While the December U.S. non-farm payrolls report came in at 200,000 – well above the 155,000 consensus estimate among economists – financial markets have thus far been yawning at the data. While S&P 500 futures initially jumped to as high as 1,282.25 following the report, they subsequently fell to 1,268.50 and were last seen at 1,274.50, up only 1.25 points.
Gold has held firm as well, with the COMEX February futures contract holding near unchanged at 1,621.80 per ounce. If the report was such a positive, the yellow metal would likely have declined because it would give the Federal Reserve less evidence to maintain its slew of accommodative monetary policies.
One potential reason for the markets’ lack of enthusiasm – according to Morgan Stanley economist David Greenlaw via Zero Hedge – is the fact that 42,000 of the jobs added last month “should be discounted because of a seasonal quirk in the courier category (Fed-ex, UPS, etc).”
Additionally, Greenlaw noted that a similar development occurred in 2009 and 2010, and that the January jobs reports ended up coming in below market expectations.
“We should see a payback in next month’s report,” he contended.
Mines Mangement Achieves “Significant Milestone” in Third Quarter
- The U.S. Forest Service and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality continued their environmental review of the Montanore Project and the responses to comments received from the public and from the Environmental Protection Agency and issued the Supplemental Draft EIS in late September 2011
- Mines Management continued meetings with federal and state agencies, Montana legislators, local Lincoln County Commissioners, Libby City officials, business leaders and community members and kept them informed of the project status
- Cash and investment position remained strong at $20.5 million as of September 30, 2011
- The Company`s exploration and corporate development team continued to examine and evaluate additional opportunities in North America and Latin America