- Currencies and metals get sold on Friday due to Jobs data
- Living paycheck to paycheck…
Good Day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! Well, my beloved Cardinals took 2 of 3 from the mighty Dodgers this past weekend. Playing to the level of their Competition has been a problem for this team for years now… But they are playing well these days, so I’m not complaining… The weekend was full of rain again… So, I didn’t get outside much, but I did take avantage of the times when the sun did shine! Golden Earing greets me this morning with their big song: Radar Love
The dollar saw a mini rally on Friday, with the BBDXY gaining 4 index points to end the week. The euro saw the 1.14 level get taken out, and the single unit ended the week at 1.1397… the sentiment on Wall Street has shifted again, and now the thought is of a delay in the rate cut that everyone was giddy about earlier last week… We’ll get into what caused this shift in a bit…
On Thursday before I signed off, Silver was kicking some tail and taking names later. Silver ended up $1.11 on Thursday but then had to succumb to the short paper traders and Gold’s weakness and lost 27-cents to end the week. Gold closed Friday at $3,311. Silver ended the week at $36.04
Gold finished last week on a down note, losing ground on Thursday and Friday… Gold lost $21 on Thursday and lost $45 on Friday.. The short paper traders were quite prevalent in the markets those days… I shake my head in disgust at these dirty rotten scoundrels…
Here are a couple of the reasons for Gold’s sell-off late last week, that fueled the short paper traders even more… the PMI Services data print on Wednesday and the Job jamboree on Friday both showed something that the Fed Heads need to address…
First if was the PMI Services print that showed that inflation ramped up in May… here’s something I found on that: “In discussing May inflation pressures, S&P’s U.S. Services PMI report noted the following:
… tariffs and suppliers generally raising their prices meant input cost inflation accelerated steeply in May to its highest since June 2023. Wages were also reported to be a factor pushing up overall operating expenses.
Service sector companies responded by passing on their increased input costs to customers wherever possible. Output charge inflation subsequently jumped noticeably in May, hitting its highest level since August 2022.”
Chuck again… Inflation isn’t going below 2% any time soon, folks… and that means the Fed Heads will probably have to skip the July rate cut that was so responsible for Gold’s rally earlier last week…
And the Jobs Jamboree was full of lies and fraud… The BLS added 199,000 jobs to the surveys… that makes a total of 592,000 jobs added out of thin air by the BLS in the last two months! How can these folks get away with this fraudulent reporting? And then come back and revise their numbers at a later date, and no one except me, goes ape!
But the Jobs number was the reason for the shift in sentiment… Strange don’t you think that the Jobs number is fraudulent, and full of made-up jobs, and yet the markets swallow the data hook, line and sinker? That’s been a problem for the markets for decades, they take the reports for what they show, and don’t look under the hoods… And then when the revisions come later, they act like they didn’t have any idea they were coming… Really? Yes!
The 10-year Treasury bond saw major selling on Friday, as the bond boys all have changed their sentiment again… The 10-year’s yield rase to 4.50% on Friday, and hasn’t looked back… This is a HUGE move for the 10-year, folks… I used to be a bond trader, and a wild swing like this one don’t come along very often… I’m just saying…
In the overnight markets last night… The dollar’s mini rally was snuffed out, and the selling of the dollar resumed, the BBDXY is down 3 index points this morning to start the day/ week at 1,208… The euro is back above the 1.14 figure this morning, and the rest of the currencies look healthier as we start the week. I want to point out something that I’ve talked about previously, and that tis the Euro Wannabes… The currencies of Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic make up this trio of countries with currencies that a very dependent on the euro for their moves, higher or lower VS the dollar.
It has aways been my contention that when the Euro Wannabes get firmly on the rally tracks that the dollar is in trouble… And as I check the currencies this morning, the Euro Wannabes are not yet firmly on the rally tracks, but they are looking like their getting ready to do just that! This is the caution that currency traders have to deal with these days, because of the PPT and their treasure chest of funds to intervene I the dollar to keep from falling off a cliff… So, what I’m saying is to keep an eye on this trio, and watch for them to either keep moving higher VS the dollar…
Gold is up to start the day/ week today $14, and Silver is up 28-cents. I read a piece on Kitco.com this past weekend that talked about even though Gold failed to hold the $3,400 figure, that the sentiment remains that Gold’s rise is not over… And the thoughts on Silver are even more brazen, in that the forecasters now say Silver will reach $40 by year end, and then march to $50 next year…
The price of Oil trades with a $64 handle this morning, and the 10-year Treasury’s yield sits at 4.51% this morning, ready, willing and able to continue its march higher…
I read this last weekend that 63 U.S. banks are on the Brink of collapsing… The reason? Same-o, same-o, They bought low, near zero yielding Treasuries and they are now in the red… If these collective banks were to be exposed they would probably see runs on their deposits, and then the Fed’s would come in and close them down, like they did the 3 banks in the spring of 2024 (I think that’s when it was, I lose track of time these days) These 63 banks have a running total of $517 Billion in losses on their books…
Look… we all knew that the decade of ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) was taken by first, Big Ben Bernanke, then by Janet Yellen, and finally by Jerome Powell, (who ended it finally!) would come back to bite us in the rear…
I don’t think that all the hype over the bruhaha in the White House between the POTUS and Elon Musk is anything but drama to get our minds off of the debt, and how the BIG Beautiful Bill will increase the debt not cut it… So, don’t get all into the argument, but keep your eye on the ball, which is the debt…
So, what’s up with the Honker? Well, the Hong Kong dollar, aka the honker, has traded weaker to the dollar for the last couple of weeks, and it appeared to me that it had broken out of the range that it had held in the peg to the dollar for eons… But in a closer look the honker is trading at the bottom end of its range VS the dollar, so the peg is still in place… I used to say that when China took over Hong Kong from the British that they would allow the honker to float, and use that experience to guide them to eventually allow the renminbi to float… But none of that happened, other than the renminbi to somewhat float… So, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men?
