"History teaches us that the capacity of things to get worse is limitless."
Chalmers Johnson, Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic, 2007
"Gold is absolute objectivity. It is blind, like justice. It has no politics and ideology, no likes or dislikes, no friends or enemies. All it recognizes is its possessor, whom it serves faithfully as long as he has it. Indeed there can be no criterion, no other standard than gold. Yes, gold which never changes, which can be shaped into ingots, bars, coins, which has no nationality and which is eternally and universally accepted as the unalterable fiduciary value par excellence."
Charles de Gaulle
"Sacrifice and offering you did not want,
but my ears you have opened.
Burnt sacrifice and sin offerings you did not require,
so I said, 'Here I am, I have come,
I desire to do your will, my God;
for your law is written on my heart.'”
Psalm 40:7-8
"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. If you do not use the intelligence with which God endowed your mind to resist believing impossibilities, you will not be able to use the sense of injustice which God has planted in your heart to resist a command to do evil "
François-Marie Arouet Voltaire, Question sur les miracles, 1765
Although we do not look for it, and few expect it, the time for choosing is always upon us.
And judgement follows.
But distractions are abundant, and the rewards of lawlessness seem sweet.
Who will dare judge us? Have we not become the princes of all that we can see?
Today was a typical option expiration for the metals on the Comex. The test of the longs occurred yesterday, and after this morning it was taking profits and short-covering.
However, there will be an FOMC decision and press conference tomorrow, and the markets will be listening to what Joltin' Jay has to say, especially in regard to the new President's dictum for lower rates.
VIX fell.
The Dollar chopped.
More physical gold was drained out of the Hong Kong vaults, although they seem to be keeping up with it.
I used to pay more attention to the activity in the New York vaults, but they changed their reporting mechanisms somewhat radically a few years ago, in response to the observations that there was fairly little physical gold on hand.
Now it is almost impossible to determine what it is that they are holding that is genuine or merely paper.
Mission accomplished.
So let's see what happens tomorrow.
In the meantime, gold prices hit a record high in China.
At some point the call will come, and NY and London will be weighed, and found wanting.
Just as it happened in 1971.
Have a pleasant evening.
