Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - When Nations Go Mad

 

"The differences between us may go all the way down. They may be intending to make a clean sweep of traditional values and start with a new set. What I have called the trousered ape and the urban blockhead may be precisely the kind of man they really wish to produce."

C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man, 1943

"If history is what is recorded, then deep history is the sum of events which tend to be officially obscured or even suppressed in traditional books and media.  All these deep events have involved what I call the deep state, that part of the state which is not publicly accountable, and pursues its goals by means which will not be approved by a public examination."

Peter Dale Scott, 9/11, JFK, and War: Recurring Patterns, 2013

"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.  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

“In reading The History of Nations, we find that, like individuals, they have their whims and their peculiarities, their seasons of excitement and recklessness, when they care not what they do. We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it.”

Charles MacKay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, 1841


We are urged to say nothing untoward about our betters, the Übermensch, who find it their duty to enable and commit cruelty and murder en masse. 

We are further not in any way to make those of refined sensibilities who give themselves over to the beast, to the lust for blood, feel in any way uncomfortable.

Some days I just do not have the words, and so I will say only this. God is not mocked, and what a man sows, so shall he reap.  

Slowly perhaps, but inevitability.

Why don't you speak more plainly?

You cannot hear, because you will your ears closed shut, as your hearts have become hardened.

Stocks rallied again today, no doubt proving somehow that the mad King's tariff strategy is finding approval in the world, or at least in the part of it that counts.

Gold rebounded nicely after yesterday's smackdown.  Silver struggled a bit, as it was an option expiration day for them on the Comex.  But they recovered from it rather nicely by the close. 

Let's see if there is any follow up shenanigans tomorrow.

VIX fell, being suitably anesthetized by the powers of the exchange stabilizers.

Let's see what new madness tomorrow and the weekend bring.

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity."
W. B. Yeats

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - We Have Not Eyes To See the Lord

 

"We are slow to master the great truth, that Christ is, as it were, walking among us, and by His hand, or eye, or voice, bidding us follow Him.  We do not understand that His call is a thing which takes place now.  We think it took place in the Apostles' days; but we do not believe in it, we do not look out for it in our own case.  We have not eyes to see the Lord."

John Henry Newman, Divine Calls, Parochial Sermons 8,2

"Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.  And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.  He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?”

They stopped, looking downcast.  One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”  And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”  They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him.  But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place.

Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body.  They came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive.  Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are.  How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke. Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”  Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.  As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther.  But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”  So he went in to stay with them.  And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.  With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight."

Luke 24:13-31

"It will come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.  Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."

Acts 2:17


People hear things of importance, the true words of life, but vain and petty distractions crowd them from our minds.  And so we fall into a selective obedience to the Word that suits us.   The only way to protect ourselves is to keep the love of neighbor as yourself, as God loves them, in your hearts.  But pride is the poison of our souls, and a powerful temptation.

Donny and His Merry Banksters managed to trigger another major relief rally today, using false hopes, rumors, and innuendos to provide more opportunities for the bubble transfer of wealth.

And of course the rally flopped into the close, being constructed of vapors.

Gold was slammed in a major way, as the Dollar bounced.

Silver on the other hand had a remarkable rally.

Did I mention that there is a Comex option expiration tomorrow for the precious metals, in a contract month that is more important for silver than gold?

VIX declined a bit.

Things are unraveling slowly but in a steady, seemingly inexorable way.   

Nothing good will come of this, the persecution of truth and the willful murder of innocence, an abomination that makes desolation, that causes the hearts of many to grow cold and fall away.

May God have mercy on us.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - To Rise and Go Forward Again

 

"Today’s builders of Babel tell us that there is no room for losers, and that those who fall along the way are losers.  Theirs is the construction site of Hell.  God’s economy, on the other hand, does not kill, discard or crush.  It is lowly, faithful to the earth.  Your way, Jesus, is the way of the Beatitudes.  It does not crush, but cultivates, repairs and protects."

