BANKING: The Golden Fleece

Like a gentleman's club, the International Monetary Fund has certain rules which members are expected to observe— even when no one is watching. One rule is that no members can sell gold above $35 an ounce. This is the Fund's way of trying to insure stable currencies and exchange rates among its members. Therefore, Fund members were outraged last week when one of the brethren chucked the rules.

South Africa announced that it would sell 100,000 ounces of 22-carat gold at $38.20 an ounce through the London brokers Mocatta & Goldsmid. (On the basis of 24-carat or "pure" gold, the Fund's...

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