Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Dead Reckonings

“What shall I say about this generation?  John the Baptist did not drink wine, and often went without food, and you called him mad.  And I, the Messiah, both eat and drink, and you say that I am a glutton and a drunk, and am friends with the worst sort of sinners.   The truth of you will be known by your works.*

Matt 11:16-19


"An old woman came down this way,
She had no bread left to eat they say,
The bread was gobbled by the corporate men,
And she fell in the gutter in the cold and rain,
And was never hungry again."

Bertolt Brecht, Liturgie vom Hauch, 1927


There are those contentious and disorderly people, who engage in useless speculation and deceptive talk, and focus on divisive points of dispute... All things are good to the pure of heart, but to these corrupt and disbelieving controversialists nothing can be good, since both their minds and and their hearts are corrupted. They may say that they know God, but by their actions they deny Him, being corrupt and disobedient, and of no use for any good purpose."

Titus 1:10,15-16


"How terrible it will be for those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute what is bitter for what is sweet and what is sweet for what is bitter!"

Isaiah 5:20

There will be the December stock option expiration next week.

Stocks popped intraday on the news of the 'trade deal' with China, and then sold back off after it was revealed to be less of thing that represented, repeatedly. Sell the hype.

Gold and silver moved back higher, as the Banks seemed to falter a bit in their short selling campaign.

Gold in particular is coiled, and if it breaks out, may rise quickly with a great deal of energy.

Ordinary people do not easily lie about significant things, directly and openly; they are not so bold and brazen. They do at least know shame.

But they so often are tempted to repeat and pass around the lies of others, often notorious liars, saying, 'who can know what is truth? I am merely passing this along. Make up your own mind.'

They do it because it pleases the darkness of their soul, to spread these falsehoods, to satisfy their anger and bitterness.  And they pass along things that are so shockingly false and mean-spirited,  even to their own friends and children, that they are like a slow poison for innocent minds. And they think themselves blameless because they did not say it, or strike the blow with their own hands!

There was an ostentatiously observant man who did this sort of thing to win some senseless religious argument that he kept raising.  And when called on the blatant use of an obvious falsehood he said, 'what is truth?'  

He quoted Pilate, with the words with which the Roman procurator condemned the very truth itself.  For the sake of some petty point of religion!  This is where the overly sly use of deceptiveness leads us.  It corrupts our very judgement and perception. 

Do not allow yourself to be given over to this sort of temptation and deceptive wickedness.  If we could see some of the things we do through God's eyes we would hide yourselves in shame.

Remember to feed the least of His creatures, the birds and the animals. And be mindful of the hearts of those you meet, encouraging them with a kindness and a smile.

Have a pleasant weekend.

The Pandemic of 1918

"Besides replicating very quickly, the 1918 strain seems to trigger a particularly intense response from the immune system, including a ‘cytokine storm’ – the rapid release of immune cells and inflammatory molecules.

Although a robust immune response should help us fight infection, an over-reaction of this kind can overload the body, leading to severe inflammation and a build-up of fluid in the lungs that could increase the chance of secondary infections.

The cytokine storm might help to explain why young, healthy adults – who normally find it easier to shake off flu – were the worst affected, since in this case their stronger immune systems created an even more severe cytokine storm."

BBC, Why the Flu of 1918 Was So Deadly

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Markets Reverse on 'Breakthrough' in US-China Trade

Yet another breakthrough in the ongoing trade dispute with China.

It certainly was a nice suprise for the markets, especially for those who knew about it in advance.

UK election coverage starts at 5 PM here after the voting stations close. Very sensible.

The exit polls there are indicating a Tory majority, which indicates for Brexit sooner rather than later.

That should be interesting to watch.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Fed at Ease - Dollar Down, Metals Up

"Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling, a process that rewards merit and punishes inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers benefits that could never be achieved by planning.

We internalise and reproduce its creeds. The rich persuade themselves that they acquired their wealth through merit, ignoring the advantages – such as education, inheritance and class – that may have helped to secure it. The poor begin to blame themselves for their failures, even when they can do little to change their circumstances.

It has played a major role in a remarkable variety of crises: the financial meltdown of 2007‑8, the offshoring of wealth and power, of which the Panama Papers offer us merely a glimpse, the slow collapse of public health and education, resurgent child poverty, the epidemic of loneliness, the collapse of ecosystems, the rise of Donald Trump. But we respond to these crises as if they emerge in isolation, apparently unaware that they have all been either catalysed or exacerbated by the same coherent philosophy; a philosophy that has – or had – a name. What greater power can there be than to operate namelessly?"

George Monbiot


"Over the past few years, in this Committee, we have seen the Trump Administration dismantle many of the protections we put in place after the last financial crisis, putting our financial system and hardworking families around the country at risk.  The SEC has flown under the radar, but often the agenda has been the same – taking Wall Street’s side over and over, instead of standing with investors saving for retirement or college or a down payment."

US Senator Sherrod Brown, Oversight Hearing of the SEC, 10 December 2019

The Fed did nothing as expected today.

And the indications are that they will continue to do nothing for some time, unless their hand is forced by some exogenous event in the world, or some systemic misadventure with the mispricing of risk.

As I have indicated, the Fed now has a 'high bar' for raising rates. And lowering them will just fuel the asset bubble.
So gold and silver caught a bid, while the Dollar dived.

Stocks finished up a little higher, but seem to be struggling at these levels despite the enormous amount of liquidity being put into the hands of Wall Street by the Fed.

And so now the eyes of the markets now turn to the UK general election, and even moreso to the 'trade war' and the deadline for tariff increases on this coming Sunday.

I have a feeling that things are going to become quite a bit worse before they can get better. The general strike in France, and civil unrest in other parts of the world, is just a taste of things to come.

We are afflicted by some social and economic theories that are quite mad, and rather destructive.   And as Yeats noted, 'the best seem to lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity.'   And willful madness, in some circles at the fringes, has become fashionable.

This too shall pass. Pride always struggles with the humility of creation, and seeks to destory it as it destroys itself. It cannot win of course, because that victory has already been won by the most human and most humble of all His creation.

Have a pleasant evening.