There will come a time when I’m not waking up at 4:30 am on
Saturday mornings – in late August, when the rest of the world is enjoying
the “summer doldrums,” no less – to write about the random musings of a
handful of unelected, conniving thieves; the appalling, painfully obvious
market manipulations that go along with them; and the combination of criminal
negligence, collusive fraud, and outright stupidity that goes for the “reporting” of such blatantly fraudulent and collusive,
actions – as if anyone is still listening. However, until that time –
when the irrepressible, unrelenting forces of “Economic Mother Nature”
inevitably win the day – I, and the Miles Franklin Blog, will be
here to educate, and hold your hand. As while our business is
to buy, sell, and store Precious Metals, our passion is to spread
economic truth, and protect as many people as possible, before it’s too late.
Yesterday, my wife told me of someone on Facebook, claiming they listen to
the Sirius XM Soft Hits channel so much, they literally get sick when
they hear Gordon Lightfoot’s name. I can certainly empathize – having
had Sirius for a decade, and listening to the 80s channel play Guns and Roses
several thousands of times. However, such revulsion doesn’t hold a
candle to the nausea I feel when I hear “Federal Reserve”; “rate
hike”; “Janet Yellen”; “CNBC”; and anything related to the lies and
propaganda that have dominated my professional life throughout the
21st century; particularly Whirlybird Janet, the “Fed Chair who kept
Yellen’ Wolf.”
At least, amidst equally blatant efforts to “talk up” oil prices with lies
about the “working off of excess inventories” and imminent “production
freezes,” key players actually tell the truth once in a while – like Iran’s
oil minister yesterday, in claiming he would only agree to freeze production after
Iran reaches its pre-sanction production level of 4.0 million barrels
per day, 400,000 barrels per day above today’s level. In other words,
the odds of an agreement at the informal producer meeting on September
26th-28th – as if merely “freezing” production at record levels, amidst
record inventories and weakening demand, from one of the most notoriously
lying groups the world has ever known, would have any impact; are as small as
the Fed raising rates on September 21st – amidst a collapsing global
economy; maniacal monetary easing from all Central bank
“competitors”; and oh yeah, an historic presidential election six weeks
hence, in which Janet Yellen needs Hillary Clinton to win if she wants to
keep her job. Again, as if a ¼ point rate hike from the, for all
intents and purposes, “zero bound,” would be “Precious Metal negative”; when
not only is there ZERO empirical evidence to suggest as much, but the current
PM bull market literally started the day the Fed last raised
rates. And by “last,” I mean it was not only the last time they raised
rates (since 2006), but likely the last time they ever will.
I mean, talk about walking a tightrope – in trying to feign “hawkishness”
in a world where financial asset valuations, due solely to
historically easy monetary policy and unprecedented market manipulation, are
at their highest-ever levels; amidst the unequivocally weakest economic
conditions of our lifetime. Which, I might add, have caused all other
Central banks to continue the “emergency” responses that have been ongoing
since 2008. Not to mention, the fact that the very act of raising
rates, even by a measly ¼ point, would not only destroy financial assets, but
an historically indebted economy; particularly the world’s largest debtor,
the U.S. government that “employs” it; and the world’s largest hedge funds,
the Central banks themselves (which collectively own $25 trillion of fixed
income assets, led by the Fed’s $4.5 trillion). Trust me, there’s good
reason 2016 started with the biggest January stock market decline in history
– and trust me, the Fed is well aware of it.
Yes, “last to go”
stock indices like the “Dow Jones Propaganda Average” remain near record
(nominal) levels, care of unprecedented “support” from manipulation operatives
like the Exchange Stabilization Fund and President’s Working Group on
Financial Markets. However, the rest of the world is not faring so
well; and even here in the Exceptional States of America, the veneer of
market prosperity is shadowed by the fact that equity outflows have exploded
and share buybacks dried up; whilst the put/call ratio has risen to a record
high; corporate earnings have declined for six straight quarters (and will
decline faster if the Fed is dumb enough to raise rates, and push the dollar
higher); and by all metrics, stocks valuations are higher than in 1929, 1987,
2000, and 2008. Throw in the fact that pension funds – of all types, in
all nations – are historically underfunded, and you can see how vulnerable
the entire world is to even the mildest of financial shocks. Which I
assure you, would feel like a 10.0 Richter scale earthquake, were the Fed
dumb – and suicidal – enough to attempt a September rate hike. Which,
by the way, is exactly what I (correctly) warned of last
September, just before they were stupid enough to put such a moronic
plan in place in December – amidst a political, economic, and monetary
environment far more benign than today. And I’m sorry, but
there’s no way I’m going to pass up an opportunity to re-print what I wrote
in that article – 12 months ago – about the “oil PPT,” given that I could
just as easily have written it, nearly verbatim, today.
