Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Option Expiration Dipsy Doodle

Gold and silver were hit early in the trading session in a pretty obvious takedown.

Gold gained much of it back by the close. Silver not so much.

There was a decent scare today as Ukraine announced that it had destroyed many trucks in a Russian armoured convoy. Russia denied that they had any military presence across that border. The truth will come out, eventually. For those who will have eyes to see it.

Have a pleasant weekend.

 

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - The Fog of Currency War

Stocks tried to shake off the poor economic news this morning *again* as there are more signs that the recovery is sluggish to floundering.

There was news during the day that the Ukraine had attacked and partially destroyed a Russian armoured convoy. This sent stocks plunging for a brief period of time and put some jets under the VIX.

Back to near unchanged near the close with big techs leading the way.

We are now in the fog of currency war. I smell desperate antics from the Banks.

Have a pleasant weekend.

NAV Premiums of Certain Precious Metal Trusts and Funds - Psy Ops

There were some minor adjustments to both of the Sprott Funds.

Ukraine situation is getting quite a bit warmer.  The propaganda is flowing from both sides.  It is hard to get a straight story from anyone including the mainstream domestic US media.

I have exited all non-bullion etf/fund/royalty stock positions, and am thinking of making a bet to the short side of a broad index of stocks if we see certain events next week.

The sell off today seemed to surge around the European close as traders squared up for the weekend.  The States are going to try and take them back up to maintain 'confidence levels.'

That quick hit on the metals was a bit obvious.

The Western Banks and Friends seem to be itching for a war or a domestic event to distract peoples' attention from their monetary antics and mismanagement.

Tales of William Wallace: Alba Gu Bràth

Many years ago I visited Westminster Abbey, and among other things in a crowded gallery saw the Stane o Scuin sitting somewhat neglected and unremarked by a chair.

I asked about it, and did some reading, and learned its story.  It had been used in the crowning of the monarchs of Scotland.    It had been taken from the Scots in 1296 as a spoil of war, and a symbol that Scotland now belonged to England.  It was subsequently used during coronation ceremonies of the English monarchs, as a symbol of their rule over the British Empire.

Since that time it was  returned to its home in Edinburgh Castle. 

I afterwards visited Scotland several times, mostly around Edinburgh, seeing many things from the Royal Mile to Adam Smith's grave.  I made it only once to Glasgow on the western coast, and points south down to Turnberry. 

I found the country and the people to be wonderful.  There are few better breakfasts served in my opinion than a real Scottish breakfast.   And then there is the Scots whiskey museum.

I have always hoped to live one day so see the re-emergence of a free and independent Scotland.

Nomi Prins: All the President's Bankers

This is a walk through the twentieth century, and how the United States became, by design, a combination military, industrial, and financial global superpower.  And how the US dollar hegemony was created over a number of political administrations by groups of well connected, powerful families and friends.

It may seem a bit long, but she opens it for questions about the 48 minute mark, so it really is not. Nomi speaks briskly with many fact laden vignettes and scenarios that help to explain how the current system has evolved.

The facts she brings out about the 50's onwards were sometimes new to me, and absolutely fascinating.   About minute 40 she shows the culmination of this historical process with the Clinton Whitehouse, and begins to describe where we are today, and how it appears that the problem will be insoluble without some major events taking place to change this alliance in power between the financial and the political.

 

The talk served to solidify some of my own thinking, and removed some of the shadows of doubt that I have had about where things are going and why.

 

She does is not able to delve into the international ties between the global central Banks, particularly between London and New York.  She instead concentrates on what she might call 'the Big Six' of American Banks, which is a large enough subject itself.

I strongly recommend that you listen to it if you are at all interested in this subject.

 

 Or if you have the time to invest, you may wish to read her book which also sounds very interesting.  I have not done so yet, and I am not sure when I could get to it. 

 

But this video is a very good start, and will probably make you much better informed than 90 percent of the people out there.  Whether that is a good thing or not is another matter.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Take Your Stinking Paws Off Our Monetary Metals

It was capping time again, as gold and silver continued to chop sideways within a narrow trading range.  Ordinarily I would think they were coiling for a move higher, but these days gold and silver seem correlated to nothing but some fairly heavy handed price manipulation in New York and London.

Stocks drifted higher on bad economic news, moving without thought like a stumbling herd of zombies in The Walking Dead.

Bear in mind that tomorrow is a stock market option expiration, and the games were being played in selected stocks, including the miners, this week.

The big show is in September with the Alibaba IPO.  Road show starts 3 September and the IPO date is tentatively 16 September.   Biggest IPO ever.  Maybe a bell ringer.

The Central Banks have made a right mess of things in the US and Europe, haven't they? They can play the plausible deniability card all day long, like the politicians and CEOs who are fabulously overpaid and over privileged.  When things go bad they haven't been involved, it wasn't in their job description, and can barely remember their business address.

But as a powerful regulator and monetary authority, and a major influencer of the prevailing economic opinions,  they really have no excuses for the serial disasters that they have spawned, in the service of the crony kleptocracy centered around the Banks.  They have been taking the people's money, directly and indirectly, and handing it right over to the wealthiest few who caused most of the problems in the first place.  And remember, it was the Greenspan Fed that led the charge with the Banks to relax regulations and repeal Glass-Steagall.

The Anglo-American financial system reminds me of the original Planet of the Apes. The central banks are like the gorillas. They have all the horses and the weapons, and ride around and shoot and enslave the human beings.

Have a pleasant evening.