World's largest re-insurer Munich Re announced today in Munich that it is boosting its gold and cash reserves rather than suffer punishing negative interest rates from the European Central bank. It is trying to counteract the near zero or negative interest rates that reduce income needed to pay out claims. Munich Re has already held gold for some time and lately added cash in the "two-digit million euros." Whoa. Think about that, this gigantic organization holding cash currency. And gold. Harbinger of things to come? Whoops. Central banks' traps aren't working too well, are they? TODAY'S MARKETS: The Tennessee proverb says, "He who lives by his big mouth, dies by his big mouth." From July 2014 forward the Fed has floated the US dollar on a rising cloud of gassy hot air: bluster, jawboning, threatening, yakking. Then the mountain gave birth to -- a mouse. A 1/4 point interest rate rise last December that nearabout wrecked world stock markets. That's the thing about threatening: don't work long term. Ever notice that those parents who keep on saying, "Now, Bobby, don't do that or I'm going to have to give you a whippin'" and keep on saying without ever acting have the children from hell? Little Bobby knows they're bluffing. Now the world knows that Janet Yellen & her miscreant academic trolls have been bluffing all the time. Now the dollar will die by their big mouth. Today the US dollar lost 74 basis points to end at 95.93, down 0.77%. Great job, Janet. US dollar chart makes me grimace in pain just to look at it. http://schrts.co/OkJ5UT Look at those three huge perpendicular slides (blue arrows). Those depict days where buyers withdraw their bid and sellers panic through the exit. Behold, now the dollar has come to critical 92.50 support, Nice Government Men must be sweating bullets and spitting iron filings. Of course, this doesn't hurt gold and silver at all. Currency traders must be puking in wastebaskets all over the globe, just before they run out a window or look for a new line of work. Euro rose 1.14% to $1.1235 & Yen jumped 0.6% to 88.90. Central banks sure do stabilize markets, don't they? The Fed left interest rates untouched and said it should raise rates 0.5% by the end of the year -- in other words, more of the someday, sometime, we threaten. Who knows what and why stock investors are thinking? Evidently, for the moment, until tomorrow morning's open, they took that as positive. Dow climbed to 17,325.76, up 74.23 (0.43%), its highest close this year. S&P500 rose 11.39 (0.56%) to 2,027.22. This is about as good as it gets, so 'twould be a fine time for a correction to begin. Dow in Gold rose yesterday nearly to the 50 day moving average, then fell back today. Ended at 13.72 oz (G$283.87 gold dollars). Also looks like a good time to change direction and resume the downtrend. Relatively weaker than gold, silver let the Dow in Silver nearly reach the 200 DMA on 1 March, but sank and today sank back through the 50 DMA. http://schrts.co/ohwLZP Stocks would have to stage a manic rally to take the Dow in Silver much higher, or silver would have to sink mightily. Comex closes before the FOMC announcements, so a deathly hush still reigned when they closed at 1:30 p.m. Gold lost $1.10 to $1,229.30 & silver gave back 4.1¢ to 1521.4¢. Then Old Yellen spouted off at 2:00 sharp. US dollar began to sink immediately, like a cast iron canoe full of lead washers. Silver & gold both shot straight up. Gold rose to $31.30 (2.5%) above yesterday's close and silver rose to 34¢ (2.6%) over yesterday at 1564.5¢. In the same way I wasn't too hot to proclaim a gold rally after the ECB slammed the dollar last week, so this week when the Fed slams the dollar I am not burning to announce another rally. That doesn't make me right, but it does keep me from making too many mistakes on a day when central banks, a force external to markets, stir up turmoil. If gold had closed above the last high, I would think differently, but for now I'll wait and see. Danger of a correction has not vanished, & indicators point down. Silver could easily visit its 200 DMA, not at 1494¢. Gold might drop as far as its 50 DMA, now $1,177.14. I would abandon this correction notion and do an about face on a dime if gold closed above $1,287.80 and silver closed higher than 1624¢. If I saw that I'd be buying with both hands and my toes. I have to drive over to Chattanooga tomorrow, and probably won't get home in time to send y'all a commentary. God willing, I'll send one on Friday. Tennessee is crazy: it charges sales tax on constitutional gold & silver money. I know, I've been through the wringer fighting it. After four years trying, a bill to remove the tax has finally gotten out of subcommittee to the Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee. If you live in Tennessee, do yourself a favor and contact the members of the Senate Finance Committee, listed here http://1.usa.gov/1XvmjcO Time's a-wastin'! Bill will be heard next week. Email ONLY ONE MEMBER AT A TIME (otherwise emails are automatically deleted as spam), but you can use the same message. You can also call their offices. Here's the bill, http://1.usa.gov/1Ugb4GV Here are talking points: 1. The bill really won't cost the state anything because investors now just buy out of state and avoid the tax. Removing the tax would steer that business to Tennessee seller. 2. 32 other states have already removed the sales tax on silver & gold. Tennessee needs to stay competitive. 3. (optional) The tax is unconstitutionally applied to silver & gold money in any event. Thanks.
Argentum et aurum comparanda sunt —
Silver and gold must be bought.
— Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger
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