WEEKEND WRAP: DC Armed Up; Bank Stocks, Gold, Silver Pounded; Chaos Before The Storm

Let's get right into it.

Washington, DC has been turned into a military outpost under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, President Donald J. Trump.

In addition to the supposed 25,000 National Guardsmen securing the grounds of the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court and other government buildings, members from other services - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Special Ops, etc. - are on the ground, in the air, on the water around the capitol of the United States of America.

There is no doubt that President Trump is in charge though his whereabouts may change by the hour as his security and well-being are of paramount importance. He may be anywhere - Mar a Lago, Camp David, Philadelphia, elsewhere - but more than likely he'll be aboard Air Force One at many junctures over the coming days.

Now, the scene in Washington, DC may appear to many to be a military coup, a junta, but it is not. Troops are on the ground as a security measure as the President and the armed forces under his command take back the country from the forces which have occupied it for a very long time.

The fences erected around the Capitol, White House, and the National Mall serve a dual function. One is to keep criminals in, the other is to keep imposters out, the main culprit being Joe Biden, the presumed incoming president. Joe Biden will not be inaugurated on January 20, 2021, or at any time after that. The election of November 3, 2020, was won, overwhelmngly, by President Donald J. Trump and there is ample proof of that victory.

Democrats and some Republicans in congress conspired to steal the election, to impeach the rightfully-elected President of the United States, and plan on appointing Joe Biden as president. It's not going to happen. More than likely, many of these politicians and criminals will be arrested and tried for various crimes and likely convicted.

Major changes are coming to the United States and to the world, so it is best for everybody to stay informed (mainstream media is full of lies and propaganda; it's best to seek out the truth from alternative sources if available) and safe as this process proceeds. With that in mind, markets around the world are certain to be impacted in ways that nobody can accurately predict.

Here's what we know:

Stocks spent the past week foundering until Friday, when all of the indices took one for the team. Leading the charge downhill were banking stocks, which is surprising, because Citi, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase all reported fourth quarter and full year results Friday before the opening bell. Something big in terms of money and currency is about to come down. Price action in the banking sector is telling.

BAC Bank of America Corporation: 33.01, -0.98 (-2.88%)
C Citigroup, Inc.: 64.23, -4.78 (-6.93%)
JPM JP Morgan Chase & Co.: 138.64, -2.53 (-1.79%)
WFC Wells Fargo & Company: 32.04, -2.71 (-7.80%)
GS Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.: 301.01, -6.86 (-2.23%)

Tech stocks took a small hit, led by Apple, (AAPL) (127.14, -1.77 (-1.37%)). Facebook (FB) (251.36, +5.72 (+2.33%)) was up sharply on Friday. Twitter is down about six points, or a little more than 10% since banning President Trump's account and laying waste to over 75,000 accounts. Censorship and declining user base pays, maybe, one assumes. Go figure.

Treasury yields were tame. Outflows were modest. Yield on the 10-year note and 30-year bond were each down two basis points over the week, from 1.13% to 1.11% and 1.87% to 1.85%, respectively. Nothing to see there or on the short end, maintaining at the zero-bound.

Oil prices are encountering little resistance at $53.83 a barrel for WTI crude. Further price gains are expected for the time being, though geo-political events could swing prices wildly in either direction. Everybody is paying more for fuel at the gas pumps.

Bitcoin and Etherium, the two main cryptocurrencies are bouncing around. There's too much uncertainty in global politics and markets currently for institutions and individuals to make meaningful investment commitments. Bitcoin ranged, over the week, between $30,000 and $40,000, currently holding the middle ground around $35-37,000.

Etherium (ETH) fared better, dipping down near $900 after ripping as high at $1300. On Sunday morning it is found closer to the highs than the lows, around $1200.

Precious metal continue to underperform thanks in no small part to the futures market controllers. Gold, which was as high as $1949.48 (January 5), slumped to $1828.45. It used to be that moeny flowed to gold in times of crisis, though that seems not to be the case, at least in the manipulated, paper markets. Instead, it is being shunned, though dealers will speak otherwise, citing high demand for physical with appropriate premiums attached.

