SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Reversal

Stocks were on a see-saw today, but finally gave up their attempts to go higher, and slipped to the lows of the day into the close.

VIX ticked up a bit in the last hour of trade. I had been watching it carefully, at least for the time that I was in my office and not gallivanting around with the most precious jewel.

On the charts we see a retracement from a short term top, at least so far.

Let's see if stocks will give it up here and continue to roll over, or if the street can gather its forces and push them higher. Selling volume is still rather light. But so is organic buying. This looks to be algo-driven, and without much commitment except to short term profits.

After the bell American Express missed its numbers.

Valeant was getting monkey-hammered today on a report from a bearish analyst that they have been using distribution pharmacies in order to book sales, with the meme 'the Enron of pharma' making the rounds.

Not to be deterred by his losses today, Bill Ackman stepped up and supposedly bought 2 million more shares.

Have a pleasant evening.

Still Backstopping the Banks With Public Money

"Gentlemen! I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country.

When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin!

Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out."

Andrew Jackson, in a meeting with the Bankers in Philadelphia, February 1834

Serious financial reform is almost never discussed in any meaningful way in the political campaign debates, for all the petty sniping and smart remarks that pass for a serious discussion of our policy issues.  Life imitates high school.

Goldman Sachs’ Rich Man’s Bank Backstopped by You and Me
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
October 21, 2015

Just when you thought Wall Street’s heist of the U.S. financial system couldn’t get any crazier, along comes a regulator’s report on FDIC-insured banks exposure to derivatives. According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), one of the regulators of national banks, as of June 30 of this year, Goldman Sachs Bank USA had $78 billion in deposits, and – wait for it – $45.7 trillion in notional amount of derivatives. (Notional means face amount of derivatives.) According to the OCC report, Goldman Sachs Bank USA’s notional derivatives are an eye-popping 563 percent of its risk-based capital. You and every other little guy in America is backstopping this bank because it’s, amazingly, FDIC insured...

Based on the data, it looks like the average taxpayer is backstopping a ton of risk at this FDIC insured bank and getting very little in return. According to financial data from the FFIEC for the second quarter, the bank had $25.1 billion in trading assets and according to the company’s web site, it’s those high net worth clients of its Private Bank that it’s working with “to manage their cash flow needs, finance private asset purchases, and facilitate strategic investments.”

According to the New York Times, Goldman Sachs private wealth management services require a minimum of $10 million to get in the front door. The same Times article says Goldman was even kicking out its own employees’ accounts if they fell short of $1 million..."

Read the entire article at Wall Street On Parade.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - J'attendrai

Gold and silver held steady at key resistance today, unable to move higher, but refusing to go lower.

There was very little delivery activity at The Bucket Shop yesterday, with the three bullion banks shoving some gold bullion around the plate in their house accounts again.  JPM picked up a little.

Other than that, the Comex is 'quiet' to put it charitably, with a little more silver leaking out through the seams.

And so I am waiting. I seem to be getting very good at it, waiting patiently. I have been waiting since yesterday for a phone call giving the latest test results from a PET scan last Wednesday. I probably have done this sort of thing about a dozen times now over the past four years. Waiting for someone else's tests, someone whose fear and pain strikes to your heart, seems worse than waiting for your own.

So as for gold and silver, waiting for them to do something is relatively easy. Bring it, you cartel clowns. Gold is flowing from West to East. And we are waiting for you, with a deepening resolve.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Going Nowhere Man

Stocks were struggling to go green (again) all day.

After the bell Yahoo missed earnings and revenues and Chipotle was not looking robust either, especially with a miss on the bottom line.

I am mostly in cash here with a light short position, waiting to see if stocks can move higher or will start rolling over. They seem overvalued here, especially in light of a slowing US and global economy.

Have a pleasant evening.