David Cay Johnston: Dirty Secrets of the Kleptocracy - The Perils of American Inequality

"This disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition, though necessary both to establish and to maintain the distinction of ranks and the order of society, is, at the same time, the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments."

Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, 1759

Bernie Sanders on the State of the Union

"No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the greater part of the members are poor and miserable. It is but equity, besides, that they who feed, cloath and lodge the whole body of the people, should have such a share of the produce of their own labour as to be themselves tolerably well fed, clothed and lodged."

Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - FOMC

Today was a strong performance for the metals.

The February contracts for gold and silver have started changing hands. The details reports are below.

The stocks continued to show some weakness possibly due to rotation and profit taking.

Facebook missed some key metrics which helped to dampen the FANG gang.

Non-Farm Payrolls on Friday.

Have a pleasant evening.