Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Relief Rally - Option Expiration on Friday

 

"Do you not yet see and understand?  Are your hearts that hardened?   Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?  Don't you remember anything?"

Mark 8:17-18

 

“Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is a pious hypocrisy.  There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, nothing hidden that will not be made known.  Whatever has been said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what has been whispered in private will be proclaimed from the rooftops."

Luke 12:1-3

 

"Now, it is plain that humility and teachableness are qualities of mind necessary for arriving at the truth in any subject, and in religious matters as well as others.  Impatient, proud, self-confident, obstinate men, are generally wrong in the opinions they form of persons and things.  Prejudice and self-conceit blind the eyes and mislead the judgment, whatever be the subject inquired into.  

When I see a person hasty and violent, harsh and high-minded, careless of what others feel, and disdainful of what they think;—when I see such a one proceeding to inquire into religious subjects, I am sure beforehand he cannot go right—he will not be led into all the truth—it is contrary to the nature of things and the experience of the world, that he should find what he is seeking. I should say the same were he seeking to find out what to believe or do in any other matter not religious,—but especially in any such important and solemn inquiry; for the fear of the Lord (humbleness, teachableness, reverence towards Him) is the very beginning of wisdom."

John Henry Newman

 

Stocks shook off geopolitical and other concerns and rallied higher, providing much needed relief for frustrated bulls.

Relief rally, get it?

Gold, silver and dollar fell as complacency broke out

Stock option expiration on Friday.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Risk of Not Understanding the Risks - Option Expiration on Friday

 

"I have told you all these things so that in me you may have peace.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

 

"When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

James 1:2-4

 

"The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.  Sighing from the depths of his spirit he said, 'Why does this generation seek a sign?  Amen, I say to you, no such sign will be given to this generation.'”

 Mark 8:11-12 

There will be a stock option expiration this Friday.

Stocks slumped today, but managed to take back much if not all of their losses in the afternoon.

The risks associated with the geo-politics of the Ukraine, and the Fed's upcoming moves are fluid.

Gold and silver rallied today along with the Dollar.

Boys just want to have fun.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Geo-Political Jitters Shake Equity Markets, Trigger Flight to Safer Assets

 

“Reality denied comes back to haunt.”

Philip K. Dick, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said  

 

"This market is one exogenous event away from a meltdown."

Jesse 11 January 2022

 

“Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world, yet somehow we find it hard to believe in ones that crash down on our heads from a blue sky.  There have been as many plagues as wars in history, yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise." 

Albert Camus, The Plague 

 

"The essence of God is existence, and He defines Himself as: 'I am Who am.'  The essence of the devil is the lie, and he defines himself as: 'I am who am not.'  Satan has very little trouble with those who do not believe in him; they are already on his side.

Those who have the faith had better keep in the state of grace, for in the coming age there will be only one way to stop your trembling knees, and that will be to get down on them and pray.  The most important problem in the world today is your soul, for that is what the struggle is about." 

Fulton J. Sheen

The simmering situation on the border between Russia and the Ukraine surfaced today.

It's not that anything terribly new has happened.   

The markets just stopped ignoring the increasingly tense situation.

Stocks sold off again-- hard.

The failed rally attempts off that last blow off top keep piling up.

Gold and silver and the Dollar rallied today in a classic flight to safer assets.

Bitcoin apparently didn't get the safer asset seal of approval.

Let's see what next week brings.

Have a pleasant weekend.

 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Loss and Gain - The Spice Must Flow

 

"Then the Lord said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  But only one thing is worthy of concern.'" 

 Luke 10:41-42

 

"They have treated the suffering of my people carelessly, saying, ‘all is well’ when there is no safety. They act shamefully, they commit terrible offenses; and yet they are not ashamed, and do not even know how to blush.   They shall be found among the fallen." 

Jeremiah 6:14-15 

 

"The selfishness of an age that has devoted itself to the mere cult of pleasure has tainted the whole human race with an error that makes all our acts more or less lies against God.  It is better to find God on the threshold of despair than to risk our lives in a complacency that has never felt the need of forgiveness." 

Thomas Merton 

 

"All persons desire to be saved, but the greater part, because they will not adopt the means of being saved, fall into sin and are lost." 

Alphonsus Liguori

 

"The rich man replied, ‘If someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’  But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if someone rises from the dead.’” 

Luke 16:30-31

 

"In the end there is only one real tragedy, not to have been a saint." 

Léon Bloy

 

 The CPI numbers came in hot this morning.

And the yields on Treasuries climbed to multi-year (decade?) highs.

Smells like teen spirit.

And so stocks fell hard, bounced and then fell harder again.

Gold and silver rallied on inflation and then fell off during the day with stocks.

The Dollar chopped sideways.

I came in short from late yesterday, covered, and then shorted the bounce again.

I ended up flat, but I did leave some potential profits on the table.  

I mention this only because I have not taken two roundtrips on the short side in a day like this in many years.

This is a deadly black diamond market, pros only.

A seemingly endless wash and rinse.   The financial navigators demand the spice must flow.

Let's see what the rest of the week brings.

I am watching the metals and miners especially, but am being slow to act on the bullish side here.

I do foresee a batch of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies with walnuts in my future.  Yum.

It's the little things that make life worth living.

Have a pleasant evening.