Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Love of Most Will Grow Cold

 

"The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.

Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be happy if a thousand conditions were met. To some extent this is because our “technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very difficult to engender joy.

A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules.  Such an economy kills.

The world tells us to seek success, power and money: our God tells us to seek humility, service, and love. Prayer, humility, and charity toward all are essential in the Christian life; they are the way to holiness.

The most beautiful and natural expressions of joy which I have seen in my life were in poor people who had little to hold on to. I also think of the real joy shown by others who, even amid pressing professional obligations, were able to preserve, in detachment and simplicity, a heart full of faith.

Thanks solely to this encounter with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio Francis I, Evangelii Gaudium, 24 November 2013

"Christ is risen! These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life. Easter is the celebration of life! God created us for life and wants the human family to rise again! In his eyes, every life is precious! The life of a child in the mother’s womb, as well as the lives of the elderly and the sick, who in more and more countries are looked upon as people to be discarded.

What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants.

On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God.

There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others.

May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions. In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenseless civilians and attack schools, hospitals and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity."

Jose Mario Bergoglio Francis I, Urbi et Orbi, 23 April 2025


Truly if you do not have love in your hearts, you will not be able to remain standing in times of lawlessness and madness. 

Not standing, but instead falling away.

The devil prowls the earth like a roaring lion, seeking those whom he may devour.  1 Peter 5:8

Stocks were falling steadily today, with just a little bounce off the lows at the end.

There was remarkably little panic, and the VIX ticked only slightly upwards.

Gold rallied sharply, up over $100 to close at anew all time high.

Silver rebounded as well, but is being held back by its industrial correlations.

The risks in the economic and geopolitical orders remain elevated, and still underpriced.

The relentless rally in gold is trying to tell us something.   

Most are not listening.   To this and other messages and signs of the times.

And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of most grows cold.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Maundy Thursday - A Clear and Simple Message

 

"Jesus stood up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’

Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’

‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’

Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you will have no part with me.’

‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them.  ‘You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am.   Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

A new commandment I give you: that you love one another, as I have loved you. By this all will know that you are mine— if you love one another.'”

John 13:1-15, 34

"It is because of the acts of a love so noble that many observers put a name upon us.  'See how they love one another'.  For they themselves are driven by mutual contention and even hatred."

Tertullian, Apologeticum, 39, 7 , 197 AD

"What we would like to do is change the world–make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe and shelter themselves as God intended them to do.  And to a certain extent, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, of the poor, of the destitute – the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor in other words, we can to a certain extent change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world."

Dorothy Day, June 1946

"And the rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham!  But if someone is sent to my brothers from the dead, then they will surely 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

Maundy Thursday:  The English word maundy in the name for the day is derived through Middle English and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase 'Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos'.   A new commandment I give unto you: that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you will also love one another.

You have free will, so that you may read what you want, say what you want, serve who you want, and do what you choose to do.   And there  may be no worldly power to stop you.

But unless you love the Lord through your fellows as yourselves, His children, your brothers and sisters, even the least of these, you are not his.  

And when you stand before Him alone in judgement, even though you cry out 'Lord, Lord,' as He promised He will say, 'Begone, I do not know you'.   And that will be that.  A tragic end, so unthinkable that most will not believe it, even though they have been plainly told otherwise, many many times.

Think on this, the next time you choose to play with the animal in yourself, to be unkind, harsh, to serve some worldly power for your pride and personal advantage.   For in the end they will claim you, and take you as their own.   And that will be that.

For what does it profit a man, indeed?

Most of the option expiration shenanigans were conducted yesterday.   

Today the adults left early for their Easter holiday, and the volume on the tape has become quiet.

Stocks finished mostly unchanged after another failed rally attempt into the long weekend.

Who would want to hold risk assets for any length of time now?

Gold and silver were under the usual option pressure, directed mostly at the miners and ETFs.

VIX fell a bit.   

The economic and geopolitical risks are being discounted heavily, and are rather underpriced. 

Have a joyous Easter.    He is risen.

