Gold
St Louis Fed research chief calls Bitcoin ‘stroke of genius'
St Louis Fed vice president and head of research has raised some central bankers' eyebrows by encouraging them to ‘welcome the competition' from the virtual currency
Swiss upper house rejects initiative that would force SNB to double gold holdings
Proposal that would require central bank to hold at least 20% of total assets in gold is slated for referendum but political establishment is strongly opposed
Central banks cut gold purchases by a third, as consumers pick up slack
Global demand for gold fell 15% in 2013 compared with 2012, as central banks slowed their purchases and ETFs made hefty divestments
SNB loses $16 billion on gold
The Swiss National Bank expects to report a loss of 10 billion dollars for 2013 as heavy valuation losses on its gold holdings outweigh forex gains and StabFund profits
Central Bank of Venezuela to buy country's entire gold production
Central bank in joint bid with state oil company to ‘regularise' production, sales and purchases of the precious metal, which last year accounted for 70% of the bank's international reserves
Finland joins Riksbank in greater gold transparency
Bank of Finland joins Riksbank in revealing where it stores its gold; both banks cite geographical diversification as a motivation, but say it still makes sense to keep most in London
Riksbank reveals location of gold holdings
Three-quarters of the Swedish central bank's gold reserves are held in the UK and Canada; disclosure follows discussions with other central banks on confidentiality
RBI cuts overseas investment limit by three quarters
Reserve Bank of India unveils latest measure to halt the fall in the rupee's value - only days after announcing ‘open-ended' sales of short-term debt; issues clarifications on gold import restrictions
Cyprus gold still in play to help fund troika bailout
First review finds good progress made in repairing the Cypriot financial sector; central bank will take on a wider supervisory role but may have to sell gold to contribute to the country's bail-out
Reserve Bank of India currency measures may have limited impact on rupee
Moves to halt falling rupee may have unintended consequences, according to rating agencies; volatility is expected to continue
People: Bank of Russia deputy joins government; Bank of Lithuania appoints deputy chair
Bank of Russia's first deputy chairman appointed as economic development minister; former Lithuanian finance minister moves to central bank as Darius Petrauskas departs; Kevin Feldman joins WGC
India issues inflation-indexed bonds to curb gold imports
India's debut issuance of inflation-linked bonds four times over-subscribed despite the launch coming as wholesale price inflation has tapered off; could be credit negative for India
Italians back using gold reserves to lower funding costs
A survey commissioned by the World Gold Council finds that Italians would support the creation of gold-backed bonds; sovereign bond yields fall further as new government is formed
SNB's Jordan slams gold referendum
Thomas Jordan says limiting Swiss National Bank's control over gold reserves would be ‘detrimental to Switzerland'; reveals location of holdings in face of public pressure
Turkish banks face larger bill for holding forex and gold
Central bank increases price of holding gold and foreign exchange for Turkish banks who want to diversify reserve holdings away from Turkish lira
Swiss National Bank faces referendum over gold sales
Politicians seek to prevent SNB from selling gold and force the central bank to hold 20% of assets in the precious metal via a public referendum
Gold should dominate RMB in central bank reserves, says WGC
World Gold Council encourages central banks – particularly in emerging market economies – to diversify into gold ahead of RMB and other ‘alternative’ currencies
Kyrgyzstan's Asankojoeva weighs emerging stability threats
Governor of the Kyrgyz central bank talks of efforts to maintain stability in the face of corruption, limited financial inclusion and a spat over the Kumtor gold mine
World gold demand drops despite increased central bank purchases
Central bank purchases in 2012 reach highest level in 48 years, but Indian contraction leads global demand fall
Gold is no inflation hedge, says RBI deputy
Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty disputes status of gold as a safe asset or hedge against inflation, arguing that as the gold price increases, so do risks
Bundesbank to bring gold back home
Bundesbank will move 674 tonnes of Germany’s gold reserves, currently held in New York and Paris, to vaults in Frankfurt by 2020
Brazil increases gold holdings by 90% in three months
Central Bank of Brazil adds 31.9 tonnes of gold to its reserves between September and November; could indicate a desire to diversify away from the dollar
RBI report condemns ‘excessive’ gold demand
Reserve Bank of India working group recommends gold imports are reduced to protect the country’s balance of payments and currency reserves