Putting on a broken record, again

Good Day... and a Tub Thumpin' Thursday to one and all! Well, I didn't make the mistake of not jotting down notes again yesterday.. Thank goodness... My beloved Cardinals got whacked last night VS the snakes... Our "supposed #1 pitcher got shelled for the 2^nd game in a row for him... UGH@ Blood Sweat & Tears greets me this morning with their song: Spinning Wheel.

Well, I starting to sound like a broken record with saying the dollar got bought yesterday, but not wildly the previous night, and the BBDXY ended the day at 1,226...  It's been since early in 2025 that the dollar was this strong... And since that time, it's been all downhill for the dollar as it had entered a weak trend... and then it would rebound a bit but always returned to the underlying weak trend.

So, we'll have to wait and see how long this strong rally lasts... But for now, the dollar bugs have the con... And that goes a lot into why the metals are being clubbed like Seal... (no animals were hurt here, it's just a saying!)

When the dollar was getting sold each day, investors bought Gold/Silver because the fear of a dollar collapse was growing... So, now these same investors join with the SPTs and are selling the metals... Gold was down $100 yesterday and closed at $4,000... Silver was down $3.91 and closed at $57.55... 

The price of Oil continued its ride on the slippery slope and ended the day trading in the $59 handle... What did these two metals do to get people to panic and sell? I don't get it... Buy it and forget it... I don't know how many times I'll have to say that, but I guess it won't be the last!

The 10-year Treasury saw a ton of selling yesterday, and from the looks of the drop in the yield, it was the Fed Heads doing their yield control in a big way... The 10-year ended yesterday with a 4.40% yield. 

In the overnight markets last night... the dollar slipped a bit and the BBDXY starts today at 1,225... There were no new developments in Iran or the Strait of Hormuz overnight, so we're kind of in a holding pattern... Like when an airplane has to go into a holding pattern because airport is too busy... The Price of Gold is up $14 to start our day, and Silver is up 80-cents, but Silver is still below $60.

The price of Oil starts today with a $69 handle... and the 10-year Treasury is seeing more yield control as its yield has slid to 4.37%.  

My friend, and Editor of the 5 Bullets newsletter, David Gonigam, yesterday was talking about Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) that the POTUS keeps bringing up and he pointed out: "As perhaps you’ve noticed from the preceding examples, governments typically create a SWF when they have a generous surplus of revenue.

As you’re likely aware, the U.S. government does not have a surplus."

Chuck again... No, and neither do the AI firms... Most AI firms still do not turn out a profit... So, there's that.

Speaking of a SWF, Norway is the poster child for SWF's as their SWF is $2.1 Trillion... A few years ago, I reported that every Norwegian child born was born a Millionaire... And this alone should be every reason in the world to buy and own Norwegian krone... The krone has long been held hostage by the euro and the price of Oil... So, now that both the euro and price of Oil are taking a ride on the slippery slope, the krone is getting all caught up in that Kaos! 

You know that that the fighting has died down in Iran... And right now, with the price of Oil sliding daily, and a somewhat kind of Peace agreement that the pressure on Americans has backed off, but there's still pressure... But, if anything, this time and place has at least made American cut back their spending... On one hand that's good for American's balance sheet, and on the other hand its bad for the country's economic growth. 

I'm more concerned with Americans' balance sheet... The middle class has been beaten about and it looked like they were going down for the count... And just because things ease up doesn't mean you should go out and spend again like its 1999...  I'm just saying.

The U.S. Data Cupboard had already printed some economic reports this morning, so let's go through them... First up was Personal Spending and Income, which were both up .7%... I think that the spending part of the data is all about higher prices that people are paying, not really an uptick of people going out and spending... Next up was the Durable Goods Orders and they printed a negative -4.25% in May... That was a real shocker to the markets and the dollar reacted negatively to it. Next up was the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) this used to be the Fed's preferred inflation calc... But with Warsh telling us that we've been doing it all wrong, this kind of takes a back seat, anyway, PCE was up 3.4% in May....and then of course the usual fare on a Tub Thumpin' Thursday, the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims came in at 215,000.

To recap... The dollar bugs have the con, and there's nothing we can do about other than buying more currencies, and metals at cheaper prices. It's either that or battening down the hatches... Chuck talks about SWFs and tries to get his mind off all of this Kaos!

Here's your snippet: "The unemployment rate is remarkably low and layoffs are also sparse, but Americans are as worried as ever about losing their jobs. What’s going on?

The threat of artificial intelligence suddenly rendering jobs obsolete has exploded as the main worry among job holders, new research from the job-search site Glassdoor shows.

‘Workers are concerned by leaders demanding workers use AI while simultaneously touting AI as a reason for layoffs and reduced hiring.’

— Glassdoor

It’s not just AI, though.

The U.S. is experiencing one of the slowest rates of hiring in history, especially during a period of economic expansion. High tariffs, rising inflation and the war with Iran have pushed companies to adopt a wait-and-see approach.

Even if layoffs are low, the people who do lose their jobs have a much harder time finding a new one. Recent college graduates are also struggling to gain a foothold in the workplace.

What’s more, a dearth of available jobs has made people more willing to take jobs they would have turned down in the past. The rate of job offers refused has fallen sharply over the past year, per Glassdoor’s research.

“Given this slow job market, any movement — a callback, an interview and certainly an offer — is precious for job seekers,” Glassdoor said.

The angst is evident in large and long-running polls of consumers. The U.S. consumer-sentiment survey fell in May to a record low, while the consumer-confidence index was also near a postpandemic low."

Chuck again... So, everything in labor is not peaches and cream... Boy, am I glad I no longer have to look for a job!

Market Prices 6/25/2026: American Style: A$ .6923, kiwi .5649, C$ .7030, euro 1.1362, sterling 1.3283, Swiss $1.2325, European Style: rand 16.4727, krone 9.8738, SEK 9.7361, forint 312.92, zloty 3.1292, koruna 21.3420, RUB 75.40, yen 161.78, BRL 5.2943, BBDXY 1,225, Dollar Index 101.57,  Oil $69.85, 10-year 4.37%, Silver $58.38, Platinum $1,600.00, Palladium $1,212.00, Copper $6.09 and Gold... $4014.

That's it for today... I do believe that my beloved Cardinals are in trouble, given their upcoming schedule... When we get to the middle of July, I could be singing the blues... I sure hope not... But I'm beginning to see what I witnessed in Jupiter this spring... This week has gone by sssssllllloooowwww... I'm not one to want time to fly by, but I am one to want to enjoy the time I have left! Tyrone Davis takes us to the finish line today with his song: Can I Change My Mind? I hope you have a Tub Thumpin' Thursday today and Please Be Good To Yourself!