Avast Ye Steam-punk Scalawags!
________________________________________

Looks like the bewigged and wedge-shoed scarlet coats of the Federal Admiralty have thrown down their first frilly gauntlet and taken a shot across our portside bow last evening with a cannon-load of “hot grape” called “quarter point discount rate increase,” in the less civilized quarters of New Orleans and other pirate dens.

Powdered pooftahs that they are, they are already begging our mercy come the morn as we swing our starboard cannon about to rake their pommy sides amid-ships.    Too late for them, and theirs, I’m afraid, as there’s gold in those Admiralty cargo holds and we mean to have it.

Let’s not get all a-sweat and a-lathered, me scurvy dogs.   The thesis has not changed and certainly the Fed is not going to take the “brave man’s step” of setting the Caribbean afire with rum-soaked English scrip whilst our Parliament (of Whores) continues to spend like grog-stupefied wainwrights on barrel-selling day.    No, maties, they seek to confound us with this Mary-move of callow authority.   No man can call his actions bold while pleading apology in the next breath!  

If anything, said grape-shot toss was mere subtrafuge to cover for additional scrip production in yonder Admiralty’s subterranean printing gaols!  What will occupy the Admiralty’s cargo holds for years — baser and baser scrip — will be what ensures our golden Treasures worth! 

So be not a-feared but rather emboldened by the tightness of Rear Admiral Bernanke’s wedgies, and the sagging of his pompadour.  Now is the time to press the hot cutlass to their throats and let roar with musket, grape and cannon.   The battle is near-won, me swabbies.   Let us not then quail at the size of the Admiralty’s frigates, but rather laugh at their frailty — they are made of paper, lads!

_______________________

This day I shall be indulging in all me favourites, but  most especially those in the silver Escudo doubloons, for the price of bonnie silver is racing back up even faster than that of gold.    To that end I shall be indulging in me favourite miners, Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] , [[EXK]] , [[SVM]] , [[PAAS]] and maybe even the worm-bitten dogs [[CDE]] and Hecla Mining Company [[HL]] .   [[AGQ]] is only for the traders, but it may boom off of any pullback here.

Don’t forget me favourite golds either, which number three — Allied Nevada Gold Corp. [[ANV]] , Eldorado Gold Corporation (USA) [[EGO]] and Royal Gold, Inc. [[RGLD]] .   Some dogs that may be opportunities thanks to yesterday’s scare off  could be New Gold Inc. (USA) [[NGD]] , Exeter Resource Corp. [[XRA]] , NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) [[NG]] and Northgate Minerals Corporation (USA) [[NXG]] , along with Rubicon Minerals Corp. (USA) [[RBY]] and even [[BAA]] .  Of course [[GDX]] is a great purchase if you want a catch all.

I also think the Ag side will continue to stay hot, so any weakness in Monsanto Company [[MON]] , The Andersons, Inc. [[ANDE]] , The Mosaic Company [[MOS]] , and Potash Corp./Saskatchewan (USA) [[POT]] should be seen as an opportunity.  I will likely have more to say on this front.   

Many of you may have seen I chose Cree, Inc. [[CREE]] as my March Madness pick (SLW is too volatile).   I like it and Veeco Instruments Inc. [[VECO]] as my two hottest tech names for the intermediate to long term (the only way I play).  

Best to you all, my hearties, and if anything today — WATCH SILVER — something seems to be “up.”

__________________________

Comments »

 [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ERnT1X9HPw 450 300]

A Song for the Times?
___________________________________

Well, so much for Helicopter Ben’s New York Times- abetted “tightening” kabuki theater act.

Did you enjoy it?  I hear he’s been studying at the New School.

I dunno, maybe the guys down at Goldman called Bernanke up last night and asked him for some help in getting out of their Euro shorts, since DXY (sorry, no quote yet — see? [[DXY]] ) had run up to about $80.30 today by lunch time, only to tuck tail and (Black?) swan dive right back down to $80 flat just in time for Benjamin’s Jawboning routine at 2:15 pm. 

