The French central bank recently sold all of the gold it had stored in New York and replaced it with higher-quality bars that will remain in France. French officials say the move was to increase the quality of its reserves and was not politically motivated.

Mike Maharrey doesn't think that's the entire story, and in this episode of the Midweek Memo, he says the quiet part out loud. This move was almost certainly motivated in part by politics. Mike explains why France (and many other countries) want to minimize their exposure to the U.S. and the potential ramifications for the American economy.

In this episode, he also covers last week's "blockbuster" jobs report and explains why it wasn't probably as great as the headlines indicate. (Hint - it has to do with revisions.)