Shanghai Gold Exchange Withdrawals a Brisk 183 Tonnes of Gold Bullion for March

The Shanghai Gold Exchange reports that there were 183.242 tonnes of gold withdrawn during the month of March.

These charts are from Nick Laird at goldchartsrus.com.

Some Charts— And the Heart of the Matter Part II

Here are the current updates of the stock and precious metals charts.

Mary had some unexpected complications in the early hours.  A quick CAT scan revealed a brain hemorrhage and she immediately went to the surgery.  I was awakened about 7 AM by a call from the doctor saying that she was going in to the operating room.

He called back about two hours later and let me know that they were able to gently go back in and clear out the blood and a blood clot, and she is now in intensive care where she will be sedated to sleep for the day to keep her quiet, while they take measures to reduce the swelling deep in her brain and prevent a reoccurence.

He is optimistic but this obviously puts a dent in her recovery.  She was scheduled to be released today to come home, so I am very grateful that this happened while she was at hospital and not at home since delays add to the seriousness.

I did the past few days updates on the charts for something to occupy my mind while I was waiting for the call back, and just now updated them as of about noon.

I will probably not do a full update until later this week if then.  I am not looking at the markets very much.

Thank you for your good wishes and your prayers.

The Bizarre Economics of Tax Havens and Pirate Banking - James S. Henry

One can do many things that are not strictly 'illegal' when you are in a position to virtually write the laws and set up the system for your own personal benefit, and buy political and professional opinions with big money.

I think the current presidential election process is a great revealer of how aloof and self-serving the 'system' has become.

This is a talk from James S. Henry from 2013 in the Netherlands, before the massive leak of the 'Panama Papers.'

And Into the Heart of the Matter

Postscript at 6:30 PM: Out of surgery and in Recovery. I am waiting to see her. She will be on the way to the Intensive Care for the weekend.

And at 10:00 PM: Home again. My son and I visited with her in the ICU. She is exhibiting short term memory lapses and some little cognitive things but otherwise no problems that were not expected, and certainly none of the potential problems that one gets warned about when they go deeply into this area of the head. All these symptoms are normal after a brain trauma and will pass. Her face 'lit up' when she saw my son even through the fog of postoperative fuzziness.

And so I thank you all who expressed your thoughts and prayers and words of encouragement, and the many more who I know were thinking the same. I have to say this was an interesting two days.



Surgery in a few hours (2 PM start)

As you probably know by now in your own lives, when a real crisis comes you hurry about, getting information, making the financial and practical arrangements, dealing with the most pressing matters as they come, correcting the little mistakes that cause problems later, comforting and reassuring those who need it, informing those who are in confusion, and doing what you feel that must be done, finding the limits of your ability and then repeatedly pushing them into resistance and the unknown. And this is how our talents become skills.

And then at last, when what can be done is done, you retire to a quiet place, and perhaps a tear or two as there is no shame in this, since after all we are wholly human, and then say 'thy will be done.'

We do this all the time. This is what it means to be an adult, to be fully human. But it seems that only at certain times do we become aware of it, more acutely conscious of our roles in life as father and mother, husband and wife, loving child and capable professional, friends and lovers.

Always there are the angels, the unexpected people you encounter who have great hearts and helping kindness. And even in our distress, there are encounters when we too can help and comfort someone else in a similar situation. You see them in the waiting rooms, with their mothers and spouses and friends, and you in turn provide some relief and comfort for them. Suffering is a great humanizer and leveler. There is a fraternity of those who come to understand this; they see it in each other's eyes.

This is when we are most truly human, fully aware of our dependency and vulnerability and our true place in things, of who we really are: sinners, but attempting great things, moving forward in fear and trembling, as best as our lights may lead us.

Have a pleasant weekend.