The Reserve Bank Of New Zealand Hikes Rates!

November 24, 2021

* currencies & metals get sold again on Tuesday

* The Aden Sisters drop by the Pfennig today… 

Good Day… And a Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Wednesday to one and all! We’ve been in a very strange weather pattern lately, where for a couple of days it warms up so it’s not so chilly, and then it goes right back to being bone chilling chilly! Yesterday and today, are the designated warmer days this week, before we head back to the cold… Longtime readers know that I abhor cold weather, and it’s the main reason I spend my winters in S. Florida… Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I will give thanks once again for living in the U.S.A. We may have our problems here, but… People all over the world would love to live here, so apparently their problems are worse! Our Blues play the Detroit Red Wings tonight… Man, these games used to be barn burners…  But with the game the night before Thanksgiving, I’m sure the boys will be very gentlemanly tonight! HAHAHAHA! As if! Given all the rough play of a hockey game, have you  ever wondered what determines a “Roughing penalty”?  HA!  Chris Botti greets me this morning with his version of the song: The First Noel

So… tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and the official Christmas season will begin… I’ve been listening to Pandora’s Smooth Jazz Christmas station for 3 weeks now, so my Christmas season began then! And remember when I said that the talk of a shortage of Turkeys this year was Malarkey?  Why do people and media continue to hype things to scare people?  Oh well… Thanksgiving is a time when families and friends get together and count their blessings… Last year my family went around the table with each person saying what they were thankful for… When it was my turn, I said, “I’m thankful that the Good Lord has allowed me to live, so that I can be here with all of you”…

I’m really not into talking about the manipulated markets today, folks… so this is really going to be more about the things I’m thankful for, that are on my mind… But first, I will say that Gold got smacked around the head and shoulders again yesterday, and then I received a note from my publishers, the wonderful Aden sisters, Mary Anne and Pamela, and this is what they had to say about Gold’s recent downturn…

“The gold universe had a sharp fall this week, which was a big surprise. Why? Because it doesn’t make sense at all… All of the fundamentals are bullish for gold, silver and the shares, including the massive spending and debt inflation, greater demand and much more. The main reason given for gold’s decline was the reappointment of Jerome Powell as Fed head. But that’s ridiculous. Powell’s easy monetary policies have been very bullish for gold. We believe this is going to continue.

If so, then this decline will end up being an aberration. That’ll especially be true if gold holds near its current levels, which is a strong support level, and then heads higher. We’ll soon see what’s next, but the days ahead will be important for all of the metal sectors.” From the Aden Forecast…

The dollar continues to be on a rampage VS the currencies, and there’s no stopping it right now…  The BBDXY which began the week at 1,179.41, ended the day yesterday at 1,186.63… And the old Dollar Index, which hasn’t seen 100 in many years, continues its march toward 100…

The price of Oil shrugged off the news of 50 Million barrels of Oil being released from the Strategic Reserves, and gained about $2 on the day… I had a dear reader send me a note and tell me that in the whole scheme of things 50 Million barrels is a drop in the bucket and won’t change prices of gas…  So, like I said yesterday, this was a symbolic gesture by the POTUS, and nothing more…

In the overnight markets last night, the dollar continued to be bought, and we start today with the BBDXY at 1,188.35, so up some more… Gold and Silver are down again in the early trading today… My spider sense is tingling that today’s data in the U.S. could very well spell the end of the dollar buying, but I guess we’ll have to wait-n-see, eh? 

And the Reserve Bank of New Zealand / RBNZ, hiked rates again last night, marking their second rate hike in the last 3 months!  I once coined the phrase “Prudent Central Bank”, and the RBNZ was a part of that group, but in the last few years, with all Central Banks going to zero interest rates, buying bonds, and stimulating their respective economies, there were no more “Prudent Central Banks”… But The RBNZ appears to be re-applying for membership!  Way to go RBNZ! You Rock!

Please make sure that you tell at least one person tomorrow: Happy Thanksgiving…  No Happy Holidays, or any other bunk…  There’s no religion to this day, so go ahead and say: Happy Thanksgiving!

In our local newspaper yesterday, was this ditty… “A Missouri judge has stripped local health departments of their ability to issue orders designed to keep people safe during a pandemic.

In a case involving a St. Louis County restaurant owner, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green said all health orders related to the spread of COVID-19 in the state should be lifted because they violate the state constitution’s separation of powers clause affecting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.”

I was always of that thought that they couldn’t tell businesses they had to close in this situation… Looks like I was correct, once again! HA

I just glanced at my wall board of pictures, and focused on one picture… It’s a picture of the World Markets Group that was once together at EverBank… In the picture Aaron Stevenson, Mike Harrell, Chris Gaffney, Ty Keough, Tim Smith, Antione Lawrence, Dane Moody, Christine Peplow,

Jen McClain, Mike Meyer, and Chuck Butler…  Now that was a great group of people to work with, and I am thankful that I got to know each and everyone of those folks, for they enhanced my life and made going to work each day a joy…

I’m thankful for my wife of 45 years.. That’s a long time folks, and while the last 15 have been very difficult for us, we’ve weathered the storms, and she has been a real trooper for me when I was in the depths of my cancer…

I’m thankful for my kids, Dawn, Andrew and Alex… and their partners, Jerry, Rachel, and Grace… Each of my children have carved out their careers in different ways, and all are successful. They love each other’s company, and we all get along great when together… I love spending time with each of them whenever I get the opportunity to do so.

