And here's hoping for a Happy New Year in 2021, because, to put it mildly, 2020 "kinda sucked."
The trouble that continues to build up in the global economy didn't happen overnight and it didn't happen because of CV-19. Problems in the global economy took decades to develop, mostly since the closing of the gold window by then-president Richard M. Nixon in August of 1971. The pandemic narrative that's been foisted upon the world's malleable and naive general population was the catalyst. Quarantines, masks, social distancing, and lockdowns were the manifestation.
More people will be irreparably harmed or killed by what follows CV-19 than the virus itself. That's not speculation. That's a fact that is already being verified. Food lines, shortages, mental disorders, spousal abuse, violent crime, rape, and murder are all rising dramatically as government's over-reaching response is wreaking havoc upon entire nations, down to cities and towns and neighborhoods.
In the end, it is everybody's fault. We elected people we thought were trustworthy, honest, forthright: people who would do the right thing for the general good.
We were wrong.
We were wrong to trust them and their legions of civil public sector zombies to guide us into the future, to make living easier. Instead, they shafted us at every opportunity, through taxation, fees, regulations, and favoring themselves and their supporters - major financial firms, global corporate donors, elite billionaire special interests - over the desires and needs of the general public.
Over the past nearly 50 years the betrayal has been gradually accelerating to the point at which it is nearly complete and that can be seen clearly in the stolen election, the lockdowns which boosted large corporations and public employees (all of whom continue to be paid handsomely) at the expense of private business and the general public. The idleness and willful ignorance of congress in first delaying passage of needed relief legislation, then fumbling of the same at the last minute while trying to tie the CV-19 to the general government appropriations bill (the continuing resolution) was not an accident, and, even if it was, it was unavoidable.
The bickering Democrats and Republicans don't actually have any moral or economic principle guiding them other then their quest to hold onto power. But, President Trump has pushed them to the limit by denying his signature on their bills, forcing the entire congress to miss their planned year-end holiday recess, to remain in Washington, DC, until satisfactory legislation can be achieved. It's very likely that it won't be. Congress is so massively contorted and corrupted that the chances of it passing meaningful, helpful relief and spending bills are practically nil. So consumed by greed, power, and self-absorbed narcissism, this congress may prove to be the one which eventually fails to fund even itself.
With both the House and Senate set to reconvene on Monday to sort things out, their last continuing resolution expiring that night, they're likely to complete work on a very short-term bill, something along the order of two weeks of funding for the federal government, similar to the last. The president should not sign it. He should allow the government to shut down. After all, practically the entire congress has conspired to get rid of him, so he might as well get rid of them. Shut them down. Take away all their perks, their guards, their security, their staffs, their offices, their phones, close the doors to the Capitol and send them packing. We'd all be better off.
As much as millions of Americans would applaud the actions described in the preceding paragraph, we all know it won't happen. Such raucous behavior and dictatorial actions are reserved for tin-pot, third world, banana republics. But, since congress has set us on a course for third-world status and a fruity future, why not just jump-start the process? If only it were that simple.
Congress will pass horrible bills that serve their intersests - like rehabbing the Kennedy Center, gender studies for Pakistan, graft to other foreign nations - and the president will decide whether to sign them or not, or leave them for his chosen successor to sort out, if such a path is the only one left.
On January 6, Vice President Mike Pence will submit certificates of election from all 50 states from the electoral college to a joint session of congress. However, because the results from some states are still disputed due to widespread irregularities and evidence of manipulation and cheating, seven states have submitted contested certificates: ones for Joe Biden, others for President Trump.
Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico have submitted certificates for both candidates, from the governors or secretaries of state and the legislatures, separately. How this plays out is a weighty matter which needs only a few courageous members of congress to object to any states' ballot. Such objection would then trigger debate on the floor and a vote for resolution. The congress could decide for one candidate or neither. If either candidate fails to receive the necessary 270 electoral college votes, the matter would shift to the House and the Congress, where each state's delegation receives one vote, winner take all, the House choosing the president, the senate choosing vice president. It could literally go either way.
With all of that hanging in the balance, the shortened trading week prior to Christmas was rather subdued as concerned stocks and bonds, practically silent for precious metals, as oil gained in price, and Bitcoin went absolutely ballistic before, during and beyond the holy day holiday.
Major US indices were split, with the Dow and NASDAQ gaining, the S&P and NYSE declining, though none significantly, all moving less then one percent in either direction. It was truly a week spent watching and waiting, squaring up or exiting positions and getting out of town for celebratory affairs.
Treasuries were equally unmoved, the short end of the curve stuck to the zero-bound, 10-year and 30-year yields off one and four basis points, to 0.94% and 1.66%, respectively.
Light sweet crude oil fell slightly, whipsawing from the prior Friday (Dec. 18) close of $49.10 per barrel to as low as $47.02, settling out at $48.30. The national average price of gas at the pump was $2.22 as of 12/21, the highest since mid-September. Pressure on oil and gas prices will abate after the holidays, as it almost always does. Demand is low, supply high. Just watch.
Standing out amongst all asset classes was cryptocurrency, specifically, Bitcoin, which has been rallying for months, nearly without exception, as he new money continues to be adopted by consumers and institutional investors alike. Traded continuously without taking breaks for nights, weekends, or holidays, Bitcoin traded in a range above $22,000 and below $24,000 from the 17th to 23rd of December, then accelerated into and post-holiday, breaking above $24,000, $25,000 and eventually, by Sunday morning, above $28,000. Coinbase charts the price as high as $28,387 early Sunday morning beforre backing off into the $27,000 range, making new highs over and over again.
The reserve currency of the crypto universe, as some call it, has been a spectacular performer all of 2020, but just in the past month has rallied from around $16,500 to current record levels.
Gold was static, closing out at $1,883.20, down only slightly from the prior week's close of $1888.90. Likewise, silver was narrowly traded, down pennies, from $26.03 to $25.91.
Finally, here is the survey of most recent prices for commonly-purchased gold and silver items on eBay (numismatics excluded, shipping included):
Item: Low / High / Average / Median
1 oz silver coin: 33.00 / 49.00 / 40.09 / 39.98
1 oz silver bar: 29.87 / 49.95 / 38.05 / 39.00
1 oz gold coin: 1,991.20 / 2,095.00 / 2,032.98 / 2,024.22
1 oz gold bar: 1,904.20 / 2,043.20 / 1,979.75 / 1,980.17
Premiums on gold, and especially on silver, remain extraordinarily high due to supply constraint with some dealers imposing limits on size per month or week. Suppression of the price by bullion banks, naked shorting commercials, and general scurrilous behavior in futures and spot markets continues, but recently has been less ferocious and having shorter effective durations.
Daniela Cambone of Stansberry Research has been conducting interviews with some of the titans of (for lack of a better term) alternative finance, releasing the series on Youtube recently. Together, they constitute some of the best thinking and opinion of the brightest minds outside of the mainstream media, which, by definition, are less conscripted or otherwise compromised.
First, this awesome interview with Max Keiser on the future of bitcoin and the demise of central banks:
And here's Keith Neumeyer espousing the glories of silver:
At the Close, Thursday, December 24, 2020:
Dow: 30,199.87, +70.04 (+0.23%)
NASDAQ: 12,804.73, +33.62 (+0.26%)
S&P 500: 3,703.06, +13.05 (+0.35%)
NYSE: 14,382.50, -16.11 (-0.11%)
For the Week:
Dow: +20.82 (+0.07%)
NASDAQ: +49.10 (+0.38%)
S&P 500: -6.35 (-0.17%)
NYSE: -85.32 (-0.59%)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment