Bundesbank to pull gold from New York and Paris in watershed moment

The Telegraph ^ | January 15, 2012 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

[JerseyanExile]

Germany’s Bundesbank is to repatriate gold reserves held abroad to tighten control and combat currency crises in the future, pulling a chunk of its holdings from New York and all its bullion from Paris.

The move marks an extraodinary breakdown in trust between leading central banks and has set off ferment among gold enthusiasts, with some comparing it with France’s withdrawal of gold from the US under President Charles de Gaulle as the Bretton Woods currency system crumbled in the early 1970s.

Handelsblatt said the Bundesbank will announce on Wednesday that it intends to relocate the gold to vaults in Frankfurt, said by insiders to include parts of the old archive library. Germany has 3,396 tons of gold worth roughly £115bn, the world’s second-largest holding after the US. Most of the reserves were stored abroad for safety during the Cold War.

The bank holds an estimated 45pc of its gold at the US Federal Reserve in New York, and 11pc at the Banque de France, lower than originally thought.

A report by Germany’s budget watchdog in October revealed that the bank halved its holding in London a decade ago, a period when the Bank of England was selling part of Britain’s gold at the bottom of the market to buy euros.

Many analysts say the world is moving towards a de facto gold standard again as China, Russia and other reserve powers boost their holdings to diversify out of dollars and euros.

[P.O.E.]

Maybe they can get Geraldo to cover it live.

[Teacher317]

“Shh. He’s on a roll.”

[newfreep]

The absolute best scene of that classic movie!

[FreedomPoster]

It’s an Animal House reference. A well-played one at that.

[OpusatFR]

If this is true, and I wonder about that, this is a devastating poke in the eye at the Fed.

[OpusatFR]

“Those Germans were mighty Asian looking.”

The phrase is a cultural icon from “Animal House.”

[OpusatFR]

“Those Germans were mighty Asian looking.”

The phrase is a cultural icon from “Animal House.”

[RFEngineer]

Why no, Frau Merkel, your gold isn't here, it's been rehypothecated to build fake cities in China, to invest in fake solar companies in California, and to build electric cars and windmills......How much do you need to get you through the week and keep Old Man Potter from owning everything?

[Former Proud Canadian]

“when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor”

Animal House reference.

[dennisw]

PING

[2001convSVT]

Here we go ....

You have that right!

[foreverfree]

“Those Germans were mighty Asian looking.”

The phrase is a cultural icon from “Animal House.”

I wouldn't have known. I've never seen AH nor am I a movie connesour (I can never get that word right) in general.

ff

[silverleaf]

What, they don’t trust us to hold their gold?
Imagine that..wonder why

[PMAS]

*

[silverleaf]

all signed by Tim Geithner, that sterling trustworthy kinda guy.... wonder if Goldman Sachs is having some “meetings” over this development

or maybe the Germans are more worried about NYC being irradiated in a future scenario, than Frankfurt

[LuvFreeRepublic]

Bump for later.

[silverleaf]

ROFL!

[Obadiah]

Barack? You’re a FReeper??

[COBOL2Java]

"This just in: While average Europeans still think President Obama is the 'bees knees', Europe's leaders think he's a blitering idiot, and are taking steps to protect themselves. Today, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered all of her country's gold reserves moved out of New York and returned to Germany’s Bundesbank, declaring, 'I'll be damned if that moron tries anything with our gold.' Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was found under his desk sucking his thumb."

[Candor7]

The USA does not have any more gold reserves....Clinton reputedly emptied Fort Knox during his regime. The Fed needs to come clean.