Family Sues U.S. Mint Over Rare Coins
By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA - A family is suing the U.S. Mint, saying it illegally seized 10 gold coins that are among the rarest and most valuable in the world that the family found among a dead relative's possessions.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, accuses the Mint of violating the Constitution and breaking federal forfeiture laws by refusing to return the 1933 "double eagle" coins to the family after it handed the coins over to have their authenticity confirmed.

Plaintiffs Joan S. Langbord and her sons, Roy and David, are seeking the immediate return of the coins, said their attorney, Barry H. Berke.

Defendants named in the suit include the Mint, the Treasury Department, and officials in those agencies.

A Mint spokesman declined to comment, saying that the Mint had not yet been officially served.

Double eagles were first struck in 1850. They are so named because they had a face value of $20, twice the amount of gold coins known as eagles.

The coins, which Mint officials have said are so rare that their value could not be calculated, feature a flying eagle on one side and a figure representing liberty on the other. There were 445,500 minted in 1933, but they were melted down before being released into circulation when President Franklin D. Roosevelt took the country off the gold standard.

A handful escaped, however. Two were deliberately set aside and are at the Smithsonian Institution. The Mint has said any others in existence were obtained illegally, but agreed after a lengthy court battle to allow one of the coins to be sold at auction in 2002 for $7.59 million _ the highest price ever paid for a coin _ after its owner agreed to split the proceeds with the Mint.

Langbord, who discovered the coins in 2003 in a safe deposit box belonging to her deceased father, longtime Philadelphia jeweler Israel Switt, was aware of that case and contacted the Mint to disclose the coins' existence and "attempt to reach an amicable resolution of any issues that might be raised," the lawsuit states.

She handed the coins over to the Mint to be authenticated, but the Mint refused to give them back, saying they must have been stolen from the Philadelphia Mint in the early 1930s because they had never been in circulation, according to the lawsuit.

Switt, who died in 1990, told Secret Service agents in 1944 that he had possessed and sold nine 1933 double eagles, according to the Mint. All were tracked down by the government and destroyed between 1944 and 1952.

"The Mint's lawless position is that by merely claiming the coins were somehow removed from the Mint unlawfully in the 1930s, they can take the Langbords' property without proving it in a court of law," Berke said.

The coins at the center of the lawsuit were briefly displayed this summer for an American Numismatic Association's convention in Denver. They have been secured at the U.S. Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Ky.

Pequot Case: "The Plot Grows Thicker"
An SEC official tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that the commission's probe into charges of insider trading by the hedge fund "smelled rotten."
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/8378450/c_8378659?f=home_todayinfinance

Gates, Schmidt Lead Stock Sales to Highest Since 1987 (Update1)

By Daniel Hauck

Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Stock sales by America's corporate chieftains exceeded purchases last month by the widest margin since 1987, suggesting they don't share the confidence of investors who sent the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a six-year high.

Re KRY:

«Venezuela to Boost Spending 30% on Basic Industries

Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela plans to boost spending on
basic industries, such as steel and mining, by 30 percent next
year as part of a plan to diversify the oil-dependent economy.
Spending is expected to rise to $1.95 billion in 2007 from
$1.5 billion this year, Deputy Basic Industries and Mining
Minister Gustavo Hernandez said in an interview with the state
Bolivarian news agency. The money will be divided among state
heavy industries holding company Corp. Venezolana de Guayana,
Compania Nacional de Industrias Basicas and the state mining
institute.
``With this kind of investment, we can reach the goal of
making Venezuela an industrial country by 2011,'' Hernandez told
the news agency.
Oil accounts for about 30 percent of Venezuela's $132
billion economy. President Hugo Chavez has said the South
American country needs to develop other industries besides
energy.
Venezolana de Guayana has 158 projects planned for next
year, Hernandez said, without giving details.«

I have read Mr Tait's report aon Income Trusts and it comes as no suprise that the apologetic piece is nothing more than an attempt by HB (BMO) to distance themselves from responsibility in selling these instruments to the broad retired seniors market without duty of care for their long term financial well-being. The tax arguments presented are a smoke screen that tries to hide the fact that very many of these products were the bundling of secondary ( to be kind ) assets that supposedly generated high yeids that were in fact disproportionately comprised of RETURN OF CAPITAL. When a resource is depleted and not replaced by new capital spending which hopefully would lead to new sources of revenue - the result is inevitable. Without the manipulation of market price created by HB&B by new capital inflows from new investors then revolving out the door to the earlier investors ( a Ponzi - like process ) a free market would have established a lower and lower valuation as resources depleted. Let's stop the discussion about taxation of trusts and focus on the real issue - the loss of capital by unsuspecting and unknowlegeable investors who were being hosed by HB&B, period. The government is trying to put a stop to it in the interest of not only it's citizens, but foreign investors who will be loathe to invest in Canada in the future when treated so shabbily by Canadian financial "institutions". I, for one, applaud the Canadian government for taking action.

U.S. Gold to list 8.85 million warrants Dec. 8

US Gold Corp (C:UXG)
Shares Issued 49,996,755
Last Close 12/6/2006 $5.86
Wednesday December 06 2006 - News Release

Mr. William Pass reports

U.S. GOLD WARRANTS TO BEGIN TRADING ON TSX TICKER SYMBOL: UXG.WT

U.S. Gold Corp.'s warrants, which were issued as part of the $75.15-million (U.S.) financing in February, 2006, will begin trading on Dec. 8 under the ticker symbol UXG.WT on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The warrants will trade in Canadian dollars.

U.S. Gold has 8,851,000 warrants outstanding with each whole warrant allowing an investor to purchase one common share of U.S. Gold at a price of $10 (U.S.) per share until Feb. 22, 2011.