Gold StandardSterling hasn't been directly linked to gold for a long time, but Gordon Brown did sell (at a huge loss) half of the UK's gold reserve. By announcing that he was going to sell it ahead of the sale, the market tanked. This is due to the market knowing that the sudden influx of gold would drive the price down. Gordon Brown was not a financial genius and this fuck-up cost the UK a reported £2 billion....
(,
Thu 7 Jul 2011, 11:37,
archived)