Gold

When the U.S. was locked into a severe winter from December through February (heck, the East Coast is actually getting hammered again today) economic activity was squelched. All the things you can imagine working toward that suppression of activity indeed went on.

AFTER THE SHOW  contains a portion  from the Weekend Review (3.14.14)

We are all aware by now of the fact that the shrill dispute in the Ukraine/Crimea is driving gold prices higher. Today silver grabbed some of the same luster, after having had a rugged handful of sessions on a drop in industrial demand from China.

Are the Russians begging for a war with the E.U., U.S. and other industrialized societies? The massing of troops on the Ukrainian border, reported only mid-afternoon by  The New York Times seems to indicate the answer is "yes."

The worry of war in the Ukraine/Crimea region is not what is specifically on the minds of safe haven investors right now. This is not to say that war cannot beak out should either the Ukrainians or Russians lose their heads.