U.S. MARKETS OVERVIEW

Christmas has been canceled.
As detailed in our “2020 COVID TREND REPORT” section in this and previous Trends Journals, the hard facts and indisputable data of the lockdowns being imposed upon society by governments across much of the world have wrought unprecedented economic devastation to millions of businesses and hundreds of millions of lives.
Never before in modern history have citizens been told by politicians where, who, when, and how to celebrate the holidays. No singing Christmas carols in church or in the streets, No Christmas parades, children are Not Permitted to sit on Santa’s lap; visiting elderly loved ones in nursing homes is Strictly Prohibited. No big Christmas dinners with family and friends. 
Some 70 percent of people have canceled holiday travel plans.
From dawn to dusk, big cities are ghost towns compared to what they were before the COVID War was launched by politicians this past March. 
Yet, equity markets shine bright as economic conditions darken.
Banned by governments to go out and eat, go to a bar, go dancing… brainwashed by junk news, most of the population most are living in fear. Afraid to go out and socialize, they socially distance themselves from human spirits.
Merry Satan Clause: There is no joy to the world, no angel’s voicing ringing, no heaven and nature singing… no celebration that the Prince of Peace was born. 
With businesses hard hit, the “Greatest Depression” worsening, and economic and mental misery rattling society, how and why can equity markets keep rising?
Pick up any newspaper, go to any mainstream corporate news website and you’ll see how the world and equity markets are celebrating the Christmas holiday season with joy and enthusiasm: The COVID Vaccination!


With each passing day of the promise of mass vaccinations, despite the devastating economic damage caused by the COVID War lockdowns on Main Street, the reality and consequences of suffering has been erased from the financial markets and the mainstream mindset. 
With the U.S. markets up over 300 points today, CNBC celebrated the rise because the “Covid-19 vaccines began to roll out across the country,” and signs that Washington agreed to pump more cheap money into the sinking economy.
Gold & Silver. On the news of more coronavirus relief aid, gold, up some 22 percent this year, jumped over 1 percent today, closing at $1,854 per ounce. 
Silver is up some 1.5 percent, closing at $24.51 per ounce. Over the course of the year, silver has shot up 137 percent from its lowest to highest point this year. 
Thus, our 2019 and 2020 forecasts for both precious metals have proven accurate, and we maintain our forecast for gold to trade in the $2,100 range and above in 2021 and silver prices to move well above $50 per ounce.
Dollar Down
Gold and silver went higher as the dollar sank closer to its two-year low, pushed down in part by the news that Washington politicians agreed on injecting $1.4 trillion into the economy.
Bitcoin. On the bets that the dollar will sink deeper along with the global economy, Bitcoin, the 21st century hi-tech (questionably) safe-haven cryptocurrency, continues to trade in the mid-$19,000 range. 
With our forecast for economic conditions to deteriorate and social unrest to escalate, gold, silver, Bitcoin, and other select cryptocurrency prices will continue to rise.
Oil. Despite much of the western world on new lockdowns, on the hopes that the COVID Vaccine will inject strong growth into the sagging global economy, oil prices rose today nearly 1 percent, with Brent Crude closing at $50.70 per barrel. 
TREND FORECAST: We maintain our forecast that given current market fundamentals, oil prices will not rise much beyond the $50 area in the coming months.
The economic recovery remains weak in most of the world, air travel is not expected to resume in a meaningful way for at least a year, and the latest rounds of new lockdowns will slow economic activity. Thus, there will be much more supply than demand. Given the economic recovery’s uncertainties, oil could again fall back to $40 per barrel. 
Similarly, as we keep noting, the Middle East’s geopolitical uncertainties could spike prices overnight, for example, if more deadly missile attacks were launched by Israel killing Iranian troops in Syria, and/or more murders of other nuclear scientists and government or military officials