Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - A Tsunami of Insouciance - Oligarchy Large and In Charge

 

"As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other, and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.   And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful."

Colossians 3:12-15

"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods.  But he cannot save them from fools."

John Muir

"There ain't no clean way to make a hundred million bucks. Maybe the head man thinks his hands are clean but somewhere along the line guys got pushed to the wall, nice little businesses got the ground cut from under them and had to sell out for nickels, decent people lost their jobs, stocks got rigged on the market, proxies got bought up like a pennyweight of old gold, and the five per centers and the big law firms got paid hundred-grand fees for beating some law the people wanted but the rich guys didn't, on account of it cut into their profits.  Big money is big power and big power gets used wrong.  It's the system.

The tragedy of life, Howard, is not that the beautiful die young, but that they grow old and mean."

Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye

"Then the kings of the earth, their nobles and their commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every one of their willing slaves and free men, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.  And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne, and from the righteous anger of the Lamb.'"

Rev 6:15-16

Stocks were in a risk on rally higher stampede today.

The spokesmodels were ebullient in a boiling flurry of pom-poms.

Tech took out its prior high in its bearish stepladder decline.  

The SP 500 has a little way to go.

As you might have expected the VIX has dropped back down to its recent lows.

The Dollar rose rather strongly as fears of the debt limit receded, for no particular reason.

Gold and silver continued to decline as bully shed his fears and streaked the field.

Banking crisis - over.

War with Russia and Ukraine- meh.

Increasing tensions with China -  paper tiger.

 Impending domestic recession - not for those who matter.

 E pluribus screw'em.

Stock index option expiration tomorrow.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Agents of Fortune - Financial Dreadnoughts

 

"The financial system is once again over-leveraged, over-concentrated, fraught with interconnected counterparty risk, and fragile.   This is because of the policy failure of the Treasury and the Fed which could be characterized as extend and pretend, without engaging in significant reforms and law enforcement in the aftermath of what might be best described as a control fraud.

I postulated years ago (2002) that when push came to shove, the Fed would gather around itself a few 'friendly banks' which would act on its behalf in private to enforce certain policy decisions in markets in which the Fed and Treasury do not wish to openly operate.  It is hard to think of any other somewhat moral reason for the government to babysit and subsidize these very expensive and dangerous TBTF monstrosities, except as instruments of policy to provide some degree of freedom to shape events and responses.

If you want to wage a currency war, you need to have some dreadnoughts packing serious financial throw-weight, and economic muscle.  It may be Machiavellian, counter-democratic, and expensive, but that is the diktat of strategy if you want to control things and wield power to do what you will, both at home and abroad.

Is a corollary to the currency war a financial arms race and the construction of institutional behemoths?  I think it might be.   Or it could just be widespread ignorance and corruption amongst the ruling class which certainly is conceivable.  Or some of both.  Why do governments sometimes engage in corporatism?  Take your pick."

Jesse, Financial Dreadnoughts in Times of Currency War,  22 February 2013
 

It was 'risk on' today as bully cast aside his fears and engaged the wash cycle in the markts.

Stocks finished decidedly higher.

VIX dropped sharply back to recent lows.

The Dollar edged higher.

Gold and silver were pressed lower again.

Pretty much the kind of pre-option expiration action we have come to expect.

Have you noticed how economic and financial sanctions and restrictions have become a major component of American policy responses with the Fed and the Banks as key components in controlling markets and impacting trade?

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - No Lie Too Bold, No Fraud Too Petty

 

"There was war in heaven.   Michael and the angels fought against the dragon.   The dragon fought back, but he did not have the power, and so lost his place in heaven.  The great dragon was thrown down – that ancient snake called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.   He fell to the earth, and his angels with him.  Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.   For the adversary of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down."

Revelation 12:7-9

"And he said to them, 'I saw Satan fall, like lightning from the sky.'"

Luke 10:18

"Forsake us not, O Archangel of God, with your help and protection, who glorify your holy name: for even if we are have sinned greatly, we would not perish in our misdeeds, but rather turn to the Lord and be enlivened by Him to good works.

Illumine our minds with the light of God.  Strengthen, by the Lord’s grace, our weak will and infirm intention, and above all, ask for us the spirit of true repentance, unfeigned sorrow before God, and contrition for our sins, so that we may spend the days that remain of this passing life, not in pleasing ourselves and serving our passions, but rather in reparation for the evils we have committed, by tears of faith and heartfelt repentance, by striving for righteousness and holy works of mercy."

Prayer to Michael the Archangel

"Why do you not understand what I am saying?  It is because you cannot bear to hear my words.  You are from your father, the devil, and you willfully carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand with the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks in accord with his nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

John 8:43-44

Stocks of the non-tech variety had a rough day today.

Gold and silver got nailed, probably in honor of the approaching option expirations for the miners.

VIX was up slightly.

The Dollar was also only up marginally, not even recovering the small loss from yesterday.

Whatever the rationales, today looked like a low volume wash and rinse.

The spice must flow.

Have a pleasant evening.