Chuck Butler’s: A Pfennig For Your Thoughts
November 27, 2017
Good day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! The last week of November! Woo Hoo! This has been an interesting month for me, for sure! I did miss writing each day to you all, my journey through this latest health setback has been tough, very painful, and well… not fun… And if there’s anything anyone knows about me, it’s that I love to have fun! So, add another reason for me not liking the month of November to the list! The great Johnny Rivers greets me this morning with his song: Baby I Need Your Loving…
While Chuck’s away…
At my old job, the folks on the trading desk used to have a saying that whenever Chuck’s away, the currencies rally… Well, it’s nice to see some things didn’t change while I was away. I had some very nice notes sent to me regarding my surgery, recovery, etc. And I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for their concern, and uplifting thoughts. As most readers know, I was first diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma otherwise known as kidney cancer that had already spread. I was diagnosed as stage 4… And within a two week period June 2007, I had two major surgeries to remove cancer from my body. The problem with this kind of cancer is that you live with the chance that it comes back in a different part of your body the rest of your life. And in 2010 it did come back… This time in my left eye, and after many treatments to the eye, I had to have the eye removed.. I’ve dealt with a tumor in my right jaw (mandible) since 2011… 3 different chemo drugs have been used in that time. The cancer in me is resilient, and so while the treatments work for awhile, they eventually begin to lose their ability to fight the cancer, and I have to move on to a different drug.
Well, when I began having pain my reconstructed right hip again, I immediately began to think that cancer had returned to me … But… Thank God, it wasn’t cancer, instead it was an infection of two different names that had developed around the prosthesis that I have in my hip and femur… Where did this infection come from? Well, I’m told that 90% of infections that form around metallic prosthesis comes from infection in one’s mouth…. And so, now I self-administer a specialized antibiotic through a PICC-line in my arm every 6 hours (even through the night) for 6 weeks, in hopes that it clears up the infections. So while it wasn’t new cancer causing me problems it was old cancer… One of these days there will be a personalized cure for cancer… At least that’s my hope!
My new bosses, Mary Anne and Pamela Aden, were asking me when I thought I would be writing again, and I told them that honestly I hadn’t been keeping up with the markets during my down time with surgery, recovery and these antibiotics. So, I spent a day reading emails, news articles, etc. and learned a couple of things… That not only does the old saying on the trade desk still hold true, but that while the PPT (plunge protection team) is away, the currencies can rally!
And rally they did on Friday, with the Big Dog euro, leading the way. It will be interesting to see how the HUGE rally stands up once the U.S. comes back from a long 4-day holiday (for most that is)… I’m already seeing some minor slippage in the euro this morning, nothing big, just some profit taking, I would think.
There hasn’t been any new revelations in the markets while I was gone, just hashing out and rehashing out of old stuff over and over again… I don’t know about you, but if I hear one more report on the TV about “Russiagate” I’m going to lose my mind! (some say that’s already occurred, but I would argue with them on that!)
Speaking of Russia, I have seen a ton of reports lately about how the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and S. Africa) are mulling over a way to introduce their own Gold payment system… Hmmm… Now THAT would be interesting to see reported on the nightly news, eh? One would think that having stories like that circulating would light a fire under the price of Gold, right? But, Gold has struggled to get back to the $1,300 level since I’ve been gone… The currencies may have rallied, but Gold has seen good and bad days for the last two weeks, and continues to be held down by unknown forces…
Things have been quite quiet in the Eurozone… The European Central Bank (ECB) has been working in the background, attempting to figure out how they can begin to unwind all their stimulus that they have applied to the economy for the last 6 years… I’m sure they’ll fumble the ball on this, just like they have just about everything else in the past 6 years, but for now, the ECB looks better than the Fed, in the eyes of currency traders, otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing the euro working it’s way back to you babe, no wait! Working it’s way toward 1.20!
I did tell you all earlier this year that the sentiment toward the dollar had changed and therefore I truly believed the strong dollar trend was beginning to come to and end… But there were these things out there that the markets kept hoping would materialize to help the dollar maintain its strength… Tax Reform… Trade agreements, etc. It appears that the Tax Reform might, get completed before year-end… But who knows? Our lawmakers are so dysfunctional right now, I doubt they could agree that winter is on its way! And Trade agreements are about as likely to happen as my beloved Cardinals obtaining Giancarlo Stanton to fill the gaping hole in their lineup!
So… I’m getting back into this slowly and later in the morning today, as I was busy with my antibiotic infusion, and a visit from the home visiting nurse, who had to get labs, etc. today. And so, I’ll end this here… I told you up top that I was “sort of back”… Thanks again to everyone that sent along a note to me… I love all you dear Pfennig Readers!
To recap… Chuck is back, but not completely in the saddle just yet… The currencies led by the Big Dog euro rallied while he was away, but Gold floundered below $1,300… The ECB has been quiet, and the Fed, well… they seem to be as dysfunctional as our lawmakers are right now!
For What It’s Worth… I mentioned above that there are stories out there about a new Gold system for the BRICS.. One of those stories was sent to me from the good folks at GATA… and was can be found here: http://tass.com/economy/977276
Or, here is your snippet:” BRICS countries are discussing the possibility of establishing a single gold trade system, First Deputy Chairman of Russias Central Bank Sergey Shvetsov said Friday.
“The traditional (trade) system based in London and partially in Swiss cities is becoming less relevant, as new trade hubs are emerging, first of all in India, China and South Africa.” Shvetsov said. “We are discussing the possibility to establish a single (system of) gold trade both within BRICS and at the level of bilateral contacts.”
He added that this system may serve as a basis for further creation of new benchmarks.
According to Shvetsov, the Bank of Russia has already signed a memorandum on development of bilateral gold trade with Chinese colleagues. The regulator plans to take first steps toward formation of a single trade system with the Peoples Republic of China in 2018, he added.”
Chuck again…. This could spell a spiraling down for the dollar folks… I’m just saying…
Currencies today 11/27/17… American style: A$ .7622, kiwi .6920, C$ .7863, euro 1.1922, sterling 1.3344, Swiss $ .9810, … European Style: rand 13.7374, krone 8.1392, SEK 8.2920, forint 260.82, zloty 3.5247, koruna 21.3209, RUB 58.35, yen 111.06, sing 1.3452, HKD 7.8008, INR 64.37, China 6.5740, peso 18.50, BRL 3.2375, Dollar Index 92.77, Oil $57.74, 1o-year 2.33%, Silver $17.15, Platinum $948.60, Palladium $ 1,005.00, and Gold… $ 1,299.40
That’s it for today… A GREAT BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my grandson, Everett… Longtime readers may recall me referring to him as Everett, the Everbaby… But he’s 7 today, and just cute as can be. Where did those 7 years go? it seems like yesterday that we were at the hospital on the day my beloved Missouri Tigers were playing hated rival Kansas… and beating them of course! How about the turnaround for my Missouri Tigers football team this year… 1-5 to 7-5! I want to send a bit thank you to my doctor/ surgeon, the infectious disease doctor, nurses, Jessica and Fawnya, and assistants, Cheyanne and Sam… They took great care of me in the hospital, and now my lovely bride, who I’m not supposed to talk about in the Pfennig any longer (her rules) is taking over the job of taking care of me… Alrighty then, here’s the deal for now… The Pfennig will be off and on for awhile, as I get through this recovery, and the administering of the antibiotics… But today it’s on! Game on Garth! The Hooters take us to the finish line today with their song: All You Zombies… 80’s rock, that I’m sure my good friend, Rick will get a kick out of… I hope you have a Marvelous Monday… Be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler