“Depart from me, you accursed. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not comfort me.' They answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not care for you?' He answered, 'Truly I tell you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’” Matthew 25:40-46
"The existence of cash — a bearer instrument with a zero interest rate — limits central banks’ ability to 'stimulate a depressed economy.' The worry is that people will change their deposits for cash if a central bank moves rates into negative territory."
Since the Nikkei bought the Financial Times earlier this year one wonders if they are able to interpret the real meaning of their own editorial policy. Could anything be more blatantly repugnant than the above?
'Negative rates' is a euphemism for the slow but steady confiscation of all savings, a broader 'bail in.' It is designed to drive people into financial paper assets and consumption. It is all about the elimination of safe havens, of places to hide from gross incompetence and wealth transfers.
Negative interest rates are the signature moment in the decline of a republic and the rise of corporate feudalism. They take our wealth at no cost or effort for themselves, and lend it back to us at interest and without risk, being assured of a continuing supply of subsidy from their central Bank.
There will be quite a bit of economic news at the end of the week, including a Non-Farm Payrolls report for the month of August.
Gold is in an interesting position here, as can be seen on the chart.
The Bucket Shop was quiet, except for a small but steady stream of bullion out of their warehouses for both metals.
"Gentlemen! I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country.
When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin!
Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out."
Andrew Jackson, in a meeting with the Bankers, February 1834
Stocks sold off again, losing a little more than half of the recent rally which they enjoyed after the initial plunge in global equities.
It is foolish to talk about 'fortress America' and the imperturbability of the exceptional. The derivatives market alone makes the entire financial system an accident waiting to happen.
The Fed has obviously, and in a calculated manner, allowed a financial asset paper bubble to be created in the long and almost unbroken run up in financial paper after the financial crisis of 2008, and stood idly by watching a growing imbalance and inequality in the economy which they also helped to create.
The Banks must be restrained, and the financial system reformed, with balance restored to the economy, before there can be any sustainable recovery.
Median wage, and aggregate demand.
Maybe it is time to build a wall. Not a wall between the US and Mexico, or even the US and Canada.
Maybe it is a time to build, or rather to rebuild, a wall between the public money and their savings and the gambling Bankers of Wall Street, who keep the profits and give the public their losses.
"Don't get involved in partial problems, but always take flight to where there is a free view over the whole single great problem, even if this view is still not a clear one."
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Notebooks, Nov 1914
We say goodbye to August, and the active month for gold at The Bucket Shop, and welcome the first stirrings of September, which promises to be much more interesting for silver.
Prices were heavy for the metals most of the day, with silver showing a little more perkiness, but gold doggedly hanging on to close for a slight gain.
We have an interesting, if yet undecided, chart formation on the daily gold chart in a potential cup and handle formation that, if activated and confirmed, will target a minimum objective of around $1,255 and even a likely test of the big prior support from the trading range at $1,270.
To put this potential formation to 'work' gold must continue to hold its successful retest of 1120 on the 'handle,' and move to take and break the top of the cup at 1170. This is no mean feat, since gold is being pressed upon so heavily by the meddlers in the forex crosses. Despite the propaganda, it most certainly is a currency of the world.
Silver is just coming into its own and September will most likely to provide some fireworks for the beta rocket, depending on which way the black swans start coming home to roost. We have already seen the first deliveries taken for September, as noted on the clearing report below, of about 835,000 ounces.
I keep hearing stories of retail shortages and premiums that are certainly interesting. I will be more interested if we start seeing some pressures at the wholesale level.
Gold went out quietly, with Goldman stopping another 49 August contracts for their 'house account.'
I am hearing some talk about leaner times for gold bullion supplies at the LBMA for this booming physical gold market in Asia and India. There is certainly not much bullion up for sale at these prices in NY. Perhaps the bullion banks will use a quiet September to regroup and reform, if they get a quiet month that is.
Better not to try and guess, and look ahead too much however. These pool operations, which we are almost certainly seeing now in my judgement, take a long time to reach their natural conclusion. But they always seem to get there one way or the other.
So perhaps we can use this time to get our own houses in order, to put our pieces on the board where we are sure that we will have them if things get more interesting. I certainly would not wish to put them in an unallocated pile in some vault managed by the status quo, since possession is nine-tenths of the law to these jokers, as we saw with MFGlobal's default.
I am ambivalent about the miners here, mostly because I am in the position of owning some, which I have not done for quite some time. But silver is too temping with its 77:1 ratio to gold, and the absolutely beaten down into the ground place of some fairly tempting mining stocks.
Oh well, let's see if we can get something more substantial to hang our hats on, like the activation of a chart formation or some especially bullion friendly news for a change. The gold trolls were out in force today on the financial networks, so we will have to see what this means if anything.
There was a greater than usual amount of information about the metals posted over the weekend, so you may wish to scroll down and have a look if you have not done so already. There are quite a few odd little things happening that seem to be missed by most.
Let us pray for those whose hearts are hardened against His grace and loving kindness by greed, fear, and pride, and the seductive illusion and crushing isolation of evil.
We pray that we all may experience the three great gifts of our Lord's suffering and triumph: repentance, forgiveness, and thankfulness. And in so doing, may we obtain abundant life, and with it the peace that surpasses all understanding.
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