For all this week's excitement & the metals' stumbling, the scoreboard didn't change much, except for the US dollar index. Even that doesn't look to be a great advance, but considering what it recovered from, it looked good.

Y'all try to twist your minds around this. Greece announced that for this present bond recall deal, 86% of creditors subject to Greek law & 69% of international bondholders agreed to accept a 74% haircut. Yet today the International Swaps & Derivatives Association (ISDA), the derivatives industry group who decides whether a default has occurred & thus triggered payoff for holders of Credit Default Swaps, said that a Greek default had occurred, triggering $3 billion of default insurance. Why? The Greek government used a collective action clause to force the rest of the investors to take the same deal. Three billion sounds like a lot, but 'taint nothing like paying off the CDS on all the debt that was re-scheduled.

Markets never blinked over the ISDA's decision. It only further illustrates that the whole "bail out" benefits only the banks, & not Greece. None of that bail out money will perch in Greece, but will all fly clean thru to the banks.

Now Spain, having witnessed the savage pain dealt out to Greece, is saying it won't take those austerity measures. I know the Europeans keep kicking these cans down the road, but one of these days, maybe this year, that can will turn out to be a land mine with 40 or 50 lb. of C4.

The financial & government system has now become nothing more than one vast criminal enterprise bent on harvesting all the rest of the world that belongs not to the Elite. They have made themselves the enemies of all honest men of good will. For now they have their way, sucking the world's blood, but it will not end well for them. As the Greeks used to say, the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind exceeding fine. Keep grinding.

After Tuesday's killing nose dive from 12,970 to 12,740, the Dow laboriously climbed back to a high today at 12,968 & closed up 14.08 big points (0.11%) at 12,922.02. Tuesday's break fell out of a lethal rising wedge. Balance of the week's recovery only form a double top, making the gravitational outcome -- toward earth's core -- more sure & certain.

S&P500 will accompany the Dow. It gained 4.96 today (0.36%) to end at 1,370.87.

Stocks -- headed for new discoveries beneath the earth's crust.

US DOLLAR resolved a harrowing two day correction by shooting straight skyward today & closing above the morale-boosting 80 level at 80.003, up 86.4 or 1.11%, gigantical for a currency move. IF the buck can clear 80.12, 'twill shoot for 82.

The ever lively Japanese Yen today proved that you cannot possibly expect too little from any fiat currency. Even though the Yen has been waterfalling like Iguazu since 1 February, from 131.52c to 121.29c today (down 7.8%), today demonstrated it hath not stopped yet. Lost 1.07% more today. NGM in Europe and US are gonna get real mad at the Japanese NGM if they don't alter the yen's trajectory.

Gold has climbed to the $1,705 - $1,715 region where it fell through support & went to visit $1,665. Time to fish or cut bait. Gold stopped just short of its critical 150 DMA ($1,716.23). If it fails here, gold must do further penance wallowing below $1,700. On the other hand, if it breaches $1,725 - $1,730 on Monday, where 'twill meet the downtrend line from the September high, I would confess it hath bottomed & buy with both hands.

On Comex today gold gained $12.,80, closing at $1,710.90.

In any event, I can't see it falling much below $1,625, but next week will speedily instruct us.

SILVER lodged beneath 3450c resistance & spun wheels & spit mud today, but couldn't rise above 3438. Comex spot month silver ended at 3417.5c, up 38.6c. Gold/silver ratio dropped from 50.256 yesterday to 50.063.

Silver's crucial 300 DMA awaits, but higher still, at 3490c. Silver touched but could not penetrate its 20 DMA today.

Trend in force remains in force until violated. Right now silver's trend is down, and it needs to close above 3460c to gainsay that.

There we are, stuck in the limbo between picking a bottom & waiting for a breakout. Next week will clear the crystal ball.

On 9 March 1799 the US government contracted with Simeon North of Berlin Connecticut for 500 horse pistols at $6.50 each. Sound cheap? Adjusted for inflation that's $226 apiece.

On 9 March 1861 the Confederate Congress authorized bills in denominations of $50, $100, $500, & $1,000. That wasn't a good omen for their unwillingness to inflate. In fact both North & South fought the war on inflation, but the South began with less specie so inflated more. It wasn't until the closing acts of the War that Confederate currency began its worst losses.

Perry Louis Fields has published The Tick Slayer, her inspiring book about her long struggle to conquer Lyme disease. You can order it at http://thetickslayer.com/.

Here's a parting code I must share with y'all.

"The world has no room for cowards. We must all be ready somehow to toil, to suffer, to die. And yours is not the less noble because no drum beats before you when you go out into your daily battlefields, and no crowds shout about your coming when you return from your daily victory or defeat."

-- Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850 - 1894

Y'all enjoy your weekend!

Argentum et aurum comparanda sunt —
Silver and gold must be bought.

— Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger

Copyright Notice

© 2015 Little Mountain Corporation, d.b.a. The Moneychanger. All rights reserved. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission.

Warnings and Disclaimers

To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary trend is up, targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stock's primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold or 16 ounces of silver. US$ and US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate bubble has burst, primary trend down.

Be advised and warned:

• Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short-term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures.
• NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps.
• NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced.
• NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt.
• What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands. For additional information, please see our Ten Commandments for Buying Gold and Silver.
• One final warning: NEVER insert a 747 Jumbo Jet up your nose.

Explanation of Terms

The US DOLLAR INDEX is the average exchange rate for the US dollar against the Euro, Yen, Pound sterling, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, and Swedish Krona, weighted for each country's trade with the US. It gives a general measure of the US dollar's performance against all other currencies.

The DOW IN GOLD DOLLARS measures the Dow Jones Industrial Average in gold dollars (0.048375 troy oz. by law). The DiG$ depicts the Primary (20 year) Trend of stocks against gold. When the DiG$ is dropping, gold is gaining value against stocks in a trend that should last 15-20 years. The DiG$'s chart is identical to the Dow in ounces of gold, but gives us one unvarying measure all the way back to 1896. Because it shows the primary trend ("tide") of gold against stocks, for investors it is the single most important financial chart in the world today. Since its August 1999 high at G$925.42 (44.8 ounces), the DiG$ has trended down, targeting a G$80-G$20 (4-1 oz. of gold will buy the whole Dow).

The DOW IN SILVER OUNCES shows how many ounces of silver are needed to buy the entire Dow. The DiSoz is trending down with a target of under 36 ounces.

The GOLD/SILVER RATIO is the gold price divided by the silver price, and shows how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold. The Ratio shows us the Primary (20 year) Trend of gold's value against silver. When the Ratio's trend is dropping, silver is gaining value against gold. This trend targets a gold/silver ratio of 16 ounces of silver to one of gold within the next 5-10 years. That implies that silver will massively, vastly outperform gold before this bull market ends. When both metals are rallying, the ratio often (but not always) drops, confirming the rally.

Other Important Information

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