"The narcissistic orientation is one in which one experiences as real only that which exists within oneself, while the phenomena in the outside world have no reality in themselves, but are experienced only from the viewpoint of their being useful or dangerous to one.
The opposite pole to narcissism is objectivity; it is the faculty to see other people and things as they are, objectively, and to be able to separate this objective picture from a picture which is formed by one's desires and fears."
Erich Fromm
"Self-love for ever creeps out, like a snake, to sting anything which happens to stumble upon it."
George Gordon Lord Byron
"Narcissists gravitate towards professions where they can control people and elicit adulation. They are more likely to work in politics, finance or medicine than in shoemaking... They are aware of what they are doing to others— but they do not care.”
Sam Vaknin
People, ordinary people, cannot understand, or fully comprehend, the minds of those that flourish on Wall Street. Enough is never enough for those whose appetites for more are not driven by ordinary needs.
And this is why people must combine to regulate the activities and markets that serve society. People are not necessarily good or rational. They are sometimes pathological.
While the variety in human character is what often creates art and music, philosophy and the more enjoyable and diverting aspects of life, it can also take a dark turn towards some of the most destructive excesses, if it continues unrestrained.
Stocks took off higher in the afternoon on a news report from Dow Jones that the EU's Jean Claude Juncker had struck a trade deal with Trump by making some 'concessions.' On the announcement of a press conference, with thirty minutes to go, stocks went vertical in a major short squeeze and relief rally.
And so we await that big news.
After the bell Facebook missed on the topline, and the stock was down on that news.
Gold and silver were higher on a lower Dollar. It is not necessary for them to trade in inverse correlation with the Dollar, but they sometimes do for periods of time, and they are doing so now.
Postscript: Trumpolini was pleased to announce that the EU is apparently agreeing to buy more soybeans and liquefied natural gas from the States. The two entities will continue working towards eliminating tariffs on non-automotive products. As for autos, well, we shall see.
Need little, want less, love more. For those that abide in love abide in God, and God in them.
Have a pleasant evening.