And remember me telling the European Central Bank (ECB) members not to get to giddy about the fall of inflation and to quite cutting rates? Well, much like my kids, they didn’t listen to me, and when inflation comes back with a vengeance, they will wish they had listened to me! At least there was one member of the ECB that came out and chastised the ECB members for falling for the inflation trap… Good for him, but one voice doesn’t change the council, he has to try to get more members to join his thoughts… I’m just saying…
For What it’s Worth… This is something that I’ve touched on in the past, and that is how many people are living paycheck to paycheck, and that’s not how a country’s GPD grows… This article can be found here;https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whats-driving-americans-live-paycheck-201232579.html
Or, here’s your snippet: What’s Driving Americans To Live Paycheck To Paycheck? One Person Says It’s Like Being ‘Thrown Into Adulthood Without A Map’
What’s Driving Americans To Live Paycheck To Paycheck? One Person Says It’;s Like Being Thrown Into Adulthood Without A Map;
Many Americans are stuck living paycheck to paycheck, and it’s not just because they don’t make enough money. While low wages and the rising cost of living are factors, Reddit users recently shared a much broader picture of the problem, revealing how complex and widespread the issue really is.
It’s More Than Just Low Wages
“At first glance, it seems obvious: people just don’t make enough money, right?” one Redditor wrote. “But the more I read and the more conversations I had, the more I realized that income is only one piece of a much bigger puzzle.”.
Many pointed to the rising cost of living. Essentials like rent, food, healthcare, and transportation have surged, while wages have barely moved. “The cost of living has doubled and we’re still getting paid the same ridiculous salary,” one person wrote.
Even people who do save find themselves drained by constant emergencies. “I was just starting to feel good! Caught up on bills, saving for emergencies, finally contributing to my retirement then a random light flashes on my car dashboard,” someone shared. “There goes all the emergency money I built up.”
Medical bills, vet visits, car repairs, and home maintenance were frequently mentioned. “No amount of budgeting works when the average pay in the USA isn’t enough to pay for rent if you’re single,” another said.”
Chuck Again… This is a real problem for a lot of Americans folks, and the GDP will suffer weakness because of this problem… But I feel for these folks… I remember as a young lad, my dad telling me that “Every time I seem to be getting ahead, I get hit with something that causes me to have to start all over again”… Get back into the lower middle class where you belong…
Market Prices 6/9/2025: American Style: A$ .6524, kiwi .6054, C$ .7313, euro 1.1418, sterling 1.3658, Swiss $1.2183, European Style: rand 17.7195, krone 10.0689, SEK 9.610, forint 351.98, zloty 3.7088, koruna 21.7913, RUB 79.13, yen 144.20, sing 1.2858, HKD 7.8481, INR 85.63, China 7.1813, peso 19.65, BRL 5.5600, BBDXY 1,208, Dollar Index 98.95, Oil $64.74, 10-year 4.51%, Silver $36.32, Platinum $1,209.00, Palladium $1,095.00, Copper $4.89, and Gold… $3,318
That’s it for today… Pretty chock-full-o-news today, eh? Well, I did that on purpose because there will be no Pfennig tomorrow… I’ll pick it back up again on Wednesday… I’LL be all by myself for the next 10 days starting tomorrow, I won’t have anyone to bring me coffee while I write! UGH! Darling Daughter, Dawn, will be here in the mornings as she starts giving her swim lessons again this year. I love to sit outside and watch the little ones learn to swim… They are so darn cute! Ok, before you get me suited with a sappy suit… The Temptations take us to the finish line today with their song: I Wish It Would Rain… Which I don’t wish for, but then it’s a song… I hope you have a Marvelous Monday today, and please Be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler