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Something strange has been happening in the gold market. Europe looks to be bailing out of the metal...

Something strange has been happening in the gold market. Europe looks to be bailing out of the metal as gold prices soar and politicians squabble with central bankers over how to make use of the proceeds. In France, the new finance minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, is arguing for the Bank of France to sell some of its gold. A 100 metric tons of gold is worth about e1bn ($1.2bn), which would yield e35m-e40m a year if the proceeds from the gold's sale were invested in assets earning interest, Sarkozy told lawmakers in France's lower house of parliament earlier this month. The bank's governor, Ch...