SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Wobbly Bobbly

Stocks were on the weak side today, although even the selling volumes were light.

VIX crept back up a little. But the momentum in the market remains subdued in all directions.

Any event at this point will trigger a reaction, and perhaps outsized.

Have a pleasant evening.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Dollar Lower, Metals Up, Silver in the Lead - Power Coiling

“Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby—  awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess.”

Lemony Snicket


"Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things...Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people. Lacking any other purpose in life, it would be good enough to live for their sake."

Garrison Keillor

Even if the opposition party were to nominate a trained chimpanzee, which I do not think is beyond question, I could never find it in my heart to vote for such an iconic figure for almost everything that has gone wrong with the American dream and the Democratic Party as Hillary Clinton.

Never having voted for her or her husband is one of the few things in my life of which I am completely content, and I would hate to lose that slim comfort, especially given the times to come.

Better to vote non-Establishment with a clear conscience, than to have to choose between the banality of narcissistic avarice and his more cunning sister.

Silver led the way higher, moving towards the 20 handle, with gold hanging in to a little more than unchanged.

The dollar gave up some ground which certainly helped.

The Comex stats were so-so.

Some joker was saying that silver is in such an obvious bubble.   So I have included the gold:silver ratio below.   Also the 'technical' indicators for the precious metals.

The metals look to be coiling, and barring a severe market selloff, I think silver is going to be outpacing gold higher. Neither metal is overbought at this point, and their charts are full of power yet to be realized.

Still, all in all the markets are quiet, very much the dog days of Summer.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Stocks Wallowing On Lower Volume

Stock continued to wallow in a low volatility, lower volume trading range best described as 'lackluster.'

I suspect quite a bit of this is due to the vacations being taken in this hot August by the seniors, leaving the markets in the hands of those who are under instructions to pretty much do little and not screw it up.

Certainly there is little organic purchasing of stocks at these prices. Besides the Feds and company stock buyback programs determined to skew the results for bonus purposes, who would bother?

Aggregate demand is sluggish, revenues are flattish to declining, and profits are not worth the accounting ink which dreams them up.

A friend and I were considering the economic forecasts past by government tools, otherwise known as big name expert economists, and for the most part they were very high end fantasy in retrospect, and not worth the electrons used to transmit them.

Are they just that bad? Or just that servile to what their paymasters demand? One can only wonder.

Have a pleasant evening

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Marking Time In a Dollar World

It certainly seems as though some entities with real clout have had the markets in a virtual lockdown since Brexit.

Gold and silver continue chopping sideways in a relatively tight range, with exceptions for the usual shenanigans, and stocks have been trading in less than 1% moves daily.

The 'deliveries' for gold on the Comex continue, with little action in silver this month, and the usual playing with their food in the precious metals warehouses.

I know, it is a bit boring.  I could just make things up, and maybe one of them would be right.

Or I can skip the legendary predictions game and just say that the metals look quiet, but are continuing to coil, perhaps winding up for a move out of these chart formations.   It is worth watching.

Have a pleasant evening.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Sleepy Summer Days

Stocks were sleep-walking once again, with the VIX volatility index moving lower.

It has been quite some time since stocks saw a greater than 1% daily move, not since Brexit I think.

Earnings continue rolling in, and we will be getting a new macroeconomic numbers this week as noted in the calendar below.

Have a pleasant evening.

Thomas Frank: The Rise of the Professional Plutocrat and the Betrayal of the Democratic Base

The Bush government of hacks and cronies was replaced by Obama's government of 'well pedigreed and highly educated'experts,' and nothing changed...  The professional class, the so-called meritocracy, have just learned to repeat all the same phrases, and are the servants of the prevailing orthodoxy.

Thomas Frank