A deer is grazing alongside the highway at dusk.
Even with the windows rolled down and the stereo cranked up, it is a calm drive. The so-called “meme stocks” are going bonkers while the overall stock market goes nowhere. Gold & silver are stuck at $1900 and $28 respectively, again. Market participants are biting their nails as they wait for the latest consumer price index that will be released only days before the Fed’s mid-June meeting, a meeting in which the hottest gossip around will be whether the Fed is thinking about tapering, or not. The something-trillion-dollar US Federal budget and the massive spending bills are kind of, sort of coming together, and if all of that wasn’t one great big giant steaming pile of mediocrity, VP Harris has been uncomfortably spicing it up in Latin America while President Biden gets ready to awkwardly rock the global stage on his first European tour.
Perhaps it’s best to take up gardening or something?
If the outdoors aren’t your thing, then maybe paint a bathroom or upgrade a closet or something? Because at the rate this block party at the corners of Wall Street and Main Street is going, partygoers are going to have plenty of energy left over for other activities. That is to say, the markets and the economy are only slowly emerging in this post-pandemic world, and some people are determined to live their lives again at full-speed, regardless of what one thinks about Covid-19, while other people are reluctant to resume their work and play in social settings for myriad reasons. Complicating matters, the phrase “too many chiefs, not enough Indians” comes to mind as in general, the people get bombarded with requirements to do this and mandates to do that from businesses and government at all levels, and, in my opinion, those people barking out the orders are arguably not making things any better for society as a whole, but rather, they’re making things way more complicated.
It’s like we’re all simply going through the financial motions.
We’re clinging to a past that no longer exists, yet we’re yearning for a newfound future that’s full of opportunity. In this uneasy anticipation of something better, we’re restrained by the fact that moving forward is becoming a lot more expensive to do for both the “wants” and the “needs”. Anybody and everybody can see that the costs are very high to maintain one’s standard of living, let alone improve it, and despite what the Fed and the Federal government say, the notion that inflation may or may not be transitory doesn’t help the fact that rising prices are burning and stinging people right here, right now. Some people will overcome their particular set of unique challenges and thrive in the “new normal”, for whatever that means, while most people will only fall further and further behind as their living standards progressively worsen with economic misery and financial ruin kicking in.
Don’t get complacent waiting for the financial spark.
The Summer cruise down the highway is enjoyable, yes, but that doesn’t mean to get complacent. Much like one protects one’s financial adventures with gold and silver, one should wear a seat belt (gold) and maintain a proper seated position (silver) when driving. What if the stock market crashes, or what if that deer wanders into the road? Maybe the car simply runs out of fuel in the middle of nowhere with the closest gas station 25 miles away, or perhaps the Federal government runs out of excuses to hand out free money for everything from food and housing to broadband connectivity and childcare, all the while the public at large, and certainly whatever is left of the middle class, has long since lost its appetite for the government’s constant picking and choosing of winners and losers?
The point here is to know that more change is on its way, so be aware of the surroundings, which, in part, means being ready for the Fed and the Federal government’s next moves. The markets and the economy are changing for the better and for the worse, and all we can do is adapt to the changes. The best thing we can do is thrive, for ourselves and for others, and the worst thing we can do is to do nothing. Doing nothing guarantees falling behind in the markets and in the economy, while doing something guarantees at least the chance to succeed.
Learning how to read and understand the charts gives us the chance to succeed too, so now, let’s check out some sweet gold & silver charts and a whole lot more!
