Greek savers rush for gold
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c986823e-9bf8-11e0-bef9-00144feabdc0.html(free registration required, to read 10 or so articles per month)
Greek citizens are emptying savings accounts and buying gold as they brace themselves for the possibility of a sovereign default and runs on the country’s banks.
Pledges by George Papandreou, the Socialist prime minister, that his government would “save the country” have been widely discounted by a cynical public. Parliament was expected to give his new government a vote of confidence late on Tuesday night. The socialists have a six-seat majority in the 300-member house.
Sales of gold coins have soared as savers seek a safer and fungible source of value. “When the global financial crisis started, our sales of coins to investors overtook bullion for the first time,” said Harry Krinakis, at Sepheriades, a Greek precious metals trader. “Now the sales ratio has reached five to one.”
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