With gold ending last week below $800, silver well below $10 and platinum around $860 this has not been a good week for precious metals investors. And this is despite general markets which soared, plunged and soared again creating all kinds of investment nervousness on which precious metals are expected to thrive.

Thailand's fugitive ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison by the Thai Supreme Court.

In a landmark ruling, he was found to have violated conflict of interest rules in helping his wife buy land from a state agency at a knock-down price.