With a potentially tumultous weekend coming - let alone, next Wednesday's FOMC meeting, when "Whirlybird Janet" will be under signficant pressure to "pause" the taper - PM's have surged to their highest levels of the year. The Crimean referendum takes place Sunday, and it's a fait accompli that it will vote to secede from the Ukraine and join Russia. The U.S. has made it clear this is not acceptable, so the odds of a military confrontation are sky high.

Well, it appears that "Operation Ukraine Whitewash" has been a modest success; in that despite the crisis clearly escalating, global financial markets are all higher. Gold, too, is higher, but just by 1.5% since the weekend; which all things considered, is pretty good given that prices are typically ATTACKED when PM-bullish news like this emerges.

Well, it should be no surprise in the least that after maniacally capping gold and silver at their new "lines in the sand" at $1,330/oz and $22/oz, respectively, for the past week, they went into hyperdrive this morning - just a day after the strong March COMEX options closes, and three days before their respective "first notice days." Given exploding physical demand, including just 648,000 ounces of registered gold inventory, of which close to 500,000 are already spoken for, did anyone expect the Cartel to act any different than always?

Plunging economic data in China, Japan, Europe, and the States is making their job difficult; and given the broadening scope of potential "black swans" - such as the war in Ukraine that is causing the Russian Ruble to plunge to an all-time low; it's only a matter of time before the Cartel loses control, PM prices soar, and supply dries up - perhaps, permanently.