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Gold Retreats on Latest Cyprus Dealby Peter A. Grant
Mar 25, AM 
Gold sold off on news that Cyprus had reached a new deal with the troika to secure their €10 bln bailout. Instead of confiscating a percentage of everyone's savings, only uninsured deposits over €100,000 will now pay the price. However, the yellow metal has already retraced half of the intraday losses on the growing realization that the new bailout is no panacea.According to the Eurogroup, it is an “EU principle” that deposits below €100,000 will be protected. Funny how they forgot all about that "principle" when they signed off on last weekend's deal, only to rediscover it after voters in Cyprus and investors around the world expressed outrage at the notion of savings confiscation. Apparently if your confiscating from larger depositors though, that's okay... However, in striking this deal, the financial services sector of the Cypriot economy has been effectively killed. Financial services accounts for 9.2% of GDP and 5.6% of employment in Cyprus; so with your bailout, you get a depression. How is that a good deal? Another fine example of policymakers crafting a short-term fix, which will likely have devastating longer-term consequences. If Cyprus does indeed fall into a recession/depression, they may well be back with their hand out in very short order. Not suprisingly, Russia is outraged that they're large depositors in Cypriot banks face a haircut, estimated to be 40%. Chillier relations between Russia and the eurozone will have consequences as well. Not to mention the ongoing deterioration in global confidence in the banking sector in general and tax havens perhaps in particular. A Bussiness Insider headline this morning screamed IT'S OFFICIAL: Banks In Europe May Now Seize Deposits To Cover Their Gambling Losses. A Financial Times article warned that the takeaway for investors should be "in a crisis, the rule of law means little." Anybody with savings in a bank should be taking precautions to protect their wealth if they haven't already done so. At a minimum, make sure your deposits are below the insurance thresholds, and then consider removing a portion of those savings from the banking system entirely. Gold has been a reliable store of wealth for thousands of years. NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP Opinions expressed in commentary on the USAGOLD.com website do not constitute an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any precious metals product, nor should they be viewed in any way as investment advice or advice to buy, sell or hold. USAGOLD, Inc. recommends the purchase of physical precious metals for asset preservation purposes, not speculation. Utilization of these opinions for speculative purposes is neither suggested nor advised. Commentary is strictly for educational purposes, and as such USAGOLD does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of the information found here. |
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