20 January 2011

50th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address; FDR's 1933 Address


"In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding on the back of the tiger, ended up inside."



And for the sake of comparison with the current situation in America, here is Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural address, given during the depths of the Great Depression in March 1933. It is interesting to say the least, and quite a contrast with the current US leadership.



19 January 2011

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts



"Gold pays no interest because it is ultimately safe. Gold is the only currency that has lasted through the centuries, going back 6,000 years. Currencies have to pay interest so that they will be attractive enough for people to hold them. As a rule, the poorer and riskier the nation, the more its currency must pay in interest in order to attract investors. Normally, the dollar would be paying an attractive rate of interest, except for the manipulations of the Fed. Thus short rates in the US are around zero, courtesy of the Fed."

Richard Russell


"An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions...In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value. If there were, the government would have to make its holding illegal, as was done in the case of gold. If everyone decided, for example, to convert all his bank deposits to silver or copper or any other good, and thereafter declined to accept checks as payment for goods, bank deposits would lose their purchasing power and government-created bank credit would be worthless as a claim on goods. The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves."

Alan Greenspan

Note: Extended levels of support and added an important trendline after the close early this morning.



SP 500 and NDX March Futures


Possible intermediate top forming here. Do not expect it to be simple or straightforward. Keep an eye on Bernie Bernanke.