I’m Thankful for my grandkids… The first grandkid, and the sweetest, Delaney Grace… Everett who turns 11 this week, and Braden who’s 10, are growing up to be fine young men, and then there’s little 2 year old Evie… It’s so much fun to have a little one around the house this time of year!

I’m thankful for my friends…  I’ve gone through quite a few friends through the years… But one constant friend, Mike Karvas, has been there since the 2nd grade… I worry about him, he worries about me, and still here we are! There are a plethora of names that are too many to mention each one, but I want them all to know that I’m a better person because of knowing them…

I’m thankful for my siblings… There were 7 of us to start, and only 4 remain… I miss my sisters, Brenda and Barbara, and brother David…  I trust they are in better places right now, while the remaining Butlers, Chuck, Terri, Joanie, and Mike continue to get through life, without them in our lives… I’m really thankful that I did get to spend meaningful years with them before their respective passing…

I’m thankful for you dear reader…  without you, what would I do? Talk to myself? I am so grateful that many of you dear readers have stuck with me from the beginning…  After reaching 20 years of writing the Pfennig in 2012, I signed baseball caps and sent them to the readers that had been with me those 20 years… I hope you still have those caps! They’ll be worth something someday… Well, probably not, but it was fun thinking that they would!

I’m thankful for the Aden Sisters, who were so kind, and gracious to pick me up when I was kicked to the curb, and offered to publish the Pfennig… They have been behind me all the way, and for that I’m Thankful!

And finally, like I said above: I’m thankful that the Good Lord has allowed me to live so that I can be here with all of you! 

And that brings me to the Datapalooza today… I warned you on Monday of this week that today would be a door busting day of data…  Personal Income and Spending, Core Inflation, Durable and Capital Goods Orders, and the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, are the headliners, with other minor data prints also on the docket today…  I’m thinking that today, ends the dollar’s run to higher ground…

To recap… The dollar continues to kick tail and take names later while the anti-dollar assets get sold down the river… Gold got shellacked again yesterday losing the $1,800 handle once again, as it lost $14 on the day, and Silver dropped 53-cents on the day… Gold closed at $1,790.70 and Silver at $23.74…  The Aden Sisters take part in the Pfennig today with a quote from their excellent newsletter: The Aden Forecast.  And Chuck goes through a list of things that he’s thankful for on this day before Thanksgiving…

For What It’s Worth…  I’m straying from the normal FWIW Articles today, and going with some history/ Tradition that I love… You can find this whole article here: Thanksgiving 2021 – Tradition, Origins & Meaning – HISTORY

Or, here’s your snippet: “In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the “New World.” After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from a member of the Abenaki tribe who greeted them in English.

Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days.”

Chuck again…  Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving painting is a favorite of mine, and illustrates what Thanksgiving means to so many Americans… I’m so glad I got this opportunity to share with you today what I’m thankful for…

Market Prices 11/24/2021: American Style: A$ .7205,  kiwi .6892, C$ .7874, euro 1.1214, sterling 1.3361, Swiss $1.0681, European Style: rand 15.8741, krone 8.9277, SEK 9.0837,  forint 328.79,  zloty 4.1733,  koruna 22.7242, RUB 74.77, yen 115.12, sing 1.3675, HKD 7.7968, INR 74.39, China 6.3883, peso 21.25, BRL 5.5886,  BBDXY 1,188.35, Dollar Index 96.74,  Oil $78.49, 10-year 1.66%, Silver $23.50, Platinum $983.00, Palladium $1,957.00, Copper $4.47, and Gold.. $1,786.20

That’s it for today, and this week…  So, will you be participating in the Black Friday sales? Our old EverBank office shared a parking lot with two major big box retailers, and there were times in the past when on Black Friday, parking was a madhouse… At least that’s what they would tell me, since I stopped working on the day after Thanksgiving many years ago! I guess most buying these days is done online.. I mean that’s where I go to buy things, but I have different circumstances… I love the food on Thanksgiving, but I especially love pumpkin pie with whipped cream!  And I love a turkey sandwich at the end of the night! I remember when the turkey we got on Thanksgiving would be the only turkey we would have all year! Now I eat turkey nearly every day!  So, onto Thanksgiving… Beegie Adams takes us to the finish line today with her version of the song: Winter Romance… I’ve got to say that this is one of my new fave Christmas songs… I hope you have a Wild, Wacky and Wonderful Wednesday today, and that you have a VERY Blessed THANKSGIVING tomorrow, and please Be Good To Yourself!

Chuck Butler