SP 500 and NDX Futures - The Financial Markets Are the Last Refuge of a Scoundrel

The usual suspects, rigging the markets, lazing on a sunny afternoon.

Winter is coming.

Have a pleasant evening.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Comex Silver Option Expiration On Thursday

There was surprisingly little note about a dollar body slam that was laid out on silver over the weekend in the quiet hours of trading.

Gold was hit a bit, but recovered quite a bit more of it to finish almost unchanged at 1339.

Fingers were pointing to Stanley Fischer, who looked at the economy and sees employment nearly full and inflation growing to his targets.

Maybe Stanley is trying to tee up Janet for Jackson Hole, and perhaps a Fed 25 bp rate increase in September.

After all, its all perceptions now, right?  Since debt doesn't matter and money can be printed at will and without consequences?

Talk about the jawbone of an ass.

There was intraday commentary about the money velocity indicator and the state of the economy here.


There will be a precious metals option expiration on the Comex this week.  It is for the September contract which is no big thing for gold, but is definitely of more interest for silver.

So I am now turning my eye towards silver, which is becoming more attractive as the short sellers and bears talk up its downside, with some calling for prices down to the mid 17's.

There is a lot of small spec money lined up on the long side, and it must be an almost irresistible attraction for the wiseguys.

I remember vividly how the market slugs managed to 'gin up a raid on Silver Wheaton down to nearly $10 in January of this year, using the old boogeyman of the Canadian revenuers against it amongst other things, just before it went steadily up to 30.

And so we might see that sort of thing repeated before the precious metals begin their breakouts.  Or not.  This could just be an option expiry gambit, and a nice time to try and harvest some specs and pick up some decent mining positions.  Or not.

Let's watch the markets closely now.

Have a pleasant evening.

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.  But only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.”

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Hidden Risks, Crouching Defaults

This market looks precarious.   It may continue on higher as long as real, versus manufactured, volume remains unusually low.

There are enough corporate buyback programs and sovereign entities, including central banks, willing to buy US equities at these levels.  The general public and institutions seem to be sitting this one out.

I suspect that when an event of sufficient magnitude or type occurs, as they do from time to time, a slide will be triggered, and the wash and rinse of the general public, their pensions and their savings, will begin once again.

The longer this goes on, the broader the set of events that can trigger the unlikely slide of consequence seems to grow.

Still, an outright crash would favor the orange-haired presidential contender, and not the poster child for the financial establishment.  So that may be an unlikely bet to make before November.  They seem to be going all out to sustain the unsustainable.

This is exciting only if you can see the tensions growing beneath the surface, which is dullsville to the casual observer to say the least.  I have to admit I have been growing jaded on this nonsense of late.  But a whiff of Autumn is in the air,  and after many a Summer, dies the swan.

So let's see what happens.

Have a pleasant evening.