SOMETHING DARK THIS WAY COMES

Sorry, no pretty pictures today.

I have been an investor since I was ten years old. As of today that would make it fifty three years. My grandmother passed away when I was ten and left me 100 shares of AT&T. That began a life long interest in stocks and investing. I even went so far as to go into finance eventually becoming a VP with Lloyds International Corporation the investment banking arm of Lloyds Plc.

I have been a member of a site called Silicon Investor for the past fourteen years. It's a public forum where people of all investing skills get together and talk, stocks, finance, the economy etc. Over the years I have cut the wheat from the chaff, and believe me there is a lot of chaff, and come to respect certain opinions above others.

This morning I read a post from TH. It resonated with me because I have been having similar feelings myself. I believe the markets have been so corrupted and manipulated that there is no such thing as investing any longer. Other than some natural resource plays I am quit the markets to a great extent. But, I still pay attention because what's going on will impact each and every one of us whether we are in the markets or not.

With TH's permission I am just pasting his post verbatim.

"The Ten at 1.9 and the Thirty below 3.

Just one of many things that are not, "right". I see those yields not as a measure of fear, but out of requirement to keep the game running. And I can't see how these yields offer anything but a negative return. In light of the reality of our fiscal concerns and compounding debt/interest payments, it is nothing short of a measure of insanity.

Or, manipulation.

To my thinking it must be one of the other. Is it played out? One respected pundit says that 1.5 might be the ultimate top for the Ten. Based on all the broken markets, I would not bet against that prediction.

And each morning, around the usual magic hour of 3 AM EST, we get a futures ramp and a gold wacking.

And you, me, the entire world apparently, accepts these things as perfectly normal.

This is not normal.

Miners are sold down to levels reflecting much lower gold and silver valuations. And there appears to be very little real interest in what are now value plays. All while shorts continue to pound way at miners near 52 week lows. If these were financial or housing stocks in 07/08, I could see it.

The reason I think its so quiet on SI and all the threads I haunt around the net is there is a growing confusion and uneasiness. I see it on social websites and financial websites. Something is in the air, and while it can't be defined, the collective has grabbed hold. And yet no one can define it. I can't.

I look at the primary coverage for Paul. And while I'm a strong Paul supporter, I also believe I can step back and objectively look at how he is being treated by the media. The fact that the effort to smear and marginalize him is so pervasive has shocked even a cynic like me. For me it's like the machine has shown itself in full. No mystery here. Its overt and in your face. And it operates on the assumption that the majority are either stupid or don't care. And maybe those assumptions are accurate.

Now there is talk about this internet piracy bill. This is nothing but a tool to stop free and open communication. That is ALL THIS IS. And we stand by and do nothing, while our rights are being stripped away by this liar and fraud Obama (and yes, it is Obama, for it is the President who must step up and do the right things...and yet, we have just the opposite).

It's a rant, but not really. It's more a reference point. Something has changed in just the past few weeks or months and it feels like it's about to snowball.

And while it is just a feeling, it's worth noting that many must be tuned into it.

Something bad is coming, but the smoke from all the recent bad is so thick, I have no a clue what it is.

Maybe going physical and really getting off the grid is the path. I usually just joke about such things, but more and more I'm starting to wonder if that is absolutely the right play.

GT
TH"

©Kinsey Barnard