In honor of the start of the MLB season…”Striiiiiiiiiiiiike Three!

In honor of the start of the MLB season…”Striiiiiiiiiiiiike Three!”. U.S. non-farm payrolls struck-out looking on expectations that the economy was going to add 190,000 jobs to end the first quarter of 2013. The actual number is about 102,000 lower at 88,000 and although the unemployment rate dropped to 7.6% I think we all know it’s not because the unemployed are suddenly finding jobs but, rather, they are giving up the search. This begs the question, what’s the point of printing all this money - $85 billion a month!- and lowering interest rates to make homes more affordable if the people who are supposed to be buying those homes can’t even get a job let alone one that pays enough to afford a home, even with a 3.75% 30-year fixed rate? I digress. The disappointing jobs numbers were the last of three disappointing readings on the state of U.S. employment and it’s not making market participants feel all warm and fuzzy this morning. The precious complex, after having taken the role of the proverbial “falling knife” over the past few days, has suddenly found some support, with the exception of palladium. Gold is up 1% after closing Thursday’s session at $1552.40 while silver has pushed back above the $27 mark, up nearly 1.5% to start the day. Platinum bounced off a low of $1512.20 and now trades at $1529 while palladium continues to get squashed under the weight of dismal global growth prospects. Palladium is down roughly 1% after closing yesterday’s session at $725.45. If there ever was a time to move to higher/safer ground this would most likely qualify as a good time to do so. However, investor confidence has seemingly been impermeable as of late and with the recent jobs data virtually guaranteeing more money printing, it wouldn’t surprise me if the equities markets set another record. Market open is just moments away…hold on to your hats! Have a great weekend!