Silver was also beaten down. On January 10, it topped out at $27.55 per ounce. It closed Friday at $24.78.

Presented below are the most recent prices for commonly-purchased items on eBay (numismatics excluded, shipping - often free - included:

Item: Low / High / Average / Median
1 oz silver coin: 33.75 / 44.95 / 38.42 / 37.80
1 oz silver bar: 30.50 / 41.00 / 36.68 / 37.45
1 oz gold coin: 1,925.00 / 2,051.31 / 1,970.14 / 1,963.36
1 oz gold bar: 1,850.00 / 2,295.00 / 1,974.85 / 1,947.09

Finally, there's no shortage of opinion on what's next for America and the world. While the mainstream media (MSM) continues to spew the false prophecies of a Joe Biden presidency, millions of Americans are watching in eager anticipation the days leading up to the scheduled inauguration on January 20. With troops spread out across the District of Columbia, fencing with barbed wire enclosing many locations, there's ample indications that something out of the ordinary is imminent.

The second impeachment of President Donald J. Trump is a complete hoax, a sham, nonsense. By the time a trial is commenced in the Senate, the president would be out of office in that case, the conviction or acquittal not binding by any law.

The most optimistic outcome, and increasingly likely, is that the troops on the ground will defend the actual, real constitution. They have taken an oath, as has the president. President Trump will restore the Republic, stolen after the Civil War, at various stages between 1870 and 1878.

It's best for people to make up their own minds about the direction they wish the country to take and think freely. The mainstream media is not to be trusted. There is an abundance of mis- and disinformation disseminated by the TV networks, the New York Times and Washington Post. Notice how Democrats in congress continually use the word "democracy" as opposed to republic, as in "saving our..." Democrats want to save a democracy, whereas the roots of the American experience and governance are as a constitutional representative republic.

Social media has crossed the line on censorship and bearing false witness to millions of users. Their executives should be behind bars rather than lounging in the luxury of their billions.

Seek information and do research. Do not accept anything on the airwaves, in newspapers, or on the internet at face value. Verify sources. Think. Keep a close eye on President Trump and his remaining cabinet. Investors and economists might do themselves a favor by watching and listening to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who remains loyal to the president. Ditto for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Until we meet again...

At the Close, Friday, January 15, 2021:
Dow: 30,814.26, -177.26 (-0.57%)
NASDAQ: 12,998.50, -114.14 (-0.87%)
S&P 500: 3,768.25, -27.29 (-0.72%)
NYSE: 14,894.17, -150.21 (-1.00%)

For the Week:
Dow: -283.71 (=0.91%)
NASDAQ: -203.47 (-1.54%)
S&P 500: -56.43 (-1.48%)
NYSE: -72.66 (-0.49%)

JP Morgan, Citi, Wells Fargo Blow Out Q4 Results on Lower Credit Loss Reserves

The rich get richer.

Citigroup quarterly profit beats estimates as loan loss provisions slow.

Wells Fargo records surprise quarterly profit

JPMorgan posts big Q4 earnings beat, releases credit reserves amid 'economic uncertainty'

JPM Q4 Results
Revenue (adjusted): $29.2 billion vs. $28.65 billion expected

Earnings per share (adjusted): $3.79 vs. $2.62 per share expected

The largest US bank by assets delivered net income of $12.1 billion, or $3.79 per share, up 42% from a year ago. Those results included $2.9 billion of credit reserve releases, resulting in a 72 cent increase in earnings per share, and boosted by surges in markets revenue and investment banking fees.

The bank reported a net benefit of $1.89 billion in credit reserves, but maintains a reserve topping $30 billion — reflecting what the CEO Jamie Dimon called “significant near term uncertainty” as coronavirus cases surge worldwide.

Credit card holders, people with car loans, student loans, personal loans, mortgages get deferrals (skip payments) with interest tacked on. Shareholders get dividends. Executives get huge bonuses. Landlords get shafted on rents. You get $600.

