December 30, 2021
* Dollar continues to get sold in small amounts…
* JPMorgan back in the news for spoofing again…
Good Day… And a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday to one and all! I bet you were wondering where I slipped off to after Monday’s letter, eh? You might recall me telling you that I had gotten a nasty cold, and well, it took its toll on me on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I’m not in the clear just yet, but I’m, better… At least I’m awake… I basically slept for about 36 hours only waking up when Kathy would check on me… I still would much rather be asleep this morning, but… I made a promise to myself many years ago about writing the Pfennig when I didn’t feel like it… And this morning is one of those days… Neil Young brings us back to our regular programming this morning with his song: Four Strong Winds…
So… This week has been weird in the markets, wait! Hasn’t just about every week the past few years been weird? Well, yes they have, but none were the week’s trading that ended the year… The U.S.’s fiscal year ends in Sept. But a Ton of Companies have their books squared to close on 12/31… So with that thought in mind, I looked out at the opportunities in the markets that presented themselves this week… I don’t see many, folks… And that’s what makes this week weird… Usually, end of the year, you have folks thinking about changes or things they want to do in the new year, and those announcements bring about movements in the markets…
The only opportunity in the markets that I see, for gains in 2020, is Gold & Silver… Many experts have gone on record saying that Gold will return to $2,000 in 2020… The rest of the market is a demolition derby if you ask me… Bond yields will continue to rise, we’ve been through that so many time in the past , that we don’t need to do that again! Stocks are so overbought that they have almost come around full circle… And the Fed has stopped, or so they say, stimulating the economy… Oil is interesting… the price of Oil has gotten back on the rally tracks after a couple of weeks of weakness, and looks to be in the driver’s seat… Ooooh, ooooh, driver’s seat (Great song) But Oil is so tricky, it can be rising like the Phoenix one day, and the next day, be looking for cover… So with volatile markets like that I tray to stay clear of them.
In the actual markets yesterday, we saw some dollar selling, not much, but some nonetheless… The BBDXY closed at 1,177.04 last night, which is down quite a bit from where it was before I left on vacation (1,185.92)… The price of Oil is up to almost a $76 handle this morning, trading at $75.98. Bonds keep getting sold, which they should be, and the 10-year’s yield this morning is 1.53%… And Gold… Hmmm…
Last Saturday I was happy to see that the Commitment of Traders (COT) Report for the second consecutive week showed big changes that were favorable to Gold & Silver, and instead of coming into the office on Monday with that in mind… The price manipulators wanted to make sure that everyone got the message that fundamentals like COT’s are no longer important (in their minds), and pushed Gold down on the day to the tune of $1.40 to close at $1,805.80, and Silver was down too, by 16-cents to $22.94…
In the overnight markets last night, the dollar continued to get sold, not my large margins, but little chinks taken away from the dollar’s armor daily now it seems… Gold is down a couple of bucks this morning and Silver is down one thin dime, as I write…
In the U.S. Data Cupboard today is only the usual Tub Thumpin’ Thursday far… Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, which haven’t been going in the right direction lately… Tomorrow, there will be no data to end the year, so this is it… We close the U.S. Data Cupboard today for 2021, not to be opened up again until Jan. 3rd…
To recap… The dollar continues to sink, albeit slowly, but over time has sunk quite a bit since 2 weeks ago… Chuck looks for opportunities in the markets for 2022, but only sees one shiny asset class meeting his criteria… And the Data Cupboard gets closed up for 2021 today…
For What It’s Worth… You know that I truly believe in the magc of the Christmas season , and how it brings out the good in most people, and for this one I’m going to have to make an exception and wish that all involved went to jail! I’m talking about an article about JP Morgan settling to pay a $60 Million fine for metals price spoofing… And it can be found here: https://shiny-life.com/investors-get-preliminary-approval-for-60-million-settlement-for-alleged-jpmorgan-spoofing/
Or, here’s your snippet:” Commodities merchants have obtained preliminary approval for a proposed $ 60 million settlement to resolve class-action claims relating to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s alleged manipulation of the dear metals futures markets.
A Manhattan federal decide mentioned on Monday that the deal, reached final month, eliminated an preliminary hurdle to approval and scheduled a equity listening to for July 2.
If in the end authorised, plaintiffs’ legal professional mentioned, the deal would construct on an earlier $920 million settlement with the federal authorities relating to the funding financial institution’s use of an unlawful enterprise observe. referred to as “identification theft”.
The approach, which Congress criminalized below the Dodd-Frank Wall Avenue Reform and Shopper Safety Act of 2010, is a type of business manipulation that creates a misunderstanding of provide or demand in a market, within the intention to have an effect on future costs.
Within the 2018 lawsuit, the group’s plaintiffs alleged that JPMorgan “often” positioned digital orders to purchase and promote futures contracts with out ever intending to truly execute the trades. The so-called fraudulent orders tricked merchants into paying artificially inflated costs for the metals, in line with the lawsuit.
JPMorgan’s allegations of misconduct prompted traders to file separate securities class actions, after a dealer within the funding financial institution’s treasured metals workplace pleaded responsible to fraud and commodity conspiracy in 2018.
Additional prosecutions adopted, and JPMorgan revealed in February 2020 that it was responding to inquiries from the USA Division of Justice’s Felony Division relating to its buying and selling practices within the metals market.”
Chuck again… And once again, I plead with the authorities to send these guys to jail… but my pleas fall on deaf ears.
Market Prices 12/30/2021: American Style: A$ .7265, kiwi .6837, C$ .7825, euro 1.1325, sterling 1.3492, Swiss $1.0922, European Style: rand 15.9433, krone 8.8162, SEK 9.0487, forint 326.79, zloty 4.8589, koruna 22.1288, RUB 73.84, yen 115.18, sing 1.3529, HKD 7.7989, INR 74.31, China 6.3679, peso 20.56, BRL 5.6536, BBDXY 1,177.83, Dollar Index 96.05, Oil $ 75.98, 10-year 1.53%, Silver $22.84, Platinum $970.00, Palladium $2,057.00, Copper $4.35, and Gold… $1,803.50
That’s it for today, this week, and this year! Quite a bit shorter of a Pfennig today for you holiday enjoyment… I’m feeling pretty good at getting down what I did! HA! Things around here this week have been weird for me, in that I slept through most of it… Little Evie is here, and she’s really growing up fast. I’ve had to stay away from her and her brother most of the time they’ve been here this week, and today they go home! UGH! I love the sound of the pitter-patter of little feat running across our hardwood floors upstairs… So, if you are a New Year’s Eve celebrator, please be careful tomorrow night, make good choices and do NOT drive after drinking! So, be safe, careful but have a great time! I’m listening to Celtic Woman, Kelly, sing Auld Lange Syne this morning, and getting a tear in my eye… I hope you have a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday, and a ball droppin New Year’s Eve tomorow… And please Be Good To Yourself… Be Positive, Test Negative!
Chuck Butler