Vanity of Vanities

Only love endures.

Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of their possessions.”

Then he told the gathering a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
so have your ease, eat, drink, be merry!’

But God said to him,
‘You fool, this very night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things which you have hoarded, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasures for themselves,
but are not rich in the things that matter to God.”

Luke 12:15-21

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Monster First Delivery Day For August Gold

Nova Scotia offered up 406,700 ounces of gold from their house account for the first delivery day in August.  That is the biggest number I have seen in some time.

And they sold it at what was close to the low for yesterday at $1,332.  That's what one gets when they sell big in an active month which August is for gold.  What were they thinking?

The silver deliveries were fairly inconsequential for August, so I did not bother to update them.

Uncle Buck, aka la douleur du monde, took the gas pipe on that horrible GDP number, at 1.2% versus 2.6% expected, with a downward revision to 0.8% in the prior period.   No wonder the Fed balked at even a fairly symbolic rate increase this week.  They may play dumb, but they know.

Gold is on the threshold of breaking out as you can see on the chart below, and silver is looking fairly positive as well.

But, and isn't there always a but these days, next week will be the July Non-Farm Payrolls Report. as indicated in the preview of next week's economic news below.

So let's see how the precious metals sort their way through that next hurdle on their way higher.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Le Père Jacques Hamel, un martyr de la Foi, 26 Juillet 2016

At 85,  Rev. Jacques Hamel was well past retirement age.

But he kept in shape and kept on going — baptizing infants, celebrating Mass, and tending to the parishioners of St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a working-class town in Normandy where he had spent much of his life.

Father Hamel’s throat was cut, while he was offering the sacrifice of the Mass, by a young man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Hanging On

The Q2 GDP number sucked out loud this morning, coming in at 1.2% as compared to the economic consensus of 2.6%.  And the prior period was adjusted lower to a slim 0.8% from 1.1%.  And the Atlanta Fed slashed their going forward GDP forecast.

Well, Hillary has been nominated now to carry on Barry O's legacy of stagnation for the many, so it's mission accomplished, and time for the economic carnies to pull up their statistical stakes and move on.

Now we know why the Fed balked at a largely symbolic 25 basis point yesterday;  today's GDP number would have made them look like idiots.

But they did say they saw clear signs of growth, so maybe they are still following their normal course of seeing the world through one percent eyes.

VIX took a decline today, and stocks are looking very fully valued, with leadership continuing to narrow.    Time to start trimming stock positions from the longs, perhaps, because any exogenous event could make for a fairly stiff reversal.  But those are very tough to predict.

Have a pleasant weekend.