China Gold Imports Through Hong Kong

Trend?  Change?  Not possible.

No one is interested in gold.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Chart by Data Wrangler Nick at Sharelynx.com.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Metals Take Back Their Levels, But Germany Can't Get Their Gold

There was no movement reported in the Comex gold warehouses yesterday.

A few more contracts stood for delivery yesterday bringing the total to 427,000 for the month.

Let's see how those contracts are resolved and what shows up in the warehouse reports.

The junior miners had a bit of a pop today.

We have a potential right shoulder forming up on the gold chart and on the silver chart as well.  In this case follow through is everything as it is not yet a confirmed formation.

The shameless shills and trashtalk trolls keep putting the worst possible interpretation they can find on even positive developments in the metals, while supposedly interjecting 'objectivity' into our expectations.  They are hardly objective and have missed every metals rally since 2000.

And on the other hand the legendary legends of legendarianism keep touting their sky high target valuations for gold and silver. 

I would settle at this point for a solid breakout from this clamp that has been placed on the precious metals for the past fourteen months, ever since the Fed had to de facto default on the return of the German gold as requested, in case you have forgotten. That must have been a real come-to-Jesus moment for the pinstripes and soft lies over elegant luncheons crowd.  

One step at a time.  Let's allow the market to have its say.  Talk is cheap, and at the end of the day performance is everything.  The fundamentals are highly positive, and remain so.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Bounce Off the Trendline

“Whatever you do, kid, never invest a penny in the stock market, because it’s run by crooks and sons of bitches.”

Ralph Madoff, father of Bernie Madoff

Alcoa kicks off earnings season after the bell.

Stocks bounced with some precision off the trendline with the momentum techs taking a bit of a lead.

Have a pleasant evening.

The Hare Psychopathy Checklist

This is from sources on the web, and is based on Robert Hare's psychopathy checklist.

1. Look for glib and superficial charm. A psychopath will also put on what professionals refer to as a 'mask of sanity' that is likable and pleasant.   It is a thin veneer.

2. Look for a grandiose self perception. Psychopaths will often believe they are smarter or more powerful than they actually are.

3. Watch for a constant need for stimulation. Stillness, quiet and reflection are not things embraced by psychopaths. They need constant entertainment and activity.

4. Determine if there is pathological lying. A psychopath will tell all sorts of lies; little white lies as well as huge stories intended to mislead. Psychopaths are gifted or dull, high functioning or low performing like other people. An untalented psychopath may harm a few; a highly talented psychopath may lay waste to nations. The difference between the psychopath and others lies in their organic lack of conscience and empathy for others. The sociopath is trained to lack empathy and conscience. The psychopath is a natural.

5. Evaluate the level of manipulation. All psychopaths are identified as cunning and able to get people to do things they might not normally do. They can use guilt, force and other methods to manipulate.

6. Look for any feelings of guilt. An absence of any guilt or remorse is a sign of psychopathy.  They will often blame the victim.

7. Consider the level of emotional response a person has. Psychopaths demonstrate shallow emotional reactions to deaths, injuries, trauma or other events that would otherwise cause a deeper response. Other people are satisfaction suppliers, nothing more.

8. Look for a lack of empathy. Psychopaths are callous and have no way of relating to others in non-exploitative ways. They may find a temporary kinship with other psychopaths and sociopaths that is strictly utilitarian and goal-oriented.

9. Psychopaths are often parasitic. They live off other people, emotionally, physically, and financially. Their modus operandi is domination and control.  They will claim to be maligned or misunderstood to gain your sympathy.

10. Look for obsessive risk taking and lack of self-control. The Hare Checklist includes three behavior indicators; poor behavior control, sexual promiscuity, and behavioral problems.

11. Psychopaths have unrealistic goals or none at all for the long term. Either there are no goals at all, or they are unattainable and based on the exaggerated sense of one's own accomplishments and abilities.

12. Psychopaths will often be shockingly impulsive or irresponsible. Their shamelessness knows no bounds. You will ask, what were they thinking? And the answer was, they weren't because they did not care.

13. A psychopath will not genuinely accept personal responsibility. A psychopath will never admit to being wrong or owning up to mistakes and errors in judgment, except as part of a manipulative ploy.   They will despise and denigrate their victims once they are done with them.  If they have any regret it is that their source of satisfaction supply has ended and they must seek another.

14. Psychopaths lack long term personal relationships. If there have been many short term marriages, broken friendships, purely transactional relationships, the chances the person is a psychopath increase. Watch especially how they treat other people in weaker positions and even animals. 

15. Psychopaths are often versatile in their criminality. Psychopaths are able to get away with a lot, and while they might sometimes get caught, the ability to be flexible and adaptable when committing crimes is indicative.

If you should find yourself in a business or personal relationship with a psychopath, the best advice is seek counseling if you need, obtain assistance if you must, and run if you can. You are a diffused and multi-faceted person with many interests. A psychopath is powerfully focused on obtaining what he wishes from others, without many prohibitions or distractions. Avoidance is the best policy. Long term confinement is their best treatment.

I do not think the repetitive sociopathic behaviours and psychopathic tendencies of the Roman imperial leadership to be accidental. The mad emperors kept recurring because they were the creatures of what that culture had become, and they stood as emblems at its apex.