 

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Selfies of the Malignant Lie - Gold All Time High

 

"Narcissists gravitate towards professions where they can control people and elicit adulation. They are more likely to work in politics, finance or medicine than in shoemaking.  They are aware of what they are doing to others - but they do not care.”

Sam Vaknin, Malignant Self Love

“It is not their sins per se that characterize malignant narcissists, rather it is the subtlety and persistence and consistency of their sins.  This is because the central defect of malignant narcissists is not the sin but the refusal to acknowledge it.  Rather than blissfully lacking a sense of morality, like the psychopath, malignant narcissists are continually engaged in sweeping the evidence of their evil under the rug of their own consciousness.  It is out of their failure to put themselves on trial that their evil arises.

"The narcissist looks down on everyone and exploits people all of his life. For many narcissists life is all about money and power."

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Narcissist’s Outrageous Self Entitlement

Evil is not committed by people who feel uncertain about their righteousness, who question their own motives, who worry about betraying themselves.  The evil in this world is committed by the Pharisees of our own day, the self-righteous who think they are without sin because they are unwilling to suffer the discomfort of self-examination.  The evil hate the light—the light of goodness that shows them up, the light of scrutiny that exposes them, the light of truth that penetrates their deception.”

M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie

“There's a reason narcissists don't learn from mistakes and that's because they never get past the first step which is admitting that they made one. It's always an assistant's fault, an adviser's fault, a lawyer's fault. Ask them to account for a mistake any other way and they'll say, 'what mistake?”

Jeffrey Kluger, The Narcissist Next Door

"Lack of accountability is a common problem with narcissists.  It’s hard to understand. What is so difficult about owning up to mistakes when we’re wrong?  We all make mistakes and hopefully grow and learn from each one.  

But, being accountable is difficult for a fragile self-esteem.  For the narcissist, who has not developed a solid sense of self, and is emotionally stuck at a six-year old level, confrontation does not work well.  In fact, when confronted, it is typical to see a six-year old temper tantrum that we call narcissistic rage."

Karyl McBride, Narcissists Are Not Accountable, August 2013


Tomorrow will be a stock option expiration.

US market will be closed on Good Friday.

Stocks slumped today, as the defiance of economic reality for the sake of policy unity falters.

It is hard to sustain markets in the direction opposite to the dominant trend.   But that never seems to stop them from trying.

Gold set a new all time high today, and went out near that high.

Silver also enjoyed a remarkable rebound from the calculated tariff drubbing.

The Dollar slipped back down to the lower rung of the 99 handle.

VIX ticked up a bit, but there was hardly a sense of panic in the air.

I am mindful of how I might want to position my portfolio into the long weekend.

So much of this is dependent on the seemingly random vagaries of the Donald.

I don't think logic is much of an aid in this, not with this current crew of supplicant enablers with which he has surrounded himself. 

And hope is a thin sauce to cover this coming banquet of consequences.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - So That the Thoughts of Many Hearts May Be Revealed

 

"The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, as a sign that will be opposed.  And a sword will pierce your heart, so that the thoughts of many may be revealed.”

Luke 2:33-35

"When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said, 'Woman, behold, your son.'  Then he said to his disciple, 'Behold, your mother.'  And from that moment the disciple took her into his home."

John 19:26-27

"When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  And Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

Luke 2:17-19

"And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head."

Revelation 12:1


It was a relatively quiet day of trading, with stocks finishing nearly unchanged.

VIX was slightly lower.

The Dollar bounced back to the 100 handle.

Gold and silver moved a bit higher.

There will be a stock option expiration on Thursday.

The hidden volatility beneath the surface of the markets is almost compelling.

The Treasury is doing its best to pour oil on troubled waters, until they can hopefully announce a deal with Russia over Ukraine, and take everyone's minds off the tariffs fiasco.

I spent much of the day getting ready for the kids and their little ones who will be coming over for an Easter egg hunt and dinner on Sunday.

Daisy and I abide.

Have a pleasant evening.