Weekend Reading

“We are slow to master the great truth that even now Christ is, as it were, walking among us, and by His hand, or eye, or voice, bidding us to follow Him. We do not understand that His call is a thing that takes place now. We think it took place in the Apostles' days, but we do not believe in it; we do not look for it in our own case.

God's presence is not discerned at the time when it is upon us, but afterwards, when we look back upon what is gone and over. The world seems to go on as usual. There is nothing of heaven in the face of society, in the news of the day.

And yet the ever-blessed Spirit of God is there, ten times more glorious, more powerful than when He trod the earth in our flesh.

God beholds you. He calls you by your name. He sees you and understands you as He made you. He knows what is in you, all your peculiar feelings and thoughts, your dispositions and likings, your strengths and your weaknesses. He views you in your day of rejoicing and in your day of sorrow. He sympathizes in your hopes and your temptations. He interests Himself in all your anxieties and remembrances, all the risings and fallings of your spirit.

He encompasses you round and bears you in His arms. He notes your very countenance, whether smiling or in tears. He looks tenderly upon you. He hears your voice, the beating of your heart, and your very breathing. You do not love yourself better than He loves you. You cannot shrink from pain more than He dislikes your bearing it; and if He puts it on you, it is as you would put it on yourself, if you would be wise, for a greater good afterwards.

There is an inward world, which none see but those who belong to it. There is an inward world into which they enter who come to Christ, though to men in general they seem as before. If they drank of Christ's cup it is not with them as in time past. They came for a blessing, and they have found a work.

To their surprise, as time goes on, they find that their lot is changed. They find that in one shape or another adversity happens to them. If they refuse to afflict themselves, God afflicts them.

Why did you taste of His heavenly feast, but that it might work in you—why did you kneel beneath His hand, but that He might leave on you the print of His wounds?

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 connection 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.

Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever 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.

He does nothing in vain. 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 my future from me -- still He knows what He is about.

Let us feel what we really are--sinners attempting great things. Let us simply obey God's will, whatever may come. He can turn all things to our eternal good. Easter day is preceded by the forty days of Lent, to show us that they only who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Contemplate then yourself, not as yourself, but as you are in the Eternal God. Fall down in astonishment at the glories which are around you and in you, poured to and fro in such a wonderful way that you are dissolved into the Kingdom of God.

The more we do, the more shall we trust in Christ; and that surely is no morose doctrine, that leads us to soothe our selfish restlessness, and forget our fears, in the vision of the Incarnate Son of God.

May the Lord support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.

Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last.”

John Henry Newman

Some Charts - When In Doubt Inflate Financial Paper

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Eph 6:12

Here are the basic stock and precious metal and economic charts as of about 2:00 EDT.

The economic news this morning was rather poor, and the luster with which Wall Street attempted to paint the financial sector in light of the 'great results' from JPM were fading as the 'better than expected' results over lowered expectations from CITI were not so lustrous year over year.   I think we might be in the midst of another handoff of long positions from the pros to the 'others.'  But only time will tell as we bang against an obvious overhead resistance point.

I have not heard much in the lame stream media about Deutsche Bank admitting that they, along with others, had been manipulating the prices in the global precious metals markets.     The oligarchs seem to be less coy and more audacious about pulling the strings of power.

A late night complication has led to a minor surgery this morning, to the extent that any surgery with full anesthesia is minor.   We seem to be hitting the trifecta of unusual things that do not often happen, and those unexpectedly.

The surgery is to insert a tube to drain of excess fluid from the ventricle, a different area from where they had the drain in from the surgery itself.    They think the cerebrospinal fluid was contaminated by blood from the area of the tumor even though it was not directly in touch.

And that blood 'clogged up' the natural draining system.  So they intend to relieve the pressure and let it flush the blood out over a few days.  And back to the ICU she goes.

And so I am putting this up, and then cracking on to the hospital.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Fed: JP Morgan Poses a 'Serious Adverse Effect To US Financial Stability' While Media Ignores

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

Upton Sinclair


"Hell is empty and all the devils are here."

William Shakespeare, The Tempest

And these days it is not always so obviously a question of salary. But it is often a question of access to the powerful, and the great favors, money, and privileges that they may grant as a reward.

There has been no meaningful and sufficient financial reform in the US, thanks in large part to the money power of the Banks and their faithful courtiers in the professional and political classes.

How can we not expect political failures in financial reform when almost fifty percent of Super Pac money comes from just 50 sources?

Do you reasonably expect any movement on changing this corrupt system from the establishment Republicans or the Wall Street Democrats?  They and their friends are doing very well financially as the data shows.

