William Rees-Mogg: In crisis never forget value of gold

The dollar is simply a piece of paper. Gold is a much better store of value and is the best insurance against future shocks

By William Rees-Mogg
The Times, London
Monday, February 16, 2009

Last week was a bad one for bank shares; after the HBOS L8.5 billion loss, Lloyds shares fell by a third and other bank shares fell as well. Yet it was a very good week for the gold price, which closed on Friday at $935 an ounce, after reaching what was nearly a seven-month high of $953.30 on Wednesday.