SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Edginess on the Edge as VIX Moves Higher

Light volumes on light economic news that was dominated by he said - he said on the US debt ceiling and budget discussions, which are taking place not face to face but through media outlets.

We will get the FOMC minutes on Wednesday, and a few more juicier news items after, but really it is all about the political antics in Washington.

Have a pleasant evening.

NAV Premiums of Certain Precious Metal Trusts and Funds

The premiums are rather dour, with only Sprott Silver showing a positive note.

Google seems to have have made some changes, and broken the 'links widget' which I use for Matières à Réflexion.

You can still use them, but I am not able to add any new ones for now. It's always something.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Bracing Against the Wind

"...to the glory that was Greece,
And the grandeur that was Rome."

Edgar Allen Poe, To Helen

There are some very strong trends running now, and the COMEX crowd is bracing against them as best that they can.

If they falter, I would not be surprised to see a solid triple digit up day in gold. It really is that bad.

But for now they maintain control over paper prices and have scraped a little more bullion together for the poor COMEX warehouse inventories as show below.

You may recall that there were major price operations the last two Decembers to skin the ETFs and hold off on deliveries. I wonder what it will look like when this tired old scheme fails. I would imagine it will be noticeable.

But until they hit the wall its have another slug of Jack Daniels, and put the pedal to the metal. So try not to let the ugly people scare you too badly ahead of Halloween.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Edgy But On Light Volumes

Stocks trended lower today but on light volumes. So I would call it an 'edgy' trade but no panic.

The consensus of traders seems to be that the House Republicans will draw out the Continuing Resolution issue as far as they can, and then the deadlock will be averted ahead of the October 17th estimate of a problem with the debt ceiling that would stop payments.

Right now the rhetoric is thick, and posturing is the order of the day. If I were in the position of the government I would probably refuse to negotiate on this under these conditions, simply because if one rewards this behavior, which has gone too far in its demands, you will face it every three months. It is not unlike extortion.

That is not to say that there should not be negotiations, far from it. But to demand a major program that has been passed by both houses of Congress, signed, vetted by the Supreme Court, and then tested successfully in a national election is nuts. This was very badly played by the Cruz faction and the House Republicans politically. But Boehner is a major enabler of the impasse since he is in effect using his office as House Speaker to prevent a clean resolution from reaching the floor for a vote. I think his personal fear for his office is overcoming his better sense as a seasoned politician, but the times are what the are.

The problem is that this is a contest between slimy and slimier, since I do not see many progressive champions and statesmen on the Democratic side either. The Dems sold out to Wall Street under the Clintons and that is where they remain.

Life with go on, but in the short term it may be a bumpy ride. VIX is elevated and nearing a high for 'normal circumstances,' ie non default.