Greetings!, Sometimes silence can wreak havoc in the markets. The silence of Big Ben today did just that to precious metals. The hinted promise of more easing or an extension of Operation Twist - a mechanism where the maturity dates of securities the Fed already owns are lengthened - seemed to evaporate under Bernanke's stolidity. Fed Vice-Chairman Janet Yellin yesterday expressed no reservations that more stimulus was on its way. Bernanke did dangle the possibility of "options we can consider." Even worse for gold and silver, he heavily underscored the instability in Europe, although he seems unaware of the role that his own oscillation is playing in the American economy. This is no time for European leaders or Bernanke to be trying out for the role of Hamlet. We are not in a "to be or not to be" position. Rather we are in a "now, soon, or a little later" position. The Chinese seem to have gotten over their qualms and lowered interest rates a quarter of a point. As the most conservative - and smallest - of the Big 3 economies, China's worry should send strong signals to the U.S. and E.U. that the world slowdown is going to become a screeching halt if more isn't done. Has anyone heard from Japan lately? Please phone home. The mixed signals produced mixed market results. The Dow was up, the S&P down, oil was cheaper by more than 1%, and the dollar was almost steady. Gold was down almost 2%; silver down almost 3%. As always, wishing you good trading Executive Producer | 
