- Currencies and metals rally on Monday
- But get sole in the overnight markets… UGH!
Good Day, and a Tom Terrific Tuesday to you! This is the last Pfennig until I return on March 11… I know, that seems like a long time, but, time will fly for me, I’m sure! My beloved Cardinals finally got a win yesterday, and the lineup featured mostly starters for at least 6 innings… We hemmed and hawed about going to the game, since the forecast was for rain, but in the end, we went, and left before the rain began in the 7th… I came home and collapsed in my recliner and didn’t wake up until it was dark outside. UGH! I experienced another stomach problem yesterday, and those usually knock me out.. The Atlanta Rhythm Section greets me this morning with their song: Imaginary Lover
The dollar range traded yesterday, going up a buck and back down by a buck throughout the day, but in the end the BBDXY gained 1 index point on the day. Gold experienced another record setting day, climbing $18 to $2,954, and Silver was flat on the day, ending the day at $32.42… Gold has been being bought most recently as a safe haven, and if that continues, it means that Gold will be well-bid this week. Market sentiment, as we have seen, can be quite fickle and quirky, with an itchy trigger finger, so that’s why said, “if it continues”…
The price of Oil, which also happens to be range trading these days, bumped higher to end the day trading with a $71 handle, and the 10-year Treasury keeps seeing it being bought, and with that buying the yield on the bond has slipped downward… The 10-year Treasury’s yield ended the day yesterday at 4.38%… Treasuries too, have been being bought on a safe haven basis… Although I would argue that going further out on the yield curve in Treasuries is a risk, to me, that is… 3-year max is my rule…
In the overnight markets last night… It’s a game of give and take; the dollar lost the 1 index point it had gained in the overnight trading last night… Our debt problems are not viewed as a “problem” here in the U.S, while overseas they see the writing on the wall… A cat has been thrown among the pigeons in the early trading for Gold & Silver today… The short paper traders have watched Gold reach another all-time record price yesterday, and said, “Whoa There Pardner” The short paper traders have unleashed a fury of paper trades this morning, and Gold is down $27 to start the day, while Silver has given back 57-cents! And fallen back below the $32 handle… I tell you this and you’ve heard it a million times before… I have total disdain for the short paper traders, they could all be on a rocket ship that’s projected nowhere, and it wouldn’t be enough to undue all the evils they have unleashed on the metals…
And speaking of give and take: The price of Oil gave back the $1 it gained yesterday in the overnight trading last night… And trades this morning with a $70 handle… The 10-year Treasury is watching all the hard work that they had put in to getting the yield to rise, erode… UGH! Oh, well… Que sera sera…
Well, the audit of Ft. Knox is going to happen… But let me be clear here, it’s not just counting bars of Gold or looking them over to see if they are real… The auditors will have to look under the hood, and seek out the Gold lease agreements… And ensure that the serial numbers on the bars are the same as the invoice or shipping manifest… This whole scenario is becoming a great story line for a movie… For what IF, there are discrepancies? Uh-Oh…
The other news story that cam across last night was that finally there has been a surge in buying the Gold ETF… While in a way around the bases, there’s a buying of physical Gold there, it’s not the kind of investor physical Gold buying that I was talking about yesterday…
But, as long as it surrounds buying Gold, that’s the thing I want to see from all investors, for it’s the way I see as an end to the short paper traders…
Don’t know if you follow the currency roundup each day, but it you do, you will have noticed a change in the direction of the Japanese yen… Yes, the yen traded below the 150 level for two consecutive days, and that means the yen is getting bought… Right now, mostly by Pension funds, hedge funds, and whatever fund. Their inventory managers are thinking that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is going to follow up their rate hike earlier this month, with another rate hike soon… I hate to be the guy that pulls away the punch bowl at a party, but… I doubt the BOJ will be that aggressive with their rate decisions… I’m not saying that an eventual rate hike from the BOJ isn’t coming, but instead, I’m offering a delay in those rate hikes…
The euro is nearing 1.05 again, and each time it has done that, it gets beaten back down… But maybe a 3rd time is a charm and the euro can maintain the figure for more than a day… And once again, this euro strength is coming as a result of it being the offset currency to the dollar… The dollar has been weaker, the euro has been stronger… The euro did get a mini burst in price from the election results last Sunday, that we talked about yesterday. A Conservative Coalition Gov’t is what the people in Germany wanted, and with Germany being the largest economy in the Eurozone, the northern Eurozone countries will also like it… As for the Club Med currencies in the South don’t have a clue….
