Gold prices end slightly lower but set for quarterly gain of nearly 7%. U.S. stocks ended higher, boosted by hopes of monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank. Gold last traded at $1,283 an ounce. Silver at $19.75 an ounce.

On the final day of the first quarter, gold is up about 7% year to date; despite recent corrections. An array of economic reports due out this week should have an impact on the financial markets going forward.

The first such report came out this morning. Though overshadowed by the Obamacare deadline, it showed more indications of a stagnating economy.

A gauge of Chicago-area businesses tumbled in March, hitting the lowest level since August, with drops in new orders and employment. The Chicago purchasing-managers index fell to 55.9 in March, down 3.9 points from February. Economists surveyed had expected a March index reading of 60.

Speaking of Chicago, Fed Chair Janet Yellen was speaking at a conference there this morning and her remarks sent some new signals on possible ongoing Fed monetary policy.

She said the recovery still feels like a recession to many Americans, which is why the central bank will keep its “extraordinary” support for the economy for “some time to come.” This contradicts much of what she has said in the past several weeks, particularly on Capitol Hill before Congress when she has boasted of the success of the Fed in fueling the recovery.

It’s no secret Americans have very little confidence in the economy and haven’t for months. Beyond the way Americans may “feel”, the actual economic statistics have sent mixed signals at best. This certainly doesn’t have the characteristics of a “recovering” economy. In fact, there is plenty to suggest – from business activity and employment numbers – that the momentum is headed in the opposite direction and compounding the US dollar’s problems.

The US economy is not the only world economy of concern for investors. China’s economy is moderating. However, China’s appetite for gold remains robust.

Withdrawals out of the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) in the first quarter of 2014 are close to global new gold production. Sales have totaled 532 tons suggesting an annual total of 2,305 tons should this level of sales continue throughout the year.

Finally, Michael Lewis, author of Liar’s Poker, a 1980s bestseller about excess and corruption in Salomon Brothers on Wall Street, is out with a new blockbuster book called Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt.

In the new book, Lewis maintains the US stock market is rigged by a few big traders using automated, ultra-fast computer programs.

“The United States stock market, the most iconic market in global capitalism, is rigged … by a combination of the stock exchanges, the big Wall Street banks and high-frequency traders,” he said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.”

The victims, he said, are “everybody who has an investment in the stock market.”

“The insiders are able to move faster than you and play it against orders in ways you don’t understand,” Lewis said.

Not only are individual investors victimized by this activity but this program trading is a dangerous activity that can quickly spiral out of control. For instance, program trading played a major role in the October 1987 stock market crash when computer programs snowballed the downward momentum by triggering sell orders without human intervention. And those 1980s computer programs were slow compared to those of today.