"That certainly was nice to see today," Mr. Steel said.

"Zankel's first season is all over the place in a good way," Mr. Steel said recently.

Mr. Steel says that states don't do certain terrible things because they fear retaliation.

"We've got to explain where it came from," Mr. Steel said.

"I sat there for a year and watched this," Mr. Steel said.

Mr. Steel said that under the agreement, none of the defendants admitted wrongdoing.

Mr. Steel said a civil suit is likely.

A number of factors have contributed to gold's recent decline, Mr. Steel and other analysts said.

He is 43 years old, Mr. Steel said, and has a 21-year-old son.

Mr. Steel said he knew of about 50 such discrimination complaints over the last three years.