Gold bars are stacked on April 6 2009 at a plant of gold refiner and producer ArgorHeraeus in Mendrisio in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino While...
{"Image ImageDescription": "TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY HUI MIN NEO Gold bars are stacked on April 6, 2009 at a plant of gold refiner and producer Argor-Heraeus in Mendrisio, in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino. While the world grapples with the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, demand for the firm's watch and jewellery components business has slumped as Swiss and Italian watchmakers trim production. Meanwhile, investors are hoarding gold bars -- an age-old insurance in times of war or calamities -- sending demand for the group's bullion production soaring. To cope with the new balance of demand, Argor is shifting manpower from its semi-finished products division to gold production and is running day and night. With orders for gold bars piling up, delivery times now stretch to two months instead of 10 days.               AFP PHOTO / Sebastian Derungs (Photo credit should read SEBASTIAN DERUNGS/AFP via Getty Images)", "Image Copyright": "2010 AFP"}