Charts for End of the First Week of the New Year - A Hazy Shade of Winter

Here Homer with his nervous arms
Strikes the twanging harp of war,
And even the western splendour warms,
While the trumpets sound afar:
But, what creates the most intense surprise,
His soul looks out through renovated eyes.

John Keats, Ode to Apollo


"Love does not make you weak, because it is the source of all strength, but it makes you see the nothingness of the illusory strength on which you depended before you knew it...

In the end, the only real tragedy is not to be a saint."

Léon Bloy


But my own abilities would not have been enough for this,
If in my mind there had not been struck
A flash of lightning, from which came this wish.

Here my strength has failed my utmost dreams:
But now there is a change, in my will and my desire,
Even as a wheel that turns around is moved,

To that Love alone which moves the sun, and other stars.

Dante, Divina Commedia, last verse

Can there be any sound more plaintive, than a lost soul crying out for its love.

Stocks drifted upwards, and the metals downward, in another session of lazy trading.

The Non-Farm Payrolls report came in light on the numbers added, and shows a weak 'weekly hours worked' as would be characteristic of the part time servants recovery.

I would have expected a stronger hit on the metals.  Let's see how they do next week.

There was little activity in the metals on the Comex, except for the usual ins and outs for silver in the warehouses, which is more of a sign that they are used as a delivery mechanism adjunct to the casino.

I enjoyed Koos Jansen's article, paraphrasing the title that the West Is Selling Physical Gold Into an Asian Black Hole.

Sounds like 'gold is moving from west to east.'   In a big way, with high leverage and distorted pricing.  And it is not likely to be coming back anytime soon.  What could go wrong?

But like most of the big changes and what happens next, 'no one could have seen it coming.'

Try to remember God's little ones, all of His creatures, when the weather is hard.

How many of us have left, and how many will be left standing at this time next year?

One thing for certain is that all of us will one day will truly understand what it was all about.

And what may create the most intense surprise, our souls will look with renovated eyes.

Have a very pleasant weekend.

Charts at 3:00 PM - Non-Farm Payrolls Report Tomorrow

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”

William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well

Stocks are mixed today with tech up against overhead resistance, and the SP 500 backing off from its own.

Gold has a nice pop today to 1180ish. Let's see if it can hold its gains through the December Non-Farm Payrolls report tomorrow.

Snow tonight. And so I am baking something appropriate for such nasty weather. It fills the house with good smells and warmth.

Have a pleasant evening.

Nomi Prins with Lars Schall on the Next Financial Crisis

Two of my favorite people, financial expert and author Nomi Prins and investigative journalist Lars Schall, discuss the ongoing financial crises, how the Banks play a key role in creating them through monetary existentialism, and why the next crisis will be the worst yet.