That particular bit of mummery and prestidigitation must’ve in turn convinced at least one or two bag-holding kaftan merchants from Milwaukee to buy dollars again, because the dollar index got all the way to $80.10 by late afternoon, giving us all that familiar “blah” feeling at the close.

All pretense seems to have dropped away after the stock mavens went home, however, and the dollar is now (as of 12:36 am Eastern) trading back down to yesterday’s low’s at about $79.74, looking at a “next stop” of about $79.50, and then $79 even.     Party on, Garth (and Darth… Vadon, that is).

These incipient moves should be enough to get our rally on in the gold and silver sector, not to mention our other hard currency equivalents including earl, natural gas, and the specialty metals.   I was extremely busy today and I apologize, but my punishment was not being able to add much to the portfolio, although I would’ve loved to finish my Allied Nevada Gold Corp. [[ANV]] accumulation today.   I am quite sure it will be more dear tomorrow.  

I was able to add 60 more June $40 [[GDX]] calls at $5.80.   They were a standing order, and I think I may have been able to get them even cheaper, but beggars, chooser, etc. etc.   I now have total 120 of those $40 June strike calls, and I think I’m done there.  

 The rest of my exposure will remain in liquid equities, and I hope to add to positions tomorrow in the usual suspects, and perhaps some NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) [[NG]] , New Gold Inc. (USA) [[NGD]] and Northgate Minerals Corporation (USA) [[NXG]] .   I also like Exeter Resource Corp. [[XRA]] ‘s relative strength as of late.  

For silver I may dip my toe in the Chanci selection — [[SVM]] , as I’ve admired their price action recently.  I may also look to grab some additional [[PAAS]] .   If [[CDE]] stalls in the early trade, I may also add to that one.

Platinum is reviving tonight along with its brethren, so don’t forget about [[PTM]] and [[PAL]] . 

On the non-precious side, I may grab some [[ERX]] for a ride similar to that of [[AGQ]] .   I also continue to like Petroleo Brasileiro SA (ADR) [[PBR]] and Occidental Petroleum Corporation [[OXY]] .    I also happen to think SandRidge Energy Inc. [[SD]] is undervalued here, and it is a perennial favourite (sic) of The PPT .

Last, don’t forget Thompson Creek Metals Company, Inc. [[TC]] , Teck Cominco Limited (USA) [[TCK]] and Titanium Metals Corporation [[TIE]] in the specialty metal names, and Sociedad Quimica y Minera (ADR) [[SQM]] , as their lithium is a bargain here as well.    I expect tomorrow will be a good day for we merry shipmates of the U.S.S Jackson.

All aboard!

______________________________________

Comments »

 

Truck O’ Molten Assets
______________________________________________________
That beeping sound you hear is me backing up the truck, and grabbing some more lovely PM positions as the sun goes down on this day of dollar death.

I’ve mentioned that I love Allied Nevada Gold Corp. [[ANV]] for the long term, almost as much as I like Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] on the silver side. IAMGOLD Corporation (USA) [[IAG]] and Eldorado Gold Corporation (USA) [[EGO]] cannot be ignored here either.   They are running on Greek kisses and Spanish wishes, but so what?   With the dollar (DXY) and it’s proxy, [[UUP]]   down 53 cents and 17 cents, respectively, as we speak, I think we may have that turn in the dollar we were looking for at last.  If we continue to stay below that magical $80.20 line, I’ll be even more sure of it.

Let’s face it folks, it would be great if the European Central Bank could maintain this Teutonic “austerity” charade with regard to it’s wayward little brothers to the South,  but the fact is, if they want to keep their phony baloney Starfleet Federation currency trading with any credibility, they will have to continue to subsidize the mistakes of the least common denominators.    And yes, this seems anti-intuitive, to save the Euro by weakening it with these bailouts, but the fact is the world markets prefer stability to necessary nut cutting.

