Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Shepherds of Darkness - FOMC Tomorrow

 

"It is midnight in our world today.  Man is experiencing today a darkness so deep that he can hardly see which way to turn.  The best minds of our day, the most prophetic voices, are saying that today our civilization stands at midnight of its revolving cycle.  It is a dark age and a dark world in which we live.

It is midnight within the social order.  On the international horizon nations are engaged in a colossal and bitter contest for supremacy.  Two world wars have been fought within a generation, and the clouds of another war are dangerously low.

It is also midnight within the moral order.  At midnight colours lose their distinctiveness and become a sullen shade of grey.  Moral principles have lost their distinctiveness.  For modern man, absolute right and wrong are a matter of what the majority is doing.  Right and wrong are relative to likes and dislikes and the customs of a particular community. 

Midnight is the hour when men desperately seek to obey the eleventh commandment, 'Thou shalt not get caught.'  According to the ethic of midnight, the cardinal sin is to be caught and the cardinal virtue is to get by.  It is all right to lie, but one must lie with real finesse.  It is all right to steal, if one is so dignified that, if caught, the charge becomes embezzlement, not robbery. 

It is permissible even to hate, if one so dresses his hating in the garments of love that hating appears to be loving.  The Darwinian concept of the survival of the fittest has been substituted by a philosophy of the survival of the slickest.  This mentality has brought a tragic breakdown of moral standards, and the midnight of moral degeneration deepens.

Faith in the dawn arises from the faith that God is good and just.  When one believes this, he knows that the contradictions of life are neither final nor ultimate.  He can walk through the dark night with the radiant conviction that all things work together for good for those that love God.  Even the most starless midnight may herald the dawn of some great fulfillment.

The dawn will come.   Disappointment, sorrow, and despair are born at midnight, but morning follows.”

Martin Luther King, A Knock at Midnight, February 11, 1962

"Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  Everyone who does evil hate the light, and will not come into it so that their sins will be revealed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that they are doing God's will."

John 3:19-21

“The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the catacombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we are ourselves are defeated in our innermost selves?”

Maximilian Kolbe


Although the economic data this morning was a bit weak, that did not give the expected boost to risk assets on expectations of a Fed end to interest rate increases as one might have expected.

Instead what we saw was a flight to safety.

The Dollar chopped sideways, declining slightly.

VIX rose.

And gold and silver were on a genuine roll, while stocks were just rolling over.

We will have the FOMC rate decision tomorrow afternoon.

Expectations are for a 25 bp increase, but *maybe* some indication that we are nearing then end of this tightening cycle for now.   Or not.

Non-Farm Payrolls on Friday.

My suspicious side is wary of a precious metals 'wash and rinse' dead ahead, but maybe that is overthinking it.  Or not.

The political landscape appears to be dreary as usual, and and in most places it seems.

The choices shaping up are the usual Hobson's choice among lesser undesirables, between the Devious and the Oblivious.  Ugh.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Rotten to the Core - Second Largest Bank Failure

 

"But perhaps the most stunning piece of news we're getting in the wake of the MF Global collapse is in the clients of the firm who managed to get away scot-free, with no freezing of accounts or capital -- particularly the accounts of the mega-cap independent oil company Koch Industries, run by the politically active Koch brothers.

A recent report in Reuters has described the billions of dollars of client accounts that were withdrawn from MF Global in the last few weeks before their collapse, including 8 accounts from Koch industries engaged in oil trade that were transferred to Mizuho Securities after years of a steady and profitable relationship with MF.

Both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were charged with overseeing MF Global, their clearing member.  If we are to believe them, they had no idea of any difficulties within the firm before customer accounts went missing just a few days before the collapse. 

But someone clearly knew of the cratering positions and imminent collapse of MF Global, as billions of dollars of accounts were "coincidentally" withdrawn.  And what do the Koch brothers say was the reason for these withdrawals?  There's been no comment."

