Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - And a Nation's Capital Is Consumed

 

"When we are the victims of an illusion we do not feel it to be an illusion but a reality.  It is the same perhaps with evil.  Evil when we are in its power is not felt as evil but as a necessity, or even a duty.  As soon as we do evil, the evil appears as a sort of duty.  Once a certain class of people has been placed by the temporal and spiritual authorities outside the ranks of those whose life has value, then nothing comes more naturally to men than murder.  As soon as men know they that they can kill without fear of punishment or blame, they kill; or at least they encourage killers with approving smiles."

Simone Weil, La Pesanteur et la Grâce, 1947

"Wars do not usually result from just causes but from pretexts.  There probably never was a just cause why men should slaughter each other by wholesale, but there are such things as ambition, selfishness, folly, madness, in communities as in individuals, which become blind and bloodthirsty, not to be appeased save by havoc, and generally by the killing of somebody else than themselves."

William Tecumseh Sherman, address to Michigan Military Academy, 19 June 1879

"When a war breaks out, people say: 'It's too stupid; it can't last long.' But though a war may well be 'too stupid,' that doesn't prevent it from lasting. Foolishness has a knack of getting its way; as we should see if we were not always so much wrapped up in ourselves. In this respect our townsfolk were like everybody else, wrapped up in themselves; in other words they were exceptional humans: they did not believe in plagues.

A bubonic plague is not made to fit in a man's mind; therefore we tell ourselves that plagues are a mere bogey of the mind, a bad dream that will pass away.  But it doesn't always pass away and, from one bad dream to another, it is men who pass away, and the exceptional first of all, because they haven't taken their precautions.  'It's impossible that there could be a plague, because everyone knows that they have vanished from the West. We should not act as though half the town were threatened with death, because then it would be.' Yes, everyone knew that, except for the dead.

Our townsfolk were not more to blame than others; they forgot to be human, that was all, and thought that everything still was possible for them; which presupposed that plagues were impossible. They went on doing business, arranged for journeys, and formed views.  How could they have given a thought to anything like a plague, which rules out any future, cancels journeys, silences the exchange of views.  They fancied themselves free, and no one will ever be free so long as there are plagues."

Albert Camus, The Plague, 1947

"The banks engage in fraud for two reasons.  First, they profit from swindling the public.  Second, they can get away with it via a simple technique.  They buy off the regulators with promises of enormously lucrative jobs when they leave government service, and they buy off the politicians with huge direct and indirect campaign contributions [and lucrative insider trading - Jesse]."

Laurence Kotlikoff, When Banksters Buy Regulators and Prosecutors, Forbes, October 21, 2014

"Monetary and regulatory policy encourage asset bubbles to proliferate. Hot money seeks out the conscious mispricing of risk. Capital, in the form of both money and personal talent, increasingly flows into malinvestment and the gaming of markets. The productive economy languishes, left wanting for the lack of creative resources and attention. The bubble rises to unsustainable valuations and fails —  and a nation's capital is consumed."

Jesse, The Men Who Sold the World, 5 August 2019


Stocks sold off hard on this stock option expiration day, bouncing back a little into the close.

But they did set a lower low to confirm a failed rally.

Gold and silver were mugged again.  This should help the Banks with their bullion shortage problems.

VIX rose.

The Dollar moved a little higher.

Bitcoin held its ground with a little loss.

I don't think this is over,  since the war with Iran is not over.  And it is likely to get worse, despite rumors and gaslighting to the contrary.

Worst strategic mistake since Operation Barbarossa in the works.

I don't know what more I can say.

Need little, want less, and lover more.  For those who abide in God abide in love, and love in them. 

Have a pleasant weekend. 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Truth - And They Turned and Washed Their Hands of It

 

"Always struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons.  Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter.  As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love.

Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.  Always avoid violence.  If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos."

Martin Luther King, The Most Durable Power, 6 November 1956

"If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his neighbor, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a neighbor whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen."

1 John 4:20

"For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'  Then they will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'  Then he will answer, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'”

Matthew 25:42-45

“I am going to shock the ears of all who hear.  I will bring forth the things that I have proclaimed.  I will judge their house because they knew their sons have made themselves contemptible to me, and they did not try to restrain them.”

1 Samuel 3:11-13

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you live to serve your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies he speaks from his heart, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

John 8:43-44

"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind."

Hosea 8:7


In the end it's all about love, isn't it?  Whether you serve love with love, or serve something that savors of death.

Stocks were hammered today, in a brief moment of recognition by the markets of the collapsing global energy supply chains, likely taking much more with them as this mad war of aggression continues.

Nassim Taleb made a remarkable comparison today between this regional war in the Middle East and the 'Late Bronze Age Collapse' of 1177 BC.   

The preeminent scholar on the topic in my mind is Eric Cline, and there are a number of his lectures on the subject online in videos.  In short, something triggered the collapse of global supply chains and triggered lawlessness that took down most of the great Bronze age empires.

Gold and silver were hit hard, even as the Dollar took a dive back down to the low end 99 handle.

Must be an option expiration tomorrow.  And Comex precious metals options next Thursday the 26^th. 

VIX fell of course.

Bessent and the Treasury in conjunction with the NY Fed and some oligarchs are attempting keep up appearances, for whatever vain reasons by which they operate besides looting.

There are some who are joining them in their retreat into fantasy, pride and greed.

It is your decision if you wish to join them, and turn your backs to the truth.

Some of the biggest institutions and the finest of the elite are doing it. 