Truth is, the Germans will some day emit a huge sigh of relief when they get their beloved Deutschmark back and they can once again run rampant over the rest of the Europe in currency blitzkrieg, if not via their formerly preferred method of  “Large Iron Rolling.”    Until then, they will stubbornly continue to try to make this European Union thing work,  and cope with continuing annoyance at those who would rather hang out in the sun, drink Ouzo  and go sailing, whilst dancing the mazurka and opening large menu diners.

All this brings me back to the punch bowl party over on this side of the pond.  With the Euro saved,  for this week at least, the robots at Goldman Sachs have been re-programmed to short the dollar and buy Barbie dolls and other such Mattel, Inc. [[MAT]] toys — Hasbro, Inc. [[HAS]] anyone?

We, the proleteriat, can now come back down off our panic chairs and continue with our most profitable line of employment — namely, fondling gold bars until their corners go smooth and sucking on silver ingot lozenges until our colds go away.

I continue to love, and accumulate the above mentioned names, and in addition I am grabbing, as I type (with my other hand) some [[EXK]] , Royal Gold, Inc. [[RGLD]] , Exeter Resource Corp. [[XRA]] and the “N’s” — NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) [[NG]] , New Gold Inc. (USA) [[NGD]] and Northgate Minerals Corporation (USA) [[NXG]] .   

Last but not least, I like lithium (you know why, don’t you?) in Sociedad Quimica y Minera (ADR) [[SQM]]  , and I like to say “molybdenum” ten times frontways and then ten times backways.   If Thompson Creek Metals Company, Inc. [[TC]] is not bought out by the likes of BHP Billiton Limited (ADR) [[BHP]] or Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. [[FCX]] or even Teck Cominco Limited (USA) [[TCK]] (its fellow Jackson) within two years, then I’ll be greatly surprised unto paralysis.

Peace be upon you, my brethren, as our plan “comes together, right now, over me.”

________________________

Comments »

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vimZj8HW0Kg 450 300]

Ahm gonna take this itty bitty world by storm…

And ahm just gettin’ warm….

_______________________________________________

Just in case any of you are thinking this recent pullback has been anything but a dollar play, have a look at this piece by ETF Trader (and by extension, The Financial Times).   Yes, that’s an $8 billion plus short on the Euro, and that’s only what we peons are seeing.  It could be a lot worse, or it could be all for show.  

What we do know is that the Euro is just another failed fiat waiting to happen.   Whether it occurs before the dollar (likely) or after, they all meet the same end, in tears.  Right now, the dollar is strengthening against it, after dropping to test support at the $80.09 level, and back to $80.34, after opening at $80.40.  

As you know, I think anything over $80.20 is a bad sign, and that combined with the large selling on strength from Fridays trade (some $675 million in the SPYs), we may be in for testing that 1,035 level on the [[SPX]] after all.    The silver stocks, after showing some promise this morning, are tipping their heads in obeisance to a further weakening in the POS (currently hanging above it’s $15.03 open at $15.11) and even the POG (currently $1,065.60).

I will be focussing on opportunistic gold plays today, as I’ve gotten quite a bit of silver in [[AGQ]] and Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] the last couple of days, and only got half my [[GDX]] calls on Friday.  I’ll be looking at some of that under $41 and Allied Nevada Gold Corp. [[ANV]] on any more weakness like this morning (which I missed, dammit).    I may bend for more [[EXK]] as I still have room for another 2k shares in that name.

The overall word is caution, but be ready to jump on an alert, because if Soros or some other whale wants to squeeze these Euro shorts, it’s going to be five alarm time for the PM’s.   Same will be true if the Euro really cracks, although I’m not sure the effect on gold will be as harsh as the effect on my poor silver horde.

Best to you all.

_______________________

Comments »

______________________

Stepped up the buying today, in the teeth of the downdraft.  I see these fat white bloated English bodies piled high, but stand firm in my resolution that we are approaching an oversold bounce in the precious market.   [[GDX]] gives me more than a ray of hope with it’s action today:

Note the 61.8% retrace hit on this weekly chart.   That’s a very significant level, which will usually put up a ton of support from the underside (as well as resistance on top).   Now we may get another tap of this level tomorrow, but I think this is the place we should all be accumulating our PM’s of choice.

