Venezuela files claim for its gold reserves 1 1

[RWB]

From BBC:

23:28 19 May

Venezuela files claim for its gold reserves

Venezuela's central bank has made a legal claim to try to force the Bank of England to hand over €930m ($1bn; £820m) worth of gold it holds.

Venezuela, already suffering under US and British sanctions, says it wants to use the gold's value to tackle coronavirus.

Legal documents say the bank wants the transfer made "as a matter of urgency" to buy supplies like food and medicine. They say the bank has agreed to transfer the money directly to the United Nations to administer for that purpose.

Britain does not recognise [sic] the government of Nicolas Maduro as legitimate (saying his rival, Juan Guaido, won presidential elections).

The Bank of England acts as a gold custodian for a number of developing nations.

[World Colonial]

BOE and Britain never should have done what they did to start.

[Zebo]

Where are those Russian cargo planes when you need one?

[GoldFinger1969]

I believe that Venezuela is being sued for billions in expropriated assets.  They may not want to take delivery of these gold funds. 

Venezuela is the poster child for the failures of socialism.  Hundreds of billions of dollars in oil revenues never materialized because of Chavez and Maduro.  Basic necessities like food, medicine, diapers, and toilet paper not available.

What a disgrace.

[World Colonial]

Multiple considerations in effect here.

The basis of my prior comment is that both Britain and the BOE undermine their credibility  as an attractive investment destination by allowing US foreign policy to influence or dictate their decisions.  I can't see any other reason why they took this action.

As far expropriations, that was Venezuela's choice and they can suffer the consequences.  I personally think they deserve to be sued, within limits.  I believe US companies may be covered by the OPIC insurance, something which shouldn't even exist.  Those who invest should be aware of the risks they take and suffer the consequences when it doesn't work out.

Yes, socialism is a total economic failure.  But once again, the economy is much worse due to US foreign policy.  Venezuela's oil is a strategic asset with geopolitical implications which must not be under the control or influence of rivals.  If they didn't have the largest oil reserves, hardly anyone outside would care what happened in that country.

[GoldFinger1969]

What does U.S. foreign policy have to do with this decison, WC ?  The UK and BOE probably believe that Maduro, not democratically elected, may pilfer the gold funds.

VZ's oil reserves are a mirage.  They only have "the largest oil reserves" if oil is above $80/bbl.  It's a WEE BIT short of that right now.  

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by GoldFinger1969

[World Colonial]

47 minutes ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

What does U.S. foreign policy have to do with this decison, WC ?  The UK and BOE probably believe that Maduro, not democratically elected, may pilfer the gold funds.

 

Democracy is irrelevant to this topic.  There are many "allies" of both the US and Britain which have no elections  at all.  It's a matter of perception but there is limited if any evidence that either the US State Department or British Foreign Service pay more than lip service and neither do the elected leaders, for the most part.  It's a complicated subject, there are certainly different views within these governments or any agency but predominantly, this narrative is primarily for gullible public consumption.  It's a smokescreen to justify whatever they want to do.

Going back to my initial point since we are both getting off topic, why would foreign governments ever use the FRB or BOE to hold gold or currency reserves when both governments might invent some contrived reason to effectively confiscate it later?  A neutral country like Switzerland which has a better track record of respecting private property rights sounds like a much better option to me.

As for Venezuela's oil reserves, it won't stay below $80 forever.  Not even a factor in the longer term picture.

[Revenant]

10 hours ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

Hundreds of billions of dollars in oil revenues never materialized because of Chavez and Maduro....

Well… It was working out of a while. The problem they ran into is that when they seized those assets the Oil Companies still had (and they didn't) the knowledge to maintain those assets. Even if they still had the knowledge or know-how, you have to pay / spend a lot of money to maintain them in good working order. When things inevitably break you have to have left some of your profits set aside to fix them, or else there are no profits later.

[World Colonial]

4 minutes ago, Revenant said:

Well… It was working out of a while. The problem they ran into is that when they seized those assets the Oil Companies still had (and they didn't) the knowledge to maintain those assets. Even if they still had the knowledge or know-how, you have to pay / spend a lot of money to maintain them in good working order. When things inevitably break you have to have left some of your profits set aside to fix them, or else there are no profits later.

Typical of state owned enterprises generally, including oil companies.  PEMEX has had the same problem though Mexico's economy is a lot more diversified since NAFTA.

[GoldFinger1969]

Ultimately, these countries are 1-party corrupt states who milked the companies during the good times and then acted shocked when production and equipment fell off a cliff during the bad times.

Totally mismanaged.

 

[numisport]

On 5/20/2020 at 11:57 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

I believe that Venezuela is being sued for billions in expropriated assets.  They may not want to take delivery of these gold funds. 

Venezuela is the poster child for the failures of socialism.  Hundreds of billions of dollars in oil revenues never materialized because of Chavez and Maduro.  Basic necessities like food, medicine, diapers, and toilet paper not available.

What a disgrace.

Disgrace is a fitting description of any dictatorship in today's society. Also how about evil, dehumanizing, immoral and never-to-be-trusted.

[Henri Charriere]

On 5/23/2020 at 10:31 AM, numisport said:

Disgrace is a fitting description of any dictatorship in today's society. Also how about evil, dehumanizing, immoral and never-to-be-trusted.

[Old thread, late at nite, here goes... The "evil, dehumanizing and immoral" I can live with. It comes with the territory. But "never-to-be-trusted" is pushing things a little. Life in Iraq 🇮🇶 under Saddam Hussein was predictable and orderly. The fear palpable. 😨 When that "cork" was removed, all hell broke loose.  Some countries, primarily dictatorships, require an official murderer-in-charge to keep things under control. It took only a single historical event to set off the powder keg that quickly escalated into WWI.  Must give credit where credit is due. Human lives are always expendable. [Mother Nature with her hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes, is granted an exception under the "Acts of God" clause.] The important thing is to make sure the trains run on time.]

Note:  With the 🐓 man, you come to expect the unexpected: outrageous, biting commentary. And you get it. I never disappoint.   

[Oldhoopster]

On 8/11/2021 at 11:37 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

[..............

Note:  With the 🐓 man, you come to expect the unexpected: outrageous, biting commentary. And you get it. I never disappoint.   

Don't sell yourself short.  There are many times when you disappoint. 

 

Now this guy is the real 🐓 man

 

 

[Henri Charriere]

[The censors must have had the nite off.  Back on Track. Good to hear from you @Oldhoopster👍 Looks like we're back!  Appreciate the rooster 🐓!]

[GoldFinger1969]

On 8/12/2021 at 8:05 AM, Quintus Arrius said:

 Appreciate the rooster 🐓!]

The Rooster looks like AU-58....MAYBE MS62.  

[Henri Charriere]

On 8/12/2021 at 8:56 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

The Rooster looks like AU-58....MAYBE MS62.  

I agree 👍.