The U.S. Data Cupboard today just has the stupid consumer Confidence for this month… This is nothing more than a pulse of the stock market, and since stocks have found that they are no longer on a ONE-WAY street, I expect the Confidence number to have fallen this month…
To recap… The dollar range traded yesterday before ending the day up 1 index point in the BBDXY. Gold rallied, then got sold, then rallied again to end the day up $18… And Silver was flat… The Ft. Knox audit is ON! And Chuck reminds the auditors to look under the hood… And the Japanese yen is in rally mode… I know, it sounds strange o say that!
For What It’s Worth… . I talked about the DOGE group attempting to get our financial situation sorted out a bit. Well, his partner in the Ft. Knox audit will be Ron Paul, who has been a shining light for us that think we should question everything the Gov’t implements, comes up with etc. Well, Ron Paul wrote an article in Daily Reckoning about cutting the defense budget, and I like his thoughts! And it can be found here: Can We Really Cut Half of The Military Budget? You Bet! – The Daily Reckoning
Or, here’s your snippet: “The wailing sound you heard last Thursday was the chorus of the Beltway warmongers shrieking in despair at President Trump’s suggestion that there was no reason for the United States to be spending one trillion dollars on “defense.”
“…One of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China and President Putin of Russia, and I want to say let’s cut our military budget in half. And we can do that, and I think we’ll be able to do that,” the President told reporters.
With this statement, President Trump blew up one of the biggest myths of our time, particularly among Republicans, that spending more on the military is essential to keeping us safe.
There is a vast and well-funded network of political and industrial interests that depend on maintaining that myth, from the weapons manufacturers to the mainstream media to the think tanks and beyond. Why? Because most of what is called “defense spending” has little to do with defending this country and a lot to do with enriching the politically well-connected.
We also need a change in policy. Americans are beginning to understand the economic costs of maintaining a global military empire. US taxpayers are forced to cover more than half of the entire NATO budget while European countries rattle sabers at Russia and threaten war.
If Europe feels so threatened by Russia, why don’t they cover the costs of their own defense? Why do poor Americans have to pay for the defense of rich Europeans? Haven’t we had enough of this?
I very much hope that President Trump follows through with his plan to drastically reduce our bloated military budget. We can start by closing the hundreds of military bases overseas, bringing back our troops from foreign countries, and eliminating our massive commitments to NATO and other international organizations.
We will be richer, safer, and happier.”
Chuck again… Some of you may recall that Chuck’s debt solutions were a call to close all military bases around the world, especially in countries that don’t like us there to begin with, and bring the soldiers home to defend our border… So, it’s nice… That old saying has an iota of truth to it here, that great minds think alike! HA!
Market prices 2/25/2025: American Style: A$ .6343, kiwi .5722, C$ .7011, euro 1.0496, sterling 1.2667, Swiss $1.1203, European Style: rand 18.3744, krone 11.1203, SEK 10.6106, forint 382.25, zloty 3.9442, koruna 23.7781, RUB 86.60, yen 149.52, sing 1.3384, HKD 7.7742, INR 87.20, China 7.2605, peso 20.50, BRL 5.8096, BBDXY 1,286, Dollar index 106.41, Oil $70.44, 10-year 4.32%, Silver $31.86, Platinum $967.00, Palladium $937.00, Copper $4.57, and Gold… $2,927.56
That’s it for today… No sappy story for you today, sorry about being that open about my sorrow… Tomorrow I head home for my 4th infusion, and this time I get 6 weeks between them. I return on Monday, with my Spring Training buddies… On the same plane! No worries, it’s a very early flight, so I doubt we’ll be much trouble… And then my annual spring vacation begins… YAHOO! Well, I proved myself to be up to the task… My wife doubted that I would be able to walk from the parking garage to the stadium, up the stairs and to my seat without taking a break… But for two consecutive days, I nailed it Gov.! It wasn’t a walk in the park, but wasn’t too bad… It’s the little victories that I enjoy at this stage of my life and health… The Wonderful Dusty Springfield takes us to the finish line today with her song: Son of a Preacher Man… It’ll be March when we next talk, so I hope you have plenty of days of seashells and balloons, and that you’ll especially have a Tom Terrific Tuesday today and will Be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler