Will SEC fraud charge of Goldman and its banker cause greater awareness of hard asset benefits?

''Goldman Sachs is in talks over a potential settlement with an investor that claims that it lost money and went out of business after buying into a $1bn (€760,000) mortgage-backed security that was later privately criticised by a senior executive at the bank.

Timberwolf plummeted in value months after it was launched in March 2007, at a time when Goldman had already decided to cut its exposure to the housing market.

The talks are at a preliminary stage and there is no certainty they will lead to a settlement.

But the news will compound pressure on Goldman after a grilling of former and current executives by a Senate panel and scrutiny of its activities in the mortgage market in the run-up to the financial crisis. Earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against Goldman and one of its bankers, accusing them of misleading investors in a mortgage-backed collateralised debt obligation known as Abacus. Goldman and the banker, Fabrice Tourre, deny the charges.''