Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Out of Darkness - What a Coincidence

 

“Whatever has been said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what has been whispered in private will be proclaimed from the rooftops."

Luke 12:2-3

"The descent to hell is easy, and those who begin by worshiping power, soon worship evil."

C. S. Lewis

"Do you not yet see and understand?  Are your hearts that hardened?   Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?  Don't you remember anything?"

Mark 8:17-18

"The word of God is a living thing, and works among us.   It is sharper than a double-edged sword, and penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, the joints and the marrow; it judges the innermost thoughts and inclinations of every heart.   Nothing in all of creation is hidden from the sight of the Lord. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must some day give an account."

Hebrews 4:12-13

"Their souls are so empty, so shallow, so broken and insubstantial, that when stripped of their earthly husks there will not be enough of them left to be recognizable as a personality.  They look like the remnants of dried brown leaves, blowing along the gutters and alleyways of a hard and unyielding hell.   No one remembers them, or even know what they are.  And no one hears them, their dry scratching cries, and they are alone.   It is hard to even think of it again, much less imagine falling into that state.  And yet, that is not the worst that I saw."

Jesse, About the Poor and Taxes, 25 July 2012

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Ephesians 6:12

Stocks managed to rally today and go out near the highs.

Today was the precious metals option expiration on the Comex.

 Gold and silver took a bear raid in the chops, but managed to take some back into the close.

What a coincidence.

Let's see if the wiseguys have another gut check in them.

Chinese New Year Spring Festival formally lasts a week, but the holiday often stretches out to February 15th, as measured by factory and office closings.

We will have an FOMC decision and Non-Farm payrolls next week.

More coincidences on deck.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - On the Road to Damascus - Metals Option Expiration Tomorrow

 

"Those to whom one of these blows has happened— after which they struggle on the ground like a half-crushed worm—have no words to express what has happened to them.  Among the people they meet, even those who have suffered much, those who have never had contact with affliction have no idea what it is.  

Then one day God comes to manifest Himself to them and reveals the beauty of the world, like God did in the case of Job.  But if the soul ceases to love, it falls into something here below that is nearly equivalent to hell."

Simone Weil, The Love of God and Affliction

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

C. S. Lewis

"It is better to find God on the threshold of despair than to risk our lives in a complacency that has never felt the need of forgiveness."

Thomas Merton

"And therefore mine own good daughter, never trouble thy mind for anything that ever shall happen me in this world.  Nothing can come but what God wills.  And I make me very sure that whatsoever that be, it shall indeed be the best."

Thomas More, letter to his daughter Margaret from prison

“Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist— and into them enters suffering, in order that they may have life.”

Léon Bloy


Stocks turned in another dipsy-doodle day, with stocks plunging lower from the open, but returning to positive on the SP 500 and only slighly lower on the NDX.

Same day wash and rinse.  How modern.

Gold and silver moved higher, while the Dollar slid a little lower again.

Tomorrow will be an option expiration on the Comex for gold and silver.

Often we get a secondary gut check after the expiry, perhaps on Friday, for those lucky few whose in the money calls are exchanged for active futures contracts.

VIX continued to drift lower.  

We are so exceptional!

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Rough Seas Ahead Mateys - Metals Options, FOMC, Non-Farm Payrolls

 

"I am the gate.  Those who enter through me will be saved, will come and go and find good pastures.   The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance."

John 10:9-10

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.  Be patient with everyone, but above all be patient with yourself: do not get angry because you are angry, upset at being upset, depressed at being depressed, disappointed because you are disappointed. During the night we must wait for the light. 

So don't fool yourself. Simply surrender to the power of God's love, which is always greater than our weakness.  Do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up, with fresh courage, and continue on. You must persevere. By means of sorrow the enemy tries to make us weary of good works, but if he sees that we don't give up and in spite of his opposition they have become worthy, he will stop troubling us.

The whole world is not worth one soul.

Do not look for what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow, and every other day.  Either He will shield you from suffering, or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.  Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually: The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart has trusted in Him and I am helped.  He is not only with me, but in me and I in Him."

Francis de Sales

"Beyond armies of occupation and the catacombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love.  And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we are ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves?”

Maximilian Kolbe

 

I neglected to mention it yesterday, but the hedge fund Citadel turned in a record-breaking $16 billion in profit last year.  

Citadel is the top player in the 'pay for order flow' innovation adopted by most of the retail brokerage firms.

Even though Citadel pays to take the orders from the brokerages, we are assured that its all a win-win for the small retail investors, and certainly the brokers who received roughly $3.8 billion in compensation.

When you don't know who the loser at the table is...

Stocks were wobbly all day, but voila, the futures shot into the green at the close on the release of Microsoft's financial results.

Cloud, artificial intelligence, yada yada.

Let's see what kind of guidance they give tomorrow morning on the conference call.

I'll be impressed when Robo-brain figures out how to stop spam phone calls and emails. 

And how the heck no one seems to have vetted George Santos before letting him slip into the halls of highest power in the world's most exceptional country.

The Dollar slipped a bit.

Gold and silver turned in gains.  No breakouts yet confirmed.

Precious metals are facing a short term gauntlet, with the option expiration on Friday and the FOMC midweek and Non-Farm Payrolls next Friday. 

VIX fell a bit.

What us worry?

Have a pleasant evening.