An examination of the Fed/Cabal/Cartel?

• The dollar continued to get sold on Wednesday
• Trade deal with Japan weighs on Gold & Silver

Good Day... And a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to one and all! Well, my beloved Cardinals are definitely circling the bowl now... They lost 2 of 3 to the Rockies! Time to back up the truck and load up the players that will be traded next week... The team comes home now to play the red-hot Padres... UGH! Shame on the GM for assembling this team without pitching depth... It was a hot one yesterday, I tried to sit out to read, and only made it for 30 minutes... Outkast greets me this morning with Duane's song: Hey Ya!

The dollar continued to get sold in the U.S. yesterday, with the BBDXY losing 4 index points to 1,192.. The euro really sprang upward and now looks like it wants to take out the 1.18 figure. Bloomberg.com had an article yesterday that said that the dollar's bottom isn't in yet, as options are indicating a further decline. You know the longer the Fed Heads delay the rate cut (now on the docket for Sept), the more chance that it will be case of sell the rumor (of a rate cut) and buy the fact... Which would mean the dollar would stop getting sold when the FOMC gets around to cutting rates. I don't see that happening, but I'm just putting it out there to think about...

The Fed Heads like to say that they do NOT like to surprise the markets... So, keeping that in mind, next week's FOMC meeting will be a non-event... .I'm just saying...

Gold & Silver ran into the short paper traders and some profit taking yesterday... Gold lost $48 and fell back under the $3,400 figure, and Silver held onto the $39 handle after losing just 5-cents on the day. Gold closed at $3,387, and Silver closed at $39.30... After yesterday's engineered takedown of Gold, it was good to read a sane person's viewpoint... Let's go there right now!

And here's some good advice from good friend, Rick Checkan of ASI: "Treasury yields and U.S. dollar dip while gold and silver rise. With favorable conditions continuing to set up for another precious metals rally in the second half of the year, investors would be wise to take advantage of current levels before they continue to rise. Especially now, as premiums are still at extreme lows since demand on the retail bullion market has yet to catch up." - Rich Checkan

The price of Oil bumped higher yesterday and ended the day with a $65 handle... And the 10-year Treasury is range trading right now, and ended yesterday with a 4.38% yield.

In the overnight markets last night... the dollar gained some traction with the BBDXY gaining 3 index points... It seems that the markets / Wall Street, etal, are becoming more confident with every trade deal that gets done... Yesterday, it was a deal with Japan, thus curtailing the hefty tariffs they would have incurred if not negotiating a better deal. 

Gold is starting the day today down $21, and Silver is down 20-cents... I think the confidence the markets are getting from the trade deals being announced is weighing on Gold & Silver... What? Me Worry? (Alfred E. Neuman) After all the hoopla of signing trade deals ends, the other items fueling Gold & Silver previously... Yes, they are still there, so don't worry, be happy (Marley) 

The price of Oil remained in the $65 handle last night, and the 10-year saw some selling again, with the yield rising to 4.80%... 

Well, I guess the POTUS had grown tired of dissing the Fed Chairman, and has sent his right-hand man, Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent to do the dirty work... Yesterday, Bessent was speaking and calling for an examination of the Fed / Cabal/ Cartel... This from Reuters.com " U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Federal Reserve's vital independence on monetary policy is threatened by its "mandate creep" into non-policy areas and he called on the U.S. central bank to conduct an exhaustive review of those operations.

The Fed's autonomy "is threatened by persistent mandate creep into areas beyond its core mission, provoking justifiable criticism that unnecessarily casts a cloud over the Fed's valuable independence on monetary policy," Bessent said in a post on X."

It is my opinion that these two linchpins will get together and get the interest rate setting job back to the Treasury... And then the POTUS can direct his "yes-man" in the direction he wants...

Which is a cheaper dollar, and lower interest rates... And now Powell has another foe... Speaker Johnson said that 'he's become disenchanted with Powell" Come one, come all to get in line to diss the Fed Chief!

Ok, I've got to go to something else this morning, this talk has got me riled up! 

Sneaking under the wire, the POTUS announced a 15% tariff / trade deal with Japan... That's huge folks... Now if he could just work his magic on China... 

And I could get all caught up in the Epstein stuff, but I won't... All I'll say is that this a battle of words, and most of them are lies (Pink Floyd)

Before I head to the Big Finish today, I wanted to share this old Irish Proverb with you... "A Good Laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything"  Think about that and incorporate it being... It'll do you good! 

The U.S. Data Cupboard yesterday had the Existing Home Sales, and they fell from the previous month's figure... Today's Data Cupboard has the usual Thursday fare of the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims... With all the layoffs being reported around the country, I see this number rising... Tomorrow, while I'm packing for my trip, we'll see the color of the latest Durable Goods Orders... You might recall me telling you last month when this data printed a blowout number, that it was all down with smoke and mirrors, and this month's report should go back to being negative... 

To recap... The dollar continues to get sold, but Gold ran into the short paper traders and profit taking yesterday, UGH! No worries, just providing a cheaper price for buying... I'm just saying... Gold couldn't hold the $3,400 figure, but it won't take it long to revisit it... Again I'm just saying... Rich Checkan visits us in the Pfennig today... 

For What It's Worth... Well, since this is the last FWIW for the next two weeks, I thought it would be a good one, but then I always have good ones, right? HA! This article is about not only Central Banks are buying Gold but also Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Or, here's your snippet: "Gold is once again at the center of global financial strategy—not just for central banks, but for sovereign wealth funds looking to hedge risks and preserve value.

Krishan Gopaul, Senior Analyst for EMEA at the World Gold Council, reported in a social media post on Wednesday that the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) bought 16 Tonnes of gold during the second quarter.

“This lifts its total H1 net purchases to 35 Tonnes and total gold holdings to 181 Tonnes (almost 29% of its total portfolio),” he said.

According to its investment policy, the sovereign wealth fund has reached its maximum allowable position in the precious metal.

SOFAZ has been extremely active in the gold market, with its purchases outpacing most central bank activity so far this year.

Only Poland has bought more gold in the first half of the year than SOFAZ, increasing its official reserves by 67.2 Tonnes as of May.

While the People’s Bank of China has been actively buying gold for nine consecutive months, its purchases in the first half of the year totaled 16.9 Tonnes as of May."

Chuck Again... well, all good things come to an end, right? When will this hoarding of Gold by the Central banks end? The rising price of Gold doesn't seem to bother them too much, as they just keep buying! So, to answer my own question, I don't think it will end in the near future... I'm just saying...

Market Prices 7/24/2025: American Style: A$.6611, kiwi .6044, C$ 7348, euro 1.1748, sterling 1.3540, Swiss $1.2584, European Style: rand 17.6107, krone 10.1046, SEK 9.4314, forint 338.57, zloty 3.6226, koruna 20.9053, RUB 79.37, yen 146.57, sing 1.2774, HKD 7.8499, INR 86.40, China 7.1586, peso 18.54, BRL 5.5201, BBDXY 1,194, Dollar Index 97.38, Oil $65.80, 10-year 4.80%, Silver $39.10, Platinum $ 1,411.00, Palladium $1,280, Copper $5.90, and Gold... $3,366