Central Banks Seen Retaining Gold to Help Manage Debt as Bullion Advances

``Central banks, net buyers of gold for the first time in a generation, are likely to retain their holdings even if they need to raise cash to counter an escalating debt crisis, according to Morgan Stanley. "Once they've sold, that's it, and buying back would be extremely expensive," Peter Richardson, chief metals economist at Morgan Stanley Australia Ltd., said in an interview. "They would rather have the backing of a rising asset within their reserve portfolios than use it to reduce debt." '' -- This is the sort of "gotcha" that proves gold is still money, and is the ultimate money. It is only us rubes on the street that they want to believe otherwise.