Adam Hewison: Lloyds of London Pulls Deposits From Banks on Debt Crisis

As traders, we are bombarded with news. Some of it is useful, but a lot of it is just fluff to fill up airspace time. One piece that caught my eye this morning, which I haven’t seen reported in the main media, concerns the venerable Lloyds of London insurance company. This company was founded in 1688 in a London coffeehouse and has gone through wars, boom and bust cycles, every money mania known to man and has always managed to survive. The article claimed that Lloyds of London is taking their cash out of the European banks this morning. From Businessweek Magazine "Lloyds of London Pulls Deposits From Banks on Debt Crisis"

Quite frankly this is shocking, but not surprising given Lloyds’ survival instincts. Lloyds of London is one of the most conservative companies, run by some of the smartest people on the planet. Perhaps it’s an early warning sign about what could potentially happen in Europe. It is something to think about.

Gold Market Commentary
The gold market continues to bounce along with support coming in to the spot market at $1760 an ounce. We want to pay close attention to the gold market this week, as we feel it is very close to a cyclic low. Here are the reasons why (1) we are at the lower range of the Donchian trading channel (2) the market is oversold, with a possible bullish divergence on the Williams % R indicator (3) the MACD indicator is also towards the lower end of its range and could possibly turn up and give a buy signal in the next several days.

We want to be patient and wait for this to happen. Providing that our monthly and weekly Trade Triangles remain intact, we want to approach this market from the long side. Support comes in around the $1,775 and extends all the way down to $1,750. Intermediate and long term traders should maintain long positions with the appropriate money management stops in place.

December gold closed lower on Wednesday as it consolidates below the 20 day moving average. The low range close sets the stage for a steady to lower opening on Thursday. Stochastics and the RSI are oversold but remain neutral to bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term.

If December extends this month's decline, the reaction low crossing at 1705.40 is the next downside target. If December renews this year's rally into uncharted territory, upside target are hard to project. First resistance is this month's high crossing at 1920.70. First support is last Friday's low crossing at 1765.40. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 1705.40.

Monthly Trade Triangles for Long Term Trends = Positive
Weekly Trade Triangles for Intermediate Term Trends = Positive
Daily Trade Triangles for Short Term Trends = Negative
Combined Strength of Trend Score = + 55