It is now apparent that the proverbial line has been sufficiently crossed

It is now apparent that the proverbial line has been sufficiently crossed with regard to the al-Assad regime and the civil war that rages in Syria. The dictator and his backing have not been officially accused of using chemical weapons against their own people but evidence strongly supports that the regime was the likely aggressor, according to comments made late Monday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. This “moral obscenity” has led to U.S. military readiness in the region and has market participants on edge as intervention by U.S. and Coalition forces ticks closer to zero hour. October Brent Crude prices have surged more than 2% with prices now at $113.10 per barrel. U.S. Stocks took a plunge during the late day statement by Secretary Kerry with the DJIA falling back below the 15000 mark. Gold closed Monday’s mostly uneventful trading session at $1393 but is now trading near the top of today’s range at $1417. Silver is up more than 2% as well, now trading $24.530. In addition to the Geopolitical tensions brewing in the middle-east, the U.S. has some domestic fiscal issues that are garnering headlines this morning. The U.S. is said to be on track to hit the debt ceiling by mid-October and, according to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, the President is not in a mood to negotiate…here we go again! U.S. home prices were up 2.2% for the month of June according to Case-Shiller beating estimates of just 1%. However, the somewhat positive data is a rather moot point at the moment given the more pressing concerns discussed above. Have a great day!