A strengthening dollar is depressing gold – Equities are getting a boost

The dollar is strengthening and geopolitical risk is priced in (or ignored), effectively depressing the price of gold.

Uh Oh – That’s No Good

Bloomberg is reporting

Ukraine Says It Destroyed Part of Armed Convoy From Russia
By Daryna Krasnolutska and Scott Rose
August 15, 2014 11:14 AM ED

Patience is the prescription

Crazy 8ers,

The more I consider this Caliphate in the desert, taken together with what is shaping up to be grim news worldwide for a while, the more certain I am that some artful patience could be just what the doctor ordered.

Ze market, she is crazy right now. She is full to de brim with loose money. She is dashed hither and yon with news from the far reaches of the earth. She has no security and no clear plan beyond, “Wait for it…”

Quote of the day from the WS Journal

“This will be the biggest construction project in the world for the next four years, without exaggeration… Our Chinese friends are complicated, difficult negotiators.”

— Russian President Vladimir Putin, after signing a contract to supply gas to China worth hundreds of billions of dollars, during a two-day trip to Shanghai.

Well played.

ACC

No good news from Europe

In chess, as the middle game progresses, it’s very often possible to sense who is likely to win.

A winner is awarded two points, while the loser is awarded zero points.

In case of a stalemate, each player is awarded one point.

When, during the middle game, it is obvious that one cannot win, it is perfectly appropriate to play with the intention of forcing a stalemate.

I realize the events in Europe are not literally a game. Those are real people in real places.

Get Your Checkbooks Out

https://twitter.com/achompff/status/453204007066951680

It’s begun in earnest. Look for 10+% corrections Nasdaq. Oversold tech blue chips should be available by Thursday.

ACC

PS. I’m not particularly pleased to be correct in this case. Real people are being negatively affected. However, having begun this particular prognostication, I deem it appropriate to see it through to some yet TBD logical conclusion.

Wait It Out…

I’ve been having a text-based conversation with a friend after my advice to go to cash last week. I wanted to share it with my Crazy 8 readers (good name for you, right? congrats on your new handle!).

Now, I apologize in advance for the form it’s in because it might be hard to follow, but I’m on public transit and thought it might be more interesting as the series of texts in time that it really is.

Ok. Press on if you dare. You’ve been warned!

🙂