Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Salvator Mundi

 

“Sometimes the noisy handful is right, sometimes wrong; but no matter, the crowd follows it.  The vast majority of the race, whether savage or civilized, are secretly kind-hearted and shrink from inflicting pain, but in the presence of the aggressive and pitiless minority, they don't dare to assert themselves.”

Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger

"Power will achieve its murderous potential.  It simply waits for an excuse, an event of some sort, an assassination, a massacre in a neighboring country, an attempted coup, a famine, or a natural disaster, to justify the beginning of murder en masse."

R. J. Rummel, Death By Government

“Exceptionalism— the view that the United States has a right to impose its will because it knows more, sees farther, and lives on a higher moral plane than other nations— was to them not a platitude, but the organizing principle of daily life and global politics."

Stephen Kinzer, The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, October 2013

"Exceptionalism is no virtue, no mark of the chosen, but merely the sin of pride, wearing the silks of rationalization and self-delusion. And this is at the root of every fallen angel, every lost soul, and every failing nation."

Jesse, The Will to Power in the Exceptional, March 2015

"They defended him, verbally and physically, every time he committed one of his criminal acts. They went blithely on past the suffering of all the bombing victims, the prisoners in the concentration camps, and the religious persecutors, because a different regime would have meant the end of their power."

Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen, Diary of a Man in Despair, 1947

"For these are a rebellious people, deceitful children, unwilling to listen to the commandments of the Lord. They say to their seers,‘Do not see!’ and to the prophets,‘Say nothing of what is right! Tell us only things that please us, prophesy illusions."

Isaiah 30:8-10

The volume today was very light, with the activity in the markets falling off notably after noon.

There was quite a bit of profit-taking, as the books are squared up for the end of the year.

The Dollar was flat to a little lower.

VIX was higher.

And the metals were painted, as one would expect.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Idols of Crony Capitalism

 

"One of the primary characteristics of narcissists is their exaggerated sense of entitlement.  It's hardly surprising then that so many politicians somehow think they 'deserve' to game the system.  After all, from their self-interested perspective, isn't that what the system is for?   In their heavily self-biased opinion, if they want something, by rights it should be theirs.

So, nothing if not opportunistic, they take from public and private coffers alike whatever they think they can get away with.  And given their grandiose sense of self, they're inclined to believe they can get away with most anything.  Exploiting their privileged position in such a manner hardly leaves them plagued with guilt.  In general, guilt isn't an emotion they're prone to.  How could they be if they feel entitled to the objects of their desire?  In their minds their very ability to attain something must certainly mean it was merited."

Leon F. Seltzer, Narcissism: Why It's So Rampant in Politics, Psychology Today, December 21, 2011

"As in all periods of speculation, men sought not to be persuaded by the reality of things but to find excuses for escaping into the new world of fantasy."

"John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash of 1929

“Every idol, however exalted, turns out, in the long run, to be a Moloch, hungry for human sacrifice.”

Aldous Huxley, The Devils of Loudon

"Moral hazard is the probability that a party insulated from risk will behave differently from the way they would behave if fully exposed to the risk. Moral hazard arises because an individual or institution does not bear the full consequences of its actions, and therefore has a tendency to act with increasing recklessness, literally 'without reckoning.' It also encourages the rise to power of the sociopath in the affected organizations. It is difficult to explain moral hazard to tenured professors or the pampered princes of bureaucracy, who beat the drum with their silver spoons in support of shifting the risk of loss to the public every time that Wall Street falls into one of its own schemes and blows itself up.

Unfortunately there is a small but powerful oligopoly of privilege that is trying to project themselves onto the global stage while believing that they are immune to ordinary consequence, and have become addicted to the notion that 'others must pay' for their failures. Moral hazard comes from rewarding bad behaviour in markets with wristslaps and bailouts. It is a danger to the economy and to the public."

Jesse, Moral Hazard, 22 March 2008

This was a very quiet post-holiday trading day.  

The adults are on vacation, and the juniors are just following a pattern given to them.

I suspect tomorrow will be similar once we get past the first hour or two of trading, unless *something happens*.

The New Year's holiday is next week on Wednesday.   

Gold is forming up what could develop into a symmetrical triangle bullish continuation pattern.

 Let's see what happens.

The markets continue to be heavily weighed upon by mispriced risk.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

Christmas Day - That They May Have Life

 

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shined."

Isaiah 9:1

"And the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.'

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.'

So they left in haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a manger. After they had seen the Child, they spread the message that they had received about Him. 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 2:10-19

"Lost friend, lost child, lost parent, sister, brother, husband, wife, we will not so discard you.  You shall hold your cherished places in our Christmas hearts, and by our Christmas fires; and in the season of immortal hope, and on the birthday of immortal mercy, we will shut out nothing."

Charles Dickens, What Christmas Is As We Grow Older, Household Words, 1851

“Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist— and into them enters suffering, so that they may have life.”

Léon Bloy

“Love endures everything, love is stronger than death, love fears nothing.  Help me, Lord, that my eyes may see all with mercy, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look deeper for what is good and beautiful in others' souls, and then come to their aid.  Let all my nothingness be drowned in the ocean of your mercy.”

Maria Faustyna Kowalska

"What does the modern world know of love, with its light touching of the surface of love.  It has never reached down into the depths, to the misery and pain and glory of love which endures to death and beyond it.  We have not yet begun to learn about love.  Now is the time to begin, to start afresh, to use this divine weapon."

