NEW ORLEANS, La. -- An anti-trust lawsuit filed today accuses
Barrick Gold Corp., Toronto, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.,
New York City, of "unlawfully combining to actively manipulate
the price of gold" and making (US)$2 billion in short-selling
profits by suppressing the price of gold at the expense of
individual investors.

The suit was filed by Blanchard and Co. Inc. of New Orleans,
the largest retail dealer in physical gold in the United States,
and by Blanchard clients who bought gold bullion. Blanchard
(www.blanchardonline.com) is paying the costs of the suit,
which asks the federal court to terminate the trading
agreements between Barrick and J.P. Morgan Chase and
other, as yet unnamed bullion banks. Blanchard believes
its clients have suffered substantial losses as a result of
Barrick's and J.P. Morgan Chase's unlawful price
manipulation, anti-trust violations and unfair trade practices.

"Since the end of 1987, when the collaboration between
Barrick and J.