Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Our Lady of Sorrows - Quad Witch Expiration Tomorrow

 

"The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Luke 2:33-35


"When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said, 'Woman, behold, your son.'  Then he said to his disciple, 'Behold, your mother.'  And from that moment the disciple took her into his home."

John 19:26-27


"When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  And Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

Luke 2:17-19


"And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head."

Revelation 12:1


“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to sift all of you like wheat.  But I have prayed that your own faith may not fail.  And once you have returned to faith, you must strengthen your brothers.”

Luke 22:31-32

The Dollar and VIX chopped sideways and were essentially unchanged.

The spokesmodels were talking up 'King Dollar' with pom-poms flashing.  Sis boom bah.

Stocks declined quite a bit but came back from the selling pressure in the last half hour.

Gold and silver were slammed.

What a surprise.

Tomorrow must be a major stock option expiration and rebalancing, aka a 'quad witch.'

Lawless, with little to no consequences.

Fedex withdrew their 2023 earnings forecast in an early announcement after the bell and was knocked down 11%.  Ouch.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - C'est la Guerre - Europe Roiled by 'Flash Crash'

 

"Citigroup Inc.’s London trading desk was behind a flash crash in Europe that sent shares across the continent tumbling after a sudden 8% decline in Swedish stocks.  The sell off was triggered by a large erroneous transaction made by the U.S. bank’s London trading desk, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information.  A knee-jerk selloff in OMX Stockholm 30 Index in five minutes wreaked havoc in bourses stretching from Paris to Warsaw toppling the main European index by as much as 3% and wiping out 300 billion euros at one point." 

Bloomberg, Citi’s London Trading Desk Behind Rare European ‘Flash Crash’, 2 May 2022

 

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." 

Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, Les Guêpes

 

"The market was thrown into confusion on 2 August 2004 when Citigroup pushed through EUR11 billion in paper sales in two minutes over the automated MTS platform.  As the value of futures contracts fell and traders moved to cover their positions, Citigroup re-entered the market and bought back about EUR4 billion of the paper at cheaper prices.  

The strategy was dubbed Dr Evil, after the Austin Powers character, in an internal e-mail circulated by the traders.  Immediately afterwards MTS moved to impose temporary limits on the value and volume any one dealer can push through the system at a time.  MTS also suspended Citigroup from trading on its bond network for one month after finding that the UK bank breached certain market regulations." 

Finextra, Citi bond traders indicted over 'Dr Evil' trade, 19 July 2007

 

"In a community where the primary concern is making money, one of the necessary rules is to live and let live.  To speak out against madness may be to ruin those who have succumbed to it.   So the wise in Wall Street are nearly always silent.  The foolish thus have the field to themselves.   None rebukes them." 

John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash of 1929 

 

Seriously, how can one expect a multi-billion dollar trading platform or its regulators to bother with safeguards and protections against sociopathic rogue traders or systemically critical 'typos.'   LOL

The watchdogs of the fourth estate was too busy swooning over the international cast attending the Michael Milken conference at the Beverly Hilton to be concerned about any of these market-busting, existential questions.

Stocks were slumping hard today, confirming those lower lows.

And then we saw a miraculous bounce in the afternoon to take them back to the green. 

Sounds like a bit of bottom dithering and then a bounce.

Who could have seen that coming?

Gold and silver were slammed today, ahead of the FOMC on Wednesday and the Non-Farm payrolls on Friday.  

 What a surprise.

Although silver bounced back a bit in sympathy with equities.

The dollar bounced back up to the higher 103 handle.

What will they think of next?

Below is an update to the market dislocation 'CrashTrak' model.  

As a reminder, major market dislocations are low probability events, even at this stage.  

And we are not looking at the number of times that the markets have traced this pattern, and it has not worked out to a major further decline.

The next two steps in this model are by far the most important.  So far this is just flirting with disaster.

And as always, we may recall that we are in the modern era of major market intervention with easy money.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - This Attractive But Deceitful World - Dr Evil Followed Up By Mini-Me

 

"The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans are the nation’s most egregious tax evaders, failing to pay as much as $163 billion in owed taxes per year, according to a new Treasury Department report released on Wednesday.

The analysis comes as the Biden administration is pushing lawmakers to embrace its ambitious proposal to invest in beefing up the Internal Revenue Service to narrow the 'tax gap,' which it estimates amounts to $7 trillion in unpaid taxes over a decade. 

