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Some Common Cents for April 7th, 2017

You would think 60 Tomahawk missiles into a Syrian airbase might cause some consternation in the world’s financial markets. I certainly thought so last night when the news came across the television. In fact, the first thing I did was look at stock futures and the Asian exchanges to see how they were responding. At the time, they wobbled a little, but not as much as I would have thought. This morning, it would appear as though “God is in His heaven and all’s right with the world.”

Outside of the anticipated condemnations from Syria, Russia, and Iran, it appears the rest of the world, those countries which matter at least, is okay with United States wiping out a sizable chunk of the Syrian Air Force. Certainly, not everyone will be in personal agreement with the Administration’s decision, but if actions speak louder than words, the global response has been: so what? At least up until 9:37 CDT on April 7, 2017, that is.

As an aside, in today’s political correct society, I am frankly kind of surprised we still call these intermediate-range missiles Tomahawks. It seems this nomenclature would offend someone, somewhere. I suppose “one-handed ax used as a tool and weapon by pre-contact Native Americans in the United States” doesn’t have the same ring. It would certainly take up more space on the side of the thing to no real effect.

The real story today is the Employment Situation report for March 2017. The Street had been looking for an increase in non-farm payrolls of around 180K, with a range in the official estimates being 100K to 267K. Back when I was at Regions Financial Corporation, I used to participate in this survey, and others. So, I know the work that goes into concocting the numbers. As a result, I don’t put too much faith in them. Ha. While a fun thing to do when I was younger, it really is kind of a waste of time. …Read More…

The opinions expressed within this report are those of John Norris as of the initial publication of this blog. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders, and employees.