Weekend Reading

"God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next....

I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.

Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain.

He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me --still He knows what He is about."

John Henry Newman, Meditations and Devotions

Max Keiser and Alasdair Macleod On the Physical Gold Market

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - 'When the Music Stops'

The metals were hit with a fairly determined bear raid today for two reasons:

a) it was a Non-Farm Payrolls day with a weak number (as I suggested last night)
b) it was a Friday.

In the late stages of a system in decay, there is a great deal of formula and ritualization in what were once considered meaningful actions.

That is it. Nothing more, nothing less.   It was as expected.   Nothing has changed.

People underestimate the depths of greed and uncaring selfishness that predominate in the cultures on Wall Street and, unfortunately, in the government and even universities.    And the love of many will grow cold...

They know what they are doing.  They do not care.   To the extent that they bother to look ahead, they think that when the time comes, they will stick you with their losses.

This evening's Commitments of Traders shows that the four largest commercial traders (banks) are now net LONG gold. With the Comex registered inventory at record lows which generally precede a strong rally the setup is interesting.

Have a pleasant weekend.

h/t Dave in Denver

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - 'We Can't Help Ourselves'

I do not know what spin the financial channels put on it, but the Non-Farm Payrolls report was mixed to weak, and enough so to show that all this talk of QE tapering, at least based on a sustainable broad-based economic recovery, is nonsense.

I don't think people quite understand the environment on Wall Street and in Washington as it has become over the past fifteen years.

At least not yet.