Another reason for the gold an silver markets to be down. Cyprus said they are going to sell their gold and silver reserves to pay off some national debt. Italy, Spain, and Portugal are considering doing the same. Lots of gold and silver about to be dumped on the market by countries in a lot of debt. This drops the price. Now would be the time to buy. The stock market is being held up by the Federal Reserve (QE) buying stock to pump up the market. Of course, that only helps temporarily. When we crash within the next 2-3 years, gold and silver will go up. If I buy some, it will be the actual coins, not pieces of paper saying I have some. Texas and Utah are stockpiling gold and Utah has approved gold as a means of exchange. Eventually a lot of states will do this as an alternative to the dollar. Also, the Federal Reserve is buying $1 trillion in US bonds a year to keep the government afloat. China has a little over a trillion, so does Japan and various other countries. The Feds have the most. No one has ever audited the Federal Reserve completely. How much do they have? The Feds are nothing but a place for all the banks to pool their "resources" and control the money supply. Not really part of the Federal government. Chairman and board members are appointed by the government, but really, not the government.