These banks have been fined billions of dollars since the sub-prime scandal of 2008-09.

Here is a partial list of JP Morgan's fines for criminal activity from 2009-2014. The amounts are staggering.

Where does the money go? Good question. To the government, into a slush fund perhaps, and maybe to pay off crooked legislators, judges, and lobbyists who let them get away with such behavior.

The Federal Reserve, under the CARES Act stimulus bill passed last May, gave the banks carte blanc to underreport their loan loss reserve provisions through December 31, 2020 and allows them to report the accurate amounts gradually, over a period of three years. In some circles, that's called fraud. In the banking universe, it's business as usual.

Soon, it's going to come crashing down upon their heads.

President Trump has declassified Obamagate documents:

Joe Biden cancels inauguration rehersal.

The Plan to Save the World
--Joe M

At the Close, Thursday, January 14, 2021:
Dow: 30,991.52, -68.95 (-0.22%)
NASDAQ: 13,112.64, -16.31 (-0.12%)
S&P 500: 3,795.54, -14.30 (-0.38%)
NYSE: 15,044.38, +60.77 (+0.41%)

Too Many Questions and Not Enough Answers; Initial Unemployment Claims at 965,000

Anybody professing to knowing what's going on is either lying or kidding themselves.

Why was it so important to impeach President Trump when he's supposedly leaving office in a week?

Why did the Democrats stage the assault on the Capitol building in the first place?

Why are there 20,000 National Guard troops in DC when there's no actual threat?

Why was a poster calling for armed marches on the Capitol and all 50 state houses circulated?

Who is responsible for creating the poster? No group has taken credit.

Why is Christine Lagarde so worried about bitcoin?

Why have gold and silver languished during this crisis?

Who is Q?

Why did Mitch McConnell, as soon as the House voted to impeach, say that the Senate would not be able to start a trial before the inauguration (January 20)?

Why does the mainstream media lie all the time?

Where is Nancy Pelosi’s laptop and what’s on it?

Why was it so important for Twitter to shut down the president's account and for Google, Apple, and Amazon to take down Parler?

Why has President Trump, since he was de-platformed by Twitter, been so eerily silent?

Why, in the first place, was it so important to steal the presidential election and then cover it up?

There are too many questions and not enough answers. It's OK to be angry. Don't go to the inauguration or to any state capitols to protest. It's a trap.

Moments ago, initial jobless claims for the most recent week were reported ot have soared to 965,000, far beyond estimates of 770,000 and a huge jump from prior weeks.

The economy continues to stall, but Wall Street continues to act like everything is just fine, with all the major indices close to record highs.

The level of disconnectedness has gotten to a point at which there is no return, with the Federal Reserve leading the chorus of money printers and the US government planning to send out more, larger checks to the American people just weeks after doling out $600 each to every adult making less than $75,000 a year, plus another $600 for each dependent.

America's economy is being boosted only by artificial means. At some point, there's going to be hell to pay in terms of inflation and mass discontent from people who would rather work than accept government handouts.

The country - and the rest of the world - is at a precipice. Some answers will be forthcoming within days, but there will remain much skepticism, doubt, fear, and anger.

At the Close, Wednesday, January 13, 2021:
Dow: 31,060.47, -8.22 (-0.03%)
NASDAQ: 13,128.95, +56.52 (+0.43%)
S&P 500: 3,809.84, +8.65 (+0.23%)
NYSE: 14,983.61, -26.68 (-0.18%)

Stocks Grind Slightly Higher; Bitcoin, Gold, Silver on a Break; Crypto vs. MSM; Collectibles FTW?

It appears that the incredible rise of Bitcoin over the past two months is leveling off and there could be further downside, but, as is the case with just about any investment these days, downside risk is a clear and present danger whether it be stocks, fixed income, precious metals, commodities, or baseball cards. Bitcoin offers significant upside in relation to fiat currencies, so this recent stalling and roughly 28% drop is likley nothing to cause worry. Six months from now, this is likely to appear as nothing more than a blip on the longer-term radar screen.

