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UK failed to measure huge imports of gold after Brexit vote
Oops! Experts' L6 Billion Blunder Sends UK Trade Deficit Soaring
By Philip Aldrick
The Times, London
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Britain's trade deficit with the rest of the world is L6 billion larger than previously thought -- and at a record high -- because the nation's beancounters made a mistake in their sums.
The Office for National Statistics yesterday admitted to a big "processing error" that meant it had miscalculated the value of everything that the country exports and imports for almost two years. For the three months to September, the correction catapulted the trade deficit from L11 billion to L17 billion, the worst since records began in 1955.
The error comes at a particularly sensitive time for the ONS and the trade series in particular, which is being watched closely for signs of an export revival after the fall in sterling since Brexit.
The Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility expect an improvement in the UK's trade to cushion the economic blow of voting to leave the European Union. However, the ONS's mistake appears to have masked a catastrophic collapse since June.
The problem was found in the collection of "non-monetary gold" data, which measures the amount of gold traded privately rather than used in jewellery. For every other quarter from the start of 2015, the corrected numbers improve the trade picture, suggesting that UK investors have been net sellers of gold. Since Brexit, the data shows that they have become large importers of the dollar-denominated asset in an apparent flight to safety. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/oops-experts-6bn-blunder-send...
Canadian Government Issues Key Water License
for Seabridge Gold's KSM Project in British Columbia
Company Announcement
Monday, November 21, 2016
TORONTO -- Seabridge Gold Inc. (TSX: SEA) (NYSE:SA) announced today it has received a license from the Government of Canada required for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the water storage facility and associated ancillary water works at its 100 percent-owned KSM Project in northwestern British Columbia.
The license, as authorized within the International Rivers Improvement Act, regulates all structures and activities situated on transboundary waters shared with the United States that have the potential to affect water quality and quantity. The Water storage facility and its ancillary water works (water diversion ditches and tunnels) are the primary water management control systems for the KSM Project. These facilities separate water that has not contacted mined material from so-called contact water originating from disturbed areas of the mine site and then contain the contact water prior to treatment and eventual release to the receiving environment.
These facilities are situated on Mitchell and Sulphurets creeks, tributaries of the transboundary Unuk River system that flows into Alaska. The license was granted for a term of 25 years under the International Rivers Improvements Regulations as administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. ...
... For the remainder of the announcement:
http://seabridgegold.net/News/Article/642/federal-government-issues-key-...
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