JOBS REPORT: YOU DECIDE

MSM never tires of trying to bolster public confidence and cover for the utter madness of U.S. monetary policy.

When they can't find anything concrete they turn to a convenient source, jobs numbers. In Friday's WSJ, "Job Market's Underappreciated Strength,"  Steven Russolillo wrote: "In the lackluster, slow growth economy, at least one thing isn't appreciated enough: the steadiness of monthly job gains."

He then covers his you know what and attempts to minimize any upcoming disappointment in the April number set to come out obviously after he filed his story by saying any negative surprise "....will be viewed as an aberration rather than the start of something more problematic."

He the noted it's important since it's the next to last such report before the Fed's June meeting where some think the Fed could surprise and hike rates. Well, the report is now out. Economists were expecting 205,000, a number in line with recent ones. Russolillo points out how favorable these reports have been the last six months averaging 246,000 jobs, the best six month rolling average since February 2015."

But as the man said, "Not so fast." Reuters said that the Labor Department showed the economy gained 160,000 jobs in April, "the fewest in seven months, and Americans dropped out of the labor force in droves, signs of weakness that cast doubts on whether the Fed will lift rates before the end of the year."

Gold immediately on the news rallied 1% before the Fed sent out one of it heavier hitters, New York Fed President William Dudley who told the New York Times that "two rate hikes in 2016 remain 'a reasonable expectation," causing gold to give back of its gains. Gold is a surrogate now for the direction of interest rates as long as this uncertainty continues, rallying on each Fed's delay and indirectly reflect a growing lack of confidence in central bankers.

Dudley's appearance itself was questionable. Was it spontaneous or just waiting in the wings if the number came in sour? Once the job numbers came public stock market around the globe faded and yields on Treasury paper fell. And perhaps less noticed silver and other metals also rallied earlier in the week.