Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - FOMC, GDP, Non-Farm Payrolls and End of April

 

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

Gold and silver may be running quite a gauntlet this week, as we have an FOMC meeting, the first quarter US GDP, the end of the big April delivery, and a Non-Farm Payrolls report on Friday.

We are up to about 500,000 ounces claimed for the month as of last Friday, but if you were just looking at the Comex warehouse reports it would seem as though nothing has been happening.

Physical gold appears to be under some short term strain as backwardation makes its reappearance in the gold forwards on the LBMA as discussed by James Turk.

This means that someone is willing to pay money to borrow physical gold bars AND collateralize that loan with dollars. That implies that physical in hand is worth more the promise to deliver physical gold in the near future, which is backwardation.

The Comex is becoming a shell game of paper cups with a little bit of physical bullion hidden under it. This will end when the cardboard box on which it is based falls over.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Daily Wash and Rinse - Party LIke It's 1987

"Sometimes you just have to bite your upper lip and put sunglasses on.”

Bob Dylan

Stocks did a big dipsy doodle today, ahead of what appears to be a big week for economic news and geopolitical uncertainty.

The foundations of this market are very weak, and this is both a weakness and a strength. Because the volumes are so light, and the trade so dominated by technical algo trading and gaming, it does not take much to shove it back up when it starts to go lower.

The weakness of course is that this same 'fluffy' character of the market will leave little support if heavy selling should be triggered by some internal or external event. In that sense it is like 1987. It is a market and an economy founded on sand.

Have a pleasant evening.

Could You Not Keep Watch With Me For Even One Hour?

"The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone."

George Eliot

Joanie's mother passed on from complications of pneumonia about a year before she went to the doctor with 'growing pains.'   Her six sisters and brother, as well as her father, were just beginning to get over the early loss of their mother and beloved wife.

Her father has largely given up his medical practice in Louisiana, and moved his family to be nearer to St. Jude's Childrens Hospital in Memphis.  St. Jude's has been wonderful, but this has taken an obvious financial and emotional toll on them, although I have rarely seen a more faithful and joyous family, even under these circumstances. 

Suffering and loss, especially among the innocent, is one of the great stumbling blocks of the faithful, and a seeming folly to those who have no faith. 

So we must rally to the support of those who are taking up their Cross, as will we all.  Some may ask, 'why doesn't God do something?'   He does.  He calls us, heart to heart.   He did this when He walked among us, but we do not see it when it happens now, we do not think about it in our own time.  And yet He is still here.

There are some remarkable advances being made in cancer research, and St. Jude's Children Research Hospital is a beacon. However, overall the work goes slowly and the marketplace too often seeks to maximize its returns, rather than to act boldly and take on the big projects for cures, rather than risk the incremental improvements and the steady cash flow of ongoing treatments.

We send many of our brightest and invest enormous amounts into finance and computerized systems to find better ways of cheating one another, and to spy and oppress and deceive one another.  And the effects of this tragic misallocation of energy and resources, this sickness of the spirit, are more widespread and insidious than we might imagine.

There are many fine people in our medical system, but this nation lacks the will to really rise to the aid of the afflicted, in all too many cases. There is even a growing satisfaction in the unnecessary suffering of the weak, in what is surely a diabolical form of 'justice.' 

We become what we fear and hate, because it wrings the love out of our hearts, leaving only emptiness and despair.  Indifference and greed kill bodies as well as souls. 

And Jesus wept.

Please remember Joanie and her family in your prayers, as she remembers all of you here at Le Café.

"Five days ago the St Jude staff sat us down to say they've exhausted all therapies. With teary eyes and faltering words, Joan's oncologist Dr. Navid told us it was time to go home...

The harrowing truth is that her prognosis is presently not even two months. Joan has a blessed grace period (Deo Gratias) of perhaps three weeks where she will continue with normal functioning. We're told there is a reasonable chance that she will rapidly succumb to a sudden event, likely a seizure, due to the neurological spread of her bone cancer. Hospice is on hand.

I'm talking to Joan about this brief time being an extremely special opportunity where her little prayers have a most particular power. She is praying Hail Mary's for the many folks, both near and far, who have been a part of our family.

We ask Heaven for a cure and for a holy resignation to the Divine Will. Providence has carried the Schneider pilgrims all through this journey and, despite my repeated offenses and unworthiness, I know in my bones His Mercy won't let us down."

If you wish to send a little card or note to her or her father you may do so at the address below.  If you do not know what to say, just say 'Thinking of you.  Remembering you in my prayers.'  Some of us have sent them a little 'shower of roses' as la petite fleur, Thérèse de Lisieux, had prescribed.  But a simple card of thoughtfulness is surely sufficient, for both them and for you. 

