We get the government we deserve. The good news today is:
Unemployment Drops to 8.3%; Payrolls in U.S. Jump 243,000
As I write this, the NYSE futures are up 109 points. The mainstream news outlets are currently trumpeting this surprising drop in unemployment. Zerohedge.com brings us down to earth.
David DeGerolamo
Record 1.2 Million People Fall Out Of Labor Force In One Month, Labor Force Participation Rate Tumbles To Fresh 30 Year Low
A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks at the BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million. No, that’s not a typo: 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month! So as the labor force increased from 153.9 million to 154.4 million, the non institutional population increased by 242.3 million meaning, those not in the labor force surged from 86.7 million to 87.9 million. Which means that the civilian labor force tumbled to a fresh 30 year low of 63.7% as the BLS is seriously planning on eliminating nearly half of the available labor pool from the unemployment calculation. As for the quality of jobs, as withholding taxes roll over Year over year, it can only mean that the US is replacing high paying FIRE jobs with low paying construction and manufacturing. So much for the improvement.
Chart below shows it all – that jump is not a fat finger!
And Labor Force Participation:
This is the largest absolute jump in ‘Persons Not In Labor Force’ on record…and biggest percentage jump in 30 years.
Why the Sharp Drop in Gold?
Gold, like any commodity will rise and fall with the demands for its ownership.
In the last few years, the rise of the Euro and the uncertainty of sovereign debt problems has forced investors away from investments in US dollars, Yen, yuans, or Euros. So, the demand for ‘safety’ of gold has occurred and the price of gold has risen because of this demand.
Today, specifically, investors have fled from Euros and have read articles about the safety of the US dollar. So, investors are taking their profits selling gold and collecting US currency.
Given this cycle of fear that drives investors to new safe havens, I would think that the drop in gold prices today will not continue if some good news about European debt happens.
1. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/kyle-bass-dont-sell-your-gold
2. http://www.kitco.com/reports/KitcoNews20120203JW_update.html
Gold will tumble again, it’s guaranteed. Any fool who banks on gold as a safe haven will be surprised on what is to come.
Your choice, I warned you Feb 03, 2012
Good Luck!
Bonnie
Oh-
Here a great link for all you Doomsday folks:
http://www.bepreparedforum.com/showthread.php?235-Doomsday-Vehicles
Bonnie