Financial Times repudiates explanation for removal of gold manipulation report

11:20a ET Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

In correspondence with GATA today the Financial Times repudiated its explanation to a subscriber last month that a report about gold market manipulation published by the newspaper February 24 was quickly removed from the newspaper's Internet site because it was "sensitive."

The FT report, its removal from the newspaper's Internet site, and the explanation first extracted from the newspaper's customer service office by an FT subscriber in the United Kingdom after months of effort were described in a GATA Dispatch on July 28:

http://www.gata.org/node/14262

The newspaper's repudiation today of its customer service office's explanation asserted only that the customer service office had been "misinformed." The repudiation did not explain why the story was removed from the FT's Internet site, stating only the obvious -- that the removal was "an editorial decision."

In correspondence with the FT today your secretary/treasurer has reiterated GATA's eagerness to assist the newspaper with an inquiry into gold market intervention by Western central banks, intervention GATA has been documenting for 15 years.

In fairness it must be noted that the FT is far from the only news organization to decline GATA's request to investigate central bank intervention in the gold market. Other news organizations to which GATA has supplied full documentation without result include Reuters, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, CNBC, CBS News and its "60 Minutes" program, Fox News, Der Spiegel, the London Telegraph, The Economist magazine, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the Toronto Globe and Mail, Business News Network in Canada, and Rolling Stone magazine.

Today's correspondence with the Financial Times is appended.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

* * *

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Dear Chris:

It was an editorial decision to remove this particular story. The customer services representative you spoke with was not close to the matter and was misinformed.

We have covered this topic extensively (below) and will be returning to it in the future.

Banks Aim to Have New Gold Fix Operational by Year-End:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/45434d32-172d-11e4-b0d7-00144feabdc0.html?site...

Time Called on the London Gold Fix:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f01a1806-0cfd-11e4-bf1e-00144feabdc0.html

British MPs Urge Watchdog to Probe Price-Rigging in Gold Market:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b8627b88-0208-11e4-9af7-00144feab7de.html

German Regulator Warns Deutsche Bank on Commodity Trading:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/70b0f3a8-f7a1-11e3-b2cf-00144feabdc0.html

Reform or Die: Gold Price Fix under Pressure:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e621d49e-f6e4-11e3-b271-00144feabdc0.html

The Gold Fix in Less than 60 Seconds (video):

http://video.ft.com/3629694218001/The-gold-fix-in-less-than-60-seconds/M...

World Gold Council to Explore Gold 'Fix' Reform:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5a22abb6-f6c2-11e3-8ed6-00144feabdc0.html

UK Regulator Steps Up Scrutiny of Precious Metals Derivatives:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fddc58f2-ed7f-11e3-8a1e-00144feabdc0.html

Trading to Influence Gold Price Fix Was 'Routine':

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7fd97990-eb08-11e3-9c8b-00144feabdc0.html

Historic Gold Fix Pricing System Criticised as Vulnerable:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/439ccb0e-e256-11e3-a829-00144feabdc0.html

Barclays Fined L26 Million for Trader's Gold Rigging:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/08cafa70-e24f-11e3-a829-00144feabdc0.html

Deutsche Resigns Gold and Silver Price-Fix Seats:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f00383f2-cfb3-11e3-a2b7-00144feabdc0.html

Gold: In Search of a New Standard:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e31b0f44-b0e5-11e3-bbd4-00144feab7de.html

Best wishes,

Kristina Eriksson, Head of Media Relations
Financial Times
1 Southwark Bridge, London

* * *

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Hi, Kristina:

Thanks for your latest. I'll be glad to quote your repudiation of the explanation given by the FT's customer service office to the FT subscriber, but please note:

1) Your repudiation is still not an explanation for the story's removal from the FT's Internet site.

2) The FT subscriber had to seek an explanation from the newspaper for months before being told that the story in question was "sensitive." That long delay certainly implies sensitivity, or else the newspaper's contempt for its subscriber.

3) None of your citations addresses the big issue here, the issue GATA has been pressing on the FT for 15 years -- that of surreptitious involvement and intervention in the gold market by Western central banks to suppress the gold price. This issue still seems to have received no attention from the FT, though so much documentation of it has been provided by GATA to the newspaper many times, sometimes even in person.

All that documentation remains archived here --

http://www.gata.org/taxonomy/term/21

-- and it is summarized here:

http://www.gata.org/taxonomy/term/23

Of course GATA remains ready to assist the FT's review of this issue, if the issue is not considered too sensitive by the newspaper. It is considered too sensitive by the governments involved, since they have refused to part voluntarily with much of the documentation. But I have been in the newspaper business myself here in the United States for almost 50 years and have found it good journalistic and civic practice to be suspicious about what government wants to hide.

With good wishes.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
7 Villa Louisa Road
Manchester, Connecticut 06043-7541
U.S.A.