And we can carry on the practice of charity and prayers in our daily lives, in the little things, if we can take the first step when called.   It is that first step, away from the path of selfishness and death, and into the arms of love and true life, that is the key.  The first step out of the darkness and into the light is the hardest.  But once there, in that loving and hospitable place, our true home for which we were made, we find comfort and place, and pray that we may never leave.
 

Mark Schneider, M.D.

1570 Wood Farms Dr.

Cordova, TN   38016

 

Related: Update on Joanie, February 2014

Trifecta of US Economic News This Week

This week we will have the advance number for 1Q GDP, an FOMC rate decision, both on Wednesday, and the April Non-Farm Payrolls Report on Friday.  And there are a number of the usual suspects like Chicago PMI, Personal Income and Spending,  and the ISM Index in-between.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Madness, Ending Badly

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one...

In February 1720 an edict was published, which, instead of restoring the credit of the paper, as was intended, destroyed it irrecoverably, and drove the country to the very brink of revolution...”

Charles MacKay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds

Self-awareness, empathy, and foresight are not, unfortunately, high in the ordered skill set of narcissists.

If Europe had any decency, leadership, and moral courage they would take the US financial system's car keys, sit them down in the kitchen, pour black coffee down their throats until they sober up, and then arrange for an extended intervention.

And they need to do it because the American people themselves have fallen into a slumber of indifference and denial about what is being done in their name, and how the world sees their elite.

Have a pleasant weekend.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Burning Down the House

"Money, again, has often been a cause of the delusion of the multitudes. Sober nations have all at once become desperate gamblers, and risked almost their existence upon the turn of a piece of paper."

Charles Mackay

One in ten bridges in the US are in critical need of repairs.

This disparity and dichotomy between the virtual world of financial control frauds and the real economy of people and things is going to become more and more interesting.

One Elon Musk is worth five hundred Dimon's and Blankfein's. And as for most politicians I cannot even provide an estimate, because it is not possible to divide by zero.

Have a pleasant evening.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Option Expiration Hi-Jinks - Jan Skoyles On Gold

I see in the news where the CME is planning to offer a kilogram gold futures contract in Asia in order to provide a 'pricing reference' for that continent.   There goes the neighborhood. lol.  I thought these were global markets already.

The smash and grab in the metals markets resulted in a fairly impressive price range, especially in silver.  See the intraday commentary on the metals action on a Comex Option Expiration here.

Let's see where they go with this next.

Meet the Banking Caucus, Wall Street's 'Secret Weapon' in Washington.

And US Exported a Record Amount of Gold To Hong Kong In January.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Pause For Earnings

Stocks did quite the swing intraday, but managed to finish close enough to unchanged.

I think we might still have a little more upside in this wash cycle unless something in the real world happens.

Have a pleasant evening.

A Comex Options Expiration 'With a Twist' - Where the Elite Meet to Cheat

"Tomorrow is an option expiration for the May precious metal contracts on the Comex. As May is not an active month, and the greatest contract activity is already moved to June, we may see an expiration with a twist."

When we were kids, we used to join hands in a line, and then swing hard around a pivot and play 'crack the whip' outside.  Once we got going the people on the end of the line went flying.

If you look at the distribution of calls and puts in silver in particular the 'price discovery' this morning makes some sense.  They were discovering what it would take to shake out the calls and puts for losses before they settled the price where it returned the greatest profit.

Oh no, you obviously do not understand the intricate processes of the market,  say Shill & Troll. This is not cheating. This is hedging. Look at the Dollar and the cross markets. And besides, there has always been cheating so this is nothing new. And you can't stop it, they will always find a way. This is just business. No one made you buy those options.

What we saw this morning is a classic shake-out fake-out.  These guys make carnies look sophisticated.

If it were not for manipulation and a foolhardy few, there might be no interest left for the Comex.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - El Camino Real

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Gold and silver continued to be capped just below 1300 and 20 respectively.

Tomorrow is an option expiration for the May precious metal contracts on the Comex.  As May is not an active month, and the greatest contract activity is already moved to June, we may see an expiration with a twist.

There was no movement in the Comex gold warehouses yesterday.

An additional 51 contracts for April gold stood for delivery, bringing the monthly total to 481,400 ounces.  There has been little visible movement of gold as a result of those warrants changing hands, at least so far.

Someone asked me today how it was that the prices could be 'capped' so effectively given the continuing pressure on physical supply by buyers from Asia.

The paper markets are where the price is set, and they have only tenuous connections to fundamentals like supply and demand for real products, especially because they are oriented to the short term and their own internal systems.

In a genuine global market, Chinese firms would be taking large positions on the Comex, and then standing for and taking delivery of bullion products from there.  And miners would be taking their products there for price discovery.