Daniel Dicker, MF Global and the Koch Brothers: Friends to the End, Huffington Post, Nov. 11, 2011


"There are numerous vested interests on Wall Street, in Washington, and in the corporate conglomerates who see nothing wrong in distorting information, 'spinning the news,' and sometimes even outright lying, when it comes to reporting on the economic situation. They are promoting a story, and often an agenda. They hide behind the safe harbor provisions of the law, and the subjective aspects of economics. They use euphemisms such as 'talking your book' to describe calculated deception.

The financial media accepts it, condones it, and does it themselves.  As one financial news anchor, said shortly after the tech stock bubble collapsed in 2002, 'Of course market strategists and analysts lie. Everyone knows that. But no one made people buy those stocks.'

Straight news reporting is less seen in the mainstream media these days, since solid investigative journalism is considered too costly to the corporate management.  Much cheaper to allow paid shills to take scripted shots at one another, in the manner of professional wrestling.  This is how the voters are informed, and how public policy is shaped. And when it comes to economics, the establishment is firmly in control of the message.  The selection of guests is carefully scripted to support a point of view."

Jesse, 9 July 2010

JPM announced the 'rescue' of First Republic Bank this morning, in a takeover subsidized by the FDIC.

This is the second largest bank failure.   Three of the four largest bank failures in U.S. history have taken place over the last two months.

The better than expected ISM Manufacturing numbers this morning helped throw the markets into a sharp reversal.

Gold and silver managed a fairly impressive intraday wash and rinse.

The Dollar shifted into rally mode.

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

This may be a data driven week, with the Fed's latest rate decision on Wednesday afternoon, and the Non-Farm Payrolls report on Friday.

The corruption at the Supreme Court is almost on a par with the financial corruption and insider trading at the Fed. 

And its performance falls about as historically short of intentions.

The oligarchy is audacious.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Take It to the Limit

 

"Few things are more destructive to Christians than anger.  Anger causes us to lose our self-control and to say and do things we would otherwise never consider.  Anger, if allowed to remain, turns into bitterness that eats away at our hearts.  Scripture consistently commands believers to put away anger and lists it as one of the sins of the flesh.

At times, we try to defend our anger by citing that Jesus cleansed the temple in righteous indignation. Jesus was capable of being angry without sinning.  We must be careful not to justify our anger with Scripture. Ephesians 4:31 commands us to put away all anger.  That does not mean that we cease to have strong convictions or lose our desire for justice.  It does mean we refuse to allow the sins of others to cause us to sin.  Anger does not bring about God’s redemptive work; far more often it hinders what God is working to accomplish.

If you feel that you have a righteous anger because of something that has happened, see if you are holding anger in your heart without sin.  Is your anger turning into bitterness?  Is your anger causing you to speak in an unchristian manner to someone or to gossip about them?  Is your anger causing you to make excuses for your own ungodly behavior?  Is your anger preventing you from acting in a loving, redemptive, and Christlike way toward someone?  You must examine any anger within you and allow God to remove any sinful attitudes that your anger may have produced."

Henry Blackaby, Christian Anger

"Do you not know that to whom you give yourselves as servants, their servants you become, whether of a corruption unto death, or of a righteousness unto life?"

Rom 6:16

"Stop spreading lies and tell the truth.  For we are not acting alone, but are intimately related to others on the way.   If you are angry, be sure that it is not out of wounded pride or bad temper.  Never go to bed angry, and give the devil that foothold.   If you had been a thief you must not only give up stealing, but you must learn to make an honest living, and give to those in need.

Let there be no more profanity, but instead use words suitable for the occasion, which God can use to help others.  Never sin against the Holy Spirit, as He is the pledge of your redemption.  Let there be no more resentment, no more anger, no more violent self-assertiveness, no more slander and provocative remarks.  Be kind to one another, and understanding.  Be as ready to forgive others as God has forgiven you."

Ephesians 4:25-32


Stocks managed to gain a footing and continue their move higher today.

VIX fell to a multi-year low.

Gold and silver chopped sideways with silver gaining a bit at the close.

The Dollar ended nearly flat after the usual technical volatility of a manipulated commodity.

Have a pleasant weekend.