Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Per Ipsum et cum Ipso et in Ipso

“Like a snake eating its own tail, the equity market cannot rely on share buybacks indefinitely to nourish the illusion of growth."

Chris Cole, Artemis Capital


"Of course big bank stocks are 'overvalued' in terms of earnings or revenues, but do such measures really matter in a world without value?   When you have global central banks gunning all asset prices in a desperate effort to avoid a sovereign debt default starting in Japan and then Europe, pedestrian metrics like price/earnings ratios and net-present value have little relevance...

The growing pile of public debt in the US is why price stability will never be part of the mix— unless and until the Treasury is forced to live within its means.   This is also why dollar-alternatives like bitcoin, imperfect and even fraudulent as they may be, will continue to capture the attention of those seeking to escape the economic tyranny of fiat paper money."

Chris Whalen, Institutional Risk Analyst

If you did not watch the World Series game last night, with the walkoff 13-12 win by the Astros, you missed one of the best offensive battles in postseason play that I have ever seen.

The east coast certainly did not miss out on rain this weekend.  We had a steady downpour intermingled with cloudbursts that lasted nearly all day, and late into the evening.  We certainly needed the water, and it did quite a bit to start the leaves falling which are several weeks behind the norm.

But like most storms it brought a glorious sunny day here, with a steady breeze to help to dry things out.   Dolly and I procured some flowers which we intend to place at the queen's niche in Lady Chapel tomorrow.

Gold bounced a little today and silver held steady.  Stocks made an early push higher, that faded for the most part into the afternoon and the close.

Gold continued to remain at low levels in the Hong Kong CME licensed warehouses. 

This is a week heavy with economic data.  The calendar for this is included below.

There will be a Non-Farm Payrolls report for September on Friday.   The FOMC is conducting a two day meeting with an announcement of their weighty economic meditations on interest rates on Wednesday.

Donald of Orange is said to be announcing his pick for the new Fed Chairperson on Thursday.  The Special Prosecutor was announcing indictments for his underlings and associates today.

And the band played on.

Have a pleasant evening.

Hysteria Used to Censor Progressive and Counter-Corporate Messaging

"The ruling elites, who grasp that the reigning ideology of global corporate capitalism and imperial expansion no longer has moral or intellectual credibility, have mounted a campaign to shut down the platforms given to their critics. The attacks within this campaign include blacklisting, censorship and slandering dissidents as foreign agents for Russia and purveyors of “fake news.”

No dominant class can long retain control when the credibility of the ideas that justify its existence evaporates. It is forced, at that point, to resort to crude forms of coercion, intimidation and censorship. This ideological collapse in the United States has transformed those of us who attack the corporate state into a potent threat, not because we reach large numbers of people, and certainly not because we spread Russian propaganda, but because the elites no longer have a plausible counterargument."

Chris Hedges, Silencing Dissent

This is the logical progression of the credibility trap.

When one has no credible counter-argument to facts and logically framed critiques, the resort is too often to ad hominem attacks, smearing, and suppression up to and including censorship. 

This is the reaction of careerists and ideologues when there is a perceived power imbalance, that is, when they think that they can get away with it.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - FANG'd

"Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne
und die trägt er im Gesicht
und Macheath, der hat ein Messer
doch das Messer sieht man nicht."

Berthold Brecht, Die Moritat von Mackie Messer, 1928

The results after the bell last night from the usual big cap tech suspects lit a fire until the Nasdaq 100, as you can see from the chart below.

That is the look of real pain for the big cap tech bears.

There will be an FOMC meeting next week. President Trump has also indicated that he will be naming the next Fed Chair.

And as usual with the beginning of a new month, we will be having a Non-Farm Payrolls Report on Friday November 3.

Have a pleasant weekend.

What Really Happened - How the Democratic Party Establishment Sold Its Soul and Lost the Election

"O, what a tangled web we weave
when first we practise to deceive!"

Sir Walter Scott, Marmion; A Tale of Flodden Field


"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil."

Jerry Garcia