The countdown begins

• Currencies & metals get sold last Friday.

• Chuck is full of gloom & doom this morning.

Good Day... And a Marvelous Monday to you! Well, if all things work out for me this week, this will be my last week before going on my Irish sojourn, which will last two weeks... There will be no Pfennigs on that day, so if you feel like you need a shot of Pfennig, Chicago greets me this morning with their great song: Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?

That dastardly, no good, rotten to bone, short paper traders were working overtime late last week... First of all on Thursday last week, Gold gained over $31, and Silver gained over 96-cents... The problem with that day was that these closing prices for Gold & Silver were way below their respective intraday highs... The short paper traders cut short their gains on the day... 

And not being completely satisfied with their work on Thursday, the short paper traders never allowed Gold & Silver to even start to follow through on their Thursday gains... Yet, another engineered takedown was in place on Friday, and Gold lost $39, and Silver lost $1.23... The two metals gave back what they had gained on Thursday, and then some... 

The Dollar gained some momentum late last week, especially after the Swiss National Bank announced another rate cut... The BBDXY ended the week at 1,268... And the euro ended the week below 1.07 at 1.0691... The rest of the currencies all have been sent right back to their sick beds, as they have seen their sickness relapse... 

The price of Oil slipped a bit to close the week with an $80 handle... And the 10-year's yield ended the week at 4.25%... 

In the overnight markets last night...The dollar was sold overnight, a bit... The BBDXY has given back 3 index points to start our day today... I think the thinking in the foreign markets is that the U.S. dollar bugs are out of their collective minds buying dollars right now... At least that's what I would be thinking if I were foreign trader! The currencies don't look that much better as we start today/ week... So, the BBDXY would have to lose a bunch more points to show up in the euro, sterling, et al...  

The price of Gold is up $6 to start our day/ week.... Silver is up 9-cents this morning too... No sign yet of the short paper traders... But don't you fret, they're out there folks... No question about that! I can't get my head around how dastardly the short paper traders not only stopped Gold & Silver's rise last week, but sent them reeling once again... I had thought that maybe, just maybe, cause you-never-know (Joaquin Andujar), these short paper traders had learned their lesson, after Gold's rise this year, that put their short trades in peril... But that thought was incorrect, and I admit that! 

The price of Oil remained just below $81 overnight, and the 10-year's yield is 4.26% to start the day... 

Well, don't look now, but the Japanese yen is in a free fall once again, and despite all the jawboning the Bank of Japan (BOJ) spews on the markets, the traders and hedge funds aren't buying what the BOJ is selling... And so they continue to mark down yen... Remember, when I was quite excited that the BOJ had finally hiked rates, but said, then... "The BOJ had better follow up this rate hike, with another and soon, or else the bloom will be off the rose with yen"  Looks like that has come to fruition, eh? 

The Swiss National Bank (SNB ) cut their internal rate once again last week, and made a very interesting statement afterward, saying, that " they had to cut rates to spur the economy, and stem the franc's gains"... So, did you ever question the thought that the countries of the world, are in the business of "rob thy neighbor"?  Here's your proof! 

Back here in the U.S. something is going on that's a little strange, and needs some further investigation into... U.S. Banks are really in trouble folks, and in my opinion, this is the catastrophe that will bring about the digital currencies... I read this morning, that the Big Banks are unloading bad debt, in an opportunity to ready themselves for the coming dark clouds... Now, who they're unloading that bad debt on wasn't talked about, and to me that's the $64 question this morning, "who's going to be left holding the bag?" 

Yes, I know in the end it will be you and me... The taxpayers, which leads me to my number one question: Got Gold? 

Well, the U.S. had funding problems ahead... $10 Trillion in debt will come due by year-end... And that $10 Trillion will have to be rolled over, into new higher interest bonds... Good luck with that, especially, if the Fed does the dirty deeds, done dirt cheap (AC/DC) and cuts rates to help reduce the debt servicing costs of their bonds, the funding problem will become a real road block... I'm just saying folks... It looks like this we've been in the eye of the storm, and the back side of the storm is about to hit us, and hit us hard...  

