Gold & Other Precious Metals climb on Opening Day Trading


After some setbacks last week Gold, Silver, & Platinum are again at a bullish move on the opening day trading. Gold climb almost $10 at the first hour amid reports that financial giant AIG is about to receive another $30 billion stimulus from the Obama administration.

'I'm not affected by the sudden shift on the news, I still prefer gold over other investments." one investor said.

In local news, Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas filed with the Department of Justice charges of syndicated estafa involving P1 billion (one billion pesos) against Celso G. delos Angeles, Jr., and other officers of the Legacy Group and affiliated companies. Named as respondents for syndicated estafa defined and penalized under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Presidential Decree No. 1689 are the following:

Mr. Celso delos Angeles, Jr. (CDA)
Mr. Alexis Petralba, Consultant of Mr. Celso delos Angeles
Ms. Namnama Pasetes, Chief Finance Officer of Legacy Consolidated Plan, Inc. (LCPI)
Ms. Carolina Hinola, Chief Executive Officer of LCPI
Mr. Roy Hilario, President of Fusion Capital Corporation
Mr. Bruce Rafanan,Mr. Hilario’s assistant
Mr. Virgilio Odejar, President of Rural Bank of Paranaque
“John Doe’s and Jane Doe’s ”

The BSP also requested the DOJ that the respondents be included in the watchlist of the Bureau of Immigration.

The criminal schemes conceived and hatched by Mr. delos Angeles himself were used to swindle the public and to siphon funds from the Rural Bank of DARBCI, a rural bank with offices in General Santos City and Cebu City. The BSP said that while records as of 30 September 2008 indicate that RB DARBCI had P830 million in deposits raised from the public, its cash position was less than P1 million as of the same date.

The cases were filed as BSP’s investigations uncovered massive diversion of funds by said banks using fictitious loans. During the validation process, many of the bank’s borrowers denied having obtained loans from the closed banks while others admitted having signed blank documents in consideration of commission fees ranging from P10,000 to P15,000 for supposed loans amounting to millions of pesos. The BSP also discovered that falsified documents were used to support alleged loans. Public documents falsified included Mayor’s Permits and Department of Trade & Industry Registration Certificates. In effect, the fictitious loans were used to siphon money from the banks.

Meanwhile, authorities are on a lookout for a stolen monstrance made of silver and gold from the altar of the San Juan Bautista in Tiling village in Cauayan town in Negros Occidental. Local antique dealers are encouraged to report to authorities in case similar religious relics are being offered for sale.