Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Try a Little Tenderness - Comex Options Expiration

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he hungered. And the Tempter came to try him."

Mark 4:1-2


"And whenever you may stand to prayer, forgive, if you hold anything against any one, so that your Father in the heavens may also forgive you."

Mark 11:25

It is a passage so familiar, the 'temptation in the desert', that we hear it, but we may not really think about it, and its implications.

'Then Jesus was led, by the Spirit, into the wilderness.'

So our Lord was tempted, by the devil himself of course, but with the seeming complicity of the God the Holy Spirit, who led Him into it.

This also recalls another passage so familiar that we also do not think of its implications.

'And lead us not into temptation...'

Doesn't it seem odd and out of place that God would lead His own people into harm's way?  Isn't temptation a very negative thing that we are told to avoid at all costs?

Temptation is certainly not something we should seek out, given the risks in taking that proposition as our own choice.  But if we think instead of temptation as a 'trial' or a preparation for our calling, as in the case of our Lord whose time in the wilderness preceded his public ministry, it is something that can strengthen us, make us stronger in our faith through that trial, that testing, in the practical applications of what we believe.

If the words we have received are at all accurate, it is not intended that spiritually we remain an untested bunch of cream puffs, riding to heaven on feather beds, with God attending to all our needs like the staff on a cruise ship.

Like an athlete, we must train for the contests, but it is in the contest itself that we do most of our learning and growing and extending ourselves to the limits.   Such exercises are always marked by pain, in the muscles, and in the core of our being.

To varying degrees we are preparing and are called upon to be God's hands, and feet, and the living manifestation of His word here on earth, in a life long journey through the peaks and valleys of both good and evil, success and failure.  We are 'the Church militant' here and only later, one would hope, triumphant at long last.

Or as J. H. Newman put it:

"Let us simply obey God's will, whatever may come.  He can turn all things to our eternal good.  Easter day is preceded by the forty days of Lent, to show us that they only who sow in tears shall reap in joy."

And it is one of the most sublime ironies of God's economy that the greatest weapon in our battle is not the violence and power of the world, but the service and self-effacement of God's love.  As the pilgrim of the absolute Léon Bloy said,  “Love does not make you weak, because it is the source of all strength, but it makes you see the nothingness of the illusory strength on which you depended before you knew it.” 

The power of love and forgiveness is unfathomable and bewildering to the principalities and powers of this world, and the spiritual darkness that rules them.   And this then is to be their failure and their demise.

Gold and silver were being hit today, for several reasons.  The yields on Treasuries were rising because of the record high issuance of notes and bills his week in the neighborhood of a quarter trillion dollars.  That drove the US dollar higher in the short term, and helped drive down the metals.

And of course we will be having an option expiration for precious metals on the Comex this week, and so all the pick pockets, cut purses and dips will be taking their usual cuts by managing prices in their desired directions.  This has become so regular an occasion that you might tell the time by it.

We may also see some action around the release of the FOMC minutes tomorrow at 2 PM.  They like to talk bearishly between crises.

Stocks were weak because the higher rates will make it less convenient for companies to buy back their own stocks through debt issuance, which as I am given to understand is the major source of stock buying at these lofty valuations.

The US financial system and the elite establishment are morally and intellectually exhausted. They produce little, for the most part, are draining the nation of its resources in endless wars and financial control frauds, while they allow its systems and infrastructure to decay. 

And having been soundly rejected in the last election, they are looking for some scapegoats to blame.  Since they are perfection itself, they could have not possibly lost fairly, being so deserving of the win.

They rule not by merit and faithfulness, but through fraud and force. And as the fraud fails, the force must inevitably increase.

How are the mighty fallen, and their instruments of oppression, broken.

Have a pleasant evening.

Net Asset Values of Certain Precious Metals Trusts and Funds

It has been a while since we have had a look at this.

It is odd to see the relative 'bearishness' on silver. 

The gold/silver ratio is very high, and the discount on PSLV is more than normal.

All things being equal, silver would seem to be a screaming buy here.

However, this may highlight that gold is being favored as a 'flight to safety' asset, and that there are deep underlying concerns about the US economy and financial system.

As a reminder there will be a precious metals options expiration on the Comex this Thursday the 22nd of February.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - And the Wind Began to Howl - Comex Option Expiration Next Thursday

"He explored everywhere the seats of power,
and learnt of everything the sum of wisdom.
He saw what was secret, discovered what was hidden,
he brought back a tale of before the Deluge.
He came a far road, was weary, found peace,
and set all his labours on a tablet of stone.

See the tablet-box of cedar, release its clasps of bronze!
Lift the lid of its secret,
pick up the tablet of lapis lazuli
and read out the travails of Gilgamesh, all that he went through."

Epic of Gilgamesh I1–28


"Now he had learnt to see the great, the eternal, the infinite in everything; and therefore – to see it and revel in its contemplation – he naturally threw away the telescope through which he had hitherto been gazing over men’s heads, and joyfully feasted his eyes on the ever-changing, eternally great, unfathomable and infinite life around him.  And the closer he looked, the more tranquil and happier he was.  The awful question that had shattered all his mental edifices in the past – the question why? no longer existed for him."

Leo Tolstoi, War and Peace

The quotes above are from a lecture by Andrew R. George that I was watching today to escape the boredom and folly of the markets. 

Stocks had a wide ranging day, with the SP futures doing the heavy lifting.

But alas, the markets did not seem to want to go into the US' three day weekend holding the longer side, and so stocks went out lower to unchanged.

