"It was around July 2020, when we were all locked down and not knowing what was going on with our lives, our personal economies, our health, and our families, when I realized that the Federal Reserve had doubled the size – or even more so — of its book of assets. It had created about $5 trillion worth of money in a very short period of time.
During that time, the markets went from being very afraid and down to being very, very high. A lot of people said, well, we’re all at home using Zoom, so therefore the market just rebounded by so much. But that was just a small part of it. The bigger part was that money became available at such an immense level and therefore the distortion between where money goes in the financial markets and where it doesn’t go in the real economy became permanent. At that moment I saw that this can happen in any amount, at any time. There’s no restriction, no transparency, no responsibility."
Nomi Prins interviewed by Lynn Parramore,
You’re Living in a World Wrought by the Fed, 17 November 2022
"Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation, and I wait for you all the day. Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and loving kindness, as they have ever been of old."
Psalm 25:4-6
“Once central banks unleashed monetary policy to accommodate mega-banks, subsidize Wall Street financiers, and bolster global markets, the very idea of free and open markets and laissez-faire investing died. No one wanted to call the Fed’s QE a Ponzi scheme. But it was.
Whether it was done to soothe a stock market crash, a ruptured subprime housing market bubble, or a pandemic, the Fed’s response to the financial crisis of 2008 and later crises has confirmed that it will always seek a way to grease the wheels of capitalism for its wealthiest participants and private banks. The results speak for themselves. According to a 2022 Oxfam International report:
‘The world’s ten richest men more than doubled their fortunes from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion—at a rate of $15,000 per second or $1.3 billion a day—during the first two years of a pandemic that has seen the incomes of 99 percent of humanity fall and over 160 million more people forced into poverty.’”
Nomi Prins, Permanent Distortion
"Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is always near. Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds."
Phil 4:4-9
It was a fairly quiet stock options expiration today.
The SP 500 edged a bit higher with the tech heavy NDX trading lower.
Next Tuesday the 22nd there will a fairly substantial December Futures contracts option expiration on the Comex for gold and silver.
Cloudy with a chance of shenanigans.
The Dollar moved slightly higher in a sideways chop.
The VIX fell.
Next week will be a holiday shortened week in the US in observation of Thanksgiving.
The Great Lakes region will be enjoying what may shape up to be some epic snowfall this weekend.
I have included a brief video at the end of this post describing the 'Great White Hurricane' November storm that ravaged the Great Lakes.
I am glad that I no longer live in the Lake Erie snowbelt which is where I am originally from. Thirty years was enough. LOL
As a bonus I have included another short video about the Blizzard of '49 that swept across the northern Great Plains.
Have a pleasant weekend.