Dorothy Day, The Catholic Worker, June 1946


"And there was no room for them in the inn."

Make room for them in your hearts.

"Fear not, little flock, for your Father delights to give you welcome into His Kingdom."

Luke 12:32

"And so, God bless us, every one!"

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The People Who Walk in Darkness

 

"He became what we are, so that he might make us what he is."

Athanasius of Alexandria, Against Heresies

"We who are anxious about many things look forward to your coming among us.  We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.  We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.  

We are your people, walking in darkness, yet always seeking the light.”

Henri Nouwen, Advent Prayer

"Myth wants power; revelation reveals the true power of God in the most extreme powerlessness. Myth wants knowledge; the Word of God asks for constant faith and, within that faith, a growing, reverent understanding. The revelation of God’s Word is gentle patience amidst the inevitable tensions of life. Error never shows itself in its naked reality, so as to not be discovered. On the contrary, it dresses itself elegantly, so the easily led may believe that it is more truthful than truth itself.”

Irenaeus of Lyons, The Scandal of The Incarnation


Our faith is founded on the unity of the three great realities: the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.

In the incarnation the Word is firmly rooted in our lives.  Through the crucifixion the world is redeemed and purified.   And by the resurrection we are raised with it to the eternity of divine love. 

Because that love is immense, losing it forever is tremendous. Hell is nothing but a love lost, rejected.

 In the dark times of madness, remember to be human. 

Merry Christmas, everyone.

 

Old Time Radio for the Day Before Christmas

 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - We Who Have Left the Bitter Dance of Death Rejoice

 

"Caesar was swimming in blood, Rome and the whole pagan world was mad.  But those who had had enough of transgression and madness, those who were trampled upon, those whose lives were misery and oppression, all the weighed down, all the sad, all the unfortunate, came to hear the wonderful tidings of God, who out of love for men had given Himself to be crucified and redeem their sins.  When they found a God whom they could love, they had found that which the society of the time could not give any one— happiness and love.

And Peter understood that neither Nero, nor all his legions, could overcome the living truth— that they could not overwhelm it with tears or blood, and that now its victory was beginning.   He understood with equal force why the Lord had turned him back on the road.   That city of pride, of crime, of wickedness, and of a lust for power, was beginning to be His city."

Henryk Sienkiewicz, Quo Vadis, 1905

“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all.  No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss - an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. - is sure to be noticed.”

Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, 1849

"God’s light has come into the world, but people love the darkness more than the light when their actions are evil. For those who do evil hate the light and refuse to come into it for fear that their lawlessness will be revealed."

John 3:19-20

"What we would like to do is change the world— make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe and shelter themselves as God intended them to do.  And to a certain extent, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, of the poor, of the destitute— the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor in other words, we can to a certain extent change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world.   We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world."

Dorothy Day, The Catholic Worker, June 1946

 

This is the holiday shortened Christmas trading week.

The Street is looking for a taste of Santa.

Stocks managed to put together a little rally.

The VIX took a further decline down to its 50 DMA.

The funds and banksters are going to be painting up the tape into the year end, so volatility is to be expected as they take some profits, and then try to mask their decliners.

Gold and silver managed to rally a bit, even as the Dollar took back the 108 handle.

Blinken and his merry pranksters seem determined to try and light the candle of their adventurism before they leave in January.   Watch where they end up going after they leave the government.

I have some very thin hope that Trumpolini might stumble into doing the right thing for us, but we'll have to see how the rest of the clown car follows along, and where his volatile, random-seeming decisions end up taking us.

But in all, we who have left behind the bitter dance of death rejoice.  

The Word has become flesh, and dwells among us.  

Do not let your love grow cold.  Harden not your hearts.

The field is won.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - And the Darkness Has Not Overcome It

 

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shined."

Isaiah 9:1

"Let the children have their night of fun and laughter.  Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play.  Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie before us, resolved that, by our sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world.  And so, in God’s mercy, a happy Christmas to you all."

Winston Churchill, Christmas radio address, December 1941

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."

William Arthur Ward

“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveler, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home! I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers,

Christmas is more than a time of joy and gift-giving and receiving presents. It is a time to recall our blessings and to gain strength in the grace and bosom of our families.  And above all it is a time to remember that greatest, almost incomprehensible gift in all history, how our Lord made himself as us, and as we are of him, and came to us in the flesh, the incarnation of selfless love.

And thereby those of us who are no longer present in body at the Christmas hearth may still be there in spirit with us, as we will some day be with them. What greater gift could we possibly desire to receive, than the ability to do good, to persevere in love, and to thereby live in the love of those for whom we care and who care for us, always?  Love is too often clumsy, and turns back on us when we serve it out of selfish expectations.  But if we serve it in its true Christmas spirit, for the right reasons, then it will light a fire in our hearts."

Jesse, 16 December 2015

"What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 1:3-5

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what a triple witch option expiration in December looks like.

Gold and silver likely put in some bottoms here.

The Dollar backed off sharply from its recent peak into the 108's.

VIX dropped like a rock.

And so here we are, sliding into the end of another year of the oligarchy.

We had our first snowfall of the season today.

I wonder what new false flags and wars of opportunity are still waiting to come to fruition. 

But the light of the world is here among us, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Have a pleasant weekend.