[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfINBYmGD1A 450 300]

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I don’t often talk about the University of Kentucky on this site, being a “mostly” Louisville Cardinals fan (and they don’t like it much around here when you’re “both.”  You might as like to try to “borry” from a man’s still instead).   However, UK freshman, SEC “Player of the Year,” “Newcomer of the Year,” and quite possibly #1 NBA draft pick John Wall makes for a nice metaphor for today’s dollar discussion.

Wall, while deified in the Blue Grass for his eye-popping offensive talents, is going to be the number one (or #2, his teammate DeMarcus Cousins may go #1) draft pick because of his defensive capabilities, which are sometimes similarly eye-popping.   It’s arguable, for instance, that he beat Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt all by himself with a last second shot block on a dead-eye three-point shooter, followed by a clean pick of the ball right from said startled shooter’s hands.  

What’s that?  Of course Youtube has the clip!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZzXhhd6CRA 450 300]

Pretty spiffy, no?   You don’t see that kind of instinctive defensive thinking in a lot of freshman.

And that kind of defensive, er… “wall” brings to mind our old weekly dollar chart and the “fib wall” we’d identified as going to be a tough area to breach.   It turns out, the 200-week exponential moving average (“EMA”) served as a barrier as well.   Look at the slow topping we’ve seen here, keeping in mind this is a weekly chart:

I think this bodes well, at least in the near term, for our commodities “risk trade,” and especially the precious metals, which are perking up quite nicely this morning as the dollar (DXY) drops below $80.00.    [[AGQ]] is taking all it’s friends out for a champagne party, and purchasing them Norma Kamali handbags.   Fellow silvers [[EXK]] , [[CDE]] and even rag-tag Hecla Mining Company [[HL]] are also again off to the races.  As always, the best name in silver is Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] .  On the gold side, you know my favourites (sic) but NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) [[NG]] is really picking up steam as it matures here.

Keep an eye as well on our dollar proxy [[UUP]] , which we’d like to see stay below $23.60 for our shiny metal dominance to continue.

On top of our usual metal trades, it seems that the regional banks [[KRE]] are also back on thier horses.  You know I love BB&T Corporation BB&T Corporation [[BBT]] as a long term hold, but don’t be afraid to grab a little Fifth Third Bancorp [[FITB]] and Huntington Bancshares Incorporated [[HBAN]] here as these “Ohio chancres” will someday soon be able to cover up their cold sores and sashay out into the bank M&A saloons once again, all a-flooze.

Last, don’t forget about Elite Eight  pick Cree, Inc. [[CREE]] which is still getting its wind back (thankfully, so is SanDisk Corporation [[SNDK]] ) and it’s sister Veeco Instruments Inc. [[VECO]] , which has really been gaining some nice ground recently.   I like both as hedges against future “Inflato-rama Drama.”

My best to you all.

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Avast Ye Steam-punk Scalawags!
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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!

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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.”

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Krull Leaves the Poker Game for a Quick Smoke Break
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Up 3% yesterday, even with all my hedges still in place, I must bow to the volcanic power of the precious metal rebound we experienced yesterday.

That doesn’t mean I’m abandoning my post on the 12th slippery rung of the main municipal sewer — the cosy seat next to the extrusion pipe but before the extrusion weld.   No, I’m still expecting a pullback today from yesterday’s Ode to Joy/Bunny Rabbit Massacre, unbounded. 

But the dollar (seen on the intraday as [[UUP]] or DXY) still continues to fall off here, and I’m wondering if we will ever get back up to that $80.10 or so pivot (on DXY)  I’d talked about as a trigger for another downturn last week.    I won’t be surprised, however, if we get another exogenous shock out of Davos, the PIIG’s or even President Obama’s recently unveiled near $4 trillion FrankenBudget. 

For now, I’m liking what works on the rebound, and thus far, it’s the fast movers of the junior golds like Allied Nevada Gold Corp. [[ANV]] , Eldorado Gold Corporation (USA) [[EGO]] and “the X-factor” — Exeter Resource Corp. [[XRA]] .   I also like IAMGOLD Corporation (USA) [[IAG]] and Royal Gold, Inc. [[RGLD]] of course, and Lindsay made a nice rec yesterday on the nicely pivoting Taseko Mines Limited (USA) [[TGB]] .

Of course silver is my true Tsar Bomba play in 2010, as it has been lagging the 2009 move in gold, along with platinum [[PTM]] , Stillwater Mining Company [[SWC]] and palladium [[PAL]] .   Right now, in this first updraft, I like the double silver play [[AGQ]] a whole lot, and of course my core group of miners — in order — Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] , [[EXK]] , [[PAAS]] , [[CDE]] , [[SVM]] , Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) [[SSRI]] and the lowly Hecla Mining Company [[HL]] .

All of these should be gnawed at opportunistically, as one would a bread wheel from the boulangerie, deep under the steam pipes of Manhattan.

I am still not taking down my hedges (in  [[SPY]] puts and [[QID]] and [[BZG]] ), and will happily bleed money on them here, as that insurance policy has served me well these last weeks.   Nothing could please me more than taking them down at lower balances, however, as that would mean all of my other plays are working well, as they did yesterday.

Don’t forget about the banks, here, as they’ve never really suffered much of a pullback, even in last week’s deluge.  Today, they seem to be leading the red dogs, which may turn out to be an opportunity for you.   Again, I like BB&T Corporation [[BBT]] for the longer term hold, Fifth Third Bancorp [[FITB]] and Huntington Bancshares Incorporated [[HBAN]] for the Ohio pop, and Pacific Capital Bancorp [[PCBC]] for the lotto play (stay small and remember, it’s only a game).

Best to you all, First Amendment scholars.

