SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

Sleepy day, typical of this first week with wide range in prices finishing largely unchanged on light volumes.

On Monday Alcoa kicks off earnings season.

Also on Monday there is another meeting on the Europe situation. That may drive some of the action.

The markets pretty much ignored the 'better than expected' employment report today and for good reasons. The beat was largely based on part time seasonal hiring that was not correctly deseasonalized.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - QE à l'infini Selon les Besoins

In other words, QE to infinity as required.

That will be the solution the Fed will accept when the Treasury prints bonds that have no buyers except for the Fed and its cartel of banks.

Of course they will stop before infinity is reached. The only question is, "What will stop them?" Especially if they engage in off balance sheet shenanigans like certain types of swaps and mutual devaluation with other central banks for example.

Will the economy turn around and a combination of growth and inflation overcome the excessive debt burdens? Or will they simply reach a point and engage in a de facto default as Russia did and reissue a 'new dollar?'

These are the important questions to think about. But I doubt very much that the Fed will stand aside and allow a hard default on the bonds.   They will attempt to make the dollar look good by making all other currencies look bad. 

The default will be de facto and as nominal as the cynical toleration of a denaro buffo will allow.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Fear and Trembling

Another wide ranging day that closed relatively unchanged from the open, as traders tossed the hot potatoes back and forth.

Non Farm payrolls for December is tomorrow. ADP had a big beat on their employment number, but this means little as the correlations are broken, probably on seasonal adjustments.

The bigger issue will be the European meeting on Monday the 9th.

A Closer Look at the Daily Gold Futures Chart

Here is the daily Gold Futures Chart for the February 2012 contract.

I transacribe this action to the 'big picture' chart which I publish nightly.

This is the one I watch intraday.

Gold *could* be in the process of making a huge double bottom. The measuring objective of such a breakout would be well in excess of 2,000 BUT it needs to breakout of the obvious downtrending channel in red first. The 'proof is in the pudding' as they say.