Word: france
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...French dealt from strength. After 30 years of controls, the government restored freedom to the franc and, to the surprise of moneymen everywhere, abolished controls over gold as well. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Board reported a symptom of weakness: the nation's gold stock fell another $571 million last year, to $13.2 billion, the lowest level since...
...dropping all barriers to the import and export of francs and securities, and by ending restrictions against converting the franc into other currencies, De Gaulle's government aimed at raising France's relatively low standing as an international financial center. Frenchmen can now hold accounts in foreign banks, pay for hotel bills, purchases and apartments abroad with a French check. Though foreign investment and borrowing in France remain subject to some restrictions, foreigners can now freely acquire up to 20% of the capital of a French firm, invest in French stocks, buy French property...
Smugglers' Delight. All that will help Europe revive its money markets. Their present weakness not only helps to raise the cost of borrowing throughout Europe but indirectly contributes to a host of other problems, from industrial inefficiency to the technology gap. In freeing gold and the franc, De Gaulle also undercut the deeply ingrained instinct that has made France a nation of hoarders and smugglers. Restrictions on money leaving the country had sharpened the Gallic impulse to spirit cash into secret Swiss bank accounts or bury gold in gardens and mattresses. Les hirondelles, the friendly black marketeers, could scarcely...
...tumultuous 30 minutes every afternoon, traders mill around a closed-off corbeille on the Paris Bourse to buy and sell gold for French banks. Much of the activity centers on a hoary, 20-franc gold piece known as the Napoleon-and when the market opened last week, an unprecedented buying spree sent the Napoleon's price soaring to its highest level in 15 years. At 50.4 francs ($10.29), the coin was selling for a whopping 57% more than its gold content is worth at official world prices...
...appeal for the gold-hoarding French. As a result, perhaps one-eighth of the estimated $30 billion worth of privately held gold in the world is now in French hands. One reason is that many Frenchmen see gold as a hedge against the kind of devaluation that plagued the franc after World...