Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Stock Bubble III: The Great Unraveling - Stock Option Expiration Friday

“Realize that narcissists have an addiction disorder. They are strongly addicted to feeling significant. Like any addict they will do whatever it takes to get this feeling often. That is why they are manipulative and fakers. They promise change, but can't deliver if it interferes with their addiction.”

Shannon L. Alder


"As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool returns to his folly."

Proverbs 26:11


"This is the contempt in which they hold the majority of American people and the political process: the common people are easily led fools, and everyone else who is smart enough to know better has their price.

And they would beggar every middle class voter in the US before they will voluntarily give up one dime of their ill gotten gains."

Simon Johnson, The Quiet Coup, May 2009


"Remember that there will be trying times in the last days.  For people will love only themselves and their money.  They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, dishonoring their parents, and ungrateful.  To them nothing is sacred.  They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and despise what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless and proud, and love pleasures of the world more than God. They may talk like they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.  Shun them."

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Stocks had another ranging day that ended up largely unchanged.

Trumpolini had his long-awaited signing ceremony with a Chinese delegation for the Trade-Lite Deal.  His speech was embarrassingly in character.

Gold and silver finished higher, and the Dollar closed a bit lower.

The stock market is now at bubble levels not seen since the Tech Bubble.

A reckoning with reality is on deck, most likely to arrive later this year. How much later is a very good question.

Protect yourselves, your hearts and minds as well as your money.  For the love of most has already gone cold.

Are we truly in the last days as some think?

As Newman observed, most centuries have thought that their times are the worst.  Pride inflates our view of ourselves in many ways.

No one can truly know when the end is coming, as you may recall.

But it seems as though an end of something, thought to be unassailable, is fast approaching.

And the consequences of this failure of pride, and the reaction its fanatical true believers, may be notable, for many years to come.

Try to not become swept up in the madness, remembering who you are and why you are here.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Polyphony and Cacophony

"When we talk about company culture in the context of financial services, the first thing that comes to mind is the risky, unethical, and sometimes criminal behavior in the banking industry, particularly during the financial crisis. And ten years on from the crisis, this behavior persists.  [Persists?  It remains their very business model] Instances of fraud, money laundering, and scandals related to foreign exchange and LIBOR continue to make the headlines.

This behavior puts a spotlight on the essential role of robust regulation and strict enforcement [which is the primary responsibility of the NY Fed]. But illicit and unethical behavior is rarely the result of an isolated 'bad apple.' [or a rogue trader]  It’s more often the symptom of a rotten culture. And rotten cultures don’t appear overnight—nor for that matter do positive, inclusive ones, where people feel empowered and accountable to upholding the values of the organization.

Culture is created—intentionally or otherwise—by the structures, incentives, and behavioral norms that shape our working lives."

John C Williams, President, NY Fed, Getting to the Core of Culture, 14 January 2020, London


"Oh, yes, we shall be in chains and there will be no freedom, but then, in our great sorrow, we shall rise again to joy, without which man cannot live nor God exist, for God gives joy: it's His privilege — a grand one.  Ah, man should be dissolved in prayer!  What should I be underground there without God? 

If they drive God from the earth, we shall shelter Him underground.  One cannot exist in prison without God; it's even more impossible than out of prison.  And then we men underground will sing from the bowels of the earth a glorious hymn to God, with Whom is joy.  Hail to God and His joy! I love Him!"

Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov


“Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory, or one of unthinkable horror.”

C. S. Lewis

Stocks were mixed today and the major indices finished largely unchanged to slightly weaker.

Gold and silver were hit very hard in the quiet overnight trading by the usual suspects, but managed to take most of that back during regular hours and also finished largely unchanged along with the Dollar.

I think that we all see what has been going on.  And some are slowly coming to their senses.

But lawlessness thrives, and there are few consequences.  And so the love of most has grown cold.

And if they drive God from the face of the earth, we will shelter Him in our hearts.

"Such is the rule of our warfare We advance by yielding; we rise by falling; we conquer by suffering; we persuade by silence; we become rich by bountifulness ; we inherit the earth through meekness; we gain comfort through mourning; we earn glory by penitence and prayer.  Heaven and earth shall sooner fall than this rule be reversed; it is the law of Christ's kingdom, and nothing can reverse it but sin."

John Henry Newman

This is the music that rises up from the clamor.  This is the true and lasting resistance, hidden with God, and sustained by His love..

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Risk On - Sitting on Top of the World

“Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist, and into them enters suffering, in order that they may have existence.”

Léon Bloy

Fixing vintage plumbing in old houses can feel like fighting a land war in Asia.

My latest experience with this inconvenient entanglement with the unforgiving began last night, but seems to be winding down to a successful conclusion this afternoon.  Fingers crossed.

At least it took my mind off the head and chest cold that has been plaguing me since just after Christmas. Visitors from afar bring good company but strange maladies.

Stocks were relatively fearless from the opening, and yearned to rise higher for most of the day, ahead of the beginning of latest round of earnings announcements which begins shortly.

There will be a stock market option expiration on Friday.

Gold and silver were smacked lower as safe havens and risk avoidance became unfashionable, at least temporarily. There is also a tradition of smacking the metals the next trading day after a Non-Farm Payrolls report if they had been relatively unscathed on the day itself.

On a positive note I have to say that the NFL playoff games have been unusually engaging so far.

And of course tonight there is the National Championship for college football with Clemson v. LSU. Fire up the wings in the air fryer.

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

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Payrolls and Wages Come in Light

"We shall not cease from exploring
And at the end of our exploration
We will return to where we started
And know the place for the first time
Through the unknown, unremembered gate."

T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding


“It's déjà vu all over again.”

Yogi Berra


"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther... And one fine morning——

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby


Dickie:  Where are we going?
Stymie:   I don't know, brother, but we're on our way.

The Little Rascals, Free Wheeling

The Jobs Report came in somewhat tepid this morning and wages failed to achieve the sorts of level one would expect in a healthy economy.

Stocks gave up a bit of their recent march higher.

The dollar was off a bit.

Gold and silver gained back a little of what was given up in the massive bear raid from earlier in the week.

Let's see how things progress next week.

The weight of mismeasured risks still seems somewhat lightly regarded, especially with regards to geopolitical events.

Next week we will begin a new cycle of earnings announcements.

Have a pleasant weekend.