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Suspect in custody. Officers sweeping the area. Stand by for further info.

— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 20, 2013

With stocks short-term oversold it certainly wasn’t much of a surprise that options expiration Friday could manipulate volume and performance. Da Boyz in the options pits (mostly electronic now) were hunting down strike prices to exercise existing options as they can. It’s a technical event with an outcome that surely can mislead Main Street.

BREAKING: Source says bomb suspect pinned down in Watertown

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) April 19, 2013

It was reported previously that police were on the hunt for a Honda CRV, allegedly a car belonging to a potential Boston suspect. Shortly thereafter the car was found, but not the suspect. However, we wonder if the Boston police and the Feds, still looking for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who by now has likely left the immediate crime scene, are aware that the suspect had what appears to be another car, a new, black Chevrolet Camaro, Mass license plate 649VC8, one which we have found on the suspect's twitter stream about he was boasting as recently as March 15th, and which we have not seen mentioned in either the mainstream or fringe press yet.

@therealabdul_ boston marathon isn't a good place to smoke tho

— Jahar (@J_tsar) August 10, 2012

Government mints, bullion refineries and dealers around the world report a dramatic increase in demand for coins and bars.

Bullion refiner, MKS said that “physical demand is extraordinary.”

In terms of transactions, gold buyers outnumbered sellers by a ratio of nearly five to one yesterday. In terms of volume, gold buyers outnumbered sellers by a ratio of nearly nine to one yesterday. Meaning that there were more buyers than sellers and buyers were placing larger orders than those selling and this trend has continued today.

U.S. gold coins sales have been at record levels this week. Lower prices and the tragic events in Boston may have contributed to increased buying due to concerns about the risk of terrorist attacks.

Premiums are rising in Europe and the U.S. and there are delays of a few weeks on some smaller coins and bars showing the growing tightness in the market.

Here is Part 2 of my article “The Argument of Bitcoins v. Gold Laid to Rest, originally released at my blog, www.theundergroundinvestor.com on April 9, 2013. Yes, money that is real and tangible is really better than money that is just a digital valuation backed by air.

The streets of Buenos Aires are full of revolting Argentinians this evening as they protest President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's (CFdK) plans to 'increase' state control of the court system. CFdK's proposal looks to limit the judicial system's ability to bring actions against the state, as Bloomberg reports, leaving citizens and companies unprotected against state actions affecting their finance or assets (i.e. mass nationalization or confiscation). As the images below show, the people are angry, exclaiming "No to impunity." CFdK's actions follow previous attempts to take action against companies have failed or taken too long; but acting behind a facade of "increasing democracy and transparency," it appears her intent is clear as the bankrupt nation struggles on. "The reform will do great damage," warned one business leader, adding that limiting these injunctions, "undermines individual's rights and freedom."

Government On the Verge - Yet Again - of Doing Something Which Causes More Harm Than Good

Perhaps the best video capturing the terror, chaos, and confusion in Boston, comes from twitter user @stevesilva.

Update from Bloomberg: Boston Police says no suspects are in custody. Could it be that even the venerable NYPost got something wrong? Or is the Boston PD merely making a distinction between someone in custody (i.e., arrested) and someone guarded as a possible suspect? We should find out soon.

Just a brief blurb at the NY Post for now (which may have been overzealous in reporting the number of casualties earlier) but for what it's worth:

• Authorities ID'd a suspect in marathon bombings - he is being guarded in Boston hospital.
  
• Authorities have a identified a suspect, who is currently being guarded in a Boston hospital with shrapnel wounds.

Unclear how much credibility to assign to this, but that's what is being reported. We will provide more info if and when we see it. Some more via twitter, where we learn that according to CBSNews, police have surveillance video a person bringing multiple backpacks into the area 20 or so minutes before the explosions. The NY Post has released more, such as the nationality of the suspect: Saudi.

North Korea's daily war bluffs may be (rightfully) ignored by the market, but an unexpected and tragic development comes out of Boston, where local media reports of two explosions and numerous injuries:

AT LEAST 12 INJURED IN BOSTON MARATHON BLAST: BOSTON HERALD
BOSTON BLAST SEEM CENTERED IN `TRASH CAN': BOSTON HERALD
CNN CITES SOURCE ON REPORTS OF DEVICE AT BOSTON MANDARIN HOTEL
AT LEAST 3 DEAD AT BOSTON MARATHON, FOX NEWS CITES SOURCE
BOSTON POLICE SAY "SECONDARY DEVICES" ARE STILL BEING FOUND

Friday saw panic selling in gold as the metal broke $1,500 in a free-fall move. Is this a sign of “risk on” or something more sinister? Perhaps Cyprus is a major seller or there’s a large margin call somewhere. Some even assert some countries with debt problems are selling gold to raise capital to finance their country’s needs.

• Obama to report to his bosses today: Obama Meets With Blankfein, Dimon and Moynihan Today (BBG)
• 2007 is here all over again: Seeking Relief, Banks Shift Risk to Murkier Corners (NYT)
• Kuroda Calls BOJ Inflation Target 'Flexible' (WSJ)
• Lagarde warns over three-speed world (FT)
• N. Korea’s Retro Propaganda Calls U.S. Boiled Pumpkin (BBG)
• Luxembourg To Ease Bank Secrecy Rule, Share Data In 2015 (BBG)
• Bank of Korea Keeps Policy Steady (WSJ)
• BOE Stimulus Dilemma Persists as Inflation Seen Higher (BBG)
• EU Sounds Alarm on Spain (WSJ)
• Qatar gives Egypt $3bn aid package (FT)
• RBNZ Says Deposit Insurance May Increase Risk of Bank Failure (BBG)
• Plosser Calls for Reducing QE Pace Citing Gains in Labor Market (BBG)
• Obama budget aims to kick start deficit-reduction talks (Reuters)

Soros’ yen “avalanche” would appear to have begun with the yen having fallen by 9.5% against gold in 5 trading days since last Thursday leading to record nominal highs in the yen at over 0.1577 million yen per ounce this morning.

The higher gold prices have led to a curious anomaly in Japan where the public has again been selling gold in cash for gold schemes, often due to being under financial pressure, while some Japanese investors and savers have diversified into gold coins and bars both of which have seen an increase in demand in recent days.