SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - All About Oil

Stocks rallied today on higher oil prices, as Russia and Saudi Arabia said that they *might* agree on some limitations in oil production.

That is not good at all for the real economy, but as we have seen so many times by now, the stock market is no longer tied to the real economy.

It exists in the bubble zone. Along with its denizens, who are living in a world of their own delusions.

Have a pleasant evening.

Reading for a Sunday Afternoon

"For ourselves, we know full well that much as we may have attempted, we have done very little, that our very best service is nothing worth, — and the more we attempt, the more clearly we shall see how little we have hitherto attempted.

Those whom Christ saves are they who at once attempt to save themselves, yet despair of saving themselves; who aim to do all, and confess they do nought; who are all love, and all fear, who are the most holy, and yet confess themselves the most sinful; who ever seek to please Him, yet feel they never can; who are full of good works, yet of works of penance.

All this seems a contradiction to the natural man, but it is not so to those whom Christ enlightens. They understand in proportion to their illumination, that it is possible to work out their salvation, yet to have it wrought out for them, to fear and tremble at the thought of judgment, yet to rejoice always in the Lord, and hope and pray for His coming."

John Henry Newman

Remember me, O Lord.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - 'Goldilocks' and The Recovery®

The Jobs Report came in weakly this morning, almost surprisingly so, all things considered.  It was heavily touted on the financial infomercials that pass as business news as a 'goldilocks' report.

If the Fed did not want to get off the ZIRP boundary so badly I would be guessing that they would be doing nothing much until there was a real indication from the economy that it was warming up. But since they do want higher rates for their own policy purposes then a one-and-done in December still feels like a viable option.

Gold and silver were hammered this week. The notion that this was normal market action is risible nonsense if one looks at the actual tape of the huge sales at market in quiet hours. It was classic market manipulation.

The problem for the bullion bullies was the huge overhang of longs in the October and December contracts, stacked up against the steadily shrinking supplies of freely available metal.

This week was opportune for this sort of 'technical trading' because he largest physical market in the world in Asia was closed for a holiday week. It was also a Non-Farm Payroll Report week, which is one of the signal events for gold selling.

Andrew Maguire says this was an opportunity for the wiseguys who were trapped in naked shorts by the Brexit event to get out of their losing trades. That makes much more sense to me than Rickard's notion of the Western central banks conspiring to knock down the price to give China a chance to buy more gold.

But time will tell.

Speaking of time, it looks like after five years the guy at the center of the MF Global looting of customer accounts is going to be held to a wristslap (for him) fine and no trial. I think his executive insurance is covering most of the legal fees and perhaps any fines.  It pays to be friends with the Wall Street Democrats.  Their hypocrisy in pursuit of money apparently knows no bounds.

The clearing reports from yesterday were quite, as were the warehouses although I did include those figures just for reference.    The Comex is not a very good measure of what is going on in the metals anymore.  Perhaps it was at one time.

The key price level supports held, and next week we will see if Asia has a taste for the metal at oversold prices.

The American League Divisional Series have been entertaining so far, although the coverage by TBS is not nearly as sophisticated as the playoff coverage from ESPN.  I preferred watching it today to this nonsensical market rigging puppet show.

Have a pleasant weekend.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

Although it was heavily promoted as a 'goldilocks' jobs report by some of the financial infomercial channels, today's Non-Farm Payrolls Report showed the weakness in the underpinnings and the core of the economy.

I really do not have anything good to say about this.  So I won't say anything,

The US bond markets will be closed on Monday for Columbus Day, but the equity market will be open.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Thomas Frank: How the Democratic Party Betrayed and Abandoned the Middle Class

"The Democratic Party has turned its back on working people and now pursues policies that actually increase inequality.

The first piece of evidence is what’s happened since the financial crisis. This is the great story of our time. Inequality has actually gotten worse since then, which is a remarkable thing. This is under a Democratic president who we were assured (or warned) was the most liberal or radical president we would ever see. Yet inequality has gotten worse, and the gains since the financial crisis, since the recovery began, have gone entirely to the top 10 percent of the income distribution.

This is not only because of those 'evil Republicans,' but because Obama played it the way he wanted to. Even when he had a majority in both houses of Congress and could choose whoever he wanted to be in his administration, he consistently made policies that favored the top 10 percent over everybody else. He helped out Wall Street in an enormous way when they were entirely at his mercy.

He could have done anything he wanted with them, in the way that Franklin Roosevelt did in the ’30s. But he chose not to.

Why is that?


Thomas Frank

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - A Financial System Based On Fraud

"Judge them by their works. What have they done for mankind beyond the spinning of airy fancies and the mistaking of their own shadows for gods?"

Jack London, The Iron Heel

Gold was pressed down to support at 1250 this morning.

This is a support level that goes back to the day before the Brexit announcement.

Gold and silver both bounced back a bit from the lows of the day. But the slamming of the metals has been particularly relentless ahead of this NFP.

The dollar rallied strongly today on European weakness and the notion that the Fed will be increasing rates aggressively in response to a stronger economy.

You know what I think about this, and I still do. I think they will do a 'one and done' probably in December, and that there is no sustainable recovery except that which is created by smoke and mirrors.

There was intraday commentary from Thomas Frank about the Presidential election and the hypocrisy of our political class here.

Jim Rickards is floating the theory that the Western banks are conspiring to drive down the price of gold to allow China to 'catch up' to their gold reserves levels before the big reveal of a new global currency regime and gold at much higher prices.

I would not give this a lot of credit, even though Jim is a very smart guy, unless he has insider knowledge that lends credibility to this. And if he does, he would be a fool to be openly selling the information.

So I will stick with the simpler theory that gold is under steady accumulation by a lot of strong hands, including the central banks as a group from around 2006, and that the available supply of unemcumbered gold is greatly strained by this buying.

The price ascent has been fought every step of the way by central bank leasing of gold reserves to bullion banks who use it to smack the price down for their own profits. Silver had been in a somewhat similar position except the central banks have no stores of it to lease.

And now we are nearing the denouement.

Why would they do this? Because they know that fiat currencies are a confidence game, where the valuation must be sustained against abuses by force or fraud. And it should be fairly obvious that the Banks have been abusing the currency like a rented mule for their own benefits.

So let's see what happens tomorrow.

Have a pleasant evening.