Hostess Brands, the maker of the beloved Twinkies, intends to close up shop

We can forget about the fiscal cliff or the Mayan prediction of the apocalypse…Hostess Brands, the maker of the beloved Twinkies, intends to close up shop. The world might as well just end now! Fortunately, we don’t have to panic just yet as the company will be liquidating assets and Twinkies will likely live on…Unfortunately, we can’t exactly forget about the looming fiscal cliff. U.S. equities are poised to move higher to end the week as rumor has it that the President and his administration may have an idea of how to avoid the cliff. As they say though, talk is cheap and until action is taken investors will remain cautious. President Obama will meet with lawmakers today to discuss the impending economic turmoil and investors will gauge the tone of the talks for an idea of whether or not the two sides will be able to make progress before the end of the year. The precious complex remains under pressure in early trading. Platinum continues to decline on the back of reports that striking miners have returned to work at the world’s #1 platinum producer, Amplats. The white metal closed yesterday’s session at $1573 but ran into more selling in the Asian markets and is now trading at $1555.50. Palladium has followed suit and now trades at $628 after closing yesterday’s session at $631. Have a great weekend!