Gold Contrary Indicators

The gold sector is peopled by a high concentration of contrary indicators because it is a relatively (to the vast world of equities and bonds) small market that offers refuge from some of the damaging aspects of the spectrum of investment products that are supported by the manipulation of interest rates and printed (and digitally created) money supplies. Thus, gold has moral high ground if an asset can be thought to have morality.

More accurately, the people bullish on and promoting gold take high moral ground and that is where the emotional power comes from in this market. This power feeds upon the desires of regular people to not suffer the consequences of the 'evil' actions of those running a system that many do not agree with. Readers of this site know of course that I certainly don't agree with the setting and manipulation of interest rates by decree of man (and woman) in service to engineering desired outcomes in financial markets. Continue reading "Gold Contrary Indicators"

HUI Gold Bugs Index Symmetry

There is a growing presence out there talking about a potential Inverted Head & Shoulders (IH&S) on the HUI, which NFTRH has had going since mid-late last year.  Below is a simple view of it, with last week's 'Week 2 down' making perfect sense (symmetrically speaking) with 'Weeks 1 & 2 up'.

hui

NFTRH subscribers had a heads up (from both a sentiment and technical view) that it was time for traders to take profits and holders to prepare for corrective activity in and around the Ukraine hysterics that threw over the final upside (right side of the neckline). Continue reading "HUI Gold Bugs Index Symmetry"

ZIRP Up Next?

Everyone expects Janet Yellen to be a rolling over, inflationist stooge just like they did Ben Bernanke.  Bernanke came on board after Alan Greenspan had taken the Fed Funds rate up to around 5% if I remember correctly.  Inflationists and gold bugs thought they had it in the bag when 'Helicopter Ben' assumed control.

Indeed, Bernanke did what he was supposed to do (per the 'Helicopter 'Ben' script) as systemic stresses began to gather in 2007, addressing that pesky Funds rate, culminating in December, 2008's official ZIRP (zero interest rate policy).  Here again is the chart showing the S&P 500's 'Hump #3' attended by this most beneficial monetary policy.

spx.irx

As noted again and again, the much trumpeted 'taper' of QE is not only not a negative for the economy, we have made a strong case that its mechanics are actually a positive, in the near term at least.  But putting ZIRP on the table would be a whole different ball of wax. Continue reading "ZIRP Up Next?"

Gold's Grinding Message

Precious metals boosters will see gold's nominal price break upward and probably get excited.  They will marshal the troops for what could one day turn out to be a full fledged tout, as if the 40% decline of the last 2.5 years had never happened.

gold

But it is gold’s ratios to positively correlated assets that tells the interesting story.  Vs. Crude Oil, the story could be shaping up to be a positive one for the gold mining industry, which is counter cyclical and obviously energy and fuel intensive. Continue reading "Gold's Grinding Message"

Precious Metals Grind Out a New Trend

Gold is Monetary Value

We preface the post with a statement that has not changed since I began public writing nearly 10 years ago:  Gold is not about price; gold is about value.  This point was hammered home to me 11 years ago by a person who had much influence upon my viewpoint toward the financial system and its various diseased components at a time when I was ready to listen and understand.

So whether we are talking about 2013′s epic price crash or a new bull trend in 2014, the simple fact is that physical gold itself is a store of monetary value.  That applied last year as the value was marked down by greed and confidence and it will apply this year as it is marked up in the face of a likely unwinding of those things.  Humans, what funny and hyper kinetic animals. Continue reading "Precious Metals Grind Out a New Trend"