The White House has proposed investing $80 billion in the tax collection agency over the next 10 years to hire more enforcement staff, overhaul its technology and usher in new information-reporting requirements that would give the government greater insight into tax evasion schemes.  The proposals have been met with deep skepticism from Republicans and business lobbyists." 

DNYUZ, The top 1 percent are evading $163 billion a year in taxes

 

"Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.  Moral values are in flux.  The muddy depths are being stirred by new monsters and witches from the deep.  Trolls walk the American night.  Caesars are stirring in the Forum.

To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil. "

Gore Vidal,  Comment, Esquire, July 1961

 

"But there is a sort of 'Ok guys, you're mad, but how are you going to stop me' mentality at the top." 

Robert Johnson, Audacious Oligarchy

 

Gold and silver were hit again today down to trend resistance, but managed to bounce back a bit into the close.

Not a Dr Evil class market swindle as we saw a week or so ago, but maybe a 'mini-me.'

Stocks were lower, even the storied big cap tech stocks.

The Dollar moved a little higher.

Again this looks like a very technical trade.

But we are entering what has proven historically to be a volatile season for stock bubbles.

Let's see what the rest of the week brings.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Because They Can, Without Meaningful Accountability

 

"Price discovery is not a sexy function of markets, but it is critical to the efficient allocation of scarce capital and resources, and to the preservation of the long term wealth of investors and the economy as a whole.   If price discovery is compromised by manipulation, then we will all be gradually impoverished and the economy will be imbalanced and unstable.

Over the past 25 years the forces of regulatory liberalisation and demutualisation of markets have allowed the largest global banks to set the rules, processes and infrastructure of global markets to their own self-interested requirements." 

London Banker, Lies, Damn Lies, and LIBOR 

 

"This is the Dr. Evil strategy, as so named by the US traders who got nailed pulling this baloney in the European bond market some years ago.  It is a massive dumping of contracts into a dull market for the purpose of gaming the price to achieve some objective." 

Jesse, 21 September 2018

 

"Most of them became wealthy by being well connected and crooked. And they are creating a society in which they can commit hugely damaging economic crimes with impunity, and in which only children of the wealthy have the opportunity to become successful. That’s what I have a problem with. And I think most people agree with me." 

Charles Ferguson, Predator Nation

 

"No lie can live forever." 

Thomas Carlyle

 

The data shows that about 24,000 gold futures contracts with a nominal value of 4 Billion in gold were dumped in the quiet overnight trading hours.

I wish we could be surprised by this, but it is an all too common event in US markets.  In all these years I have learned to trade around it and live with it.   But it is still discouraging to see this sort of thing so quietly tolerated.

There was no fundamental reason for this 'flash crash.'   But you would not have picked the details of this up from the facts-lite description of this by the Wall Street spokesmodels and bubblevision bobbleheads.

Europe has taken steps to curb this malicious practice by the Banks in their bond markets, limiting the amount of heedless selling (dumping) that can be done in short periods of time in quiet markets.

The US continues to tolerate this and other abuses of its markets.   It is particularly brazen in gold because it does not offend the powers that be in the Fed and Treasury, who look on it somewhat favorably.

Until this corruption is rooted out of its monopolized and under-regulated markets there can be no sustainable economic recovery in the US.

That's why we can't have nice things.   It's an oligarchy, dominated by rigged markets and monopolies, and paid-for politicians, so that a very few benefit the most, without a meaningful counterbalance and accountability.

And now back to your favorite distractions,  junk calls and spam emails, healthcare system landmines, demagogues, conflict entrepreneurs, and conmen.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

 

 

How the Banks and Hedge Funds Manipulate the Precious Metals Markets

 

"If price discovery is compromised by manipulation, then we will all be gradually impoverished and the economy will be imbalanced and unstable.   Over the past 25 years the forces of regulatory liberalisation and demutualisation of markets have allowed the largest global banks to set the rules, processes and infrastructure of global markets to their own self-interested requirements."

London Banker, Lies, Damn Lies, and LIBOR 

 

"American political corruption was the buying up of legislatures and assemblies to keep them from doing the people's will and protecting the people's interests; it was the exploiter entrenching himself in power, it was financial autocracy undermining and destroying political democracy.   By the blindness and greed of ruling classes the people have been plunged into infinite misery.

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” 

Upton Sinclair

 

"He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers."

Charles Peguy

 

When I write about 'running the stops' this is what I mean, as is explained in the video below.  They do it quite a bit in the metals markets, but also in the rest of them, including the bond markets.