Gold and silver lost some ground, largely because of a relief rally in the US Dollar, which took back the losses from yesterday.

There will be an option expiration for the precious metals on the Comex next Thursday, 22nd February.

Monday is the Presidents' Day holiday in the US, so the markets will be closed.

It was a drizzly, sleepy day here with temperatures still hovering in the mid 50's. It is supposed to get much colder for the weekend, with 2 to 6" of snow forecast for Saturday evening.

Please remember to feed 'the least of these,' especially during the harsh winter weather.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Among Us

"Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
choking on their own schemes.
For fools turn away from the Lord to death.
Fools are destroyed by their own complacency."

Proverbs 1:31-32

Stocks were higher, going out near the highs. As I said, the anxiety of the big recent decline in stocks would be quickly forgotten.

Frothy is as frothy does. And this speculative excess will likely continue until stocks hit a hard wall, and collapse.

Gold and silver pushed higher on continuing dollar weakness. Uncle Buck was flirting with 88.50 at the close.

The economic data is decidedly mixed, and not all that bullish.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Hearts and Ashes

"Owe nothing to anyone, except for your obligation to love one another. For if you love the other, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law."

Romans 13:8


"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

Stocks backed up and then took off after the CPI data came in 'higher than expected' this morning.

At first glance that seems counter-intuitive. A higher CPI will give the Fed more street cred in raising rates, which is what triggered this whole stock market correction in the first place right?

A closer look at the CPI data, the core CPI (ex food and energy), and especially the last month's revision, shows that at 0.3% core CPI did come in higher than the consensus forecast of economists at 0.2%.

However, in the month prior, that reading which had been 0.3% was revised significantly lower to 0.1%.

So as you can see, the CPI was much ado about not so very much. And stocks, looking at the data behind the headlines, took off like a scalded cat higher.

Why didn't any of the financial TV spokesmodels catch on to this rather glaring discrepancy with the headlines that they were reading. One can only wonder.

We can also see on the chart that the SP 500 and NDX futures have now retraced roughly 50% of the correction which they recently endured. Now we will see what this rebound is made of.

Gold and silver were strong today, largely off further Dollar weakness, as Uncle Buck continued taking the gas pipe down. I will post the updated Dollar chart later on.

So here we are, anticipating even more data later this week.

But the foundations of the equity markets are still rather flimsily made, and themselves standing loosely in sand.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - CPI Tomorrow

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and loudly pray in their churches and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have already received their reward.
But when you pray, go to a quiet room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees all things will repay you."

Matt 6:5-8

And so today is already Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday.

And that means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 days of the Lenten vigil.

The queen and I attended a Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans one year in the 1990's. I forget exactly when. It was for a corporate event at the Fairmont Hotel, right next to the route of the parade. I think I still have some plastic coins stashed in my desk somewhere as a memento.

And it is also St. Valentine's Day.  So don't forget that one guys.  I sent roses to some of the ladies who were of special help and comfort while the queen was having in-home hospice last year, a dark and concerning period of life.  They were like angels, and their unselfish kindness made a deep impression.  Some of them bordered on what I like to call heroic virtue.

It only takes a moment to say thank you to someone who deserves it. We are so often quick to criticize and find fault, but so ungrateful for the many, many little things that others do for us. And when we thank them we start to note the little good things, instead of swelling on a bunch of silly inconveniences.

No matter how difficult life may seem, God's angels are always about to help, as well as His tender mercies and consolations, if we are open to seeing them. God is always there, always listening. And when one door closes, another door opens.

The Dollar continued to go lower today, down to 89.60.

This had a positive effect on gold and silver.

Stocks had an upwards bias, but cautiously.

Tomorrow we will be getting the latest Consumer Price Index data. This is important because markets are concerned about the pace of interest rate increases by the easy money Fed, which is at the root of this latest financial asset bubble.

There will also be the Producer Price Index and the Em-Im prices data later this week.

And so we wait, with bated breath.

Just like we are still waiting for any genuine, significant evidence of 'Russian meddling' in the US elections, despite the continuous hysteria from the media.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - A Nation Willfully Blind

"The 2008 financial crisis unleashed a chain reaction that turbo-boosted the influence of central bankers and triggered a massive shift in the world order. Central banks and institutions like the IMF are overstepping the bounds of their mandates and directing the flow of money without any checks and balances.  Meanwhile, the open door between private and central banking ensures endless manipulation against a backdrop of government support."

Nomi Prins, Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World


Gentlemen! I  too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States.  I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country.

When you won, you divided the profits among you, and when you lost, you charged it to the Bank.  You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families.  That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin!

Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves.   I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out."

From the original minutes of the Philadelphia bankers meeting with President Jackson February 1834, from Andrew Jackson and the Bank of the United States (1928) by Stan V. Henkels

According to the spokesmodels "the correction is over and everyone is back into buying."

Maybe so.  But the market remains poorly founded, and vulnerable to even a relatively mild external shock.

When any market is this poorly regulated and overfed on hot money, one might well expect higher volatility and swings. 

Let's see how the CPI number comes in later this week.

And not ignore the low rumbling boil coming out of the Middle East.

The Dollar gave back some of its recent gains, falling from overhead resistance back down to the 90 area from 90.33.

Gold and silver drifted up a bit.  The stocks of physical gold available for immediate delivery remain rather low.

The huge 'infrastructure' proposal was the usual thinly disguised farce we have come to expect from a congress and white house with their noses firmly buried in the swamp of their big donors.

Have a pleasant evening.