Long Bond Buyback Begins

Monday, stocks gained 0.3% in Asia, but declined slightly in Europe, and lost 0.4% in the U.S. on 15B shares traded. The VIX rose 7% to end at 15.19. Precious metals gained 1% and their miners advanced twice that amount. IBM closed below 230.

Tuesday, stocks fell 1.0% in Asia, 0.7% in Europe, and 0.4% in the U.S. on 15B shares traded. Precious metals and their miners fell 3%. The S&P 500 ended below its 7700 benchmark. Apple and IBM closed above 310 and 230 respectively. Sadly, it appears that Senator Rand Paul punted when he briefly toured Fort Knox rather than rather than actually verify the gold storage vaults’ contents. What are they hiding?

Wednesday, stocks ended little changed in Europe, but rose 2.4% in Asia and 0.3% in the U.S. on 18B shares traded. Precious metals soared 4% and their miners shot up 9%. Metals and miners rallied in response to the announcement by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to buy back long-dated bonds in an effort to try to control long-term interest rates. The S&P 500 ended above its 7700 benchmark.

Thursday, stocks gained 2.3% in Asia, ended little changed in Europe, and declined 0.6% in the U.S. on 17B shares traded. Precious metals gained about 2% and their miners rose about 3%. The VIX rose 8% to end at 16.01. The Dow ended below its 53,000 benchmark.

Friday, stocks rose 1.4% in Asia, 0.5% in Europe, and 0.7% in the U.S. on 15B shares traded. The VIX fell 6% to close at 15.13. Precious metals rose 2% and their miners advanced 3%. The Dow ended above its 53,000 benchmark. Cryptos also soared for the week with Bitcoin gaining 22% and Ethereum rising 29%.