That is not what is happening in New York these days.   The London and New York markets are dominated by a relatively few but very powerful financial firms, and some very large speculators. 

At some point the paper and physical will have to reacquaint themselves and converge, and I suspect that will be a notable reunion indeed.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Bonfire of the Inanities

"It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes...

In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society — the farmers, mechanics, and laborers — who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government."

Andrew Jackson, Veto of the Second Bank of the United States

AAPL is the big tickle after hours.   That modern Leviathan is increasing its stock buyback program to $90 billion, is raising their dividend to 3.90, and is declaring a 7 for 1 stock split.  As they are saying on Bloomberg, now 'mom and pop' will be able to buy the stock. Huzzah!  Let's party like it is 1999, and let the fat lady start to at least begin to warm up if not actually start to sing.

Meine Damen und Herren, Mesdames et Messieurs Ladies and Gentlemen,  I am afraid that 'mom and pop' are living from hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck, and can barely afford to buy food, shelter, gasoline, and basic health services.  It is the wealthy few that are acquiring assets with their Fed subsidized paper.  When you see the common people coming, it will not be with stock market orders in their hands. 
 
Here is another joke:

Everyman: Knock knock.

Benanke: Who's there?

Everyman: A living wage, the middle class, and human decency.

Bernanke: Who? What? You're not in our rolodex or our model.

And the real joke is that the Fed has had 'the man in the Street' foremost in mind when they bail out and 'regulate' the Banks.

In twenty years the Federal Reserve, under Greenspan and Bernanke, with their friends and servants in Washington and abroad, have managed to destroy one of the great icons of modern Western civilization, that was forged with sweat and blood in two world wars and the Great Depression: the US middle class.

Have a pleasant evening.

The US financial system appears to have a global image problem.

Bernanke Talks Up the Bankers' Balance Sheet Boogie Woogie - The Truman Sparks Award

Sometimes when I just don't have the words someone more articulate than me on the subject says it all.

Confounded Interest
Bernanke: QE Was For “The Man On The Street”
(Wall Street, That Is!) and Their Electrical Parade
By Anthony B. Sanders

Zero Hedge has an amusing story today based on former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech to the Economic Club of Canada (for a cool $250,000).

*BERNANKE: FED ACTIONS DIDN’T FAVOR WALL STREET OVER MAIN STREET (QE Was For “The Man On The Street”)
* Bernanke Says US Economy Is Heading Towards Complete Recovery

Huh?  The lime colored box shows the rewards of Quantitative Easing to the Man on the Street. In Kingman Kansas, perhaps. Stagnant real household income, employment to population ratio and YoY growth in hourly wage income. And flat-lined mortgage purchase applications.



But for Wall Street, it has been roses, cigars and snifters of cognac.



Of course, retirement funds for workers and investors in the stock market do benefit from The Fed’s quantitative easing. Yet, the jobs market remains stalled while creating low-paying and part-time jobs.

Perhaps Bernanke wants Disney World to rename the Main Street Electrical Parade as the Wall Street Electrical Parade!

Fed policy under Greenspan and Bernanke in two and one half minutes.

Presenting the 'Truman Sparks Award' for Orthogonal Banking Regulation and Obtuse Monetary Policy. - Jesse

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Hotel California

Its funny the way that 476,000 ounces of gold have been 'delivered' so far this month, but the warehouse inventories never seem to go down.

Like the Hotel California, you can check out, but you can never leave.

When I was seconded to the ITU in Genève for many weeks at a time, I used to stay in a smaller hotel on the Rue Gevray that was called the Hotel California. It was very convenient because they had efficiency rooms on the top floor with a small kitchen and a balcony with a nice view of the lake.  And it was not a bad walk up the hill to the old League of Nations building, and an equally pleasant walk over to the restaurant areas.

Alas, they have long been out of business. I heard that for some time they were apartments, and then were taken over by student squatters.    I am just sorry that I never acquired one of their signature bath mats, lol.

It was a typical little European hotel, very friendly.  They held the room if one of the regulars took off on the weekend for a trip into the French countryside, or east into the Schweizer Alpen.  I received a Christmas card every year from them for quite some time. 

I understand why no gold seems to be leaving the Comex warehouses, but it is still kind of funny. The 'claims' are really just warrants, and they are passing them around for shits and giggles for the moment. The Comex is not so much a 'real market' of buyers and sellers who actually produce and use the things that they trade, but more of a game of traders, punters, and banksters. 

The drawdowns we saw over the past year were somewhat unusual, especially along with those of so many of the funds and ETFs. I understand the *possible* alternative explanations, especially those peddled by Shill & Troll. But I think something is up behind the scenes.

So let's see what happens. If I am right, at some point the convergence with reality could be impressive.

Have a pleasant evening.