06 November 2018

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Eenie, Meenie, Chili Beanie, the Voters Are About To Speak - FOMC Thursday


Today is the midterm election day in the US.

Thanks be to God, that this is almost over, and the calls and visits and smarmy TV ads will stop, at least for a little while.

The market seems to be pricing in a split decision, with the Democrats taking the House, and the GOP hanging on to the Senate.

If the Dems sweep both houses I expect to see a sell off of some sorts in equities. The market will not like the uncertainty about impeachment and investigations.

Gold and silver went sideways to a bit lower along with the US Dollar.

It is cold and raining here, almost all day. I got up and out early to beat the rush at the polls, and picked up some items.

Tonight is fitting for a bowl of home made spicy beef noodle soup, Chinese style. I have not eaten lunch and am ready to eat now. I have been cooking Asian for the past few months, at the request of my son.  This beef noodle soup with meatballs, served with fresh noodles, scallions and cilantro with a little black vinegar and homemade hot chili oil, is quite good.   For full disclosure the fresh noodles and meatballs came from a Chinese grocery store.

I just made a new batch of chili oil this afternoon. The beef broth is very rich, with beef bones that were roasted at 425F in the oven for an hour, and then pressure cooked for two hours.  I include some beef tendons that just melt into the broth, making it very thick and beefy, clinging to the noodles.  Some fresh bamboo shoots, okra, mushrooms, and tofu all lightly simmered in and voila.

For later I have a little side dish of naan bread glazed with butter and perhaps a light sprinkle with a fine garlic powder. It will go well with a pot of hot tea, for watching the election returns on a cold, damp night.

It is the little things that make life worth living.

Need little, want less, love more. For those who abide in love abide in God and God in them.

Have a pleasant evening.


05 November 2018

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - MidTerm Elections Tomorrow - FOMC Jawboning On Wednesday


“We were a very different country 40 years ago.   The downhill slide has been pretty fast. America, I think, should be an important warning to other countries not to take for granted their institutions.  I worry that things in the United States could get much worse.”

Joseph Stiglitz, America Should Be a Warning


"You are anarchists in the realm of thought.  And you are mad cosmos-makers.  Each of you dwells in a cosmos of his own making, created out of his own fancies and desires.  You do not know the real world in which you live, and your thinking has no place in the real world except in so far as it is phenomena of mental aberration.”

Jack London, The Iron Heel

The crazy train is pulling into the station tomorrow night.

Let's see what tunes the band plays on its arrival.

The commentary on Bubblevision this afternoon was mind-numbing in its vacuity. I had to turn it off as soon as the market closed. 

Stocks were trying to level up today, with the lead sled dog being the SP 500 futures. The Nasdaq 100 was a boat anchor being dragged behind.

The Dollar was slightly lower.

So were the precious metals, ever so slightly, in anticipation of the FOMC rate decision on Wednesday perhaps.

It appears that the ever-shrinking 'caravan' will not make their appointment at the border in time for the election.  What a surprise.  Could Fox News have possibly gotten it wrong?

Have a pleasant evening.


A Banquet of Love in the Face of Hatred For the Frightened, the Weary, the Troubled, the Confused


Brothers and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
If any comfort in love,
If any fellowship in the Spirit,
If any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking as one.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or out of pride;
but in humility regard others more important than yourselves.
Each of us should look out not only for his own interests,
but also for the interests of others.

Philippians 2:1-4


For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Then he turned to his host. 'When you put on a meal or a banquet', he said, 'do not invite just your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors.  For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward.  Instead, invite the poor, the broken, the lame, and the blind.  Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.'

Luke 11: 11-14

All of a turn to a good heart are welcome into the warmth and light of His café.