There are commentators and sites that continue to excuse and cover up the corruption ongoing in the markets. 

You might be correct, given all the evidence, to be a bit skeptical if not suspicious of those professional scoffers, and the perennial promoters of unregulated 'free markets' in which powerful insiders have the ability to cheat and defraud the public at will.

The pity is that it still continues, along with quite a bit of additional antics and shenanigans.

Here is something I wrote back in 2009 about a particular event, which was called the Dr. Evil strategy by Citibank when the European regulators took them to task for running the stops in the European bond market. 

Ted Butler and many others have been doing good work citing and challenging this silver and gold market manipulation, for years.   Ted in particular has been writing the book on JPM and the silver market.

Bart Chilton passed away some years ago at age 58.   But Gary Gensler, his old boss, is now back again.   Will anything be done?

You can find the related pieces over time by clicking on the Dr. Evil topic here.

Here is Kyle Bass' opinion on the physical metals leverage in the Comex.  The video keeps getting taken down, but this copy remains.

And here is James Cramer's notorious description of how he manipulated the markets.

If you are trading with a online broker, do you notice how odd the price action has become when you place an order?

I do not seek to persuade you.  If you don't realize yet what is going on, it may be because you cannot.

I just feel an obligation to bring things like the video below into the light of day. 

Make up your own minds.

Or listen when the opinion molders say, 'nothing to see here move along,' and 'look look over there, people are trying to take your freedom by making you wear a mask.'

But if and when the physical markets blow up, as these highly leveraged schemes generally do, and no one could have seen it coming, and some outlandish rationale is advanced, you will know what happened, if you choose to see what has been there all along.

About These Most Recent Price 'Corrections' in the Gold Market

Here is some perspective.

First is a chart below of the three recent major price declines, bear attacks driven by concerted contract dumping by a bullion banks holding heavy short positions.   We know this by the volume of contracts being suddenly put forward on the 'sell side.'

And second is a comparison of the two major gold corrections from this year.

As you may recall the Spring 2019 gold correction resolved into a very brisk rally to the upside, as the shorts were squeezed by determined buying by large speculators.

Let's see how this latest price decline resolves.

And let us remember that eliminating and hobbling regulators does not result in freer markets and fairer price discovery, anymore than eliminating law enforcement would result in a safer and more orderly freeways, human nature being what it is, and what it is not.  Except in the propaganda put forward by the hirelings and mouthpieces of would be market manipuators and bankster serial felons.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - End of Quarter Boogie Woogie - Non-Farm Payrolls and Golden Week

"Price discovery is not a sexy function of markets, but it is critical to the efficient allocation of scarce capital and resources, and to the preservation of the long term wealth of investors and the economy as a whole.  If price discovery is compromised by manipulation, then we will all be gradually impoverished and the economy will be imbalanced and unstable.

Over the past 25 years the forces of regulatory liberalisation and demutualisation of markets have allowed the largest global banks to set the rules, processes and infrastructure of global markets to their own self-interested requirements."

London Banker, Lies, Damn Lies, and LIBOR


"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, Les Guêpes

Today was the end of the third quarter. As usual the paint was going on the tape again to make those end of quarter results look better, or at least less bad.

The big shorts in the gold and silver markets, primarily on the Comex, managed to continue the knockdown of the metals that began with the October option expiration last week. see the Dr Evil strategy for details about this.

'Golden Week', a seven day national holiday in China, begins on October 1. There markets are closed. This provides a good cover for the paper trading to be conducted without undue physical buying pressure. Although the rise and steady level of gold inventories in the Comex Hong Kong has been notable.

There was a huge amount of gold contracts changing hands on the Comex last Friday.   The big seller was customers at JPM and the house account at HSBC. I have included that clearing report below.

The big gold contract buyers were the house accounts at JPM, Goldman, Citi, and MacQuarie.  Presumably some of this was short covering.

I would imagine that the price smackdown today and the past few trading sessions will have knocked down the number of longs being held in both gold and silver.

The Dollar was up marginally, as were stocks, and the VIX drifted lower.

There will be a Non-Farm payrolls report on Friday.

I was closed out of the remaining trading position I had long gold in the opening minutes today, on a tight stop.  A good chunk of it went out on Friday.  I will be looking for a re-entry point.  Carefully.

My thoughts on the markets with regard to support and resistance levels are marked on the charts below.

Have a pleasant evening.