Russia's Central Bank Adds 700,000 Ounces of Gold to Their Reserves in September

There weren't many stories of interest floating around the Internet yesterday. One of the few that I did find, is this piece by F. William Engdahl that he posted on his website about two weeks ago. It was sent to me by reader G.G. The embattled Euro has gotten a surpriseboost from an unexpected quarter―China. The country with the world’s largest foreignexchange currency reserves, China, has pledged to support Greek debt as well as the Euro in what is clearly a geopolitical decision. The headline reads "A Surprise Boost for Euro from China". It's not a long read but, as part of the 'Great Game' that's going on in that part of the world, I consider it to be well worth your time... and the link is here.

I see that the "great vampire squid" is hording another obscene amount of money for bonuses. Goldman Sachs has so far set aside $13.1bn (£8.33bn) for pay and bonuses this year despite reporting a 40 percent fall in earnings for the third quarter. The story, courtesy of reader Roy Stephens, is from The Telegraph... and it bears the headline "Goldman Sachs pay and bonus pool hits $13 billion". The link is here.

Here's a Bloomberg story datelined today. The headline reads "New York Fed Faces 'Inherent Conflict' in Mortgage Buybacks". The Federal Reserve Bank of NewYork’s effort to recover taxpayer money used in bailouts during the crisis may be at odds with its mission to ensure the stability of the financial system. The link to this rather longish article is here.

The rare earth story is almost becoming a precious metals story with the direction that the price of these minerals is headed. Here's a Bloomberg piece that's hot off the press. It bears the headline "Rare-Earth Prices Soar as China Quotas Hit Manufacturers Abroad". Actions by China, which produces more than 90 percent of the world’s rare earths, have drawn criticism from U.S. lawmakers and officials in Japan and Germany. China reduced its second-half export quota for the minerals by 72 percent in July. It is now further restricting exports, according to industry participants. It's a longish story, but a must read in my opinion... and the link is here.

I only have two precious metals-related stories today. The first one was sent to me by reader 'David in California'... and is from Iran of all places. The story is pretty short on specifics, but it gives a hint that Iran has been purchasing physical gold... but doesn't say how much it has bought, or even how much they currently hold. It's a short piece... and all of the gold commentary is in the first two paragraphs. It was posted over at kuwaitsamachar.comearlier in the day. The headline reads "Iran's gold reserves hit record high"... and the link is here.

Lastly today is this piece from yesterday's edition of the Financial Times. And, surprise surprise, it's all about silver. It's imbedded in a GATA release that's headlined "Where's the FTstory about 'speculators' buying government bonds?' The FTstory itself bears the headline "Speculators polish up the price of silver". This is a must read from beginning to end... and the link is here.