One of the reasons why the Fed is raising this alarm now is in part to the serious grilling that Senator Elizabeth Warren gave to Janet Yellen in a hearing last year, to which Janet had no good answers.

As JPM showed in their most recent financials, they are prospering once again while risking the rest of the US economy by their pursuit of greed and socialization of their losses.

And as we learned yesterday, Deutsche Bank admitted that they had been manipulating the prices of gold and silver in the world markets, and that they were certainly not alone in this fraudulent behaviour.  As I have asked so many times, if the Banks have been shown to have manipulated so many other markets of consequence, how can anyone be so skeptical when the evidence showed that they were doing the same thing in the gold and silver markets.

A rank amateur might not see it on the tape and the data, but any seasoned pro could not miss it unless they were wilfully blind.  Keep this sort of thing in mind as you take your pick of analysis and associated spinning of the facts.  I have seen a lot of nastiness on the Street over the past thirty five years, but this is one of the most rotten financial market climates that I can remember.  What used to be the exceptional misbehaviour seems to have become the accepted standard of doing business.  This is one of the most brutally cynical political and financial climates that I can remember and my memory of this goes all the way back to the early 1960's, to LBJ and Nixon.

The mainstream media continues to yawn, and when the next financial crisis comes, one well may ask 'why didn't anyone see it coming?'

The Fed Sends a Frightening Letter to JPMorgan and Corporate Media Yawns
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
April 14, 2016

Yesterday the Federal Reserve released a 19-page letter that it and the FDIC had issued to Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on April 12 as a result of its failure to present a credible plan for winding itself down if the bank failed. The letter carried frightening passages and large blocks of redacted material in critical areas, instilling in any careful reader a sense of panic about the U.S. financial system...

At the top of page 11, the Federal regulators reveal that they have “identified a deficiency” in JPMorgan’s wind-down plan which if not properly addressed could “pose serious adverse effects to the financial stability of the United States.”   Why didn’t JPMorgan’s Board of Directors or its legions of lawyers catch this?

It’s important to parse the phrasing of that sentence. The Federal regulators didn’t say JPMorgan could pose a threat to its shareholders or Wall Street or the markets. It said the potential threat was to “the financial stability of the United States.”

That statement should strike fear into even the likes of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who has been tilting at the shadows in shadow banks while buying into the Paul Krugman nonsense that “Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Is Working” when it comes to the behemoth banks on Wall Street...

JPMorgan’s sprawling derivatives portfolio that encompasses $51 trillion notional amount as of December 31, 2015 is also causing angst at the Fed and FDIC. The regulators wanted more granular detail on what would happen if JPMorgan’s counterparties refused to continue doing business with it if rating agencies cut its credit ratings. The regulators asked for a “narrative describing at least one pathway” for winding down the derivatives portfolio, taking into account a number of factors, including “the costs and challenges of obtaining timely consents from counterparties and potential acquirers (step-in banks).”

Read the entire article here.

Deutsche Bank Concedes a Settlement For Widespread Rigging of the Price of Silver (And Gold)

It appears that with the regulators either asleep or blithely ignoring blatant price manipulation in the precious metals, it remains for private parties to bring suit for the damages by these banksters in the 'free markets.'

As I recall, the CFTC conducted a three year study of the silver market, and finally came out with a simple comment that 'there is no evidence of manipulation.'

The Banks named in this private lawsuit in US Federal Court were Deutsche Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia,  HSBC, and UBS AG.

Postscript:  Apparently Deutsche Bank is also admitting to gold price manipulation, and is willing to name names of accomplices as noted here.

Reuters
Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:09pm EDT
Deutsche Bank to settle U.S. silver price-fixing litigation

Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to settle U.S. litigation over allegations it illegally conspired with Bank of Nova Scotia and HSBC Holdings Plc to fix silver prices at the expense of investors, a court filing on Wednesday showed.

Terms were not disclosed, but the accord will include a monetary payment by the German bank, a letter filed in Manhattan federal court by lawyers for the investors said.

Deutsche Bank has signed a binding settlement term sheet, and is negotiating a formal settlement agreement to be submitted for approval by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni, who oversees the litigation.

A Deutsche Bank spokeswoman declined to comment. Lawyers for the investors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Investors accused Deutsche Bank, HSBC and ScotiaBank of abusing their power as three of the world's largest silver bullion banks to dictate the price of silver through a secret, once-a-day meeting known as the Silver Fix.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants distorted prices on the roughly $30 billion of silver and silver financial instruments traded annually, violating U.S. antitrust law.

UBS AG was also named as a defendant. Investors accused the Swiss bank of conspiring to exploit the Silver Fix, though it did not help set the benchmark....

Read the entire article here.