Men are social animals, and can go mad in groups, as well as alone. Psychopathy can be the black hole at the center of a whole galaxy of madness and sociopathy under the right conditions, and the results can be flamboyantly destructive, as we most recently saw in several places during the 20th century. 

The psychopaths can thrive anywhere that deception is an advantage, but their prime hunting ground is a system in crisis, a manageable chaos lacking transparency, a well defined rule of law, and effective enforcement of behaviour.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Winning!!

"It is not so much anymore that the public does not trust their brokers. They do not trust the markets, the exchanges, or the regulators either. And why should they, given our showing the past few years?

To the public the financial markets may increasingly seem like a casino, except that the casino is more transparent and simpler to understand...

It is vitally important that we bring an end to this crisis of trust before it spreads any further. That we bring back order, fair dealing, and trust in the marketplace. The financial markets of ... the world's developed countries are at a turning point."

Thomas Peterffy, Founder Interactive Brokers

Technology is not the problem. Not at all. Technology is merely another tool, another means by which a financial system grown corrupt and wildly self-serving and pathologically deceptive can seek its own destruction through unbridled greed.

The US financial system is a disgrace, and the technology is just another instrument of their control frauds.  Thomas Peterffy, like too many others in that system, is too close to see the problem. It is a culture of criminality that keeps defeating those who would save it.  And it is spiraling out of control.

When the next break in confidence comes that cuts to the heart of the monetary system, they will act surprised, just as they did when the financial crisis brought the commercial credit system to the brink.  MF Global was a microcosm of the astonishingly frail nature of their pyramids of wealth.

Gold and silver were under some modest pressure today after the run they had on Friday.

There is still little substantial movement in the warehouses and a daily trickle of those standing for delivery on the April contract.

For those fans amongst us, the season premiere of Game of Thrones was last night, and off cable watchers swarmed the 'HBO TO GO' application bringing it to its knees for a time.

I am also informed by my studious children that George R. R. Martin has 'leaked' a new chapter from the much awaited Book Six for those who arereading the books on his website.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Rinse Cycle May Be Almost Done

Stocks continued to decline on mediocre economic news and international jitters. VIX rose a bit as shown on the chart below.

Even with the declines, led by the momentum stocks which are the agitator in the wash cycle, we are falling back to the lower bound of the upward trend channel.

I think that if this is going to be a major correction, which it is not yet but is still possible, we will have to see some serious support levels below here break down.

I would look at the techs to lead and SP to confirm downwards if this correction turns into something more significant.   And alternatively,  the SP to lead a rally back up with the techs confirming if that should happen instead.

Although it may look good, this market is like a piece of fruit going bad from within:  soft, unpalatable, and infested with vermin.

But for now this looks like a thorough rinse after a first quarter washing.

Have a pleasant evening.

Remembering the 46th Anniversary of Martin Luther King's Last Public Words

“The tyrant dies and his rule is over;  the martyr dies and his rule begins.”

Søren Kierkegaard

Martin Luther King gave this speech on 3 April 1968 at the Church of God in Christ, in Memphis, Tennessee.
 

On 4 April 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and abuse those whom God has sent as messengers to you.

How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings. But you would not let me.

As you willed, your house is now yours— but is made desolate.’”

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Pop Go the Weasels - Thank You To Zerohedge et al.

Stocks dumped hard on post end of quarter selling, even though the economic news was not too hot and not too cold.

The metals came roaring off their oversold conditions with gold leading the push higher.

There was little activity in the Comex gold warehouse, and a few more traders stood for delivery.

I explained again the other day that not all those who stop a futures contract for delivery actually end up taking the physical gold. And further, if they do take it, that may not be reflected immediately in the warehouse report, because they take the title to the gold if you will, but may not move it or change its status right away. So we can see a lag, or even nothing.

But again, as I seemingly have to say again and again, the Comex setting gold prices is the tail wagging the dog. It is just that the tail is easier to see.

Gold is moving from West to East, and the glimpses we get of that trade confirms its size. And I think we understand why it is moving, because a great change is taking place in the world's thinking on international currencies.

It appears that the currency war may be heating up on a number of fronts:  Russia Prepares To Attack the Petrodollar. If someone is going to attack something, why would they preannounce it? Most likely in response to the threat of increased sanctions I would imagine. The US has expressed its displeasure that Russia is crafting a bilateral trade deal with Iran, and has threatened additional sanctions if they break the embargo on that country.

There are some increased international tensions certainly, and some of the most recent movement in gold, which is outpacing silver, *might* be due to a flight to safety or supply pressures in the markets where physical supply really makes a difference. 

This is playing out and we have to be patient in watching it, and try not to fill in the blanks too aggressively with what can be or might be. But as for what is, I think we have a decent idea of the longer term reasons why things are happening the way that they are.

I have included a special thanks to Zerohedge and the other bloggers in my stock market commentary today.  I started to thank ZH for publishing an interesting stock valuation chart from JPM, and then I started thinking about all the other sites I look at every day, and felt a need to just say 'thank you.'  They are included in my blogroll, and there are quite a few.  You can scroll down or simply click here for the stock market comments. 

It is easy for us to criticize each other, and find those areas where we might disagree, often on details and interpretations.   But I think we can all agree that without the internet, and the bloggers and columnists who work long hours for relatively little reward, the void created in the news by the mainstream media would be even more intimidating and daunting than it already is.

Have a pleasant weekend.  Spring is in the air.