Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts

"Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people."

Garrison Keillor

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Another Light Volume Levitation with EOD Dump

Non-Farm Payrolls is on Friday.

This weekend will be a three day holiday in the States for end of summer and Labor Day.

As a reminder today was the end of month markup period.

I think that the markets will go into a decline before the Fed's next meeting in September. But that is more hunch than chart driven.

Time For a Review: Economic Power, Authoritarian Capitalism, and the Failure of Governance

There are quite a few theories and a deepening economic debate swirling around. Even Marx is being selectively resurrected to help explain what is going on. Everything can contribute something, but the less useful parts merely add to the noise and confusion.

I think the situation is a little more simple than many portray, but it is ironically elusive to most people's minds as they distort

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts

There is an obvious but still relatively select 'flight to safety' occurring as a forward looking group of investors flees the equity markets, seeking the safe havens of the precious metals, harder currencies, and government bonds. When and if a 'rush to safety' occurs the resulting impact might be terrific.

Where this will go I cannot say. But say what you will, that is what is happening

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Stiff Resistance at 1220 SP

The market was walked up by the futures and the HFT bots on light volumes for a rally that largely fell apart into the close. A stiff breeze will knock this market over, but it might very well take a rather stiff one, because there is little selling, and it seems light human participation in the markets at the moment. The only volume that appears is on the downdrafts. That is a recipe for

US Economic Reports This Week

Friday is the Non-Farm Payrolls Report.

A Few Indicative Charts - Slouching Into November

"It's not a monster movie. It's a supernatural thriller."

Ed Wood

Stocks need to climb out of a hole, and in order to do this they need to get the allocations from Treasuries. Watch Treasuries and VIX to see how 'real' these light volume rallies in stocks are.

Gold and Silver are rolling with the volatility.

Keep an eye on all the 50 and 200 DMAs and see which one is on top, and where

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts

Light volumes and weak action throughout the US markets, an atmosphere in which the prices get pushed around.

This was 'back to school' weekend so I didn't watch the market action closely.

I did come out of flat to buy a little bullion on weakness but nothing substantial.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

"Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them."

Charley Reese

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Option Expiration Manipulation - Q. E. D.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Chasing Madoff

A House Divided: A Synopsis of Bernanke's Speech at Jackson Hole, and What It Means

When listening to a speech like this, one has to remember who is speaking and under what conditions. A Fed Chairman has a thousand watt megaphone attached to his chest, and so he must speak quietly and calmly, in order not to disrupt markets and place the Fed in the middle of political controversies. Unless you have actually been close to or in a position of power, where your words carry great

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly - Surfing Tsunamis

Some option expiration. Can you believe the nerve of these guys?

Bought the dip, and flipped out at the close. Didn't exactly see that coming, but why say no to free money?

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto. At least not judging by the size of these waves.

I maintained a core position mostly in gold. Some of the swings today in the miners were pretty impressive to say the least. I

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Coiling for a Move

Volatility remains elevated, to say the least, and the major indices appear to be 'coiling for a move,' as they say.

Hurricane Bernanke may provide whatever is required to make that move happen tomorrow, either by what he does, or does not do.

I would look for some aftershocks from this in the coming weeks as additional economic data rolls in.

I ended up NOT going short stocks, since playing

Shock B: I'll Bust a Cap in Your Curve, And Then Some...

Ben Bernanke and his gangsta bankas have been following the approach outlined in this paper from 2004, Monetary Policy Alternatives at the Zero Bound: An Empirical Assessment, which is excerpted below, and also in his famous 'printing press' speech on avoiding deflation from 2002.

I have written about this before several times over the years, but perhaps it is a good time to review the Fed's

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - CME Raises Gold Margin Requirements - Updated

Well, it looks like an option expiration week to me.

I pulled my 'defensive positions' in the metals today (short positions), and came out of 'flat' to stick a toe into the gold and silver markets in terms of both metals and a couple of miners that looked rather oversold intraday.

As a reminder, tomorrow is options expiration on the Comex.

You should be able to spot the support on the chart

Steve Jobs Resigns as Chief Executive Officer of Apple

Steve Jobs is everything that Bill Gates pretends to be. I am sorry to see him pulling back from his duties at Apple for obvious health reasons.

