Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Howling

Stocks were much lower this morning.

But never fear, Wall Street bravely waiting until after the European close, and then began to steadily ramp up equities, led by the SP 500 futures, in what was otherwise quiet trading ahead of the weekend.

There is a nor'easter howling outside, with high winds and snow. Luckily the snow is not accumulating on road surfaces because temperatures have not fallen sufficiently.

Gold and silver moved sideways during much of the day, finishing slightly higher.

There will be a Non-Farm payrolls report next week.

I have included the economic calendar below.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - As the Markets Turn

Stocks, were weakly unravelling most of the day, just hanging on despite the morning's cheering ambiguities of Fed Chair Powell, who sought to calm the markets after rattling their cages yesterday.

An announcement came out that President Trump would indeed be seeking to impose a global 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminum.

And then down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier.

The dollar, which had been rallying earlier in the day, did an about face and dropped like a stone, giving up the gains from today and yesterday.

And the beneficiaries of this were both gold and silver, although silver had been showing more resilience earlier on.

We'll be getting a Non-Farm Payrolls report next week.

When we came home from our walk today,  Dolly jumped up in the chair and, standing on my chest because she is that little, fervently licked both sides of my face, one after the other, like it was her job.  She had at last forgiven me for taking her to the groomer yesterday.   And she settled down in my lap to sleep as is her custom, after having given me the cold shoulder last night and sleeping on her pillow.  lol

Don't we act just like this towards God, when He does things that are only for our good?  Lacking in understanding and feeling only our own annoyance, fear, and inconvenience, we pout and fret and make a fuss over even little setbacks.  But eventually, if we are wise, we know that He loves us, even better than we love ourselves, and it is only for the best.

Let's see how we go into the weekend.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - God Bless the Child

The Fed is hiking rates into one of the slowest growing economies in U.S. history.  Previous such events didn't work out well. Whatever economic growth US has had recently has been driven by increased debt & dissaving. If interest rates are raised brakes automatically applied.

Dr. Harald Malmgrem

There is no doubt that the projections of the future growth of GDP are estimates based on the estimates of estimates, and that the results may vary greatly from expected outcomes.   Especially if your paycheck depends on a range of outcomes acceptable to your superiors.

They seem to have already lined up a set of potential scapegoats, who despise us for our freedom and seek to undermine us, the paragons of virtue, in all of our efforts.  For how else could we have not succeeded?

Once again stocks were lower and the Dollar was stronger, because the accepted orthodoxy of popular media and Federal Reserve economics is that interest rates are going to k33p going higher, to the tune of four such hikes this year (at least).

The Trump tax cuts and infrastructure spending programs are going to stimulate a recovered economy, bringing the risks of wage inflation to bear. Never mind asset inflation because that is a good thing to the stock owning and value-reaving elites.

To the victors go the spoils.  Winning....

But real wage income increases are a threat to the economic order that was established back in the 1980's, that order being: them that's got shall have, them that's not shall lose....

I'll stick with my own theory that the Fed just wants to get as far away from the ZIRP as is possible, before the latest asset bubble and phony recovery collapses around their ears. But seriously, only time will tell.

But the tax cuts are not really going to the people who are going to be growing aggregate demand organically, but for the most part and despite corporate propaganda to the contrary, that money is going to the same old cats who have been getting the most for as far back as most can remember.

And as for the stimulus of infrastructure, that one does not even quality for the derogatory term 'paper tiger.'   It is a $200 billion Trojan horse of privatization and neo-liberalism come home to roost, at long last.

Today was the six months anniversary of the passing of the queen from this world into the next.  Ex umbris et imaginibus in vitam.

March is the month where silver is favored on the Comex, and we saw a mighty surge in the exchanging of paper claims for March 1 delivery in silver, as noted in the Comex clearing report below.

Gold is dullsville in March, at least on the Comex if not in Asia, so we may not see it continuing to hold the price lead, and silver may take up the slack.

A bigger change is coming, that may creep up on those who hold most of the public speaking platforms these days.

And what rough beast, it's hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

W. B. Yeats, The Second Coming, 1919

Have a pleasant evening.