Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Rough Seas Ahead Mateys - Political Continuum

The US markets were very sleepy today, with little serious conviction in any direction.

Gold and silver just drifted, held in their places after the excitement of the beginning of the week.

There was no delivery activity at The Bucket Shop yesterday, and just trickles of bullion out of the warehouses as shown below.

Let's see if next week brings us any surprised, most likely from overseas.

I do think that looking out six months that we will likely see a widening of the swings in volatility, as events drive real people to take certain decisions, and the Banks and their government associates seek to stabilize and maintain their status quo.

But why guess? Let us just take it as it comes. In particular we will be watching the volatility swings in stocks, and for the usual and important support and resistance levels on the charts.

In particular physical delivery of bullion is worth watching, especially since there is so much disinformation being spread around about it. What worries the financiers is always of interest to common people like us.

It looks like gold imports to India jumped 62.2% in July.

FOMC minutes next week.  I suppose we will have to endure the usual speculation and market antics associated with 'will they or won't they.'

The Fed will raise rates at least 25 bp off the zero bound in September or December at the latest unless the wheels are falling off the global economy.   It has little to do with any real recovery, but is just another manifestation of their bank-centric, one percent trickle-downism.

If you have a chance try to watch the full five part series about The Man Who Knew Too Much from The Real News.   I found the discussion to be fascinating.

Watching the conversations related to the political scene are a little more interesting now that the politicos are swarming the channels in anticipation of the big Election next year.   I have included an updated chart of the 'Political Continuum' below.

You can divert yourself on these hot lazy days by trying to place the various candidates on the charts, and perhaps even yourselves.    The toughest ones to place are likely to be opportunists, narcissists and sociopaths.

This is because they may have no inherent principles others than self-advancement or youthful experimentation.  I know that I moved all over the chart when I was younger, and spent quite a bit of time on right side of the circle, but as I grew and aged and raised a family I started settling in the center and then to slightly left of center in the 'progressives.'   There are tests online that will help to place you if you answer them honestly.

I am not surprised that with such a range of choices and so many candidates, that so many people feel alienated with no clear cut choice.  I would find myself very hard-pressed to vote for either of the two establishment candidates, Bush or Clinton.  And the rest of the broad range of the candidates seem to have been made from a cookie cutter, except for two.  And therein lies both opportunity and danger.  But it is still very early days and things may look very differently by Spring.

Reform is a lonely watch, because you are without a doubt running against the mainstream current of the powerful in a society.   One has to find some principle other than self-interest to sustain them.  It is a good time therefore for religious feelings, narcissist pre-occupation, banal greed, and political extremism.  People will always find something to worship, one way or the other.

Have a pleasant weekend.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Dog Days of Summer

Today was a very sleepy day in the US markets.  

One might think that most of the adults on Wall Street left early for their Summer homes and the beaches, having held off the threat of a market plunge with which we began this week.

If you look to the SP 500 chart in particular you will see that the SP futures are in a symmetrical triangle which is a 'decision point.'  In a strong uptrend it is more often a continuation pattern, but at this point I would judge it to be much more of the crossroads, after the long bull run in stocks.

Next week is likely to be quiet UNLESS we see more exogenous surprises, most likely from overseas, in places such as Greece, the Ukraine, or China.

The organic action in the market is of much less influence than in a healthy market, and the major indices in particular seem to be firmly in the hands of the trading desks and their HFT algos.

The swings in volatility, if they continue in their Jekyll & Hyde manner of the recent past, may likely culminate in the establishment of a very visible major top, and a serious correction into the Autumn.

But that is just a possibility for now, although many will make the call in the hopes of a hit.

Have a pleasant weekend.

The Real News - 9/11 The Man Who Knew Too Much

"Mass surveillance is not about protecting people;  it is about social control.

The shadow government is its own enterprise, and it rewards those who pay obesiance quite richly"

Here is the second segment of a fascinating five part interview about the deep state and the mechanics of what some might call corporatism.

You may watch all five segments of this interview at The Real News here.  Note that they are listed in descending order on the site, so start from the bottom up to see them in order.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - And Quiet Flows the Con

"As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods.
They kill us for their sport."

William Shakespeare, King Lear

Gold and silver took a break from the last few days, as the yellow dawg and silver rocket slumped a little on the porch after chasing the volatility of the markets around the barn.

That disruption was caused by the China currency devaluations which reminded those who have not been paying attention that a) there is a currency war underway, b) there is no sustainable economic recovery despite rosy reassurances and the facade of statistical growth, and c) there are a number of bubbles in financial assets that have been functioning primarily as wealth transfer mechanisms, and are wobbling in a manner that could bring the economy back to the brink once again.

The Bucket Shop was its usual quiet self yesterday as there were no deliveries to speak of, and no observable action in the warehouses.

Let's see how the metals can go out for the week in tomorrow's trade.  Recall that these macro changes tend to happen slowly, and as far as reform of the markets is concerned, there has been very little if any.

Have a pleasant evening.