And that thought leads me to my next one: I've read the Congressional Budget Office's notes regarding their forecast for U.S. Debt... The notes are scary folks... But will they ever really get to those levels that the CBO talked about ( U.S. debt to be greater than $56 Trillion in the next 10 years)?  Dust in the Wind... All we are is dust in the wind (Kanas)... We, will have entered a nuclear war by then? Geesh, I sure hope not! But we can't dismiss that thought, given the saber rattling going on between Russia and U.S., China and the U.S. and China and Taiwan, So, let's just continue to spend, spend, until your daddy takes the car keys away! Wait, What? I'm being flippant here, with that last remark about spending... But in reality, isn't that exactly what is going to happen anyway? 

I'm sorry, but I do read a lot of gloom and doom stuff, and sometimes it takes over my fat fingers and they begin to type away... 

OK, onto something else to wet our whistle this morning! 

The U.S. Data Cupboard this week is pretty barren until we get to Thursday... There's nothing for us here today, so we'll move along, for these are not the droids we're looking for! Oh, there will be a STUPID Consumer Confidence report before Thursday, as if that's something that the markets should pay attention to! NOT!   

To recap... The dollar was on a run late last week, but ran into some selling in the overnight markets last night... Not a lot of selling, just some... The short paper traders made a mess of things again last Friday, and this morning, Gold & Silver attempt to put the pieces of their rallies back together again... Chuck thinks that the Big Banks are telling everyone to head to their bomb shelters... And $10 Trillion of debt come due before year end, at what cost will we have to roll that debt over?  

Here's your snippet: "And when the holder of the world reserve currency runs an annual twin (budget and trade) deficit of $3T and counting, or mis-reports actual inflation to achieve a carefully hidden negative real return on its IOUs to inflate its way out of debt on the backs of the working poor, we should not only be concerned about the bills to pay (and who pays them), but also consider the neutered profile of the “bucks” used to pay them.

But perhaps such concerns feel less immediate to the Baby Boomer et al generation who, knowingly or unknowingly, can (via the help of an increasingly geriatric leadership) simply pass this embarrassing tab on to the next generation?

The Club Baller…

If I, for example, wanted to flaunt my status at the nearest “Popinjay Club” by arriving in the latest fashions and fastest car while indulging in the most elaborate and consistent dinner tabs, polo fees and trendiest wine selections, I suppose I’d have the right to spend as I please and flaunt my “success.”

After all, I am a capitalist, and like all capitalists, who doesn’t prefer first-class over economy seats?

But what if I lived this life for years, smiling through every chucker, wine bottle and sports car only to leave this world in my sleep at ripe ol’ age while leaving the entire invoice to my kids?

That is, what if I enjoyed it all, but then made them pay for it? What if I thrived so that they could suffer?

Seems insane, no? Diabolical? Selfish beyond belief? Absolutely grotesque at the micro level.

But here’s the rub: At the macro level, that is precisely what the older generation of American financial “leadership” is now doing to the younger generation."

Chuck again... A great article that should be required reading by everyone in the U.S. including, especially that is, U.S. lawmakers... 

Market Prices 6/24/2024: American Style: A$ .6641, kiwi .6117, euro 1.0732, Sterling 1.2668, Swiss $1.1194, European Style: rand 18.1921, krone 10.5800, SEK 10.4885, forint 367.79, zloty 4.0066, koruna 23.1844, RUB 87.57, yen 159.53, sing 1.3521, HKD 7.8074, INR 83.47, China 7.2589, peso 18.07, BRL 5.4207, BBDXY 1,265.80, Dollar Index 105.56, Oil $80.93, 10-year 4.26%, Silver $29.54, Platinum $1,009.00, Palladium $993.00, Copper $4.41, And Gold... $2,326.02.

That's it for today... A lovely time was had by all at Alex and Grace's engagement party this past weekend, that was held in Little Rock Ark. That's where the wedding will take place, even though they will live near me in Missouri... Hmmm... And my beloved Cardinals swept the Giants... I brought my iPad with me to Arkansas, to watch the Cardinals games... It helped pass the time while waiting for things... I'm having some health problems that if they don't clear up, I won't be able to get on that plane this coming Sunday... More to follow... Eric Burdon and the Animals take us to the finish line today with their classic rock song: House Of The Rising Sun... I hope you have a Marvelous Monday today, and please Be Good To Yourself!