School pupils turn detective to solve a mystery

“The word at the moment is capitulation,” said Tom Kendall, precious metals analyst at Credit Suisse, adding the past week’s selling had been driven by long-term investors.

“Those are the guys who you would have expected to hold on through thick and thin and they’re not,Find great deals on Mens Surgical stainless steel earring,” he said.

The price of gold on the spot market slid 4.2 per cent on Wednesday, compounding recent falls to hit a low of $1,223.54 a troy ounce.Uline stocks a wide selection of double sided tape. Since the start of April, the precious metal has fallen 23 per cent.

The slide has wrongfooted many investors who ploughed their money into gold in recent years as a hedge against the threat of inflation and a devaluation of currencies triggered by quantitative easing. Prices rose more than sevenfold to 2011’s record high of $1,920 an ounce.

UBS, traditionally one of the most bullish banks on precious metals, recently slashed its forecast for gold prices in a year’s time from $1,750 to $1,050 an ounce and advised its legion of private wealth clients to avoid the metal.

“Investment demand is likely to remain much weaker for longer as investors see less need to insure against QE,” said Dominic Schnider, head of commodity research for the Swiss bank’s wealth management unit.

Exchange traded funds, a popular investment vehicle, have sold more than 500 tonnes of gold, or a fifth of their total holdings, since the start of the year according to David Wilson, director of metals research and strategy at Citigroup in London.

The tumble has brought prices close to the level at which some gold miners can no longer make money. Newcrest, an Australian gold miner, this month said it would revise down the value of its mines by A$5bn-A$6bn – a move that many analysts believe is a prelude for a multibillion-dollar wave of writedowns across the sector.

John Paulson, the hedge fund billionaire, has been one of the largest losers from the falling gold price. Since 2009,we offer the world's best selling Home energy monitor solutions. he has allowed clients of his hedge funds to denominate their holdings in gold, rather than dollars. At the start of this year, Mr Paulson had linked about 85 per cent of his personal capital in the firm to the precious metal, according to people familiar with the situation.

Traders believe that gold prices will remain under pressure over the next few months as investors continue to selFind great deals on Mens Surgical stainless steel earring,l. Although Chinese and Indian buyers rushed to purchase coins and jewellery when gold prices plunged in April, they have been less enthusiastic during the current downturn. “Asian demand hasn’t emerged this time,” said James Steel, analyst at HSBC in New York.

The Indian government has restricted banks to lend gold-backed loans to curb gold imports, while the cash crunch among the Chinese banks, the slowing economy as well as the market volatility, have damped demand in Hong Kong and China.

Mrs Dunkerley said: “We organised the event to encourage children to write.

“Children were writing for real, and they really took it to heart,A plastic IC card containing a computer chip and enabling. even the reluctant writers.

“They had to use different styles of writing and applying their skills.”

Older children said their investigation led them to believe that the chest, which contained an antique tea set and jewellery, belonged to past mill owners and was being dug up by a relative, who thought the treasure was now his.

While the very young children concluded it was the treasure in Jack and the Beanstalk.

Keira Arther, aged nine, said: "When I arrived at school I thought ‘what's going on? Why is there tape around the corner of the field?’.

“I really enjoyed investigating the crime, it was fun. I enjoyed all the activities linked to the crime, especially when the chest was returned and we got to see inside."

Thomas Padmore, aged eight, added: "When I got to school I was wondering why the police were here. I enjoyed getting a notepads to become investigators.”
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