Nothing in the current environment serves as a safe haven because there continues to exist extreme political pressure and lack of price discovery in many asset classes. Probably the most free from manipulation are cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Etherium, collectibles - which have their own immunity system built in from years of data and avid traders - and commodities, while on the other end are stocks (which only seem to go up) and precious metals (which only seem to go down).

Putting money to work in these times, where political, social, and financial events are being compressed into a tight-knit control regime, is challenging and possibly detrimental to longer-term goals. While it's difficult to focus beyond the horizon, it's what is keeping most sane investors from tearing out hair and running wildly down the street screaming "I can't take it any more."

Short-term, markets are very messy. In particular, the NASDAQ, guided, as it is by tech oligopolies like Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft (the FAAMGs) has seen days and weeks of erratic activity and recently has been whipsawed in the wake of the ongoing censorship purge.

At this moment, what's probably the best space for safety purposes is in collectibles. Coins, stamps, comic books, trading cards, art, antiques, and especially things that could actually have real life usefulness like depression-era glassware, sterling silver flatware, old tools, and so forth. Nobody knows, but in the case of a total global meltdown, those items that have useful applications could contribute as life-sustaining elements in addition to being prized possessions.

Outside of complete capitulation of the US dollar, collectibles maintain a unique posture among tradable assets. They're ultimately divisible - think baseball card collections - retain value well and, unlike many other assets mentioned here, have well-developed price discovery mechanisms.

So, instead of scouring stock boards, crypto messages, and coin shops, perhaps the best investments can be found at garage sales and flea markets. Aks anyone who collects anything tangible and they're sure to have a story about a great deal found at a thrift store, yard sale, or other off-the-beaten-path venue.

It pays to be diversified into several asset classes instead of the old 60-40 (stocks-fixed income) rule that many investment advisors are still employing for their clients. That's eventually going to fail. The new breed of investor is into all manner of asset diversification, with varied percentages of real estate, stocks, bonds, physical commodities, collectibles and art, crypto, and even sustainability items like solar panels (best ever hedge), canned goods, energy and water supplies.

This is a new world whether the deep state "Great Reset" comes to fruition or not. While the Klaus Schwaub adherents (download "COVID-19: The Great Reset" here [PDF] instead of paying for it on Amazon) feel comfortable in their castles in the sky above the rabble (us), there continues to be unrest among the populations being subjected to censorship, lockdowns, restricted movement, pushed to take unproven "poisonous" vaccines, and other nasty, harmful measures. The plebes are eventually revolt against the elite and that's not going to be pretty. It always happens. The ruling class overreaches and people just want to be left alone, so they're forced into rebellion. The natives, as they say, are restless.

In conclusion to today's mini-treatise on the human condition and implications for investors, keep thinking with a clear mind, don't let the mainstream media guide you because they are propagandists and liars, and be free to do your own things.

Here's a video from Altcoin Daily, focused on the relationship of mainstream media - specifically, CNBC's Jim Cramer - to Bitcoin. This is the first inclusion of a video from this source. Being that it's excellent, expect more in the future.

Just a note on the Cramer part of the video above: the mainstream, like the central banks (Fed, ECB, BOJ, etc.) have lost control of many elements of the financial system, such as interest rates. Bitcoin and crypto in general they have no control over, so all they can do is "jawbone." it's a sure sign of desperation that when things aren't going as they planned, they start to come out of hiding and into the light, making recommendations with faulty analyses, making spurious claims that cannot be supported by facts. It's best to fade them and stay ahead of the game.

