December 27, 2021
* Currencies & metals rally while Chuck was gone
* The Potus’s $2 Trillion deficit spending boondoggle is being held up…
Good Day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! Did you miss me? I missed writing everyday to you, but I got over that quickly! I trust your Christmas was beautiful, blessed, and full of wonder and joy… Mine sure was! Little Evie was adorable, and was able to unwrap her presents, and was so excited… It was 70 degrees on Christmas Day! I bet all the kids that got a bicycle were glad it was a nice day! But it wasn’t a record high for the day… Hmmm…. In past years, while I was away, we would see a rally in the currencies and metals, and this year, was no exception, albeit a muted rally, but a rally nonetheless! I’m still listening to Pandora’s Smooth Jazz Christmas station, and will continue to do so, until the new year… This morning, and the Stephen Kummer Trio is playing their version of: Favorite Things…
Well, let’s see.. on 12/16, when I left you, Gold was $1,188.09 and Silver was $22.17… The BBDXY was 1,185.96, Oil was $71.17, the ten year was 1.46%, and the euro was 1.1315… And here’s how they all closed on Christmas Eve… Gold was 1,810.20, Silver was $22.96, The BBDXY was 1,178.33, Oil was $73.79, the ten year was 1.43%, and the euro was 1.1340… So, there were rallies in the asset classes, while I was away… And like I’ve said many times before when coming back… I would gladly stay away from writing for “X” dollars! But I digress here…
The dollar was not so much in demand last week, as maybe, just maybe, cause you never know, traders and investors are finally seeing the writing on the wall, that spells out troubles for the U.S. going into 2022, and they lessened their respective loads of dollars.. the dollar still appears to be overbought, but at least it’s not flashing red any longer!
The Potus’s $2 Trillion boondoggle was put on hold for now that is, why wait? Why stay the execution? Get it over with, so that we can go on with the ending of our Empire! I’m in a rotten mood this morning, so don’t cross me! What’s $2 Trillion any-old-way? Chump change, right? Bus fare… Oh, do you remember when you would be going somewhere, that required transportation, and your mom would give you Bus fare, if you needed to leave early, or if things didn’t turn our just right? And that takes me back in time… The late 70’s, early 80’s… I took the bus to work each day, and returned home on the bus… It took about 45 minutes to go downtown, and even longer to get home each day… I wonder if anyone takes the bus to work each day, these days?
In the overnight markets last night… Well, I don’t know if the senior traders overseas were returning last night, but the dollar selling that went on all last week, stopped on dime… But the feeling that the dollar’s days of being the king of the hill were waning, has subsided this morning… The euro has slipped to 1.1310, The BBDXY has risen to 1,180.39, Gold is down in the early trading by $2.30, and Silver is down 15-cents… Oil is holding steady Eddie above the $72 handle, and the 10-year Tresasury’s yield has risen to 1.49%…
I’m still of the belief that the 10-year’s yield will be 2.00% by spring time… So, it had better get it in gear, eh? Bonds have really been a real enigma for me… I used to trade bonds, and thought I had my finger on the pulse of the bond market… But these day, I sit on cornerstones and count the time in quarter notes… (Jackson Browne) I do, really, I sit there and ponder what the heck is going on! The Fed/ Cabal/ Cartel says that they are no longer buying as many bonds each month, and that should in my opinion bring about rise in the yields becuase they sellers need to attract buyers of the bonds that the Fed/ Cabal Cartel no longer get their mitts on…
I had thought that we were well on our way to higher yields about 6-weeks ago, when the yields rose to the 1.70%’s… But that was not to be!
The Pfennig is short-n-sweet today, as I’ve got to slowly get back in the saddle without hurting myself … Besides, I’ve been told on occasion that too much Chuck at once is bad for you … HA!
Well, Chuck’s back, so what did you expect? The rallies to continue? HA! All kidding aside, the currencies and metals are still showing to be oversold, and so we should expect the rallies to continue, but since when did fundamentals or technicals come into play in these heavily manipulated markets?
I’ve been on the lookout, not seriously, while on vacation, but still on the lookout for someone to give me an inkling of information about what’s coming for the metals in 2022… No one really knows, for sure, but some have some really educated observances and I turn to those folks to help me with my thoughts… One such person to check out is E.B. Tucker… And when I saw him quoted on Kitco.com I immediately went there to see what he had to say, and I have that for you right here: “Everybody is a speculator, and so next year, I expect this speculation runs out of gas. There’s no more stimulus check coming. There’s more liquidity coming into the average person’s pocket. They got a raise this year, but everything they’re buying is going up in price. Sales are slowing down. The refinance boom is slowing down,” Tucker told David Lin, anchor for Kitco News. “Next year, you’re going to see a rotation out of [stocks] and you’re going to see a move into something real.”
Chuck again.. And that “something real” would be Gold & Silver… He didn’t have to say the words, Gold & Silver, by calling it something real… Even I can figure that one out! HA!