You know I have.

Today, I added another 2k of Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] at $14.03, and yet another 40 June 11’s of the same name, this time at $3.90.   Don’t ask me why I keep buying 40 contracts at a time, there’s probably some internal fibonacci mechanism at work here.  I also added 2k more of Allied Nevada Gold Corp. [[ANV]] below $13 and another 4k of [[EXK]] at $3.32.  Last I put on 1k more CDE at below $15-.   I think that’s it for me in that name.

I also added significantly to my [[AGQ]] net weurth (sic), with another 800 shs at $51.52, give or take.   I now have 2k shares total.   I will add, but cautiously, to this bucking bronco.   I think that the dollar — [[DXY]] may scoop to $80 here, which could some additional pressure on the PM’s.

It will all be temporary, I aver.  

On the hedging side, I dumped another 50 of my [[SPY]] puts at a nice profit, which generally means that there will be a waterfall decline tomorrow morning.

You think I’m kidding.   I’m not.   I have 100 SPY puts left, and am still “full up” with 14k [[BGZ]] and 10k [[QID]] .   This has cushioned some of my long losses these last few days, but I can tell you verily that I look forward to blowing out of these positions.

I think we approach that time.   Keep in mind silver is trading right now at one sixty seventh the price of gold.  That’s nuts, and could presage a gold drop to $1,030-ish.    Even there the POG is still well over 60x the price of silver.  

Short summary — silver is already sold.   I don’t feel it has a whole lot farther to go.  Trade accordingly.

Best to you all.

__________________

Comments »

 

_______________________________________

Busy, Busy, Busy.   Yeah, you got nothing today, but I threw some calls down in The PPT, because theys mah peoples, and theys payin’ the bills.  So sorry.

I bot some  more Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] calls — 40 more June $11’s at $4.30.   That brings my tote up to 160 in that class.   Yeah, there might be some more pain in this name, and in my other precious plays, but you know what?

I’m not going to get overly concerned. 

 I’m shrugging off this “Volker scare.”

I say here for you — it’s bullshit.   Rhetoric.  Albumen.

   I knew we’d have some sell-off and the PM’s were way ahead of the rest of the market in this cycle decline, which means that they will likely be done before the rest is too.

I’ve been adding tons here on Friday and today, and as I mentioned I was actually up at Friday’s close.    Not so much today, but that’s only because my hedges “gave back” some of Friday’s wins.    Those are the kind of losses I can accept.  I consider that the equivalent of paying off Sal & Tony for “protection.”    If we go bull green from here, I’ll be happier than Harpo at the Thai Masseuse convention, and I’ll sell those hedges at a loss, if necessary.

But now, they stay, even as a I load up on 4k more [[EXK]] at $3.45.    2k more IAMGOLD Corporation (USA) [[IAG]] at an unfortunate $14.31 (again, I’m not worried), and 400 more Royal Gold, Inc. [[RGLD]] at $44.52.

Between today and Friday, I’ve been loading up on PM’s and banks.   I didn’t add any banks today, but I think I may take a third swipe at Pacific Capital Bancorp [[PCBC]] and BB&T Corporation BB&T Corporation [[BBT]] .   One other playah that I bot last week is Fifth Third Bancorp [[FITB]] .  I may add this one as well tomorrow.

I may  look at coming out of my final [[GDX]] and [[SPY]] hedges tomorrow as well, as they are option hedges.   My only other remaining hedges besides those are [[QID]] and [[BGZ]] , which I will likely hold until I’m sure we’ve turned back to the green.

Make no mistake, I’m extremely bullish on the continuing inflation trade here.  Bernanke will remain, and so too will the continuing flog of the dollar.   Play that game by buying select equities and precious metal bangers.

Bless you all, and I mean that.

_____________________________

Comments »