At the Close, Tuesday, January 12, 2021:
Dow: 31,068.69, +59.99 (+0.19%)
NASDAQ: 13,072.43, +36.03 (+0.28%)
S&P 500: 3,801.19, +1.58 (+0.04%)
NYSE: 15,010.29, +72.29 (+0.48%)

Twitter, Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple All Lower After Censorship Purge

Publisher's Note: If you're seeing blank spaces on this page or other pages on dtmagazine.com, then Google is still attempting to de-monetize it. Downtown Magazine's relationship with Google dates back to 2003. We've been revenue partners through Adsense for most of those years, but apparently, our commentary isn't to their liking of late, even though we've not been informed of any issues. Google's ads on this site could be replaced in a heartbeat. We have other partners, but Google (used to) pay better and the blank spaces now serve as a badge of honor. Nobody likes censorship, except those who live in fear of the truth. Downtown Magazine has always been devoted to reporting and opining on the truth and will continue to do so. Since the main revenue source has been shut off, if you feel the urge, there's a donation link in the left column on the Money Daily page at dtmagazine.com. Any amount is appreciated. A few bucks from a few people would likely exceed what Google used to pay. As long as there are blank spaces on this page and Google continues its purge of the truth - not just here, but widespread - this note will appear atop every Money Daily post.

I'm going to give it a week or maybe two to see if the censors at Google will come to their senses or the government steps in and seizes their servers (could happen).

Thank you,
Fearless Rick, Publisher, Downtown Magazine, Money Daily

First, the good news:

People like Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, will probably never be able to go out in public without bodyguards. They've censored tens of thousands of voices with their anti-free speech policies and people aren't happy about it. The first amendment guarantees freedom of speech in America. Those guys are enemies of free speech.

Appropriately, Twitter (TWTR) stock was down more then six percent on Monday. Facebook (FB) was off 4.01%. Fellow travelers at Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL) (each of which killed the Parler app in their app stores), and Amazon (AMZN) (which took the extraordinary step of stifling free speech at Parler completely by shutting down their servers on AWS) were down 2.24%, 2.32%, and 2.15%, respectively.

By their actions, the executives of these companies are destroying the value of their companies. More power to them! They are joined at the hip with the fake news media (you know who they are, or you should) and the democrats in congress who have been trying to get rid of President Trump for more than four years. Should they wish to walk out into the public world, they do so at their own considerable risk and they know that is the case.

So, if these companies wish ot continue distorting news, lying to and censoring the American people, that's their choice. Short at will. (not investment advice)

As an extension of the censorship and denial of first amendment rights, social media site, gab.com has been taking in new users at an astonishing rate, something on the order of 600,000 a day. Conservatives who have had their voices silenced on other social sites are flocking there because the site is self-supported and does not censor its users. What a concept!

Elsewhere, while stocks were taking a little bit of a hit and the major indices were all lower, led by the NASDAQ.

Bitcoin and virtually all cryptocurrencies got hammered on Monday, many of them down 20% or more. Bitcoin touched down at 30,100 early Tuesday morning after reaching nearly $42,000 on Friday. Essentially, Bitcoin is down to where it was a week ago, so this looks like an ordinary correction with a little bit of FUD thrown in from the political and social universes. Probably not a big deal. Bitcoin's future still looks very promising both from an investment standpoint and as a stand-alone unassailable alternate currency.

Supposedly, President Trump plans to speak live from the Alamo (last stand appropriate?) on Tuesday at 3:00 pm ET. Livestream HERE.

Gold and silver made modest gains Monday. Yield on the 10-year note continues to rise, hitting 1.13% on Monday. Oil also continued its rally. WTI crude futures are looking at a $53 handle. The US dollar was higher against the main currencies, Euro, Yen, and Pound on Monday, but it is falling against them as the sun rises on the East coast of the United States.

Futures are pointing towards a relatively quiet, positive open. European stocks are fading. The VIX is higher.

Zero Day, if there is such a thing, looks to be on the immediate horizon.

At the Close, Monday, January 11, 2021:
Dow: 31,008.69, -89.28 (-0.29%)
NASDAQ: 13,036.43, -165.54 (-1.25%)
S&P 500: 3,799.61, -25.07 (-0.66%)
NYSE: 14,937.96, -28.87 (-0.19%)