Stock and Metals Chart Updates - God Bless the Child

Here are the stock and precious metals charts updated as of about 3:15 EDT.

There was some information about the precious metals trusts and funds earlier today.

I am a little bit distracted and keep misplacing my wallet and my book of parking coupons for hospital etc.  My son gets a kick out of that.  So please forgive any typos as I am on the run as they say.  Things are improving and I am making plans for the rehab center hopefully in a few days.

The economic news this morning, both PPI and Retail Sales was lousy.

Supposedly it was risk on, and stocks were in rally mode, because of the results that JPM showed this morning, raising expectations for the financial sector.

The sector inhabited by the public, not so much.

Off to the hospital. I have an in-patient rehab center picked out and arranged when the most precious jewel is able to be transferred. She will be coming out of the ICU tomorrow. This last go round has taught me to take it one day at a time.

In case you were wondering the rescue dog Dolly has blended in quite well, and is now a member of the family. She is well over her insecurity and is in the process of training us to do her bidding.

Have a pleasant evening.

NAV Premiums of Certain Precious Metal Trusts and Funds

It looks like we have had some notable changes in the closed end trusts and funds since February.  I include both the current and the previous charts of these instruments below.

The first thing that I looked at is the drawdown in gold bullion at the Sprott Physical Gold Trust that has occurred since February of about 57,702 troy ounces.  I think it is probably due to redemptions rather than fund sales because the cash level of the Trust is a workable but relatively modest $1,870,00, down from about $3,345,000.  As you may recall Sprott completed the acquisition of the Central Gold Trust (GTU) in January of this year.

As I have noted several times before, most of the funds and trusts that allow for bullion redemptions have been seeing outflows of gold bullion for some time now, as gold has been moving from West to East.  We have seen some 'inflows' into the big ETF for gold of GLD and a few others like that this year as gold rallied off a bottom.  But I do not quite view the gold in GLD on the same level as some of these closed end funds because of its relative volatility and the nature of its sub-custodial relationships.

Perhaps it is just some perspective bias on my part.  I trust few completely, but then some less than others.  And GLD falls into that category of unease because of their structure of custodianship.  I believe there may be undisclosed counterparty risk, which is not as much of a consideration for short term trading, but of more concern, like the CME was for Kyle Bass as a fiduciary for example, in the kinds of scenarios when gold is held as a long term asset held for 'insurance' against financial dislocations.

The Central Fund of Canada has still not addressed its cash situation, with the current cash assets shown as a negative $1,539,263 (1,539,264), down from a modest positive cash position of $173,805 in February.  I have to admit I was a little surprised to see that.  The bullion levels remain the same.  Typically the Fund does a shelf offering of additional shares to raise cash and add to bullion levels.  Or it is acquired as was its sister the Central Gold Trust.

And Sprott Silver has gained quite some silver bullion from its recent follow on offering and raised a substantial amount of cash.  I estimate their cash assets position at around $15,167,600, which is a notable increase over their cash of $1,779,270 which it had in February.  And the silver bullion in the fund has increased from 48,788,515 to 52,483,526 troy ounces.  The number of shares outstanding has also increased from 127,331,218 to 139,631,218 or roughly by 12,300,000.

Here is the press release on Sprott Silver's follow on unit offering which has just completed.

Interestingly enough the Sprott Silver Trust is showing a slightly negative premium to its NAV, as compared to a +2% premium in February.  I suspect this reflects some discouragement with regard to silver than to the trust itself.

The gold/silver ratio has fallen from 80+ to 76 which is still rather high historically.  I do think that there are some reasons for this, regarding the state of the 'free float' of gold bullion in London, with some side effects appearing elsewhere in NY and in some of the funds as mentioned.  Silver is tight but apparently not as much as gold.  Still, the central banks own little silver, and so supplying bullion for 'attitudinal and expectation adjustments' for the management of perception is not as readily available.  Excepting of course the large silver bullion stash that is being held by JPM, which seems to sometimes do heavy lifting for the Fed in the markets.

I get the sense that the Fed is caught in a credibility trap, and that they are managing a scenario of financial bubbles and busts that is highly counterproductive and the result of their group thinking and heavy bias to the wealthiest few and their banking system.   After all, the Fed is their creature whether we like to admit it or not, and the linkages and much used revolving door between Wall Street and the halls of power in this country is well established.  And as always, the enablers will speak nothing to power but what they wish to hear, and what they wish their courtiers to say to the rest of us, with a few notable exceptions.

I doubt very much that there will be a sustainable recovery in this country without serious and significant financial and political funding reforms.  And the established status quo, including the so called liberals who are captured by the system of privileged treatment and positioning itself, is dead set against it.

Thank you for all your kind words and messages.  I am hopeful that our Mary will transfer from hospital to an in-patient care rehabilitation facility for the weakness on her right side and for the 'fluent aphasia' in her speech.   Time will also be a great healer as the brain swelling subsides even more, but some targeted therapy looks to be necessary.  We all miss her and she misses us.  A home without a wife and mother is just a house, because she is its heart.

Here is the previous spreadsheet from February of this year.

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.