Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Slowly, Then All At Once - Customary Payroll Shenanigans

 

“When fascism came into power, most people were unprepared, both theoretically and practically.  They were unable to believe that man could exhibit such propensities for evil, such lust for power, such disregard for the rights of the weak, or such yearning for submission.   Only a few had been aware of the rumbling of the volcano preceding the outbreak.”

Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom


“Human nature being what it is, small loopholes are likely to be exploited until they become big ones, and big ones until they turn into financial disasters.”

Seth Klarman


"Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democracy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege."

Thomas Clement Douglas


"I am not so optimistic that this reform is possible, because there has in fact been a soft coup d'etat in the US, which now exists in a state of crony corporatism that wields enormous influence over the media and within the government.

Let's be clear about this, the oligarchs are flush with victory, and feel that they are firmly in control, able to subvert and direct any popular movement to the support of their own fascist ends and unslakable will to power.

This is the contempt in which they hold the majority of American people and the political process: the common people are easily led fools, and everyone else who is smart enough to know better has their price. And they would beggar every middle class voter in the US before they will voluntarily give up one dime of their ill gotten gains.

But my model says that the oligarchs will continue to press their advantages, being flushed with victory, until they provoke a strong reaction that frightens everyone, like a wake up call, and the tide then turns to genuine reform." 

Simon Johnson, The Quiet Coup


The Non-Farm Payrolls report came in much stronger than expected, which seemed to lock in the next Fed interest rate benchmark action at 75 basis points.

In what seems to be a new daily event, stocks spent the morning with losses and managed to go out with gains in the quiet trading of the afternoon. 

Such markets do not inspire calm confidence, lacking all conviction, and seem extraordinarily vulnerable to data shocks and exogenous events. 

Gold and silver were marginally.

The Dollar fell back a bit.

The VIX fell further towards its key moving average support.

In surprising news, the former PM of Japan, Shinzo Abe, was brutally assassinated in public during a campaign speech. 

Such are the times.

Stock market option expiration next Friday.

Physical inventories of gold in Hong Kong are rather low.

Have a pleasant evening.