Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Churn and Burn Friday - Non-Farm Payrolls Next Week

 

“A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others. Not respecting anyone, he ceases to love, and having no love, he gives himself up to passions and coarse pleasures.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov


"Hear this, you who trample the needy and oppress the poor of the land, saying,
‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain,
      and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat—
      skimping on the measure, boosting the price,
and cheating with dishonest scales,
        buying the poor with a piece of silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
        selling even the worthless sweepings with the wheat.'

The Lord has sworn by his own name, the pride of Jacob:
‘Never will I forget anything that they have done.'"

They will stagger from sea to sea,
and wander from north to east,
In search of the saving word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.
They shall fall, never to rise again."

Amos 8:4-7,12,14


"A true opium of the people is the belief in nothingness after death, the huge solace, the huge comfort of thinking that for our betrayals, our greed, our cowardice, our murders, we are not going to be judged.”

Czeslaw Milosz, Discreet Charm of Nihilism


Stocks managed to find a footing a stage a rally into the close on the first trading day of the second half of 2022.

The Dollar nevertheless moved higher.

Gold and silver were hit hard but managed to take back their losses into the close.

We *might* have seen a spike bottom in the metals, but with the Payrolls report coming up we may have to linger and chop around here for a while.

Let's see what happens in this holiday shortened week coming up.

The underpinnings of equities remain dodgy despite the bullish sentiments put forward by the spokesmodels and Wall Street's minions.

The VIX fell.

The US is having a three day holiday weekend with the observance of the 4th of July.

Let's hope the rest of the world can carry on without Washington's oversight.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Fallen Angels - End of 1st Half 2022

 

“The pull of fascist politics is powerful. It simplifies human existence, gives us an object, a 'them' whose supposed laziness highlights our own virtue and discipline, encourages us to identify with a forceful leader who helps us make sense of the world, whose bluntness regarding the 'undeserving' people in the world is refreshing. Fascism thrives under conditions of economic uncertainty, where fear and resentment can be mobilized to set citizens against one another.

When you legitimize yourself entirely by inventing enemies, the truth ceases to matter, normal restraints of civilization and decency cease to matter, the checks and balances of normal politics cease to matter.  It dehumanizes segments of the population. It limits the capacity for empathy among other citizens, leading to the justification of inhumane treatment, from repression of freedom, mass imprisonment, and expulsion to, in extreme cases, mass extermination."

Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works


"Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, in all their magnificence, and he said to him, 'All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.'”

Matthew 4:8-10


"In the present state of the world, a virile and strong Christianity must go to the point of being a heroic Christianity.  This heroism will not consist of speaking constantly of heroism, and of being delirious about the virtue of power–which would perhaps prove that one was submitting to the influence of  power, and that one was beginning to fall away.

Gentleness and goodness, delicacy toward the humble and weak, pity–yes, pity –toward those who suffer, the rejection of perverse means, the defense of the oppressed, humble devotion, resistance to lies, the courage to call evil by its name, the spirit of peace and concord, openness of heart, the thought of heaven, that is what Christian heroism will save.  This [Nietzsche's] whole 'morality of slaves' will make it obvious that it is a morality of free men, that it alone makes man free.

Christianity will never have any real efficacy, it will never have any real existence and will never make any real conquests, except by the power of its own spirit, by the power of love."

Henri de Lubac, Spiritual Warfare, 1943


“Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory, or one of unthinkable horror.”

C. S. Lewis

Today marked the end of the first half of 2022.

And just about everything moved lower.

Stocks were down.

The Dollar was down, slipping back to the 104 handle.

Gold and silver were down.

Let's see what the second half brings.

Probably more bear market, and geopolitical turmoil.

Standing firm on the high ground still seems like the place to be.

The trick will be to remain firm and standing, even if all around you lose their way.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Churn and Burn

 

“Never was the victory of patience more complete than in the early church.  The anvil broke the hammer by bearing all the blows that the hammer could place upon it.  The patience of the saints was stronger than the cruelty of tyrants.”

Charles H. Spurgeon


“The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.”

Fredrick Douglas


"This is the Golden Age of fraud, an era of general willingness to ignore and justify the wrongdoings of the rich and powerful, which makes every lie bigger and widens its destructive path.”

Reed Albergotti

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity...

And what rough Beast, its hour come 'round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"

W. B. Yeats, The Second Coming, 1919

Stocks had another ranging day but managed to finish mostly unchanged.

Gold and silver took early hits, but drifted back during the day to mostly unchanged.

I suspect this is the tail end of the expiration shenanigans.

We may have a bit of a breather until the Non-Farm Payrolls next Friday.

The Dollar soared higher back on to the 105 handle.

Until sound regulation in the public interest is restored there will be no sustainable recovery for the real economy and irregular plunges and peaks in financial assets. 

Don't hold your breath for this to happen.

Have a pleasant evening.