The total sold is not serious. It can be absorbed, but the perception that other banks may sell and the fact central banks have diminished their commitments to gold is the bearish factor and it is a serious bearish factor.

The market's going to go lower. Ultimately it will stabilize and then we can begin to see some sort of firming. But at this stage the outlook is extremely bleak because when Australia, a country that is a major producer, comes into the market and sells, that raises some unease.

Palladium is used a lot for electronic purposes -- new usages now that are in the high-tech area. So it has that kind of a very substantive future.

Like to hear a vampire folk tale?" Sarasti asked.

"Vampires have folk tales?"

He took it for a yes. "A laser is assigned to find the darkness. Since it lives in a room without doors, or windows, or any other source of light, it thinks this will be easy. But everywhere it turns it sees brightness. Every wall, every piece of furniture it points at is brightly lit. Eventually it concludes there is no darkness, that light is everywhere.

Perception does not define who we are, but it does define where we are limited, and where we are not yet free.

There's this perception that we don't like playing with (Iverson) or something, and that's not the case. I still can't figure out how he can miss that many days and come back and play like that.