He is a one of the great ones.

Steve Jobs resigns from Apple, Cook becomes CEO
By Poornima Gupta and Edwin Chan

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs on Wednesday resigned as chief executive of Apple Inc in a stunning move that

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

On Friday Uncle Ben will be speaking from Jackson Hole, and the markets are eagerly awaiting some words regarding any version of QE3.

This is of course one of the best signs of how utterly dislocated and distorted the real economy can be.

It is also a clear sign of how many 'free market capitalists' are really on the government feedbag, from bailouts to subsidies to tax breaks, of one kind or

Net Asset Value of Certain Precious Metal Trusts and Funds

PHYS continues to be interesting in the out of character thinness of its premium to NAV.

CEF is running at a negative.

Gold Margin Hikes and a Pullback: Variations on a Theme

The reason for dropping of the sell orders and associated derivative bets, lifting of gold into the oxygen depletion zone, with a subsequent series of bear raids, is obviously in honor of the September options expiration this week on the Comex, and the Jackson Hole speech of Mr. Bernanke regarding the Fed's next steps on currency debasement.

But for those who were looking for a margin increase,

Central Planning - It's Not Just For Communists Anymore

I found this email from a reader to be very interesting, and I asked him for permission to share it with you.

Most students of economics are aware of the tendency of 'perfect competition' to zero economic profit over time, unless there is a continual renewal and reinvention of the business, under the guidance of a wise, insightful, and responsive management. Even the best enterprise involves a

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Bear Raid Ahead of Comex Option Expiration

Gold was lifted into the oxygen depletion zone above $1,900 overnight, and as predicted, the bear raids were launched today in force, together with nonsensical commentary from the financial demimonde.
"...the market in physical gold is tiny, and largely comprised of nutcases."
No wonder the Anglo-American financial cartel is in such decline.  Blind is the arrogance of faded empire, when it can

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

"As mentioned in previous quarterlies, the main long-term risk is that after two massive bubbles and two equally massive resurrection programs, the Fed may be out of ammunition.

Should more building blocks fall and a serious global double-dip develop, then the pattern of market behavior this time may be more historically typical. That is, instead of quickly recovering, markets will become

Net Asset Value of Certain Precious Metal Trusts and Funds

Bear raid right on schedule for Comex option expiration week, after they ran it up to the stratosphere.

Look out for Thursday expiration and Friday when Benny will be expected to say something on the easing front.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - La Douleur du Monde - Gold to Lofty Heights

A wild day in the markets today as stocks came in much higher and then tanked, with the CDS spreads on Bank of America running much higher along with gold and to a lesser extent silver.

Financials pressed the SP 500 lower all day, and Goldman broke hard to the downside into the close as a story on Reuters suggested that Lloyd Blankfein had hired a white collar criminal defense attorney named

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Banks Lead Shaky Market, Lloyd Hires an Attorney

A very volatile day on Wall Street as stocks came in higher from the overnight trade, but then lost their early gains and dipped much lower led by the Bank of America which is rumoured to be in trouble.

Stocks recovered their losses to be almost unchanged, but a late breaking story from Reuters quoted a 'government source' that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has retained an attorney, Reid

The US Deficit In One Picture

I like this graphic for several reasons, but especially because it puts everything in proportion with regard to the US' current obligations.

One thing I would like to highlight is the large surplus funds in the Social Security Trust and others.  These were 'invested' in a special type of intra-governmental Treasury note.

These funds are not 'gone' anymore than a Treasury bond is 'gone.' It

Jon Stewart: The Poor's Free Ride Is Over

The Daily Show - World of Class Warfare - The Poor's Free Ride Is Over

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Breath-Taking Rally, But Will the Dog Bark, Or Not?

Detective Gregory: "Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
Holmes: "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
Detective Gregory: "The dog did nothing in the night-time."
Holmes: "That was the curious incident."

Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of Silver Blaze
Gold rallied hard on a short squeeze and then settled back and closed around the 1850

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Down to the River Card

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - La Douleur du Monde

"People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome."

