[MEDIA] I think you're onto something there @Dazedandconfused....

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    I think you're onto something there @Dazedandconfused.

    Speaking of confusing motives, @peejayhercules, the new Midway movie had funding from China, supposedly because they enjoy seeing WWII allies go after Japan. They will censor the parts where some officers question their superiors though.

    Opinion

    What's going on with gold and silver? Part of the drag is in current fed funds futures as major participants believe the FOMC is through with rate cuts for now. They are also feigning or genuinely believe that the US administration feels pressure to string out the trade war. But stocks are rising on the lower overnight rate and buying of T-bills to enhance the Fed's balance sheet. Gold and stocks can rise together under conditions that portend cheap money and the threat of inflation that Fed members tell us is not an issue right now. Trade war news flow is being taken at face value for superficial reasons but the deeper meaning is elusive. Business leaders have held off on major decisions because of the trade issues and one burning question is whether they will believe their own eyes and decide anything on signs of progress as those clues might be the result of duress on the part of the US administration. Any strategic decision-making on businesses' part would reflect faith in a process determined by existing transnational realities rather than the mental stability of those in charge. Why would they plan beyond an election that is now a year away? We are short term traders on this forum and I apologize for mixing time frames just because they color each other.

    We have now accepted a state of constant lies that is being compartmentalized for practical reasons. Certain politicians repeatedly state things that are obviously untrue. In defense of questionable behavior, they throw so much stuff against the wall that we become too demoralized to scrape it off for analysis. Sanity is questioned but the disbelief or astonishment is moot because these supporters also recognize a lie. All politicians do it, they say, so why should we care. Some involved have convinced themselves it's for the greater good anyway. You might be thinking "what's new?" but this level of crazy is clearly off the charts and with the exception of some freshly revived populist movements, many watching America from overseas fear what they see. You don't have to be a trader to see how this new normal has everything have to do with the stock market.

    An abstract quadrant of the political machinery is now devoted to the world of specious half-truths and lies. This subdivision has become a tool and a thing in itself. To fear this legitimization and acceptance of lying-by-default is to question the powers of observation of large swaths of the electorate; but there is really no need to patronize anyone as even citizens who spend little time online are prone to its final effects. This pseudo-reality in its nurtured form is historically reserved for war against an adversary determined to wipe you or at least your opinions off the planet - as in the Cold War. Retired national security people are astonished to see a domestic version waged -- with the help of adversaries -- on western electorates. It's not just being used in the States. As mentioned here before, it’s astonishing for some of us to see the commentary sections of some traditionally left leaning publications championing the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 30 years of economic prosperity that followed in Europe and Asia. For westerners who waged that war, it's just more proof that we learn some of life's most valuable lessons while were busy doing other things. Maybe that delayed form of learning will continue and the current political circus will right itself again as the wheels turn.

    The president appears to want another term and judging from a wide range of political commentary, the Democrats seem very worried but you wouldn’t know it by some of the hardliners they are touting. Moderate would-be candidates and positions are increasingly attacked by mountains of online bot traffic which assails moderates and often declare viable only the candidates with little chance of getting near the finish line. The Speaker of the House has warned that Democrats risk it all as they continue to push hard left personalities - who of course are out to take Wall Street down a peg or two.

    Market action is fast becoming about 2020 elections. Aside from - and to the benefit of - those who profit directly from keeping current economic policies in place, public servants who do not agree with current economic policy are, despite any philosophical misgivings, obligated to keep the world economy from slowing further. 'Merica! This includes members of the Federal Reserve. The impeachment process is heating up in the coming week and it is a market factor because public testimony like that due out this week is bound to affect swing voters. The president cannot win on his base alone. Polling can be dodgy but it will cause reactions by those determined to keep the market moving north. The public parts of the impeachment process could create lasting impressions even for those who have tried to block everything out. Democrats hope the net effect will be to inform the disinterested. The president has told us that the impeachment process is bad for Wall Street but they really don't seem to care. He said yesterday that he is making a lot of people rich. They will be blocking it all out too.
    Last edited by Diver Dan: 10/11/19
 
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