Instant Amnesia's Gonna Get You

On Thursday we said: "A word of warning, though. One-off events like the downing of the airliner tend to fade quickly from the minds of investors and traders. Be aware of this instant amnesia factor."

While the world is not forgetting the horror of the wanton violence against helpless world citizens, the precious metals markets are not viewing it as a decisive factor.

The winners today in the wide world of trading are oil and the dollar. The gains both saw are not strictly haven bets, but rather a flight to quality. That is especially true of the dollar vs. the euro. If more sanctions are to be levied on Russia, it will be the Europeans who will pay a price.

Already, the other billionaire oligarchs in the lead country of the former U.S.S.R. are raising some very serious questions about Putin's leadership. As an antidote to his prodigal management of the country, those billionaires are sending their money out of Russia... and, to of all places, the United States.

All world equities markets were down today but little of that money found itself into gold and silver, which are up but slightly today.

Without any striking news from the two hotspots in international affairs (the other being Gaza-Israel), we have little to go on fundamentally.

On the laugh-laugh-I-thought-I'd-die side of international conditions, the Chinese said the rest of the world was rushing to judgement about Russian involvement and said that the West was to blame for starting the problems in Ukraine. For their part, the Russians are blaming the CIA. I think Joe Stalin arose last night and applauded Putin.

As always, wishing you good trading,