George Orwell
A wild day in the markets as fears of a European credit crunch, and possibly a eurodollar squeeze, combined with renewed fears of a US double dip recession had equities reeling and investors flying into the safe harbor of gold,

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Worries About the Double Dip

I noted yesterday that the failure to rally appeared a little ominous.

Stresses in the European banking sector had worried of another Lehman like spike in LIBOR and a eurodollar squeeze had the markets off balance all night.

The US market went down on weak economic new in initial claims and company prospects, but the Philly Fed came out with a dramatic contraction, and that sent equities

Another Eurodollar Squeeze? - Lehman Flashbacks - Crazy Eddie Does the World

"We committed our crimes at Crazy Eddie for fun and profit and simply because we could. We had no empathy whatsoever for our victims...

I eventually pleaded guilty to three felonies: conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and obstruction of justice. I was sentenced to only six-months of house arrest, 1,200 hours of community service, and paid

SP Futures Intraday - After Many a Summer Dies a Swan

As a reminder, this is an options expiration week for US equities.

Next week is an option expiration for metals on the Comex.

SP futures fell hard on the overnight and early morning to short term trend support. Gold soared.

The economic news sucked out loud.

Stocks must hold 1110 on the futures or they may activate what appears to be a bear flag.

"The woods decay, the woods decay and fall,

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - The Adventures of Pigman - Döllardämmerung

Gold was resilient again today and even managed to drag its little cousin Silver over the 40 dollar mark.

Mr. Chavez of Venezuela has said he will nationalise his country's gold mining industry for the benefit of those in power there apparently. I doubt that this move will entice much in the way of additional Foreign Direct Investments. And he is also asking for the return of his country's

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Uncertain Seas Ahead

As a reminder there is an options expiration for equities on this Friday.

A reader informs me that OptionsHouse increase the margin requirements for options to 100 percent today. Someone obviously expects some turmoil and wishes to reinforce their extended value at risk.

I was not encouraged by the failure to rally above resistance today, but in the short term anything can happen, especially

US Monetary Aggregates Update - Failure to Reform - At the Edges of the Policy Continuum

Dude, where's my deflation?

It may seem a little counter-intuitive, that the money supply measurements are growing strongly, at the same time that the growth of consumer credit and spending remains sluggish, with GDP lagging.

Well, perhaps not so sluggish as some might wish to portray, as show in the last chart, but certainly not with enough force to bring back jobs.  The Fed can create

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts

Silver is still struggling, but gold looks like it is getting ready to launch higher, break and run to at least 1810.

Let's see if it can do it. That will scare Benny and his Central Banking cronies.

If it does it may unleash silver, which is like a rocket when it breaks free.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

The European situation is starting to make Wall Street edgy again. The Merkel-Sarkozy proposal for a financial transactions tax especially spooked the financials.

The market is showing weakness, but there is a strong desire for it to recover. A long down or up candle this week may illuminate its next sustained direction.

"How far that little candle throws his beams!"

Wm. Shakespeare,

US Markets and Foreign Ownership, Portfolio Risk and Net Investment Position

Keep in mind that when they talk about the "US position" or the "China position" this can include all ownership, both official and private, unless otherwise specified.

I was a little surprised to see the relative size of the US equity market versus the debt markets, ex-Federal Reserve ownership.

Also a bit of a surprise was the size of European Direct Investment in the US compared to other

In Case You Were Wondering Who the Mainstream Media DOESN'T Support...

Crouching Corn Dogs, Hidden Agendas: The Coverage of the Iowa Straw Poll

Management of the news by the vested interests and status quo could not be more obvious in this case.

The problem with Ron Paul is that agree or disagree with him, he is honest, consistent, and he doesn't sell out his opinions for lobbyist money.

I don't care for some of his positions on civil rights, and the other '

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts, La Douleur du Monde, and The Fall of Troy

"A shudder in the loins engenders there
The broken wall, the burning roof and tower,
And Agamemnon dead."

William Butler Yeats, Leda and the Swan
No this is not a reference to birth of Greenspan, but to the grand arrangement of the allied powers after the war, the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the birth of the world's still reigning wonder, the world's reserve currency, the dollar.

