Nathan Rothschild, a wealthy banker, was eager to learn the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo as soon as possible. He had a network of agents and couriers spread throughout Europe and paid them to bring him news of the battle as quickly as possible.
On the evening of June 18, 1815, the day of the battle, a Rothschild agent arrived in Brussels with news that Napoleon had been defeated.
Rothschild immediately sent a carrier pigeon to London with the news.
The pigeon arrived in London on the morning of June 19, just hours before the official news of the victory came.
Rothschild used this inside knowledge to buy stocks in companies that would benefit from a British victory, making a huge profit.
The advantage of the story is that Rothschild was able to profit from the Battle of Waterloo before anyone else knew the outcome.
He could do this because he had a network of agents and couriers spread throughout Europe and was willing to pay them for timely information.
The Insiders Know what is Coming
Central bank demand continues to dominate the gold market. It could be a significant factor in why the precious metal continues to hold critical long-term support levels in the face of rising bond yields and persistent U.S. dollar strength.
The World Gold Council reported Wednesday that central banks bought 77 tonnes of gold in August, an increase of 38% compared to July's purchases. The WGC noted that central banks have bought 219 tonnes of gold during the last three months.
The analysts said that central bank demand is on course to see healthy demand for the year.
"This recent buying suggests that we have now firmly moved past the net selling we saw in April and May, which was primarily driven by heavy, non-strategic selling from Turkey," said Krishan Gopaul, senior analyst at the WGC, in the report. "We are therefore confident that the long-term trend of healthy central bank demand remains in place."
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