Overcoming road blocks

• Currencies and metals rally on Wednesday.
• The Fed Independant? Not!

Good Day... and a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to one and all! Well, my beloved Cardinals got good pitching last night, but no hitting and lost 2-1. UGH!I had a dear friend of mine contact me yesterday and wanted to how to subscribe to my letter... I was honored to say the least! I hope she does! ( I gave her instructions) It's been quite a few years now since a marketing dept attempted to market my letter... So, I'll take any additions that come my way! The late Great Leon Russell greets me this morning with his song: Back To The Island.

Well, the dollar was skitterIsh yesterday, and tried to go lower, but... I'm sure the PPT (Plunge Protection Team) saw to it that it didn't slide too far. The BBDXY lost 1 index anyway, and the index ended the day at 1,204... It didn't matter to Gold, which gained $32 and closed at $3,397, which is so near to $3,400 that it could spit in $3,400's back yard... Remember what I told you yesterday, the SPT's have an axe to grind with Gold going over $3,400, so if it does breach that level today, then the SPT's will be out in force.

Silver also gained 41-cents yesterday, and closed at $38.88, as Silver tries like the Dickens to get to $40... Because once Silver gets over $40, I feel the next stop will be $50... To Infinity and Beyond! 

The price of Oil remained trading with a $63 throughout the day yesterday, and the 10-year Treasury saw some buyers... Really? Right? But it did and the yield on the bond fell to 4.22%.

In the overnight markets last night... the skittish dollar yesterday carried over the overnight markets and the dollar got sold with the BBDXY down 4 index points to start today at 1,201... The euro had been tugged and pushed around like a rag doll recently, but with the dollar weaker, the euro is looking healthier... Overnight, Gold was bought in the early markets and is up $9 to start our day... and Silver is up 18-cents... Both metals have gone past phycological level overnight, with Gold over $3,400 and Silver over $39 at this point, before the SPT's arrive at their desks.

Well, there was news yesterday that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is going to lighten up their supply of U.S. dollars and swap them for euros...  That can't be good news for the dollar, but excellent news for the Eurozone and the euro! 

And in another news story that I read, Larry Summers (we all know him as the former Treasury Sec under Clinton who coined the phrase "A strong dollar is in our best interests"  He stated that he believed that the POTUS' firing of Lisa Cook (The fed head) for lying on her mortgage application, will be historic... No kidding, Mr. Obvious! See what happens when you're put out to pasture you'll try anything to get your mug on TV again!

Circling back to the dollar... you know, with inflation continuing to rise again, this is going to be a nail in the dollar's coffin... and will be a bonus for Gold... So, keep that in mind when the inflation numbers are released again.

Well, yesterday the 50% tariffs on India became a reality and so did our Political friendship with India... India will just turn to China (whom they've been fighting conflicts with for a very long time) and send their goods there... China will be glad to receive them with no strings attached... I'm just saying.

The heat on the Treasuries with the POTUS firing the Fed Head, hasn't really fazed the 10-year Treasury too much, instead the markets are taking it out on the 30-year Treasury... The long bond as they used to call in on the Bond Desk. The gap between the 5-year and 30-year yields is steepest since 2021.  And that was during the plandemic... Yes, I meant to spell it like that... more is coming out as time goes on about the whole mess so read up so you know.

The thing that really gets me is the repo market was in deep dookie in Sept 2019, and with each month the numbers were looking like the who repo market would implode, and then COVID appeared, and everyone's attention shifted from the problems in the repo market to the virus... What happened to all those problems? Did the Banks get some secret money to make it all disappear? I don't know... But I wish I did!

And don't look now, oh go ahead and peek at the currency roundup if you want to, and you'll see that China's renminbi has been allowed to strengthen to 7.13... That's the highest-level VS the dollar that I can remember short term, without going to Google and asking, which I'm in no mood to do, so there! The Chinese are selling less to the U.S. because of the tariffs, so why not allow your currency to gain on the dollar? That's how I see it.

