Banks play games with TARP money...."gold"en rule still golden

Bloomberg reports that "Citigroup Inc., targeted by lawmakers for paying $400 million to put its name on the New York Mets’ new ballpark, and seven other banks that received government funds may face questioning by Congress for spending $845 million on stadium sponsorships. Bank of America Corp., which like Citigroup received $45 billion in government funds, is paying $140 million to have its name on football’s Carolina Panthers stadium. JPMorgan Chase & Co., which received $25 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, is spending $66 million for branding Chase Field in Phoenix, home to baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Ohio Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich, who last week urged the Treasury department to cancel Citibank’s deal, called spending by banks for naming rights “frivolous” and said Feb. 3 that he plans to hold hearings. Companies that received TARP funds are under scrutiny as President Barack Obama and lawmakers respond to public outcry over executive bonuses and questionable expenditures."

Gold rose the most this week on speculation the global recession will boost demand for precious metals as a store of value. Silver also gained. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said yesterday gold will rise to $1,000 an ounce within three months, up 43 percent from the bank’s previous forecast. Investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, rose to a record 859.5 metric tons yesterday. Gold has rallied 34 percent after touching a 13-month low on Oct. 24. “Gold is telling you that all paper assets are suspect,” said Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago. “As the recession deepens, there’s significant flows into gold as an asset class or a currency that cannot vanish overnight.”...Bloomberg.