"We mustn’t give up. Ever.”

“How much of what I know, what I’ve been culturally attuned to believe, feels like the set of a play on a strange stage I’ve wandered onto without knowing why I’m here. I don’t know the lines, I don’t know what part I’m playing, I don’t even know what the play’s about or what it’s called. I’m just here onstage, stuck in a dream, lights shining in my eyes. Is anyone out there watching? The play stumbles ahead, feels like artifice, mistakes, frippery, an endless series of false starts, bad assumptions, all the while shadowed with the constant horror that something unforeseen could drop down on me from above or lurch in from the wings at any moment, that the floor could open beneath me and instantly erase even this small, pitiful existence, put out the lights for good...There’s only one redeeming feeling I can cling to...when it’s all stripped away and you realise you’re the only one who can put the pieces of yourself together, by yourself, alone...I’m noticing it has a tendency to focus and sharpen the mind, and strengthen the will to live constantly with all my senses wide-open to the here and now. One clear idea emerges from that crucible...We mustn’t give up. Ever.” - Mark Frost in Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier

"Recap July 26"

Another blistering rally left the S&P 500 higher by nearly 2% for the week and 21% year-to-date, as the bulls can seemingly do no wrong at the moment.  Gold managed to eke out a modest gain and WTI crude held at $56 a barrel, and Treasury yields inched lower.  The VIX closed just above 12, its lowest weekly finish since April. 

"Recap July 25"

Stocks lost ground, with the S&P 500 falling 50 basis points to narrow its gains for the week to less than 1% with one session remaining.  The VIX popped back toward 14 and gold extended its recent pullback to sink to $1,415 an ounce while WTI crude held at $56 a barrel. Treasurys came under notable pressure, with the 10-year yield rising back to 2.08%.

"Who has a lot of money, can speculate. Who has little money, must not speculate. Who has no money, has to speculate."

A decent day for stocks with a weak opening that lasted until mid-day when buyers came in and bid stocks up filling the morning’s gap down. Most stocks closed positively with Chip stocks leading the way with huge gains on negative earnings from last year this time. This usually doesn’t last long as shorts are covering en masse as they are trapped at these levels.