Explain why you sold Britain's gold, Gordon Brown told

Kohoutek

Running_Horse wrote: »

Better to sell and make use of the money than to hoard it.

Not really. The reason why central banks hold gold is because it's a long term store of value and ultimately it can have a role in supporting the strength of a currency. That's why for hundreds of years, currencies were based on a gold standard or silver standard.

If the structure of the world's financial system was changed dramatically again, like in 1944 and 1971 (which seems likely given the uncertainty in the long term about the sustainability of the current system), then the amount of gold each country holds could be significant in revaluing their currency. The central banks of countries like Russia, India and China have been big net buyers of gold recently.

chucky

worldtraveller wrote: »

As an investor I want to know how his mind has worked on gold value, particularly over the past 10 years or so, as it would appear that anyone who wants to buy or sell gold should do exactly the opposite to what he has been thinking

i'm 100% sure that as an expert [STRIKE]palm reader[/STRIKE] investor like yourself could have called the market and also be in a position to predict the future...

A._Badger

beer_tins wrote: »

:rotfl: A slight overreaction maybe?! So it was a bad decision. Are you suggesting people get put on trial for making bad decisions?

Someone launching an illegal war (for example!) should go on trial. But for selling a commodity at a bad time? That is just absurd.

Absurd is it? Brown was placed in a position of unparalleled power and acted against the advice of his advisers. He then proceeded to lie and obfuscate about what he had done. He is still lying about it.

A bank manager or a company director acting that way would be in serious trouble.

A._Badger

StevieJ wrote: »

Did he not sell it at the market price at the time?

No, he leaked his intentions beforehand, thereby lowering the price of gold. That is so stupid it is beyond belief. Or, in Brown's case, perhaps not.

beer_tins

What price was the gold bought at? How do we know we didn't make a profit?

And maybe now is the time to start holding foreign currency reserves, until the price of gold falls again. Then switch to gold. What I'm saying is it may not be as dramatic as is being suggested. It also wasn't "all" of our gold reserves, as is frequently suggested.

Plainly, it wasn't a shrewd move and we'd have done better to sell foreign currency instead. We did need to raise cash, though.

worldtraveller

chucky wrote: »

i'm 100% sure that as an expert [STRIKE]palm reader[/STRIKE] investor like yourself could have called the market and also be in a position to predict the future...

Even you'd be surprised! :rotfl:

chucky

worldtraveller wrote: »

Even you'd be surprised! :rotfl:

i probably wouldn't but you keep on believing your own hype :money:

Graham_Devon

chucky wrote: »

i'm 100% sure that as an expert [STRIKE]palm reader[/STRIKE] investor like yourself could have called the market and also be in a position to predict the future...

Slight difference. If worldtraveller had been advised by many around him not to sell., and then he sold anyway, you could reasonably say he was a little silly in hindsight.

Brown was not the only single person sitting there determining things. His advisors advised against selling off of gold, but Brown went ahead anyway.

I'm quite sure you already know this anyway.

chucky

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I'm quite sure you already know this anyway.

hindsight is a wonderful thing when your sitting on your DFS sofa

you'll be telling me next that the Chancellor of the Exchequer works in the Financial Services industry...
oh you've done that one once before already... :wall:

beer_tins

A._Badger wrote: »

Absurd is it? Brown was placed in a position of unparalleled power and acted against the advice of his advisers. He then proceeded to lie and obfuscate about what he had done. He is still lying about it.

A bank manager or a company director acting that way would be in serious trouble.

"unparalleled power"? You are suggesting that Gordon Brown was the most powerful man in history at that time? Unparalleled :rotfl:

So he didn't take advice, thought he new best and messed up. Surely it's no surprise he's not going to be playing this up?

Has he lied about it? When?

Yes, a bank manager or director would be in trouble. But they wouldn't be in a position to sell billions of pounds of gold. They would be working on a much smaller scale. The decision would look bad. Some may even face the sack if it's not an isolated incident. But they would not end up in court over it.