In August, the country began allowing more banks to import and export gold, opening up the gold market to the institutions and their clients.

WSJ: China Buys In to Gold's Allure

With Russian exports doubling since 2000 and oil prices rising 58% in 2007 alone, Russian export revenues and gold and currency reserves are at an all-time high.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: In Russia, a landslide to tyranny

With help from another rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo, the Ugandans control the northern swathe of the country and are boosting their national income with the export of Congolese diamonds, gold and coffee.

ECONOMIST: War and peace in Congo | The

The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice - which represent nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in commodity prices.

FORBES: Guyana

This battle is about to be re-enacted in the euro zone, where higher-cost countries have tied themselves to a new gold standard, in the form of the hyper-efficient German export machine.

ECONOMIST: The link between exchange rates and asset markets

Before Adam Smith were the Mercantilists, who wanted to export everything, import nothing, and accumulate the difference in gold.

FORBES: Synthetic CDOs: Where's The Love?

Not every Chinese citizen is in the position to export cash, so the next best tactic for the nervous is to buy gold, a refuge from plunging property prices and declining stock markets as well as an anticipated depreciation of their currency.

FORBES: Why Are the Chinese Buying Record Quantities of Gold?