Jorge Mario Bergoglio Francis I, Way of the Cross III: Jesus Falls, 18 April 2025

"And with many other words Peter gave warnings, and pleaded with them saying, 'Save yourselves, from this corrupt and twisted generation.”

Acts 2:40

"Only the humble believe in Him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that He does wonders where people despair, that He takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous.  And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly. He loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak, and the broken."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is in the Manger, 1944

"And everywhere there is a depth of humanness and kindness, a forebearance for one another and a common sympathy that is all too rare in the hustle and bustle of life. There are the angels who help the disabled to make their visits for some meager payment, many of them from the Caribbean. It is interesting to speak with them and to hear their stories, and to learn about their families back home. And to thank them for what they are doing for 'the least of these.' In its sadness even such trials impart their beauty, and show the resilience of faith and creation."

Jesse, My Queen and Her Way of the Cross, 19 October 2013

"Babylon’s days are numbered.  Its time of destruction is coming."

Isaiah 13:22

"Remember, Lord, how the godless mock the law, and the lawless abuse your name.  Do not abandon the souls of doves to predators; or forget the lives of your poor, forever.  Remember your promise, for their darkened hearts are haunts of violence.  Do not let the oppressed be put to shame.   Let the poor and humble praise you."

Psalm 74:18-21


It was rally day for risk assets as the markets were cheered by 'progress' on tariff talks.

Uh huh.

The Dollar rallied back up a bit.

Gold and silver rose strongly overnight, but were smacked lower in the NY-London trading sessions.

There will be a precious metals futures option expiration on the Comex this Thursday the 24th.

VIX declined a bit.

Tesla announced two big misses after the bell.  The wiseguys are trying to defend it after hours.      

Economic news was a bit thin today.  

More coming out tomorrow.

The erosion of constitutional protections continues under assault.   

Profiles in moral cowardice, and going along to get along.

Decency and morality get shelved for the sake of power and money, brazenly and without shame.

The behaviour of our government could not make this more clear. It's a trend in the West.

We've heard this tune before.   It always ends in tears.

Have a pleasant evening.   

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Love of Most Will Grow Cold

 

"The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.

Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be happy if a thousand conditions were met. To some extent this is because our “technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very difficult to engender joy.

A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules.  Such an economy kills.

The world tells us to seek success, power and money: our God tells us to seek humility, service, and love. Prayer, humility, and charity toward all are essential in the Christian life; they are the way to holiness.

The most beautiful and natural expressions of joy which I have seen in my life were in poor people who had little to hold on to. I also think of the real joy shown by others who, even amid pressing professional obligations, were able to preserve, in detachment and simplicity, a heart full of faith.

Thanks solely to this encounter with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio Francis I, Evangelii Gaudium, 24 November 2013

"Christ is risen! These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life. Easter is the celebration of life! God created us for life and wants the human family to rise again! In his eyes, every life is precious! The life of a child in the mother’s womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.

What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants.

On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God.

There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others.

May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions. In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenseless civilians and attack schools, hospitals and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity."

Jose Mario Bergoglio Francis I, Urbi et Orbi, 23 April 2025


Truly if you do not have love in your hearts, you will not be able to remain standing in times of lawlessness and madness. 

Not standing, but instead falling away.

The devil prowls the earth like a roaring lion, seeking those whom he may devour.  1 Peter 5:8

Stocks were falling steadily today, with just a little bounce off the lows at the end.

There was remarkably little panic, and the VIX ticked only slightly upwards.

Gold rallied sharply, up over $100 to close at anew all time high.

Silver rebounded as well, but is being held back by its industrial correlations.

The risks in the economic and geopolitical orders remain elevated, and still underpriced.

The relentless rally in gold is trying to tell us something.   

Most are not listening.   To this and other messages and signs of the times.

And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of most grows cold.

Have a pleasant evening.