Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - As Old as Babylon, and Evil as Sin - Risk On

"All through history the ways of truth and love have always won.  There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall.  Think of it— always."

Mohandas K. Gandhi


"No one can serve two masters, for he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one, and be neglectful of the other. And so you cannot serve both God and Mammon."

Matt 6:24


"Those who are at present so eager to be reconciled with the world at any price must take care not to be reconciled with it under this particular aspect: as the nest of The Unspeakable.  This is what too few are willing to see."

Thomas Merton


"The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural cure for suffering, but a supernatural use of it."

Simone Weil


"And because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.  But those who stand firm to the end, will be saved."

Matthew 24:12

Wall Street continued to push the risk envelope today.

My sense is that this is a 'wash and rinse' operation, designed to clean out the shorts and especially the holdings of weak hands who trade for the short term.

But we will see how much follow through these jokers can squeeze out next week, with or without tweet effects and support.

Gold and silver had a rough week to say the least, especially silver which has had quite the fall from a recent high.

This is not government intervention per se in my judgement in the metals markets.  Perhaps it is with stocks, and for obvious reasons.

With the metals it seems more likely that some of the big banks are cleaning up on their oversized short positions, albeit with the government standing idly by and doing nothing to regulate and ensure 'fair markets.'

But isn't that what so many utterly propagandized free marketeers want? To allow powerful interests to have their way with markets, and healthcare, and insurance, and the distribution of wealth, enforcement of the laws, and just about everything else?

The huge disconnect between what people say that they believe and what they want is very typical of people who have been molded into a particular pattern of thought by repeated arguments that, upon closer inspection, are obviously founded in wicked self-interest.

But in the short term there is no helping people who have reached their 'opinions' by emotionalism. They reject thought and facts, and cling to the delusions fostered in them by the crowd that surrounds the demagogue.  They insulate themselves from reason with a kind of fervor.

I am not overly concerned myself. This is nothing new, and we have seen it all before. I have seen it and I am not even all that old really.

Could it get worse? Absolutely. Will it get worse? I don't think it will get any worse than it was in the 60's and 70's.

We do live in dangerous times.  But all times are dangerous, to the individual.  This is the nature of this world, since recorded history.

My biggest concern is for people that I like to hold on to their souls, myself included.

That is the real game. That is the crux of the battle.

That is the only investment you have that, at the end of the day, truly matters.

Things will unfold as they will, slowly at first then in a rush.

But in the end, we are never far from the campfires of gentle people, who go about their daily lives.

We must steel ourselves against hate and fear, and the lure of the anger of the mob.

And ironically enough, the only way to do that is love.

So despite the urge to let go of your concerns and scruples and join in, join the team, lose yourself in the excitement and certainly of some tribe, don't do it.

Could it be any more clear who serves the power and the darkness of this world, with all its fear and hatred and anger?   Could it be any clearer who it is that despise love, and who will not serve anyone but themselves?

Is this the one to whom you wish to pledge youself, to give yourself away?

There are times when you hold your whole self in your hands. If you open your fingers to grasp something else, some shiny object that promises you worldly acceptance and success if you just let go of your foolish love of the word, your very soul can slip out and be carried away.

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

Have a pleasant evening.

Trends in Gold and Silver Prices in Dollars

Something to thik about and watch along with me.

Let's see if this intermediate trend holds up, or not.

Please note these are futures contracts and not the futures discounted time value derived 'spot' price as quoted by Kitco et al.

And also that it is a stretch to refer to what we have today as markets of price discovery.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Wall Street: Where the Elite Meet to Cheat

"Trump makes worse an already problematic situation with pensions.  So whimsical. POTUS makes an historic monetary policy decision by endorsing negative interest rates, probably unaware of the epic controversy that he opened by doing so. Savers and pensioners thrown under the bus!

This is why I think a comprehensive and in a sense 'final' global financial crisis is so likely.  It will provide the cover for massive debt write-offs, but also painful and scary policy innovations (going cashless, positive money, digital moneys, global monetary reset etc).

Bernanke was not a hero, but rather an historic villain, pitting bankers against the people in that centuries long struggle.  True, the Federal Reserve as a whole failed society, with NY Fed leading the effort to preserve and revitalize its own major members. Yes one should not blame Bernanke alone. The entire Fed was at fault. Then in the wake, the Fed bailed out the banks.  He had huge regulatory powers that could have been applied to cleanse banking system and impose transparency but he declined that opportunity in favor of propping up the same system that brought us the Great Financial Crash."

Dr. Harald Malmgren

Busy day today.

The wiseguys were also busy, trying to keep gold around $1500 and silver at $18.

They had their hands full today. I hope they didn't strain themselves.

Stocks were listless after their recent run higher.

It is like the boys in the pits are looking around thinking, 'ok we squeezed the shorts and ran them up. Now what are we going to do?'

There will be another Democratic Debate tonight. Let's see if Uncle Joe can keep his wits about him.

The corporatists are counting on him.

Sanders and especially Warren are making Wall Street and the moneyed interests very nervous. Look for the smearing and propaganda to get kicked up a notch. Things are probably going to get uglier before they get better.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - All Along the Watchtower

"There must be some way out of here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line
Know what any of it is worth.

No reason to get excited
The thief he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now
The hour is getting late."

Bob Dylan

It was another Tweet-olini inspired risk on day as stocks soared in a patriotic response to Trump's announcement that he is considering relaxing some of his sanctions on Iranian oil.

He also said the 'boneheads' at the Fed should be lowering interest rates to zero and below. Because the economy is just that strong.

I still do not regret never having voted for Hillary, or Bill for that matter.

But Trump exceeds all expectations of a truly tragic choice made by a long abused public in their desperation and anger.  One only wonders how much further he will go before he completely and utterly implodes.   Although we are not yet at our LBJ or Nixon moments, we are on our way.

I still don't think Trumpolini will serve out his full term, much less be elected to a second, unless the Dumbocrats run some stiff like Biden or gasp, bring back Hillary.

So many things are yet to be revealed.  But we are certainly finding out a lot about ourselves.

It is interesting that while the VIX was lower and stocks were ramped up towards new highs into a relatively quiet close, gold and silver and the dollar were also higher.

After the bell Oracle announced its earnings a day early with a miss, and disclosed that its CEO is taking a leave of absence for health reasons. But they are using this low interest rate regime to buy back more of their stock.

Nothing has changed. Not one thing.

And WTC7 did not drop in a freefall because of nearby fires.

Our hypocrisy, and capacity for self-delusion, knows no bounds.

Have a pleasant evening.