I try not to inundate the board with general stock market stuff, but it is relevant to the PM complex and I do feel it goes hand in hand with the great posts of Plungers.

Plus it doesn’t seem that we are overridden with post! :-)………..

“There has always been a failure by both parties to pay for what they want.  The ability to print money and borrow more has always been the support method for buying what is politically expedient.”

If you did not notice the averages opened strong right on cue Friday morning, continued to rally in the morning slightly but than sold off as the day continued.  By the close the DJI had dropped from being up over 200 points to a gain of only 50 points.  This means that large traders are selling the rallies.  This pattern has been emerging since the end of January.  There is a slow liquidation happening that is often in the early stages represented by strong buying in the first few hours of trading followed by selling the balance of the day moving the averages significantly below their highs for the day.  
Emerging markets are in a death cross, and a technical analyst sees another big drop ahead
 We are moving into another period of earnings reports which will increase volatility.  My guess is that good earnings news by individual companies will be sold into.  Remember an earnings report is about he past, not the future.  Management will provide guidance about their expectations for the future, but management is often nothing more than cheerleaders.  Its part of their job to create a positive vision of the future unless of course they are new to a job in a company that is having problems.  When a company is distressed its managements job to rebuild a company and not worry about a stock price.    Do not get caught up in the head fakes that the market will be throwing our direction suggesting higher prices are in the future.   The really bad month for the overall market could be August once earnings reports for the most part have been released. 
There are many competing economic indicators unfolding.  As I have been outlining inflation is developing, leading to higher interest rates which is also inflationary during the early stages of interest rates moving higher.  Currently some of the more independent economic analysts, those not being paid by a bank or brokerage firm to write the party line which keeps their clients happily fully invested, are suggesting that stagflation and a recession is closer than most believe. 
John Murphy a commentator for Stock Charts.com is bullish one day and seems to be frightened the next.  This knee jerk reaction to day to day events is typical at market tops.  Investors and analysts have become addicted to a bull market and even when the longer term indicators are turning bearish anything suggesting higher prices still  becomes the dominating focus.   People want the market to go higher and will attend to whatever information supports that desire.   Most traders and investors seek information that supports their view of what they want to happen, not what is happening.
 Its very difficult for many to change from being bullish to bearish and bearish to bullish.  Those who do in the early stages of reversals always “feel” like the odd guy out, because we are.   Many years ago I had to learn how to manage the dissonance of appearing to be one of the few who sees bad in the good and good in the bad.   I’m not always right on individual stocks, but when it comes to market direction I have been far more right than wrong.  One of the reasons is that I am a contrarian when it comes to economic decision making by anyone.  It does not matter what your political or economic beliefs are.  Market tops and bottoms are most often defined by overly optimistic views or absolute fear and depression. 
There are numerous possible geopolitical events that could unfold over the next few months.  Trump has tried to talk oil prices lower.  So far oil prices  have done nothing but go higher even with Saudi Arabia announcing large production increases in July.  Oil prices could continue to run higher going into the fall and than drop as we approach midterms.  High gasoline prices are not good for the party in power going into an election.  Trump could claim victory as gasoline prices decline,  but once the midterms are over I expect oil prices to go higher than most believe possible.   The markets may soon see Trump’s attempt to talk oil lower as a contra indicator.  The more Trump talks about prices needing to go down, the more they will go up.  Traders love to bet against someone who is trying to talk up or down the value of a stock or commodity.  Historically oil prices tend to drop in the fall for seasonal consumption reasons. 
This is interesting—I’m not sure the Saudi’s have the ability to raise oil production by 2 million barrels a day:
Trump says Saudi king has agreed to raise oil production ‘maybe up to 2 million barrels’
Another issue is tariffs.  If the market declines it maybe in response to lots of negative press about the impact of tariffs on prices and a sudden trend of layoffs as companies have trouble managing their supply chains.  This also would be a huge negative for the Republicans going into the election and Trump may attempt to settle disputes before the election.  However if other countries want to punch Trump in the stomach  they may drag out the disputes until after the election.
In the long run there are many unsettling events that seem to be emerging in the UP.S.  Democrats have decided apparently that moving to the left, a so called progressive stance, is the way to beat Trump and the Republicans.   My own personal belief is that progressives are progressive on social issues and regressive on economic issues.  Spending by both those who call themselves progressives or conservatives is responsible for our current budget deficit, and our total national debt.   There has always been a failure by both parties to pay for what they want.  The ability to print money and borrow more has always been the support method for buying what is politically expedient.  Politicians might want a strong military,  government funded medical programs, and other flavor of the month spending programs—but they almost are never willing to pay for them by raising taxes.  My belief has always been if any organization wants to buy something the less they borrow the better, and the same can be said for individuals.