“Worse yet, the comical, “oil PPT”-enhanced dead count bounce in crude
oil (but strangely, few other commodities) decidedly failed – despite the
mobilization of everything from fraudulent headlines (Saudi Arabia invading
Yemen, OPEC considering production cuts); to economic “recovery” propaganda
(despite relentlessly weak data); and most importantly, algorithms gone
wild. Earlier this year, the newly-formed oil PPT engineered a
nonsensical WTI crude surge from the mid-March low of $42/bbl to nearly
$63/bbl six weeks later. However, the current leg down took WTI crude
below $38/bbl last week, before the aforementioned, equally nonsensical surge
coinciding with the PPT temporarily “saving” the stock market last
Wednesday. That said, said “surge” topped out Monday at less than
$49/bbl – and as I write Wednesday morning, is back to $44.50/bbl, following
not only oil’s biggest down day since 2009, but a shockingly huge API
inventory build after the close.”
Regarding Jackson Hole, the sleepy, late August “symposium” hosted by the
Kansas City Fed was completely ignored – with good reason – until, 2012, when
Helicopter Ben used it to first hint of the Fed’s upcoming QE3 launch.
And since 2013, coincidentally around the time of the “alternative currency
destruction” PM raids that started the day after the infamous “closed door
meeting” between Obama and the top “too big to fail” bank CEOs, the Jackson
Hole boondoggle – as well as FOMC “minutes” announcements, Humphrey-Hawkins
Congressional testimony, and any time a Fed Chairman or governor is
so much as interviewed, have been used as de facto “FOMC statement”
opportunities; which the Fed, in collusion with said “manipulation
operatives,” uses to shape perception by smashing gold and silver, whilst
goosing stocks and bonds. In other words, creating a “meme” for
algorithms to run wild with, that anything the Fed says is good for
stocks and bonds, and bad for PMs – even if what they say directly
contradicts something they’ve recently said.
In this case, relentless goosed stock prices, and the most maniacal Cartel
attacks I have ever seen – during the ultra-quiet late August summer doldrums
– created a perception that Janet Yellen would say something “hawkish.”
This, despite a week of horrible economic news, including not only weak PMI
service and manufacturing indices, plummeting Kansas City and
Richmond manufacturing indices, declining corporate profits, a 10% decline in
year-over-year core durable goods orders, and a 1.1% second quarter GDP
print. Not to mention, global data just as bad – such as
the “ugliest
economic data I’ve ever seen,” published in Japan one week earlier; the
aforementioned record high financial asset valuations; and oh yeah, that
little old election less than three months away.
Conversely, I have been as “anti-meme” as could be, in claiming there’s no
way Whirlybird Janet would be even mildly hawkish, given such circumstances.
And she didn’t disappoint, by producing a speech that was, in the words of
Macquarie’s Thierry Wizman, “a whole lot of nothing.”
Well, not quite “nothing.” As, aside from the one comment the
moronic, compromised MSM, and collusively anti-gold Wall Street focused on –
that the “rate hike case has strengthened in recent months” (which
given the aforementioned economic data, makes absolutely no sense) – the
speech could not have been more dovish, as exemplified by this statement,
which frankly, speaks for itself.
“As ever, the economic outlook is uncertain, so monetary policy is not
on a preset course. Our ability to predict how the federal funds rate
will evolve over time is quite limited, because monetary policy will need to
respond to whatever disturbances may buffet the economy. In addition, the
level of short-term interest rates consistent with the dual mandate varies
over time in response to shifts in underlying economic conditions that are
often evident only in hindsight. For these reasons, the range of reasonably
likely outcomes for the federal funds rate is quite wide.”
