Dow Posts Record Close, Despite Market Fail in Final Hour

Well, it took a whole week, but the Dow Jones Industrials made another all-time closing high today.

The S&P was not so lucky, but, was poised for a record close until... get this.. actual selling took place in the final hour of trading, a huge departure from the general, repeating pattern of the past few days, weeks, months, years.

The Dow was up 106 points as the three o'clock witching hour approached, but went in the opposite direction of usual expectations, losing 46 points in the final hour. Likewise, the S&P failed to extend the day-long rally into the close, losing close to half of its gains in the final hour.

Odd, that's not supposed to happen with the Fed relentlessly pumping money into the system, unless... unless... somebody is gaming it. Just who those these gamers are is a matter of general speculation - as are the markets - but there's a very good chance it was the same people who were buying the same stocks in the morning that they were selling in the afternoon.

It's high-stakes day-trading at its very finest.

For the rest of us, especially those invested in gold, silver and other tangible assets, not such game-playing occurs (at least not superficially) if those assets are held closely, as in, buried in your back yard or in a wall safe.

Precious metals saw a significant boost today as the shorts were cleared out in the ponzi-style, ETF funds. It's only a matter of time before the PMs will continue their super-cycle bull run, and, the investors in metals are more than happy to wait, or buy, at what presently are bargain-basement prices, even with today's solid gains factored in.

Take your pick: tangible goods, paper or... bitcoin, a currency that is a threat to the paper, but is currently trading at levels unforeseen. The electronic currency is still in its infancy, but it's making a lot of noise of late, soaring to over $200 today. It's highly misunderstood how bitcoin works. There's maybe .001% of the world's population who really comprehend it, and, at this juncture, that's not enough to inspire confidence. It's day may come, and that day may be sooner rather than later.

The question is how seriously central bankers take it as a threat - as they do silver and gold - and what they're willing to do to defeat it.

In the meantime, President Obama releases his budget (if one can call it such) tomorrow. That ought to be worth a few laughs and plenty of blustering commentary from the do-nothings on Capitol Hill.

Dow 14,673.46, +59.98 (0.41%)
NASDAQ 3,237.86, +15.61 (0.48%)
S&P 500 1,568.61, +5.54 (0.35%)
NYSE Composite 9,086.81, +35.22 (0.39%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,466,549,375
NYSE Volume 3,296,691,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3554-2886 (thin)
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 301-31
WTI crude oil: 94.20, +0.84
Gold: 1,586.70, +14.20
Silver: 27.88, +0.743