US Middle Class Wealth Has Collapsed, Consumed by the Gods of Finance

"As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods.

They kill us for their sport."

William Shakespeare, King Lear

“Reality denied comes back to haunt.”

Philip K. Dick, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said

Let's file this under 'why aren't people buying things and saving more?'

Yes I know that wealth is not income. That is a small consolation when you don't have much of either.

The Recovery™ is like Equal Justice™ these days of the Pax Americana and Pax Brittanica.

It is reserved for some, and keeps two sets of books.

Median Household Net Worth is back to what it was in the 1960's.

At least we had better music then.

So who are you going to vote for this time?  Bush, or Clinton?

And may the odds be ever in your favour.

The Banks must be restrained, and the financial system reformed, with balance restored to the economy, before there can be any sustainable recovery.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up

Gold got quite a pop intraday, as repeated attempts to take gold below the key support at 1190 failed.

Oil was down, stocks were down, but gold was not going lower.

And so the metals bears seemed to throw in the towel, and gold rebounded sharply running almost straight up towards the 1210 level.

I thought this was almost certainly a 'technical bounce' with a little flight to safety sprinkled in.

Gold needs to break out of this pattern. I have included a closeup of the relevant part of the chart so you can see the levels.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

 

 

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - The Eternal Footman Snickers

Stocks were weak today, with a decided lack of new economic news, based I think on 'jitters' with stock valuations at these lofty levels, and yet so many hedge funds underperforming the indices.

Oil took a 4 percent hit, and concern is growing that this is a sign of slackness in aggregate demand, and not a over production move by the US and some of its allies to punish Russia, or the Saudis to give the shale oil crowd a stiff gut check on their long term viability.

But all in all, today was just a pullback. Let's see if we get any follow through anywhere in this market.

There is a surprising lack of liquidity in the market, despite the massive printing that has been done by the Fed.

If the markets get in trouble, it could develop into a blood bath. But that is a big *could*.

Have a pleasant evening.