Light Blogging Week

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I’ve got an extremely busy week ahead of me, so while I will attempt to log in as much as I can, I don’t expect I shall be my usual garrulous self.   I’m traveling out to Southern Bustopia on the West Coast, and I hope to be safely wheels down before the airport bonds go teats up, and the baggage handlers start throwing Molatav cocktails at the TSA while storming the control tower.

I expect I may end up having to be Hummer’d out — a la “Mad Max: The Road Warrior” — so I’ll be bringing several ingots of .999 silver to pay for the petrol and extra ammunition.

As far as that goes, this week may be a good week to trade some silver in for consumer goods like eye black and B.A.R. rounds, if you are so inclined.  A nice plow and a brace of oxen wouldn’t hurt to hold in reserve either, if you’re agriculturally minded.   You see, with regard to precious metals, I think we may see a dollar respite here, so I sold another 10k of EXK on Friday, bringing my position down to about 30% of my original peak.

I also divested myself of some IAG, some GSS, some CDE, a touch more SLW,  half of my PAAS, and about 30% of my ANV, with the remainder of those both being hedged, along with hedging most of the rest of the portfolio I didn’t choose to sell.   I now have egregious amounts of cash with which to buy what I believe will be a forthcoming dip in the precious markets that I believe we’ve been holding out for since early December.

I may be wrong, and if I am the first thing I will be purchasing is AGQ.   I will certainly let you know.

God bless you all, this night and always.

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[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cnAfSsk2wc&feature=fvw 450 300]

A Gentleman

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Interviewed above is a man who is arguably one of the best rock and roll musicians of all time, with an indelible legacy that will never be questioned by the more serious students of the genre.   And yet Levon Helm is also indubitably a Southern Gentlemen in the truest sense.  Born to poor cotton farmers in an Arkansas town just west of the Mississippi, he was brought up with impeccable manners, respect for others, and a healthy fear of God.   The phrase “salt of the Earth” is cliched, but applies here if anywhere.

Note the patience, humility and even respect he allows the over-earnest newsdork interviewer?  A teevee journalist who, much like myself and most of my urban Northeastern brethren, reveals a contrasting self-important air of arrogance that far belies his functionary status?   It’s awe-inspiring.

Hell, I’ll say it– Levon is inspiring.    And his example and those of many of his generation is one of the major reasons I wanted my kids to grow up down here.   I wanted them to meet people with the quiet American dignity you see in this clip.  People like my children’s grandparents, and their grandparents’ kin from the Appalachian regions.   Because make no mistake, even in the South, folks like Mr. Helm are slowly becoming a rarity.

Every day, therefore,  I will strive to be more like him– not in talent, of course, but in pursuit of that humilitous honorability — as I believe that a most worthy goal.

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On the trading front, I covered a large number of my silver sold calls today, specifically SLW, PAAS, MVG and EXK, all at 35-55% profits.   I did this mostly because I think we will have a short term rebound here.   Maybe 2-5 days.   I find it hard to believe we are done, however.  

I think the noobs who piled into the PM markets in December still need to be shaken like rats running from the terrier.   What fun is a bull, after all, if it’s weighted down by noobs? 

I kept almost all of my gold hedges, not because I don’t think gold will bounce as well, but because the silvers are more volatile, and I have alloted the gold calls (sold) a bit more rope.   I will likely step out of them tomorrow morning.

The dollar is ramping, and it may return to our old mid $81 resistance levels once again.   I am preparing, and prepared.   You should be as well.

Lastly, if you are looking at the rare earth’s we’ve dabbled in recently, you should think of paring some here.  I expect a larger market correction to be upcoming, and that means the hottest stocks will be the hardest slapped.  Take note on AVL, as well as REE and MCP if you have any (I’ve neither).

Best to you all.

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[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW3L8qon7hg&feature=related 450 300]

(Updated: different, non-Scorscese/Last Waltz version.  Not as good, and I encourage you to watch the original on youtube)

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Featuring, Woodshedder on Lead Vocals & Drums and our own Chuck Bennet on Bass Guitar. Complimentary LP with every subscription!

Indueud!

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Remember Children, Listen to Jake and NEVER Suck Your Thumbs!
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As I suspected (though I was never bog-standard certain), gold and silver broke their fevers today on a brief pop on the dollar. Listen, they’ve needed a rest for some time now, so let’s not get overexcited. If you have been following the blog, you’ve got a tonne of cash and you are probably riding some hedged covered calls as well.