The

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Options Expiration Week

As a reminder this is stock option expiration week.

Stocks were in rally mode today. The volumes were a little lighter than last week's downdrafts. Some might call this a seller's strike.

The key question for the intermediate term, is if this is a bear market rally, or a bull market correction.

The charts may provide us some information there.

The correction from the long rally proceeded as

Weekend Reading - The Glory of the Human Individual

A relative of my wife's in-laws was called away in her sleep last night, at age 69. She had not been ill. As they say, only God knows the time and the place.

She was still working, in a low paying job with the occasional verbal abuse, to try and make ends meet. She was always cheerful, and always provided the meals for family gatherings. Some of her dishes were legendary. Alas, I have known

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Comex Bear Raid Continues

Next week Friday is an options expiration in stocks, and on August 25 is an option expiration in the metals on Comex.

I suspect world events will continue to drive the trade, with a steady undercurrent of high frequency price manipulation during periods of light participation by legitimate investors.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - A Nation of Financiers

"To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers."

Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations
Most people do not realize that it was Adam Smith who wrote

Gold, and Platinum, and Money, Oh My!

Traders have recently been remarking about a highly unusual event in the metals markets.

For the first time in quite a while, the price of gold per ounce has exceed the price of platinum per ounce. This is shown in the first chart.

There is even a paired trade being touted, short gold and long platinum. The caveat is that this is said to be a profitable trade IF there is a global recovery.

Mitt Romney to Iowa Voters: "Corporations Are People"

I think he was caught off guard.

I think he intended to say, 'Corporations are my best friends' instead of 'Corporations are people, my friend.'

Well at least now we understand when he says that he is 'a man of the people.'

It could have been worse. He could have said that 'Soylent Green is people.'

I can see that my comedic talent is going to have fertile input during the upcoming

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Bear Raid With Comex Margin Increases, Right on Cue

Machine gunning the life boats, strafing the refugees.

But it's hard to stop a rising tide.

Change is coming.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Abandon Ship

I hear today that a number of the Congressional participants named to the Super Committee to Balance the Budget have signed pledges never to contemplate any tax increases. Perhaps the Democrats should sign a pledge to cut no entitlements, and the first meeting they can ask, 'So what do you want to talk about tonight Marty?'

So once again the Great Compromiser appears to be a hapless diddler

The Great Flaw in the Free Trade Theory And Other Vain Beliefs, Hoaxes, and Follies

There are several economic models and political memes that rely on an underlying belief in the natural efficiency and goodness of 'free trade' and 'efficient markets.' One can question whether these ideas promoted certain behaviours, or if certain parties promoted these theories to serve as justification for their policy objectives.

Whatever the case may be, let's take a look at the theories

CME Raises Margin Requirements on Gold and Treasuries and Energy and Swiss Francs

...and Pesos, Rubles, etc. etc.

CME Boosts Margins - CME Site Bulletin

WSJ - CME Boosts Margins on Forex, Treasuries

Ok gold I understand, kind of. I just wondered if CME was going to raise margins and signal a bear raid in my gold chart commentary this afternoon.

But Treasuries?

Why be subtle? Why not just machine gun the lifeboats?

Git some. Git some. Get back in them big caps, tech,

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Gold Shorts Were Being Carried Out on Stretchers

Gold has had a remarkable run higher. It has reached the point now where an additional rally without at least a consolidation starts to approach a breakaway run, something with a bigger correction in its future. So I would welcome a pause for the market to at least catch its breath and attract some stability.

Silver needs to go much further to catch up. Even though it has rallied it is still a

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

It is going to take a selling capitulation with the DJIA down over 1000 points intraday, or some sort of government announcement or action to turn this market around.

It does seem to be trying to find some footing on the chart here, but lately that just means a pause before we see another downdraft.

Markets like this are deadly for bottom-pickers. Be careful. Rough waters, matey.

Lessons Forgotten

I do not and can not condone violence, ever, except in the most dire and extreme circumstances in defense of home and family. The resort to violence in the case of a powerful oppressor is to give them what they desire, the intention of their provocations: the excuse to repression, murder, and genocide.

