Sold part of his stake in Highland Gold, a U.K. mining company with operations in Russia, to two of his business partners.

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But Wednesday, the U.K.'s Bradley Wiggins scored a gold medal in the cycling time trial, just hours after rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won Britain's first gold of the Games.

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M. gold fixing Monday due to a U.K. holiday.

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The U.K.'s cradle-to-grave national health service is a gold mine of medical data, encompassing everything from prescriptions to cancer outcomes.

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U.K. bullion dealer Sharps Pixley, in a research note, pointed out that gold and equities also diverged the last time there was a major fiscal stand-off in Washington.

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Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon in the U.K., also said he expects to see a weaker U.S. dollar, which will help boost gold prices.

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