Yes, “quite wide,” as in the Fed’s current “dot plot” depicts a range of
year-end 2018 Fed Funds rate predictions of 0.0% to 3.8%! Which is also
why, in the immediate aftermath of the speech’s release, rate hike odds
plunged, whilst the Treasury yield curve flattened to an all-time low (assuming
recession). To that end, it certainly didn’t help the “recovery” meme
when she actually discussed policy response alternatives, such as “future
policymakers may wish to explore the possibility of purchasing a broader
range of assets.” Like corporate bonds and equities, for instance?
Moreover, if one actually reads her comments, it becomes readily apparent
why the “obsession of idiocy” is so obvious – starting with the
aforementioned “strengthening of the rate hike case in recent months,” in
stark contrast to the utter collapse of economic data, both here and
overseas, that the supposedly “data dependent” Fed relies on.
To wit, Yellen claimed – again, in a completely ambiguously and vague
manner – that the economy is “nearing the Fed’s employment and inflation
goals.” Regarding the former, “BS NFP” headline
data notwithstanding, it doesn’t take rocket science to see the four decade
low in Labor Participation, or the increasing proportion of low wage,
part-time jobs making up the “jobs” data. Or the massive amount of
layoff announcements – of high quality, high paying jobs – in essentially all
industries. Or weakness in the “employment” component of nearly all
economic activity indices.
As for the latter, how can the Fed’s “inflation goals” be considered
“reached” when, just one day earlier, Dollar Tree and Dollar General reported
that none other than Walmart was cutting prices so sharply, they might be
forced to lower prices themselves. Yes, the “dollar stores” – like
money market funds, in response to lunatic NIRP monetary policies – may soon
be “breaking the buck.” And did I mention that yesterday, the
consumer confidence index reported the lowest ever inflation
expectations?
I could write multiple pages refuting these two inane comments alone – but
suffice to say, the market didn’t buy it. And FYI, never did, given
that 85% of all Wall Street observers, contrary to the aforementioned, CNBC
promulgated “meme,” anticipated a dovish statement. Heck, even “Fed
Whisperer” Jon Hilsenrath wrote a scathing article beforehand, of how the Fed
has failed, and is rapidly losing credibility. Which is probably why –
after the Cartel’s initial, obligatory Precious Metal smash (as usual, the
speech was scheduled for 10:00 AM EST – i.e. “key attack time #1), stocks,
bonds, foreign currencies and PMs soared – with gold up $18/oz at the highs,
and silver $0.45/oz.
However, that was decidedly NOT the Fed’s desired result, so they had a
“plan B” queued up – of, I kid you not, having Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer
interviewed immediately thereafter, by head television propagandist Steve
Liesman of CNBC, in which he vaguely commented that “Yellen’s comments
are consistent with a possible rate hike.” Not that a rate hike
was likely, mind you – but in true Greenspanian Fedspeak,
“possible.” And LOL, he ended the planned Precious Metal raid
“interview” by claiming he’s “not too concerned about asset bubbles
now.” Thank god for that, as for a second I thought record high P/E
multiples and negative yielding bonds, amidst the worst economic conditions,
and highest debt, of my lifetime might be considered pricey.
Thus, the record third “Cartel Herald”-led PM raid of the day,
following the 9:00 AM EST capping an hour before Yellen’s speech, and the
10:00 AM raid directly thereafter – enroute to a miserable end of a miserable
week of Cartel suppression, with gold ending down a dollar, and silver’s
gains dwindled to less than a dime.
In other words, a perfect example of Janet Yellen’s role of the “ultimate red
herring” – which in my view, only discredited her, and the Fed as a
whole, further; bringing the inevitable end of said “obsession with idiocy”
that much closer. Which, in my view – not to mention, David Stockman’s,
who this week predicted a massive stock market crash starting around late
September – is more imminent than at any time in Central banking
history. Thus, I cannot emphasize enough that the time to protect
yourself is now – as it won’t be long before the “doldrums of
summer” are replaced by the unending, terrifying reality of a global monetary
Ponzi scheme in its terminal phase.