But non-violence, as Gandhi so eloquently observed, is the weapon of the strong, of the

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - La Douleur du Monde

You have to choose between trusting to the natural stability of gold and the natural stability of the honesty and intelligence of the members of the Government. And, with due respect for these gentlemen, I advise you, as long as the Capitalist system lasts, to vote for gold.

George Bernard Shaw

Very volatile day in the markets, with gold leading the way higher and silver lagging a bit here in

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

Any excuse will serve a tyrant.

Aesop

The Fed threw the market a bone, stating that they would maintain easing through the upcoming Presidential election if the economic conditions called for it.

And so a powerful relief rally ensued. Whether it will be maintained is another question and answer, heavily influenced by the upcoming economic reports, especially with regard to employment, median

Federal Open Market Committee Pledges Monetary Easing Through 2013 If Required

About what one might have expected.

No specific action at this time, but reassurances that the Fed recognizes the downturn in the economy, with fresh evidence of this since their last meeting in June, and higher risks to recovery through lack of confidence in financial assets, and slack employment and spending by consumers.

In a very real sense the Fed is attempting to bridge the gap between

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - A Vote of 'No Confidence' In US Governance

"And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control."

Lord Acton
Investors do not need a ratings agency to tell them what to think about the US sovereign debt status. The Treasury market is broad and deep, and the facts about the US financial situation are reasonably available, although sometimes hard to

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - VIX - Deeply Oversold at Must Hold Support

In the gold silver commentary tonight I will explain what happened today and why the markets reacted as they did. I thought the message was loud and clear.

US equity levels are down to the 'rally or die' level, and are completely and utterly oversold short term from a purely technical standpoint. However, this is the point where confidence could break, and stocks could move sharply lower if

This Week's US Economic Calendar

The short term trends are very over-extended, with stocks down and Treasuries higher. Gold has unjoyed a spectacular rally. The financial sector has been crushed.

I am looking for some thing that will reverse this process, and perhaps with some gusto. But that is what might happen ordinarily. How ordinary is this?

So for now the trend is the trend, and it would not be wise to get in

Net Asset Value Premiums on Certain Precious Metal Trusts and Funds

Gold is soaring. Silver is up, but lagging a bit here.

FOMC meeting tomorrow. It is a one day affair this time.

Sprott's Physical Gold Trust continues to be the weakest of a good bunch, as an after effect of the share expansion deal and how it was written with the underwriters Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets apparently.

It's the Unfunded Wars and the Financial Fraud, and the Unwillingness to Reform

Yes, the US has some very real long term issues with Social Security and Medicare.

Social Security is being strangled by the refusal to raise the income limit on the Social Security withholding tax in response to the gradual creep of inflation. If this limit was raised periodically the Social Security 'problem' would be resolved.

Medicare and in particular the drug portions of the program

Standard and Poor's Downgrades US Long Term Sovereign Debt From AAA to AA+

"And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that."

Lord Acton

It appears that my suspicions about a hidden agenda and undercurrent in today's trade were correct. There were prints of something significant but undisclosed all over the tape, yesterday and today.

The official line

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - US Government Preparing for Debt Downgrade

After the bell, a Reuters story quotes an ABC News report that the US is preparing for a downgrade of its sovereign debt, according to an unnamed government source.
(Reuters) - The U.S. government expects its debt to be downgraded by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's from its current triple-A rating and is preparing for the event, ABC News said on Friday.

ABC cited an unnamed government

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - US Debt Downgrade Looming?

Since the end of QE2 the stock market is down about ten percent.

Do not think that this is lost on Bernanke and the FOMC which meets next week.

After the bell there were stories that the US government is preparing for a sovereign debt downgrade by S&P.  See the blog entry above for details.

I am not so sure that they will formally announce a QE3 on Tuesday, but I think that it is a good bet

Here Comes the 'Freedom to Invest Act'

As a general rule of thumb, any law in America that contains the word 'Freedom' or 'Patriot' in its title is brazenly promoting a crime, or a fraud, or some self serving corruption of the common good.

I suppose that this indirect level of freedom will just have to do until a bipartisan committee can come up with a plan to more directly 'free up' your IRA and 401k for the use of corporate

J P Morgan Says "We Love Gold"

JPM loves gold, and recommends buying the miners to play it with gusto no less.

