"Gold is being accumulated, by the wisest among us, as a safe haven asset to buffet the expected effects of a very ugly contraction, one that is man made in every respect. The dogs in the street look worried, and so they should be."
"The dogs in the Street look worried..."
Mark O’Byrne
"Signs of decreasing volume of industrial output are proliferating worldwide. FedEx and days ago DHL issue very negative outlooks. Maersk gloomy more than a year. Now, even inside US collapse in orders for big rigs to move containers. Trade in manufactures falling everywhere."
Dr. Harald Malmgren
“Hate obscures all distinctions.”
C.S. Lewis
"Intellectual freedom is essential -- freedom to obtain and distribute information, freedom for open-minded and unfearing debate and freedom from pressure by officialdom and prejudices. Such freedom of thought is the only guarantee against an infection of people by mass myths, which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, can be transformed into bloody dictatorship."
Andrei Sakharov
Stocks were once again wobbly, coming off the recent parabolic high which had narrowed to a few stocks of the FANG variety.
And they came off a lot harder after hours, as Netflix announced a big miss in subscriber growth for 2Q. The stock was promptly taken down over 10%. And this weighs on the high leverage that these few big cap tech bubble machines have on the SP and the NDX.
Gold is threatening to break out of its symmetrical triangle. When it does and confirms, it could run higher almost as easily it did in the last breakout which has resolved into the current chart formation.
And wonder of wonders, silver took and held the '16 handle' today. Sixteen handles. There is a stealth catch up rally going on there. Let's see if they can hold and extend it.
The IMF issued a report today that says that the US Dollar is overvalued. And it sank on that news. Perhaps this will give Trumpolini a little more leverage in arguing policy with Larry 'King Dollar' Kudlow.
I am not persuaded that the markets are going to resolve these recent moves into trends, given we have a stock option expiration dead ahead, but especially because of the FOMC meeting scheduled for July 30-31. Well, if something happens in the meanwhile they will resolve pretty quickly.
Every so often someone writes to me complaining that I do not show sufficient and proper respect for our politicians (and the pampered corporate princes if you can believe it). Yikes.
And, this just cracks me up, they are just dying to 'cancel their subscription' or 'withhold their donations' in punishment for my not catering to them, telling them what they want to hear, for not being sufficiently servile.
And well surprise, I don't have much regard for the powers that be these days. Have you noticed?
I think Trump is a classic NY City shyster from way back, a pathological liar, and nuts. The GOP are disgusting hypocrites and the shameless servants of the wealthiest few, and the DNC are untrustworthy rentboys for money and power who betray their base at every opportunity for Wall Street and Silicon Valley. They are highly credentialed 'professionals' who play a great game in feeling your pain but doing as little as possible. And the media are just stooges who take dictation for the deep state and the corporate powers.
So yeah, you might pick up a certain undercurrent of disgust, even revulsion, with the current situation and the lack of significant reform and regard for the common person. If that bothers you, get your financial information from some payrolled stooge and sycophant for the fat cats, and good luck with that.
I think we are in a bad spot, and don't see many bright lights on the horizon for the system internally. I think we are heading for another financial crash, and a lot of ugliness is going to be exposed when the latest bubble recedes.
As a reminder there will be a stock market option expiration for July on Friday.
Have a pleasant evening.
