The first Friday of the month is here. The big story today is the potential shutdown of the government, with less than 9 hours remaining for Congress to find some kind of middle ground on an emergency bill to keep things afloat. While we watch the chaos unfold, here’s some reading to enjoy:

• What’s intrinsic value of Gold (with one of those “can-I-fit-anything-more-on-this?” graphs) (Seeking Alpha)

• CFTC- how will it function if there’s a government shut down? (Futures Mag)

• Violence looking worse in largest cocoa producing state in the world (NYT)

• Current Commodity Rally more selective than 2008 (Reuters Hedgeworld)

Just for fun:

• Create art from your mouse habits (Iographica)