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I knew I shouldn’t have shorted SLV!
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Shorting silver in a plunging dollar market with gold on the move is almost as dumb as “going for it” on 4th and 2 on your own 28 , about two minutes to go and with the lead.

Heck, maybe it’s even more dumb. At least Belichick– with his multiple Lombardi Trophy mantle display– had an excuse to feel arrogant about his low-percentage play-calling. The silver bears, who were gold bears before that and stock bears before even that had no call to compound mistake after mistake by risking the last remnants of their capital on such an audacious call.

And now they are paying for it, or to be more incisive — paying me. [[AGQ]] which you recall I added when I heard that the “Reverse Lock” was shorting silver, is up another 1000 basis points this morning. I can’t imagine what that’s doing to the leveraged short ursines, but it’s gotta be something close to being drawn, quartered and then lightly salted/lightly peppered before being chucked on the grill, marbled T-bone style.

Amazingly, silver has decided to catch up to gold this morning, with an over one dollar move (price of silver is up $1.02 cents as I type this, or 5.9%) today, the silver to gold ratio now stands at a stunningly low 62x, down from 64x as of late last week.

Gee, I wonder if that move to rationality is going to continue (remember, gold is continuing to rise as well)?

You’ve seen this list before, but at the risk of boring you, go get ’em:

Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] [[PAAS]] [[EXK]] Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) [[SSRI]] [[CDE]] Hecla Mining Company [[HL]] And a new one I haven’t talked much about — [[SVM]] .

Don’t forget about the pure bullion plays either. [[SLV]] is one time and [[AGQ]] is two.

Happy hunting, and watch for pullbacks. We are parabolizing here, so I am talking off the rest of my call positions today.

Best to you all.
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Addendum: Platinum is another precious metal in “catch up” mode. I’ve banged the drum on [[PTM]] enough times that you should have at least a little. This should be a continuing move, here, however. I am also considering, but have not yet bot [[PAL]] , which is a dodgy stock even in the best of times.

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Great day for Pat Boone and friends… Pat looking on warmly with that glint in his eye, as opposed to the gleam he reserves for bad days, when his guitar strings break and he ends up beating Debbie and the wife.

Smaug’s Lair of The Hobbit’s late-chapter fame is a good metaphor for this market, if you are like myself and need metaphors to get you through the day like a nice semolina bread and head cheese sandwich at lunch.     The old treasure dragon from the Tolkien classic  signifies the danger implicit in this precious metal bull, and yes, maybe the greed, too.

So let’s try to remain cautious and harvest prudently when the corn grows high, whether by selling calls or taking our positions back a bit.  No need to be piggish and end up as dragon droppings amidst the mithril.

Only one chart tonight, and maybe tomorrow I’ll give you some new picks to augment my Jacksonian rockets (The Jackson Port ended today at 38% despite loss positions in both Monsanto Company [[MON]] and our ultra-hedge [[TBT]] ).

Tonight is a silver night, however, as my seven silver horses [[AGQ]] , [[CDE]] , [[EXK,  Hecla Mining Company [[HL]] , [[PAAS]] , Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] and Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) [[SSRI]] were up a combined average of 9.19% today.  

These miners will continue to perform as silver tries to catch up with already “BTFO” gold, which broke to new highs today.   As you can see with [[SLV]] , there’s still a lot of room for silver to grow up in this cycle:

More later tomorrow after yet another morning meeting.   Remember — be cautious with the sleeping dragon, lest he make a tasty canape out of your chitinous carapace. 

Ciao.

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Jake Pours A Special Treat for the Bears

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You can tell by the twinkle in his eye that old Pat Boone’s having a special day.      And so are tthe loyal Jacksonian JakeGint Brigade.

Gold is now in new all-time high territory @ $1041.70 an ounce, having smashed the former $1,033 ceiling with gusto this morning, as our friend, Mr. Dollar plummets once again to it’s flash-paper grave.  

In the meantime, silver is the purchase of the century as it still lags gold in targetting and achieving it’s old $20+ highs.    Silver is still one-sixtieth the price of gold as well, compared to more historic ratioss of 40:1.

 I’m still targetting a $21.95 price for [[UUP]] , and we may break to new lows from there, thanks to swarthy men wearing bedsheets and mis-treating their camels half-way across the world.

How dare they object to our running off sheets and sheets of green paper with Ben Franklin’s visage on it and exchanging said specie for their greasy petrol?   Don’t they know what attractive wall covering that shade of grey-green can provide?

Not to mention window-treatments.

Not to get all “stuffed-in-the-gut” about how all my dollar defense dragons are tearing ass on this market and making investments in TV-tubes and natty gas service companies look like so much Baltic Avenue rowhouse property (we have Mr. Boone for that purpose  anyway), I’d like to point out some exaggerated gorillas whose armpits you may wish to shave at some point today…

(That means “take some fiat off the table” for the metaphorically challenged)

Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] will likely come back to it’s breakout at $13.35 or so.

Hecla Mining Company [[HL]] is a crazy stock and will likely meet stiff resistance at $5.00.

Wait for a break of $21.96  to get back on [[CDE]] , otherwise, it should fill that gap again at $20.41

Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) [[SSRI]] has an optimal entry at $21.75, but otherwise it should get held up at $23.25 or so for the near term.

[[PAAS]] is “BTFO,” but will likely return to it’s old high of $24.81 before heading to new pastures.

Golden Star Resources Ltd. (USA) [[GSS]] will be BTFO at $3.71, but is a buy on a pullback to $3.38.

That’s enough free fritatas for now, pikers.   Sign up for The PPT to get the full-fire hose effect of instant portfolio nutrition.

Off to commiserate with mountain dwarves and other horders of glittering treasure piles.

Slante.

 

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