James Comey Releases Farewell Letter

Taking the generous way out, former FBI Director James Comey sent a farewell letter on Wednesday to friends and agents, in which he notes he does not bear a grudge and notes that "a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all" and adds that "I"m not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won"t either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply."

Comey urges the FBI, which he described as "a rock of competence, honesty, and independence" to continue its “mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution”  and concludes by saying that his "hope is that you will continue to live our values and the mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution. Working with you has been one of the great joys of my life. Thank you for that gift."

Full letter below, via CNN:

To all:

I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all. I"m not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won"t either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply.

I have said to you before that, in times of turbulence, the American people should see the FBI as a rock of competence, honesty, and independence. What makes leaving the FBI hard is the nature and quality of its people, who together make it that rock for America.

It is very hard to leave a group of people who are committed only to doing the right thing. My hope is that you will continue to live our values and the mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.

If you do that, you too will be sad when you leave, and the American people will be safer.

Working with you has been one of the great joys of my life. Thank you for that gift.

Jim Comey

One Day After Biggest Rally Since March, Gartman Covers Shorts

Just hours after the biggest one-day surge in the S&P since March, Dennis Gartman has decided to follow the momentum, and after being bearish and short, he "covered in a great portion of our short  derivatives position and we added to our long position."

From his latest letter:

STOCK PRICES HAVE SOARED IN THE PAST TWENTY FOUR HOURS as the news spread around the world from late Sunday afternoon regarding the now famous “letter” from the FBI’s Director, Mr. Comey, to the members of the US Congress that there was nothing in the several tens of thousands of new e-mails that the Bureau had warned about two weeks ago that would lead to the possible indictment of Ms. Clinton. When that news “hit” Sunday afternoon, stock index futures soared; the Asian markets flew to the upside and when the European and North American markets finally did open they followed suit.

Our international Index has risen 138 points, or 1.4%, and this is one of the five strongest “up” sessions in the history of our Index which goes back for nearly thirty years. Indeed, this was one of those rare “unanimous” days where all ten of the markets comprising our Index have risen, taking stocks around the world up 4.9% for the year-to-date. The CNN Fear & Greed Index, which had fallen to 12 at its low on Friday, has risen to 33 as of last night’s close and having fallen below 15 and having turned around is now signaling a run to the upside once again… barring a surprising victory by Mr. 

Trump in today’s  Presidential voting.

If Ms. Clinton wins and if the Senate and the House remain in Republican hands all will be fine. Mannerly gridlock is the best of all governments; it is what the Founding Fathers of this country wanted. They did not wish for one-sided governance; they wanted balance and compromise. They wanted laws enacted slowly after deliberation, and that is what it appears we shall have if the latest polls prove prescient.

In our retirement fund here at TGL yesterday we did what we said we would do given the severity of the rally: We covered in a great portion of our short derivatives position and we added to our long position in the shares of a foreign steel producer immediately upon the opening of trading on the NYSE. We did more of the same mid-morning and by the day’s end finished effectively market neutral. We shall be buying in more of our short derivatives position in the course of the next few days, and almost certainly we’ll be adding to our long position in steel. Finally, we have done nothing to our long position in gold,  predicated in EURs, but we may soon be adding too to that position.

Good luck to all.