The U.S. Data Cupboard today gets back to economic table today with first, the usual Thursday fare Weekly Initial Jobs Claims... And then a little later this morning we'll see the fist revision of 2^nd QTR GDP... A lot has happened to the economy since the 2^nd QTR, so truthfully, I don't see any reason to go through all this! 

To recap... The dollar looked jittery yesterday but Chuck thinks that the PPT helped the dollar get through the day with only a 1 index point loss in the BBDXY.. Gold & Silver had banner days... And if those dastardly devils (SPT's) left the metals alone to trade on their own, we would be having this conversation bout banner days nearly every day! Larry Summers throws in his 2-cents... And the Swiss National Bank is going to sell dollars and buy euros.

Here's your snippet: "President Donald Trump made a move to fire a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, potentially undermining confidence in the U.S. dollar and Treasury bonds -- and boosting the appeal of gold and other assets perceived as safe havens.

"The Fed's independence is its calling card, and the move to fire a governor is a direct assault on the Fed's ability to manage monetary policy free of political motives," said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer of Ocean Park Asset Management.

When you start to erode faith in monetary policy for the world's reserve currency, you are playing with fire," he told MarketWatch. "If the market believes the Fed is making policy in reaction to direct political influence, U.S. assets will become less attractive.".

Stefan Gleason, president and chief executive at Money Metals, told MarketWatch that the notion of Fed independence is a "myth."

The Fed is "an inherently political institution, not only because the Board of Governors is appointed by the president with Senate confirmation, but our entire monetary system is now political in nature," he said. "We no longer have sound money backed by gold, but political money, where policymakers centrally plan the economy via changes to monetary policy."

That won't stop some investors, however, from clamoring for alternatives if trust in the Fed is broken, risks to the U.S. dollar and bonds rise, and inflation climbs.

Traditionally, higher inflation has been hedged by real assets -- commodities, including gold, oil, and industrial metals, said BNY's Robert Savage.

Gold just might top that list. "Gold would be the safe haven of choice" for investors if the Fed were ever to lose its independence, said Chris Gannatti, global head of research at WisdomTree, which sees any threat to Fed independence as a "powerful catalyst for gold demand."

Chuck again... Mr. St. Aubin (above) had better watch saying bad things about the POTUS, he might get fired too! And this article is behind a subscription wall, so I brought you what I could, but in the end I have just one question... Got Gold?

Market Prices 8/28/2025: American Style: A$ .6527, kiwi .5873, C$ .7265, euro 1.1671, sterling 1.3516, Swiss $ 1.2479, European Style: rand 17.6308, krone 10.0613, SEK 9.4828, forint 339.85, zloty 3.65067, koruna 21.0355, RUB 80.31, yen 146.93, sing 1.2833, HKD 7.7958, INR 87.62, China 7.1316, peso 18.61, BRL 5.4119, BBDXY 1,201, Dollar Index 97.94, Oil $64.09, 10-year 4.23%, Silver $39.06, Platinum $1,358.00, Palladium $1,119.00, Copper $4.51, and Gold... $3,406.

That's it for today... And this week! I was supposed to be going to lunch with my classmates this afternoon, but instead I'll be at the hospital getting stuck with needles... I didn't choose the doctor's visit, but after I told her of my problems since the last infusion, she said get into her STAT! This will be a long 4-day holiday weekend as Monday will be Labor Day... The annual Butler Family Labor Day BBQ and Pool party won't be held this year.. In fact, it has only occurred one time since 2020... Last year I was too under the weather to have it, and this year too...  It'll come back next year.. As the Cubs fans used to say, "Wait till next year!" Van Morrison takes us to the finish line today with his song: Moondance... (I love this song and used to be able to play it on my guitar!) I hope you have a Tub Thumpin' Thursday today, and all weekend, Please Be Good To Yourself!