If not, let that be a lesson to ye. Bad news is, I don’t think we’re done. Good news? We’re still in a bull here and the only thing that you’re giving up here by holding and waiting is a little opportunity cost.

And who knows, we could reverse and take off here tonight (I doubt it), and you could be ahead of the game. In the meantime, I stand and wait, and look for opportunities in some of these ridiculous rare earth metals. They too could use a rest, but perhaps not as much as our PM friends.

God bless, and stay away from those thumbs tonight…

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[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHWeuQyFouo&feature=related 450 300]

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Best Ozzie Song of the 70’s

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He was only 2 years old, but the Fly had his theme song set in stone early….

It’s no coincidence that I bring you an Ozzie 70’s tune as tonight’s theme.  We are back in the 70’s ladies and germs, even down to the bizarre long sleeved coat sweaters that have come back into fashion (yes, I saw my wife in one this holiday season).  The current commodity inflation and the odd, Jimmah Carter-like disaffected President should serve as further nostalgia for the period.  

I guess all we can do now is await a Reagan-like figure.   In the meantime, may I present a couple of guest picks from none other than the Teahouse onna Trax man himself?

First, one I liked upon inspection today, but which is overbought considerably, is Canadian rare earth and uranium miner QSURD (a very risky venture, be warned) :

Another, I like better, as it’s Ozzie, like the Bee Gees, is Teahouse’s other pick, the rare-earth Saudi Arabia itself, GDNLF.  It actually looks like it’s got some more room here, and I may grab a bit early here, in anticipation of a more general pullback.  

Otherwise, I am standing fast with my current hedges, as the dollar is still ambivalent.  I did sell about 25% of my AVL today at over $7.55, a double even at my high prices.

Thanks for the contributions, Monsieur Teahouse on le Trax!

And Yes, Rex Grossman Was Screwed, Too
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Didn’t take long for the first of my semi-facetious predictions to fail did it?  Well it did, and my Giants, despite winning today over a semi-revitalied Rex Grossman-led Redskin team, were drubbed out of the playoffs by the Green Bay Fudge Packers, who beat them this week and dah Bears (see above) today.

There’s nothing like just missing the playoffs to make for the worst of all possible worlds.   Despite a 10-6 record, my team will be on the sofa next weekend, and — adding insult to injury — will likely keep the Angry Leprechaun, Tom Coughlin and his offensive (in the literal sense) coordinator, Captain Kangaroo Kevin Gilbride in the driver’s seat for at least another year.   The final coup de grace — we’ll get a crappy “playoff level” draft pick because there will be playoff teams that have worse records picking behind us. 

I guess I will become a Jet fan for the few short weeks for it to take them to snuffed out by Eli’s older brother or some similar such ignonimy.  Gosh knows there’s no one in the NFC honorable enough to root for, and I am beginning to really despise the Packers, I’ll have you know.

But never as much as Dawg Killah and the Eagles, no fear.

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As for me, I ended the year up a gigantaload.  So much so, compared to year end 2009, that you’d probably not even believe me, so I won’t boast about it.  Suffice it to say that I was still piling on win in huge amounts even on the last day of the year, despite being about 40% hedged and having about 30% in cash.   Ironically, my largest single gain on December 31st was Monsieur’s FTK, which I do believe I shall keep for a while, ovah heah.

I also believe AVL — the old Avalon Metals now on the Amex Exchange — will continue to shine it’s bizarre functional-if-rare metallic lights on my precious laden portfolio.   I will have more to say on the rare earths as we move forward– I am digging diligently as you read this…

Without question silver will continue to shine, and SLW, PAAS, SSRI, MVG, SVM, CDE, HL, and yes EXK will continue to shine.   I will let you know when I will begin piling in on a leveraged basis soon enough.  I think the dollar remains on the edge of the knife (it is rallying as I type this), but until it breaks, I will remain positioned as I am.

We will also look into the ags, and I think it is time to re-recognize the farmer Jacksonians — ANDE and MON again, as strong picks going forward.  TC and TCK, the molybdenum brothers, should also perform here.

I haven’t posted the Jacksons as of late, but if you were to have held them since this blog’s inception (May 1st, 2009), you’d be up 125% right now, and that’s with a negative return on both MON and TBT, both of which I urge you to continue to accumulate this year.  

Stick with me kid, we are going places in 2011….