Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Primacy of Conscience

"All my life I have been fighting against the spirit of narrowness and violence, arrogance, intolerance in its absolute, merciless consistency.   I have also worked to overcome this spirit with its evil consequences, such as nationalism in excess, racial persecution, and materialism.  In regards to this, the National Socialists are correct in killing me.

I have striven to make its consequences milder for its victims and to prepare the way for a change.  In that, my conscience drove me – and in the end, that is a man's duty."

Helmuth James Graf von Moltke,  Executed in Plötzensee Prison on 23 January 1945

As journalist activist Carl von Ossietzky put it, 'we cannot hope to affect the conscience of the world when our own conscience is asleep.'

Heroic virtue shines across the vast seas of history like beacons to those in the troubled waters of general deception.

Stocks were led by a narrow group of big cap tech related stocks, with the NDX 100 driving all the gains.

Tomorrow we will have the CPI data, which *could* move the market. Some of the yield related futures are pricing in a four rate hike year. A strong CPI number may encourage that.

Gold and silver showed some mild strength, not as a flight to safety, but mostly off a slightly weaker dollar.

When traded as currencies, the precious metals are decoupled from their fundamental supply and demand dynamics as commodities.

Next week will be Jay Powell's first FOMC meeting. The Fed is widely expected to decide on a 25 bp rate hike.

This Friday is a stock option expiration. We may see some shenanigans on the precious metals related stocks.

The CBOE put-call ratio is back to the pre-meltdown levels.

Corruption and deception remain the coin of the realm in the halls of power in New York and Washington.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Resistless, With a Thundering Tide

"For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Distrustful sense with modest caution speaks;
It still looks home, and short excursions makes;
But rattling nonsense in full volleys breaks;
And never shocked, and never turned aside,
Bursts out, resistless, with a thundering tide."

Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism

Stocks took off after the Non-Farm Payrolls report came in much higher than expected.

Wages came in rather weakly.

Even gold and silver managed to rally on the back of a slightly weaker dollar.

So what was this, risk on or risk off?

Or perhaps it was just irrational exuberance, dying to break free of this dull and dreary world.

We will be getting quite a bit of economic data next week, including some key inflation measures.

I will see you all next week. 

And until then, don't forget to love.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Thomas Frank: From Russia With Absurdity - How the Clintons Put the Democratic Party in the Grave

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - It's All Right

"They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective, toward which all their deceit is directed, is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection."

Henry A. Wallace, April 1944

We had about 15" of heavy, packy snow yesterday, in a remarkably short period of time, maybe five hours . It was a bit much given the very windy nor'easter from last week.  Many people around here were just getting their power restored.

So between cleaning up even more fallen branches, chainsawing a small tree or two, and a very snow laden driveway, I am feeling pretty well knackered, and too beat to write much.

But it's all right.  A soothing tea and an ice pack for my knee is quite enough for me.

 Counting blessing and tender mercies.

Non-Farm Payrolls tomorrow.

Have a pleasant evening.