Free Republic

Will the increased cost of base metals finally bring about a change to the composition of coins? President Obama's recently submitted 2011 Budget includes a proposal to allow the United States Mint greater flexibility in the material composition of coins for the purpose of reducing production costs. Since 2006, it has cost the US Mint more than face value to produce and distribute the penny and nickel. This has led many to debate the merits of eliminating the lower denominations or at least altering the compositions. In 2008 a bill was introduced known as the Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings...

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Authorities announced charges Wednesday against 47 people, including traders from some of Wall Street's best-known firms, in a foreign currency trading scandal that officials say defrauded investors of millions of dollars...[snip] Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed separate charges of fraud in federal court against Wall Street currency trader United Currency Group Inc. and its CEO, Adam Swickle, Wednesday...[snip] The defendants, he said, were part of the multimillion-dollar scheme that spanned all levels of the currency-trading market, from top traders down to "boiler-room operations," where financial professionals make phone calls to solicit individual investors......