

To: Zardoz who wrote (83174)	3/12/2002 4:18:25 AM
From: E. Charters	Respond to of 117019

oooooohhh a sensitive spot hit on the Z one. oohhhh. Yes our serial killing tendency does need addressing. We are so ashamed! Please help us before we kill again! (darkly) uhh we were only kidding, Z one. We wouldn't kill yah, little fellah. there there. Yuh can go back to hating everyone and everything but gold 'specially if it tickles yah. heh heh heh.

To: Zardoz who wrote (83174)	3/12/2002 6:49:39 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 117019

Here it comes February 19, 2002. Mexicans buy more gold Gold demand reaches new record in Mexico. Some news on gold sales in Mexico during 2001 from World Gold Council. Mexicans have not been worried about devaluation or other monetary and financial shocks in the recent past. Indeed, the peso is apparently one of the world’s strongest currencies, since the peso has been going up against the almighty Dollar. However, that may change, and to already booming jewelry sales it is possible that Mexicans will add purchases of gold for “insurance purposes”, especially if the Japanese continue to buy gold as they have been doing. If the U.S. and the Japanese governments cannot stifle the incipient run to gold in Japan, expect the example to be imitated elsewhere. The following article, does not mention that India is the most important importer of gold, by far, year after year, or that India is the country with the largest gold holding. Nor does the article mention, that China's gold reserves have increased markedly in the recent past. ***** This article from “Reforma”, Mexico City: GOLD DEMAND REACHES NEW RECORD IN MEXICO Link: www.reforma.com/economiayfinanzas/articulo/169960/ During the last quarter of 2001, gold sales in Mexico added up to 38.7 tonnes, and thus registered a new record for a quarter. By Alberto Barrientos Mexico City (February 17, 2002).- the rise in the value of the peso, together with a lower price for gold and greater purchasing power caused sales of gold to reach record levels in Mexico in 2001, according to a report by the World Gold Council. Last year’s sales of gold in Mexico amounted to 86 tonnes, which means a growth of 7% with regard to 2000. Just in the fourth quarter of 2001, sales of gold in Mexico amounted to 38.7 tonnes, and thus registered a new record for a quarter’s sales, placing Mexico in third place in the world with regard to sales of gold, surpassed only by China and the United States. The demand for gold jewelry was the main factor that moved sales, in view of the greater purchasing power of Mexicans, according to the World Gold Council report. Jewelry sales increased 13% in the fourth quarter of 2001, over sales in the same quarter of 2000, for annual sales of jewelry of 75.7 tonnes, that add up to an increase of 8%. Another factor that propelled demand for gold was the reduction in import duties on jewelry, mainly from Italy. In the last six years, the average yearly growth of sales of gold in Mexico has been 18.5%, the highest rate of growth in the world, together with Pakistan. For their part, Japan and Taiwan registered a decrease of 14.1% on average from 1995 to 2001, placing themselves as the countries with the highest rates of decrease. plata.com.mx

To: Zardoz who wrote (83174)	3/12/2002 8:17:58 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 117019

You watching how this story unfolds? New York Times March 12, 2002 Bank Inquiry Not Expected to Pinpoint Trader's Help By JONATHAN FUERBRINGER An Irish bank's internal investigation of a Baltimore currency trader who lost $691 million will not provide definitive answers about whether he had help inside or outside the bank in hiding the losses, a person close to the investigation said yesterday. Because the bank allowed just a month for the investigation, the inquiry concentrated on the transactions made by the trader, John M. Rusnak, how he hid the losses and why they were not detected earlier by Allfirst Financial, the trader's bank in Baltimore, this person said. The investigation report will say that Michael Buckley, the chief executive of Allied Irish Banks (news/quote) of Dublin, the parent of Allfirst Financial, did hear an unspecific report of big currency trades at Allfirst last May and called an executive at the bank about them, according to the person close to the investigation. Mr. Rusnak's name was not mentioned, however, and Mr. Buckley was apparently satisfied with the explanation from the Allfirst executive. Neither Mr. Rusnak nor the bank's accountant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, provided information for the inquiry, which was led by Eugene Ludwig, a former United States comptroller of the currency. The report is scheduled to be discussed by the Allied Irish board today. A spokesman for PricewaterhouseCoopers said Mr. Ludwig's team had not asked the firm for information. Separately, an e-mail message that Mr. Rusnak sent in early 2001 to one bank he dealt with made clear that he needed money to finance his trading activities. The message was later made available to Allied Irish Bank. But it does not appear that this information raised any questions about the scope of Mr. Rusnak's activities. Since announcing the currency losses on Feb. 6, executives at Allied Irish have said that Mr. Rusnak had help in hiding his losses for five years. But the executives have provided no evidence. Four big banks did large option trades with Mr. Rusnak, providing him with what amounted to more than $200 million in loans in 2001, which helped him conceal his losses for another year. The four option trades, however, do not mean there was outside collusion. The losses are also being investigated by the United States attorney for Maryland. Mr. Rusnak has been suspended from his job, and no charges have been filed against him. Spokesmen for Allfirst and Allied Irish have declined to comment until their investigation is completed. Mr. Rusnak's lawyer, David B. Irwin, has said that his client did not steal any money and that a big issue in the case will be the breakdown of Allfirst's systems for monitoring its currency operation. A review of what is known about Mr. Rusnak's trading suggests that people inside and outside the bank might have had reason to question what he was doing. One example is a quarrel Mr. Rusnak had with Bank of America (news/quote) over the pricing of one of the big options trades. According to the March 1, 2001, e- mail message that Mr. Rusnak sent to a bank executive, he thought the rate that Bank of America was charging was too high and threatened to take his business away if he did not get a better deal. "You have the numbers; it is easy enough to figure out the P&L consequences if we pull the entire relationship," the e-mail message said, referring to profit and loss, according to a person who has seen it. "This is the deal breaker," the e- mail message continued. "I am playing golf tomorrow at noon. If I don't have a revised proposal by then, I will close the prime brokerage facility and cease speaking to any of your desks." The prime brokerage agreement, for which Allfirst paid, allowed Mr. Rusnak to do much of his trading with Bank of America and other banks, with Bank of America keeping track of all the trades. In the e-mail message, Mr. Rusnak said this loan deal would cost Allfirst $600,000 more than it should. But possibly more important, the e-mail message explains why Mr. Rusnak said he needed the loan: "I have come to you with a problem. We need to outsource our balance sheet funding." This means he was borrowing outside his own bank to finance his trading activities. Because Mr. Rusnak was unhappy with the price and was threatening to revoke his prime brokerage trading agreement, the dispute went to higher levels at Allied Irish and Allfirst, according to a bank executive. Because the e-mail message was made available to an Allied Irish executive, the bank had information on Mr. Rusnak's threat to cancel the prime brokerage agreement and his need for outside financing of his trading. In the end, an Allied Irish executive decided that Mr. Rusnak would accept the terms of the option and the loan was made available to him. Bank of America would not comment on the e-mail message. nytimes.com

