"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. You who murder 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 have willed it, so your house is now yours to command— but is made desolate. For I tell you truly, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” Matthew 23:37-39
The Richmond Fed's noted rate hawk and serial dissenter Jeffrey Lacker resigned today as a result of an investigation into a leak in 2012 of confidential information to an analyst that sells hard to get information to wealthy subscribers.
The guest commentators, talking heads, and spokesmodels were attributing this resignation, or faux pas if you will, to an inadvertent slip by one of their own who is burdened with managing the finances of the US.
They kept mentioning that they do not wish this incident to diminish the public's confidence in the FED. I guess fomenting serial asset bubbles and enabling historic financial inequality through hare-brained policies is not enough. LOL
Stocks finished largely unchanged.
The precious metals took a crack at overhead resistance today and then fell back down into the afternoon somewhat, closing marginally higher today.
And Jesus said to him the third time, `Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?' Peter being distressed replied, `Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.' And Jesus said to him, `Feed my sheep.'
'Verily, verily, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself, and walked where you liked. But when you are old, you will stretch out your your hands, and another will gird you, and shall carry you where you would not like to go.'
Today was the end of the first quarter for 2017. And the paint is now dry on the tape.
The economic news, of at least the 'hard numbers' kind is not particularly good, as noted on the economic calendar included below.
Next week we will be enjoying another Non-Farm Payrolls Report.
You might be surprised to hear that corporate profits are up 10%, and the wealthy are enjoying very fat returns on their paper assets.
The common person, not so much.
The news on the tests was not very good, and so we will be going back for another round of treatments for a new tumor in the brain. Well, at least this explains why the queen's memory and awareness have been so dodgy for the past six weeks. And she has been having light seizures and fatigue, so it has been a bit of a task to keep an eye on her and still carry on the household duties. It was becoming fairly apparent that something was very wrong. Please remember her in your prayers as the next few months will be difficult.
Let us see how things develop for the metals next week. April looks to be a more lively month for gold and perhaps for silver, judging by the first clearing reports for both included below.
The 'defense' by the gold bears which is so obviously being waged around the 1250 level is more related to the neckline of a developing inverse head and shoulders bottom pattern as noted on the chart. I have been watching this for some time.
Some think the key battle if gold moves higher will be around the prior 'Trump election night high' for gold. I think it will be a little north of there, but that may be more of a quibble. It looks like we might be seeing a much larger pattern on the gold charts that could prove to be interesting.
It was nice that silver held its level. It is operating on a longer term cup and handle which is fairly evident on the weekly chart. Silver could really get some legs if it starts breaking out.
Please remember all of God's creatures, including the birds and the animals, as well as the poor in both material things and of the spirit. Both have a hard life.
Above all never feel so powerless and afraid that you miss an opportunity to take part in the sacrament of the present moment. His angels and tender mercies are there, often unnoticed if we are distracted by our fears and desires. One could wish nothing more than to be a part of this celebration of true life.
“I believe order is better than chaos, creation better than destruction. I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta. On the whole I think that knowledge is preferable to ignorance, and I am sure that human sympathy is more valuable than ideology. I believe that in spite of the recent triumphs of science, men haven't changed much in the last two thousand years; and in consequence we must try to learn from history. History is ourselves.
I believe in courtesy, the ritual by which we avoid hurting other people's feelings, by satisfying our own egos. And I think we should remember that we are all part of a great whole, which for convenience we call nature. All living things are our brothers and sisters."
Kenneth Clark, Civilisation
"At the root of America's economic crisis lies a moral crisis: the decline of civic virtue among America's political and economic elite. A society of markets, laws, and elections is not enough if the rich and powerful fail to behave with respect, honesty, and compassion toward the rest of society and toward the world."
Jeffrey Sachs
Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark was a television documentary series outlining the history of Western art, architecture and philosophy since the Dark Ages. The series was produced by the BBC and initially aired in 1969 on BBC2.
Let us pray for those whose hearts are hardened against His grace and loving kindness by greed, fear, and pride, and the seductive illusion and crushing isolation of evil.
We pray that we all may experience the three great gifts of our Lord's suffering and triumph: repentance, forgiveness, and thankfulness. And in so doing, may we obtain abundant life, and with it the peace that surpasses all understanding.
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