Inflation is a real bummer man… It’s running at an annual rate of 13.9%, according to shadowstats.com, and our country is still sitting on ZIRP… zero interest rate policy… Oh, sure the Fed/ Cabal. Cartel is talking about hiking rates in April of next year, but that’s till 4 months out, what will inflation be by then? I shake my head in disgust at our so-called Central Bank…
There’s very little on the docket for the U.S. Data Cupboard this week… It’s not unusual for this to occur, as the year comes to an end, most senior traders have taken the last two weeks off, and there’s nothing to be covered up or hidden in their trading logs, as they made sure of that before they left… The Gov’t bean counters tried to jam or cram all the data prints into last week, ahead of Christmas so that everyone’s eyes were taken away from the ball… I had to gag when I saw one of the prints… The Stupid Consumer Confidence report for this current month, shot higher from 109 to 115… Really? What on earth does anyone have confidence in these days, besides the fact that Gov’t will continue to take down our Empire with deficit spending?
I mean, think about that for a minute… the stock market is teetering once again, waiting for the white knight to come save it, and the inflation rate is running at its hottest pace in nearly four decades, as widespread supply disruptions, high consumer demand and worker shortages fuel a surge in prices. The Fed/ Cabal/ Cartel, may be just jawboning, but they claim that they are here to remove the punch bowl at the party… The U.S. current debt is $29.3 Trillion, our Unfunded Liabilities are $85 Trillion… (from the U.S. Debt Clock), and we’re not going to stop our deficit spending any time soon… And from that short list of problems, people are Confident? Give me a Break!
To recap… The currencies & metals rallied while Chuck was away, and as usual he has offered to go away permanently if someone wants to pay him to go away… HAHAHAHA! The $2 Trillion boondoggle that is being tossed around D.C. like a hot potato, no worries, it’ll get through eventually, because that’s what we do… We deficit spend!
For What It’s Worth… Well, this article came to me via long time reader Bob, who lives “downunder”, and always has a different thought on things, and I love that! This is an article about money… and it can be found Here: What is money and how is it changing? (brisbanetimes.com.au)
Or, here’s your snippet: “Money – it’s the grease that makes the world turn. It’s a means of exchange. We work for it to satisfy our needs and wants. It is used by some to measure their success in life. We even sing songs about it, how we’d like more and pine for it when it’s gone.
For decades, money has been largely unchanged. Sure, in Australia we’ve moved from paper to polymer notes, ditched the 1¢ and 2¢ pieces, added $1 and $2 coins. Instead of our pay being delivered to us via an envelope stuffed with cash, it is now electronically deposited into our bank account.
Yet starting with the global financial crisis and now the coronavirus pandemic, both money itself and our methods of spending it are changing at perhaps the fastest rate since societies moved from bartering to coin.
There are some people actively investing in alternative forms of money in the belief that what we know as money – backed by a central bank and the government – could change in the near future. More than $US3 trillion has been sunk into cryptocurrencies with advocates claiming that they will replace “traditional” money to pay bills and store value.
Meanwhile, as China tests out a digital yuan, many central banks, including Australia’s, are at least countenancing the idea of introducing digital currencies of their own backed by the government – an “eAUD”.
In an interesting twist – although sightings of $100 notes are akin to close encounters with extraterrestrials – there have never been more $100 and $50 notes in the economy. More cash, not less? How come? And what are to make of all these changes?”
Chuck again… and for those changes you’ll have to click on the link above and go to the article…
Market Prices 12/27/2021: American Style: A$ .7216, kiwi 6.800, C$ .7785, euro 1.1310, sterling 1.3405, Swiss $1.0877, European style: rand 15.5277, krone 8.8794, SEK 9.1276, forint 327.62, zloty 4.0735, koruna 22.2135, RUB 73.54, yen 114.73, sing 1.3571, HKD 7.8012, INR 74.99, China 6.3727, peso 20.63, BRL 5.6945, BBDXY 1,180.39, Dollar Index 96.21, Oil $72.61, 10-year 1.49%, Silver $22.81, Platinum $969.00, Palladium $2,038.00, Copper $4.34, and Gold $1,807.90
That’s it for today… Well, it’s almost time to saddle up and head south for the winter… But before we go, we get to take care of grandkids, Braden and little Evie! They’ve come to stay with us for a few days while their parents go on a real vacation! I’ve come down with another cold… I sat near a young child last Sunday who was sneezing her head off, and then 4 days later, voila! I sure hope this one doesn’t turn into what I went through last summer! So, far, just a cold… Kathy tested me for Covid and I was negative… Speaking of Kathy, yesterday was her birthday! I’m sure she wouldn’t want me to tell you how old she is now… But I’m sure most of you can guess… I said to myself yesterday, “Boy she sure still looks great, for being “x””… I wish I could say that about myself, but I can’t, and so we move along… Our Blues had their Canada trip cancelled last week, and they travel to New Jersey tonight to play the Devils… Wynton and Ellis Marsalis take us to the finish line today with their upbeat version of the song: Pebble Beach… I hope you have a Marvelous Monday today, and please Be Good To Yourself… And remember Be Positive, test negative!
Chuck Butler