I'm bored! It's time to start a new conspiracy theory.
Have anyone else ever wondered why the Fed values its "Gold Stock" at cost - only $11 billion, rather than at market - currently about $330 billion?
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h41/Current/
Could it be that in the context of a $4.457 trillion balance sheet, the loss of $11 billion (when it is discovered that the gold doesn't exit) will be easier to explain away?
Note to moderator: Yes, this probably does belong on the Humour Forum, but there is gold in the joke.