With the Dow tumbling back below the 20,000 level, one of the greats in the business told King World News that a jaw-dropping 8.6 million ounces of paper gold longs just blew up at the Comex!

KWN Celente I 6:7:2016U.S. Economy Weakest Since 2008 Collapse
John Embry:  “With all of the chaos regarding the immigration decrees, I think most observers have lost track of what is really happening with the U.S. economy.  Instead they are focusing on the turmoil in the country and the record highs on the Dow…

John Embry continues:  “However, in the real world the U.S. economy appears to be struggling mightily.  2016  GDP growth in the U.S. was the weakest since the economic collapse, coincident with the financial crisis 8 years ago.  And this occurred despite considerable pre-presidential election stimulus both monetarily and fiscally.  Final sales slowed noticeably, and key sectors like retail and manufacturing showed little dynamism.

This took place despite a continuing increase in debt in all sectors.  Funded federal debt approached $20 trillion, up a staggering 100 percent in Obama’s two terms as president.  Corporate debt continued to grow quickly as corporations went deeper into debt in order to buy back stock.  Student debt and subprime car loans reached alarming levels, promising to be a major issue in the not-too-distant future.

This is not at all a picture of a healthy economy and essentially contradicts the recent action in the stock market.  I wish Trump well but his increasing protectionist stance in a very complex, interrelated world will certainly not be a boon to economic growth globally.  And if history is any guide, it could well be a deterrent or ultimately a detriment to all countries.

Turning to the gold and silver space, last week was par for the course in an option expiry week as the bullion banks relentlessly took the prices down in the paper markets to ensure that most options would expire worthless.  This happens so frequently that one would think those who are constantly on the wrong side of the trade would wake up to the reality of what occurs over and over again.  But it doesn’t seem to happen.…..more here