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Have a pleasant evening. 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - For What Has Been Hidden Will Be Revealed

 

"Hear this, you foolish and heartless people, who have eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear."

Jeremiah 5:21

"The illusions of extremists, of both the right and the left, are dangerous things, for the very reason that they often incline themselves to sacrifice the individual, and even surprisingly large groups of individuals and segments of society, for the 'greater good' of their extremes and their illusions.

The human being is remarkably clever and wonderfully self-deluding in choosing the things that they know are wrong, that they hide both from the world and themselves at first, that they excuse, wrap in exceptionalism, drape in personal exemption and necessity.   Evil is a choice, or more properly a long, gradual succession of choices.  The madness never sleeps, and is always looking for souls to devour.

Jesse, A Cruel Deception, 28 October 2022

"They have treated the suffering of my people carelessly, saying, ‘all is well’ when disaster looms on the horizon. They act shamefully, they commit terrible offenses; and yet they are not ashamed, and do not even know how to blush. They shall be found among those who are fallen."

Jeremiah 6:14-15

"Narcissists are unstable and go through repeated cycles of self-destruction, with other people usually paying the heft of the price.  They are aware of what they are doing to others — but they do not care.  Narcissists tend to be divisive, vindictive, confrontational, aggressive, hate-filled, raging, incoherent, judgment-impaired, and irrational."

Sam Vaknin, Malignant Self-Love, 2003

"For what has been hidden will be revealed, and concealed that will be made known. So take great care to how well you listen.”

Luke 8:17-18

The Fed did not change interest rates.  Powell shared the Fed's concern about the health of the economy. 

"The thing a good number of people on the committee are concerned about is the very, very low level of job creation.  If you adjust what has been the trend job creation over the past six months for what we think is the overstatement due to overcounting, effectively there is zero net job creation in the private sector."    Jerome Powell, Fed Chairman, 18 March 2026

Stocks slumped hard, and went out on the lows.

They may have trouble propping them up as they have been doing, because the attack by the US and Israel on the Iran natural gas fields is a serious escalation that will open the door to much greater destruction and harm to the global economy.

Gold and silver were hit hard again, and the Dollar rose back to the 100 level.

The lack of a flight to safety in gold is a little puzzling, but there are several possible scenarios at play here.  Time will let us know which one is correct.

Bitcoin was hit in the selloff and fell back to its intermediate trading range.

The possibility of a more serious market break in March is increasing.   And if this is not resolved, I will start looking at a setup for a much steeper decline, perhaps in September-October.

Madness.  And what has been hidden will be revealed.  

Have a pleasant evening. 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Simply Doing God's Will

 

“Among my people lurk the wicked, who like fowlers they set traps, but they are snares to catch people. Their homes are filled with treachery, like a cage filled with birds, and they have grown rich and powerful, fat and sleek.  There is no limit to their lawlessness.  They do not give justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.  'Should I not punish them for this?' says the Lord.  'Should I not set my judgement against such a nation?'"

Jeremiah 5:26-29

“The privileges of a few do not make common law.  To sin is human, to lay snares is diabolical.  They fill their houses with the plunder and losses of others, so that the saying of the philosophers may be fulfilled, 'Every rich man is unjust, or the heir of an unjust one.'"

Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah, 416 AD

"Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be. Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them. Without love deeds, even the greatest, count as nothing. Our Lord's love shines forth as much in the simplest of souls as it does in the most highly gifted, as long as there is no refusal of His grace."

Thérèse Martin de Lisieux, Histoire d'une âme, 1898

"The blessed John the Evangelist lived in Ephesus until extreme old age. His disciples could barely carry him to church and he could not muster the voice to speak many words. During individual gatherings he usually said nothing but, 'Little children, love one another.'

The disciples and brothers in attendance, annoyed because they always heard the same words, finally said, 'Teacher, why do you always say this?' He replied with a line worthy of John: 'Because it is the Lord's commandment, and if it alone is kept, it is sufficient.'"

Jerome, Commentary on Galatians, Bethlehem 386 AD

"Peter's feelings were hurt because Jesus asked him for a third time, ‘Do you love me?’  And Peter said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’  Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.  Verily, verily, I say to you, when you were young, you would gird yourself, and walk where you liked.  But when you are old, you will stretch out your your hands, and another will gird you, and carry you where you would not like to go.'  Then he said to him at last, ‘Follow me.’

John 21:17-19

“Thus Peter, as our Lord had prophesied, was “gird” by another, and “carried” out to die along the Aurelian Way, to a place hard by the gardens of Nero on the Vatican hill, where so many of his brethren had already suffered a cruel death.  At his own request he was crucified head downwards, as unworthy to suffer like his Master.”

Origen, Commentary on Genesis, Alexandria 229 AD

"Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; So that, at the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal."

Book of Common Prayer

"And we have come to know and to trust the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them."

1 John 4:16-17

FOMC interest rate decision tomorrow.

Option Expiration on Friday.

Stocks did their usual 'all is well' kabuki dance.

Gold and silver were bounced lower a bit.

And the Dollar slipped back to the mid 99 handle.

Bitcoin rose a little.

Slowly, slowly, the steady decline in the prevailing narrative is eroding the confidence and faith of all but the most ardent true believers.

A powerful line of storms moved through this area early last night, and as the high winds tend to knock down large trees of which there is an abundance here, we have not had electric power since 7 PM, and probably won't have it restored until later today.

It provided an opportunity for some reading by warmth and light of the fireplace. 

Have a pleasant evening.