Barry Stuppler

On March 14, 1900, Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act, which officially ended the use of silver as a standard of United Stares currency and established gold as the only standard. The New York Times reported that President William McKinley “used a new gold pen and holder” to sign the bill.

The gold standard is a system under which ....

First, global central banks have been increasing gold reserves after many years of reducing them, now there seems to be a move towards repatriation of those reserves which are held in foreign vaults over concerns of possible confiscation ....

HSBC expects the platinum and palladium markets to move into supply deficits during 2012, underpinning prices.Analysts said auto, industrial and investment demand should improve during the year. Output from the mining sector is unlikely to maintain pace, the bank said.“Hence, we expect the supply/demand balance for both metals to move from a surplus into modest deficits, propelling prices higher,” HSBC said in a report issued Monday.

HSBC foresees the platinum market swinging to ....

Sturdy investment demand has pushed the silver price up 20 percent in the first ten weeks of 2012, outperforming platinum, palladium and gold during the period.Investors are increasingly acquiring silver in many forms.  Globally, silver-based exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) account for 586 million ounces (Moz) of silver, up from 576 Moz at the end of 2011.  Demand for physical silver bars is also strong.  According to several precious metals dealers silver bar sales continue to be brisk....