"All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it twisting in a torrent of change."
G.K.Chesteron
"Inequality is a euphemism, a kind of shorthand, for all of the things that have gone to make the lives of the rich so much more delicious, year on year, for the last three decades. And also for the things that have made the lives of working people so wretched and so precarious in that same time.
Inequality is about the way in which speculators, and even criminals, get a helping hand from Uncle Sam, while the Vietnam Vet down the street from you loses his house."
Thomas Frank
"Let's face it, I fucked 'em all. I mean, that's what I do. That's why I went to beauty school. I mean, they're always there and I-I just can't I-I, you know, I - I don't know what I'm apologizing for. I go into that shop and they're so great lookin', you know, and I - I doing their hair and they feel great and they smell great. Or, I could be out on the street, you know, and I could just stop at a stoplight or go into an elevator or - I - it's a beautiful girl - I - I don't know - I mean, that's it! It makes my day. I mean, it makes me feel like I'm gonna live forever."
George Roundy (Warren Beatty), Shampoo
That last quote could be well fitted to someone explaining why they went to work in our modern financial sector, especially investment banking or Wall Street.
Stocks swooned presumably because the JOLTS report, a child of the BLS, came in much higher than expected.
Here is what the Bureau of Labor Statistics had to say:
The number of job openings was little changed at 11.2 million on the last business day of July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires and total separations were little changed at 6.4 million and 5.9 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (4.2 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.4 million) were little changed. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by establishment size class.
You know what they say, BLS in, and BLS out.
Well, let's see how the markets react to the ADP report this week, as they wait intently for the Jobs report on Friday.
These types of government numbers are all right for trends, preferably broad ones, but these reactions to one time head line numbers is too often just a rationale for the Street to do what they wanted to do anyway.
Stocks dropped sharply, but managed to claw back a little back from the bottom.
Gold and silver especially were hit hard.
The Dollar chopped sideways, which was misreported by the closing bell crowd who assumed it was higher because gold was lower.
Let's see what the rest of the week brings.
I would say cloudy with a chance of a wash and rinse.
Have a pleasant evening.