I know, it's kind of creepy at first blush, isn't it?  Do Bankers blush?   Do their algos dream of electronic sheep?

Curiouser and curiouser.

What's next, will Jonny Nads turn bullish on what his people have been selling for years, and many times over it appears? Perhaps that would be just too much, and

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - La Douleur - FOMC Next Week - QE3

The overnight and early morning rally in the metals was met with heavy liquidation selling around noon in New York. Gold finished down only 14 dollars from yesterday's close, but it was a much larger intraday reversal.

I think the Street and the monied interests are prepping the markets for QE3. The Fed meets next Tuesday.

I took a little time from my 'vacation' today to put some money to

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - VIX - SELLOFF! - Fresh Calls for QE3

There was a major selloff in Europe and the US today as fears of slowing economies and a sovereign debt crisis intensified.

There was a flight to safety in the dollar and Treasuries, and early on in gold. But the price rise in gold and silver was cut short as selling increased and it turned into a general liquidation.

Non-Farm Payrolls will be released tomorrow morning.

The Federal Open

Bank Of New York Mellon To Pay Negative Interest Rate for Very Large Cash Deposits

The Bank of New York Mellon will begin paying negative interest rates on very large cash savings deposits, over $50 million, this week.

As an aside, we wonder why the Fed does not similarly reduce the interest they pay on bank reserve deposits with them to zero from the current .25 percent? 

It should be noted that Bank of New York Mellon has a current dividend yield of 2.06%. Are those

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - La Douleur du Monde - Eurodollars

Gold was romping today until it was smacked lower in the thinly traded late day market. Silver was up sharply.

I posted some thoughts intraday on gold and silver which you might wish to scroll down to review if you have not yet seen them.

I think silver, if it can break up through 50 and hold it, can run to 80 to 100 in a shorter period of time than most might imagine. However, if the equity

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

The Non Farm Payrolls number will give the US markets direction.

Relative Performance of Gold and Silver for the Past Three Months - Perceptions Shape the Trade

In response to the Asset Performance piece from earlier this week that showed Silver to be outperforming most other stores of wealth this year to date, despite the big correction off the parabolic high, someone asked me why "silver is underperforming gold recently."

So I looked at their relative performance AFTER the big spike higher and smackdown. By the way, I think that was utterly contrived

The Longer End of the US Treasury Curve Looks Over Extended

The longer end of the US Treasury curve (20+) looked quite overextended, at least in the short term, in the first hour's trade this morning. How could I resist for at least a day or so trade?

I still do not like the equity market yet, and would view this as a technical support area, until it proves itself otherwise. And that is probably going to have to wait for the US Non Farm Payrolls.

I

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Maladie Monétaires

The US has maladie monétaires, a money sickness, and it may spread to the rest of the world. Unless treated properly it is a sickness unto death. The problem as always is those who carry it and spread the infection, the perversion of public policy and economic thought. Western capitalism is slowly destroying itself. This is my diagnosis, and the outlook is not good.

Gold gained $40 to 1660

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts

As much as one can be, I was a little impressed that the NDX reached down to hit the support level I had drawn last Friday, some distance from where it had been. And the SP has also fallen to clear support.

These short term trends are now a bit extended, but the eyes will be on the economic data, especially the NonFarm Payrolls on Friday, and not the buffoonery in Washington with the Tea

Year To Date Performance of a Few Select Stores of Wealth - And the Winner Is .... Silver

Here is the chart of the results for various stores of wealth Year to Date. And a second chart shows the results for the past three years.

As a side note, I do not include currency investments. The Swiss franc has been a spectacular performer, but like the metals it pays little or no interest. The average person loses money in currency arbitrage based on my own observation. They tend to

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Unfolding Almost Exactly as Expected

They'll print money until we run out of trees."

Jimmy Rogers
Gold was hit hard, then rallied, then hit into the end of day again, pretty much in the manner which I had expected it would be.

So what next? I think the metals will continue to be capped and under pressure, since the deficit deal, as bad as it might be, provides a rallying point based on fear of discovery for the paper mongers.