Illegal drug use in Australia cost the nation $3.8 billion every year, says Professor Paul Wilson, an Australian criminologist.
And it was not Portugal banks which had pawned its gold to tide over the economic crisis. A few weeks ago when Portugal and Greece were facing severe financial crisis, a mysterious gold swap by undisclosed central banks with Bank for International Settlements had sparked rumours that Portugal and Greece banks were on the verge of collapse and they had pawned their gold.
Employment, it turns out, may not be such a laggard after all.
French financial holding firm Eurazeo said on Saturday it is in exclusive talks to sell its B&B Hotels chain to U.S. private equity firm the Carlyle Group.
Gold firmed in Europe on Thursday as some buyers were tempted back to the market by the precious metal's fall to three-month lows, while the weaker dollar also helped support prices.
European investment remained lackluster as risk appetite sharpened, however, while the world's largest gold-backed exchange traded fund reported a hefty outflow on Wednesday.
Panic and fears over the future of US and European economies have become the best aphrodisiacs for gold, which has been in an uncertain zone for the past few weeks.
The global bullion market is now looking at Greece for a further boost to lift its spirit as officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conduct a fiscal checkup required before the country gets its second loan instalment in mid-September.
There is good news for the economies in Europe as the European bank stress test passed off without much problems. However, this good news has become a pain for gold prices as the stability in EU economy is set to hit the yellow metal in the international market.
Euro zone member Slovakia will have strong reasons to reconsider its help to indebted euro group member Greece, the Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted as saying.
If anybody thought the recent slide in gold prices is an indication of the yellow metal's losing power to sustain above $1,200 per ounce level, think again. According to analysts, gold prices are set to rise and rise in the coming months and years. They said gold prices are set to mark an eleventh year of gains in 2011 as investors seek refuge from an uncertain global economic outlook.
Europe's attempt to restore confidence in its banks comes to a head on Friday with widespread expectation that up to 10 lenders will fail the test and have to raise capital.
Gold this week received a blow from some unexpected quarters. During the past few weeks, the driving force behind gold has been the Euro zone economic crisis. First it came from Greece then Portugal crisis helped the yellow metal gain and cross $1,200 per ounce mark and in a latest development, the Ireland financial woes boosted the gold prices.
Asian stocks rose on Friday as strong earnings from economic bellwethers such as Caterpillar tempered concerns about a global slowdown, while the euro steadied ahead of European bank stress test results later in the day.
Asian stocks rose on Friday as strong earnings from economic bellwethers such as Caterpillar tempered concerns about a global slowdown, while the euro steadied ahead of European bank stress test results later in the day.
European banks are expected to disclose holdings of doubtful government debt in stress test results to be released on Friday, although sources said there was some last-minute haggling among German banks over how much to reveal.
Gold rose briefly back above $1,200 an ounce on Thursday as financial markets rallied broadly, with U.S. stocks jumping 1 percent at the open, European shares higher and oil prices climbing 2.3 percent.
The precious metal quickly slipped back below that level, however, as it struggled to break out of the relatively tight range it has kept to ahead of the results of European bank stress tests on Friday.
Gold prices are set to mark an eleventh year of gains in 2011 as investors seek refuge from an uncertain global economic outlook, with analysts revising up expectations sharply in a Reuters survey released on Wednesday.
Irish economy received little respite this week when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is not too optimistic about the Ireland economy. And, this has come as a huge repite for the sliding gold prices on Thursday.
With more and more bad economic news emanating from Europe, the gold prices have slowly started picking up the lost rhythm this week.
Oil reversed early losses on Thursday to head back toward $77 a barrel as signs of a stronger recovery in Germany soothed investor concerns, but rising U.S. inventories kept prices in check.
The yen neared a 7-1/2-month high and Asian stocks slid on Thursday after comments by the head of the Federal Reserve added to concerns about the U.S. economy, causing investors to dump riskier assets ahead of European bank stress test results.
Oil slid for a second day on Thursday, a day after Fed chief Ben Bernanke rekindled unease across financial markets over the pace of economic recovery, while rising U.S. inventories also kept prices in check.
Oil slid for a second day on Thursday, a day after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke rekindled unease across financial markets about the pace of economic recovery, while rising U.S. inventories also kept prices in check.
