You can twist the numbers any which way but the jobs picture here in the U.S. remains stagnant

You can twist the numbers any which way but the jobs picture here in the U.S. remains stagnant at best. Sure, ADP private sector job’s numbers  were better than expected - I can also call my day successful if the only goal was to get out of bed in the morning. The fact remains that with the election season upon us and with the economy barreling towards the fiscal cliff, hiring could remain cautious until the outcome of those aforementioned issues are defined. Initial jobless claims, reported this morning, increased by 4,000 and the previous week was shown to have increased by 4,000 more than initially thought! Today’s activities will likely be the result of investors positioning themselves ahead of the non-farm payroll data set to be released tomorrow. At 2:00 PM ET, the Fed will release the minutes from the meeting that resulted in a third round of quantitative easing. While the minutes won’t reveal what type of illegal substances the Fed members were smoking, it could give investors a better understanding of why the central bank thinks it’s a good idea to buy $40 billion in mortgage debt per month...with no end in sight. Across the pond, both the Bank of England and the ECB left rates unchanged. Investors are no doubt eyeing Mario Draghi’s comments from earlier today but hope alone seems to be enough to calm concerns surrounding Spain…for now. The question remains, when will they start buying bonds? The PGM complex is supported for the time being as the situation in South Africa drags on. Platinum is up more than .5% having breached the $1700 mark…currently trading at $1706. In the other precious metals, gold opened relatively unchanged from yesterday’s close but proceeded to move higher in the early session. The yellow metal has hit as high as $1797 but has since fallen to roughly mid-range at $1788. Have a great day!