“'Simon, Simon, behold! Satan has demanded permission to have all of you, to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. And once you have returned, you must strengthen your brothers.' And Simon said, 'Lord, I am ready to go with you, to prison and death.' Jesus answered, 'Before the cock crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.'" Luke 22:31-34
Stocks were down sharply across the board. gold, silver, and their miners also took another hit.
The Fed's Bullard provoked additional selling this morning with remarks that were interpreted as hawkish for interest rates.
Let's say goodbye to this week, and good riddance.
There will be a number of Fed heads speaking again next week.
There will be a option expiration on the Comex next Thursday the 24th.
Have a pleasant weekend.
E.A. Bucchianeri, Faust: My Soul Be Damned for the World
"Ship of fools on a cruel sea, ship of fools sail away from me. It was later than I thought when I first believed you, Now I cannot share your laughter, ship of fools."
Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, Ship of Fools
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK? It's, like, incredible."
Donald J. Trump, Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa.
"The banks must be restrained, and the financial system reformed, and balance restored to the economy, before there can be any sustained recovery."
Jesse, July 2009
It is good for the powerful and wicked few that the great majority of people are so easily fooled.
Stocks were mixed today, with the NDX soaring to a new all time high in the futures, with the more mundane stocks weak to unchanged.
Gold and silver were hit hard again.
The miners were hammered.
Must be an option expiration tomorrow.
The Dollar moved up to tuck in beneath the 92 handle.
The Yield curve flattened.
Shenanigans abounding.
Have a pleasant evening.
"Don’t be fooled into letting the actions of others determine your joy. True joy comes from knowing that God Himself lives within you and has fellowship with you, regardless of your environment. Real joy lies in the knowledge that holy God has completely forgiven you of every sin, and even now, He has a home prepared in heaven where you can spend eternity with Him.The circumstances of your life cannot change these truths. Do not allow difficult events to cancel the joy of knowing you are a child of God. Choose to allow God’s Spirit to fill you with His unquenchable joy, and your life will be a miracle to those who watch you face the trials that come."
Henry Blackaby, Choose to Rejoice
"Greed is not good. Greed is a disease, an aberration of honest ambition and necessary provision, taken to excess. This simple distinction may be lost on a people no longer able to distinguish between virtue and sin, honor and expediency, appetite and gluttony, the means and the ends. Every great religion, every school of philosophy has cautioned throughout history on the perils of unbridled and unregulated greed.
And yet this generation would make a god of it, although they may not understand, or care, what it is that they are doing, and whom it is they serve. And yet they will be held to account for their willfulness, foolishness, and casual disregard for others.
Greed, often in company with hubris or fear, is a handmaiden of the corrupting influence of power and triumph of the will.
Greed is contagious, and attacks the very contentment of society at its heart, turning it towards oligarchy and oppression. As Erich Fromm observed, 'Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.'"
Jesse, Greed Is Not Good, December 2010
“The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the catacombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we are ourselves are defeated in our innermost selves?”
Maximilian Kolbe
The Fed surprised the markets today by suggested they may raise rates two times in a couple of years.
The Dollar rallied.
Stocks dropped sharply, but managed to regain much of their losses in the afternoon.
Gold and silver were hit and did not bounce much off the lows.
There will be a stock market option expiration on Friday.
Have a pleasant evening.
Stocks were off a bit today.
Gold and silver were lower.
The miners were sold.
The Dollar was unchanged.
FOMC decision tomorrow.
Stock option expiration on Friday.
Have a pleasant evening.
