Below is a comment from David Morgan, Silver-Investor.com and a rumor that is circulating:

October 10, 2008

The Markets are in free fall across the board, silver is off about 20% and gold is off 8%. Rumors are flying and it is difficult to determine truth from fiction, especially in such a fast moving market.

Rumors are even mentioning ... A world wide Stock Exchange and Banking "holiday" starting Sunday Oct 11, 2008.

I would not rule this out, in fact at some point the authorities might have to "pull the plug" and regroup. I am not saying it will happen, but certainly it could happen. The real question would remain -- would a closing of the markets stop the panic?

Although the gold and silver futures prices are getting creamed, the real market still has a much different pricing mechanism.