Spring Mud in Bean Flat

Morning Miners!

It is 6:29 am. Grab a cup and remind me to buy another can of Joe at Raine's for Monday morning.

The ole Colonel started the report a minute before the markets open because I need a little suspense in my life. The action lately reminds me of spring mud in Bean Flat. As long as the ground is frozen, you can tool around out there in the F-250 without a care in the world. When things warm up, it is a high-center nightmare with Handyman jacks front and rear. Eric got me laughing one day when he told me Bean Flat was North Central Nevada's "Bermuda Triangle." More than one tourist has disappeared out there in their Honda Civic looking for Jackalopes!

I've been wrong about market direction several times this week. Bad news has not stopped rallies in both stocks and commodities (DOW above 8,000 at least for a bit, copper heading for $2.00, oil back above $50). The ground is solid and I can hear the sage slapping on my bumper. This morning might bring a quick thaw. The Friday job report shows a loss of more than 5 million jobs in the last 16 months, non-farm payrolls dropped another 663,000 in March with unemployment now pegging 8.5%.

OK, enough suspense. Let's take a peek. Hmm...DOW hanging in there...S&P steady. Both down a tad but so far so good. Let's walk the walk:

The commodity index (.CRB) is down a bit 0.17%; gold is down 0.8 at 908.1 (June contract) with silver following at $12.885. Molybdenum has dropped to $8.20 from a pretty steady $8.75.

The DOW is down 33 points to 7,945; the S&P 500, down 2.82 points to 831.56. Here's the miners:

Barrick (ABX) $31.90 down 1.24%
Newmont (NEM) $45.72 down 1.12%
General Moly (GMO) $1.14 down 4.20%
Quadra (QUA.T) C$6.00 (at open)
Freeport McMoran (FCX) $42.11 up 1.30% (a bellwether mining stock spanning gold, copper & molybdenum)

So far, so good. Earnings season starts with Alcoa reporting Tuesday, get your Handyman ready buckaroos. In the meantime, have a good weekend. Oh, yeah...don't forget the coffee for Monday...

Cheers,

Colonel Possum