Weekend Grain CoT

 CoT for corn was little changed this week. Price action was not bullish, and waiting for a week to find my entry leaves me dubious about the future. On the other hand, it may be only D.C. idiots that are messing up the pricing.

Bean price action was distinctly bearish this week, making beans look like they want to go back to $13 or below. Contrariwise, funds got a bit longer and commercials a bit shorter this week.

Wheat, the least bullish for a good while not, was the least bearish. Commercials expanded their longs -- commercials aren't usually long this time of yer -- to the highest levels seen in a year. Evidently, they fear that when all is said and done, there will not be enough wheat to go around. 

I'll not be selling grains for the next few months, and still expect to see price rise, but my expectations are not the force driving the markets.

1022 EDT update

Expect relaxation in bonds soon. It is happening now in $A and ­€. £ may have reached its peak, and $C its low.

Looks like politicians are being donkeys. If that continues through Monday Midnight, expect the unexpected. Midnight in DC is 8AM in London, just in time for the traders to really get ready, though who knows what reality will be.

One might expect gold up, everything else that is denominated in USD down, but I will wait until the smoke clears before getting in the middle of that possible chaos.

Forex update 945 EDT

£ powered through its goal of 6382, now wants to try for 6441.

€ managed to get to 4363 and will now try for 4402

Euro short term

4363 will be the first spot aimed at by the bulls, then 4402.

BUT Why € and not $A? With so many breaths being held, caution

Today and Tomorrow

Grains were pretty quiet: beans down a bit, corn down a bit, and wheat more of the same.

In Forex, the dollar was a hair (way too slow to be a hare) stronger against $A and € but a bit weaker against the $C and £.

Bonds rallied. Stocks tried to rally, but couldn't hold on.

Crude was about even, natural gas was down. Copper rallied a bit, closing near yesterday's opening.

While it is unlikely that tomorrow's results will be an exact repeat of today's, something similar is likely in store.

I think I'll trade about two hours of bonds, then go fishing.

Taxes Around the World as % of GDP

This is a long list, compiled by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation. It shows collected taxes as a percentage of GDP. You will note that of what are called First World Countries only SOUTH KOREA has a lower percent of GDP collected as taxes (by 1/10%). I have highlighted the US in blue, other modernized, post-industrial economies in yellow. Also note that the US has a lower rate of collections than tax have Switzerland.

Country	Heritage Foundation[1]
United Arab Emirates	01.4
Kuwait	01.5
Equatorial Guinea	01.7
Oman	02.0
Qatar	02.2
Libya	02.7
Chad	04.2
Bahrain	04.8
Burma	04.9
Saudi Arabia	05.3
Angola	05.7
Congo, Republic of	05.9
Nigeria	06.1
Sudan	06.3
Afghanistan	06.4
Yemen	07.1
Iran	07.3
Algeria	07.7
Central African Republic	07.7
Cambodia	08.0
Guinea	08.2
Bangladesh	08.5
Haiti	09.4
Mexico	09.7
Pakistan	10.2
Gabon	10.3
Sierra Leone	10.5
Panama	10.6
Bhutan	10.7
Madagascar	10.7
Syria	10.7
Laos	10.8
Nepal	10.9
Indonesia	11.0
Niger	11.0
Burkina Faso	11.5
Guinea-Bissau	11.5
Ethiopia	11.6
Guatemala	11.9
Comoros	12.0
Paraguay	12.0
Tanzania	12.0
Federated States of Micronesia	12.3
China, Republic of (Taiwan)	12.4
Uganda	12.6
Hong Kong	13.0
Congo, Democratic Republic of	13.2
Ecuador	13.2
Liberia	13.2
El Salvador	13.3
Mozambique	13.4
Vietnam	13.8
Costa Rica	14.0
Armenia	14.1
Rwanda	14.1
Singapore	14.2
Lebanon	14.4
Philippines	14.4
Tunisia	14.9
Dominican Republic	15.0
Peru	15.1
Côte d'Ivoire	15.3
Mali	15.3
Sri Lanka	15.3
Benin	15.4
Mauritania	15.4
Malaysia	15.5
Togo	15.5
Honduras	15.6
Egypt	15.8
Zambia	16.1
Tajikistan	16.5
China, People's Republic of	17.0
Thailand	17.0
Burundi	17.4
São Tomé and Príncipe	17.4
India	17.7
Azerbaijan	17.8
Nicaragua	17.8
Vanuatu	17.8
Cameroon	18.2
Kenya	18.4
Chile	18.6
Bahamas, The	18.7
Gambia	18.9
Mauritius	19.0
Senegal	19.2
Djibouti	20.0
Macau	20.1
Turkmenistan	20.2
Maldives	20.5
Malawi	20.7
Ghana	20.8
Lithuania	20.9
Uzbekistan	21.0
Jordan	21.1
Kyrgyzstan	21.4
Belize	21.6
Georgia	21.7
Fiji	21.8
Suriname	22.1
Morocco	22.3
Albania	22.9
Argentina	22.9
Cape Verde	23.0
Colombia	23.0
Saint Lucia	23.1
Uruguay	23.1
Belarus	24.2
Papua New Guinea	24.5
Solomon Islands	24.7
Venezuela	25.0
Samoa	25.5
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	26.5
Croatia	26.6
Kazakhstan	26.8
Korea, South	26.8
South Africa	26.9
United States (all levels)	26.9
Bolivia	27.0
Tonga	27.0
Jamaica	27.2
Japan	27.4
Montenegro	28.0
Trinidad and Tobago	28.0
Romania	28.1
Namibia	28.8
Macedonia	29.3
Switzerland	29.4
Slovakia	29.5
Dominica	30.3
Latvia	30.4
Australia	30.8
Ireland	30.8
Guyana	31.9
Seychelles	32.0
Canada	32.2
Estonia	32.3
Turkey	32.5
Barbados	32.6
Greece	33.5
Moldova	33.8
Mongolia	33.8
Poland	33.8
Serbia	34.1
Bulgaria	34.4
New Zealand	34.5
Botswana	35.2
Malta	35.2
Czech Republic	36.3
Luxembourg	36.5
Israel	36.8
Russia	36.9
Portugal	37.0
Hungary	37.3
Spain	37.3
Ukraine	38.1
Brazil	38.8
United Kingdom	39.0
Cyprus	39.2
Slovenia	39.3
Netherlands	39.8
Swaziland	39.8
Iceland	40.4
Germany	40.6
Bosnia and Herzegovina	41.2
Italy	42.6
Lesotho	42.9
Austria	43.4
Finland	43.6
Norway	43.6
Cuba	44.8
France	46.1
Belgium	46.8
Sweden	47.9
Denmark	49.0
Zimbabwe	49.3