SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Wobbling

The pros want to 'hand off' this dreck of a market so badly to the public that they are practically dancing on one leg in pursuing it.

And in so doing, the market becomes increasingly divergent from reality and risks.

Let's see how far they can take it.

Have a pleasant evening.

US Will Experience Another Financial Crisis Because of Lack of Meaningful Reform

I completely concur that we are heading for another financial crisis, and that the reason for this is the lack of meaningful reform of the corrupt system that brought us the last two financial crises.   And I am concerned that the system and its insiders are now incapable of reforming or changing themselves.  This is the credibility trap.

The Democrats are crowing over the troubles dividing the Republican Party, the leadership of which seems to be dropping any pretense of listening to even their own people, much less the broader public.   But the Democrats are completely ignoring the problems and deep divisions of their own and the continuing betrayal of their base for the tainted money from the financial system.

And both parties are attempting to play on the emotions and passions of their members so as to get them to ignore the most substantial issues of all:  the lack of a sustainable economic recovery after seven long years, and the continuing decimation of everyone except a wealthy and powerful few.

Why We Support Bernie Sanders Over Hillary Clinton for President
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 22, 2016

Wall Street On Parade’s strong preference for a President Bernie Sanders over a President Hillary Clinton is based on a well-formed belief that the United States will experience another financial crisis on Wall Street within the next few years. That crisis will, in hindsight, be viewed as the direct failure of President Obama to enact meaningful financial reform legislation after the 2008 crash, when he had the will of the people behind him, rather than pandering to his overlords on Wall Street who financed his campaign.

Nothing more clearly demonstrates who has been calling the shots in the Obama administration than the President’s nominees to oversee Wall Street at the U.S. Justice Department, U.S. Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, and his outrageous refusal for more than five years to even follow his own Dodd-Frank financial reform law and appoint a Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve.

Read the entire story here.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Silver Shows More Staying Power Than Gold

Silver showed a little more staying power than gold, which is not all that surprising because gold has been leading all the way up this year, and the gold/silver ratio is at some historic highs.

The US dollar gained back a little of what it had lost after the Fed meeting last week.

There was the usual lack of activity at The Bucket Shop.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Greedily Mispricing Risk

The title says it all.

The box score is below.

Get as far away from Wall Street as you can.

Have a pleasant evening.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Shenanigans for Option Expiration, Silver Cup and Handle

"Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not.  True philosophy deals with facts.  We cannot make facts.  All our wishing cannot change them.  We must use them...

Let us attempt to understand it.  Let us not disguise it, or explain it away.  It may have difficulties; if so, let us own them.  Let us fairly meet them: if we can, let us overcome them."

John Henry Newman

On the bright side, option expiration antics aside, silver has set a proper handle, but has yet to 'activate' it by taking out 16 with some authority, and refusing to give it up.

Granted it is a little harder to see on the weekly chart that I use, but it is clearly there.  Now, follow through and a move higher is everything.   If it can succeed, we are probably looking at a run towards a twenty handle.

There was little activity at The Bucket Shop for deliveries, and the warehouses were their usual quiet selves except for silver, which again is spurred on by CNT and their wholesale business.

I suspect that before all is said and done, at least one of the big bullion banks, and probably not the one that immediately comes to mind, is going to be caught up in a scandal as bad or worse than that of MF Global.  Remember them?  Have you ever wondered what happened to Mr. Obama's friend Jon Corzine, who with some help from his friends was caught blatantly taking customers' money to cover his losses?

Have a pleasant weekend.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Option Expiration

The downside from this current US election season, besides being faced with some more repugnant choices than usual, is that the blatant hypocrisy and corruption of our ruling elite is exposed for all to see.

I wonder if this will be an historic moment when both of the leading candidates are facing prosecution.  Trump for the fraud that was his 'university,' and Hillary for her serial violations of US law while in 'public service.'    I think that the three most likely paths for her, depending on whether she takes the presidency or not, are indictment, an official/de facto presidential pardon, or impeachment.

Anyone who has been watching the US for any length of time knows that those two both have more bodies buried than an urban graveyard.  And they will be 'owned' by those with the evidence, in addition to the usual well-heeled suspects who buy politicians like most people buy underwear.  And with about as much civic gravitas.

Well enough about that. Speaking of blatant hypocrisy and corruption, US equities made a credible showing for an option expiration, doing what they must to separate the most retail money from its holders.

Stocks seem a bit overextended here, and a quick glance at VIX, the measure of market volatility, shows a relative complacency looking back over the last six months or so, although it is still well out of single digits.

Next week will be a light economic reporting week.

Have a pleasant weekend.