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Astonishing that after the events this weekend, US markets are up. As someone said, the bears are going to need therapy.

Brent oil has swung from up +5.7% at the start of today, to -9.0% now. A full swing on the day of $11. Huge.

Andurand “Enhanced” Commodities fund has apparently posted losses every month so far in 2025. Bringing YTD losses to 60%. These smart ‘strategists’ should’ve just bought the Satrix Resi. Unhedged, STXRES has returned +43% YTD.

Platinum: The monthly candle on platinum is a sight to behold.

USD/JPY If this neckline breaks, it means a stronger Yen. And the yield differential between the US 10yr and the JGB 10yr is contracting. If both continue, the Yen carry-trade may reignite. Rising JGB yields and a stronger Yen force Japanese institutions to repatriate capital.

There are so many Grey Swans. The Yen carry-trade is just one. The highly leveraged and opaque worlds of shadow banking and private equity are another. In 2022 the BIS warned re the hidden leverage in shadow banking: “huge, missing and growing”. No doubt it has grown since then.

SP500 closed at 6141. Three points off the all-time closing high of 6144. I suspect a pull-back once it surpasses the prior high. But that may not be the end of it. This market will not stop until every last retail investor has been sucked back in.

Powell has been promoted from 'numbskull' to 'stubborn mule'.

The Blyde River Canyon is a 26 km long[1] canyon located in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is the third-largest canyon on earth, behind the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon[1][2] Unlike the Grand and Fish River Canyon, the Blyde River Canyon is a "green canyon" which is

A glimmer of good news.

Shambles in the UK y/day as FinMin cries in parliament. Pound tanked and 10yr gilt yield jumped more than 20bps. Some recovery today, but currency and bond markets are not impressed with Rachel from Accounts. UK-centric stocks like Quilter and Capco fell 3.7%.

Last year gold returned +27.2% - outperforming the S&P500 and came close to beating the Nasdaq. This year it’s the gold miners. And platinum is not far behind.

South Africa (in US$) has year-to-date, returned almost double the Emerging Markets Index. And it has wholly outpaced the EM darling, India.

Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is passed by Congress. Squeaking through with 218 votes to 214. Minimum required was 217.

The Avenue in the Rain, 1917 ~Childe Hassam 4th July is always a reason to marvel at its beauty. Donated to the White House in 1963, it hung in President Kennedy's bedroom and in the Oval Office for many years. To my great disappointment, it was moved to a West Wing corridor.