To: Zardoz who wrote (83174)	3/15/2002 10:49:55 PM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 117019

If there is collusion between major banking firms in the currency markets is there not also collusion in gold? Friday March 15, 5:30 pm Eastern Time Allied Irish turns probe heat on outside banks (UPDATE: recasts; adds NEW YORK date line, byline, details throughout) By Mary Kelleher and Thomas Atkins NEW YORK/FRANKFURT, March 15 (Reuters) - Allied Irish Banks (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ALBK.L) is putting its own house in order. Next, it will go after other major banks. ADVERTISEMENT After putting out a report damning its U.S. treasury arm in a $691 million trading loss scandal, the Dublin-based bank on Thursday said it will investigate whether other banks exploited its own lax controls. ``This would allow AIB to find out more information, like how the trades were done and in fact if there was any collusion involving employees of the counterparties involved,'' said Ray Soifer, a former banking analyst who runs a consulting firm, on Friday. AIB's inquiry may prove futile as the dealings were not that unusual in the interbank market, where financial institutions deal directly with one another, bankers say. An internal AIB investigation also said the trader who allegedly racked up the losses, John Rusnak, acted alone. Still, AIB will probe whether other banks ignored tell-tale signs involving alleged rogue trades by Rusnak, who worked at AIB's U.S. securities unit Allfirst and is at the center of the probe. ``There's certainly reason that those relationships ought to be explored in terms of their interplay in the fraud and I'm sure that the company will be following up vigorously,'' said independent investigator Eugene Ludwig, a former U.S. comptroller of the currency, on Thursday. Indeed, AIB Chief Executive Michael Buckley on Thursday vowed to pursue the role played by Allfirst's trading partners. Two of the biggest banks listed in the report are Citigroup (NYSE:C - news) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC - news), which are described as having special accounts with Rusnak. Both had prime broker deals with Allfirst. Such brokers carry out and settle trades for other institutions and provide reports that detail positions. CITIGROUP SUSPENDS TWO TRADERS Citigroup last month was believed to have received a subpoena related to the AIB probe, while Bank of America also received one, another source close to the matter has told Reuters. Citigroup said on Friday it suspended two foreign exchange salesmen at the same time as the AIB probe. ``Two foreign exchange salespersons were suspended in early March for reasons unrelated to trading activity,'' a Citigroup spokesman said, declining to comment further. The two men, Richard Marra in New York and Joseph Craven in Singapore, had dealings with Rusnak, but the suspensions related to their entertainment habits, a source close to the matter said. Rusnak reportedly traded with Marra when Marra was at Merrill Lynch and Co. (NYSE:MER - news) and Rusnak moved his business to Citigroup when Marra switched jobs. Citigroup and Bank of America have said they cooperated in the probe. OUTSIDE INQUIRY MAY BE FUTILE Financial products such as the currency options Rusnak supposedly used as synthetic loans are not so unusual, one banker with knowledge of Rusnak's dealings said. ``In the interbank market there are certain assumptions that the other guy knows what he's doing. And if somebody calls you up looking for a deep-in-the-money deal, that's not likely to raise alarm bells right off,'' the banker said. ``He probably said he was doing this to offset another position. What are we supposed to do, go and see if it's okay with his management? You could disrupt a relationship that way.'' Legally, AIB's efforts might hinge on whether it uncovers collusion between Rusnak and his counterparties, but even that would depend on what was uncovered, Soifer said. HEFTY FEES Ludwig said ``unusual'' trades should be fully reviewed to ensure that no impropriety took place and to clarify whether the prime brokers or other dealers benefited beyond the normal bid-offer spreads and market fees. ``There are instances uncovered during the investigation where we found transactions with prime brokers that were off-market or not in accordance with market standards,'' Ludwig wrote in the report. So-called off-market transactions are those conducted at a price varying significantly from the current market price. ``It appears that these digressions may have helped Mr. Rusnak conceal his positions and/or his losses,'' Ludwig said. biz.yahoo.com