Business

Following Genscape and API's 1.4mm barrel build estimates at Cushing, DOE confirmed a 1.52mm build. However, API's 3.45mm build overnight was shockingly opposed by DOE's 3.41mm inventory draw - the 3rd biggest weekly draw of the year (as we suspect Canadian issues are impacting levels). Gasoline also saw an unexpected draw and Distillates drew down. Following last week's big production drop (Alaska), US crude production fell once again - for the 16th week in a row.

During the months of March and April of 2016 we released a series of proprietary research reports indicating signficant weakneses that we found in the European banking system and released it for sale through the blockchain (reference The First Bank Likely to Fall in the Great European Banking Crisis).

Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,

Welcome to a currency war in which victory depends on your perspective.

Banco Popolare is dragging the rest of the Italian banking system drastically lower today after a "susprise" Q1 loss driven by soaring bad loan writedowns. Banco Popolare is down 14% on the day (25% in a week) to a record low, as Reuters reports the bank was forced to admit the reality of its bad loans by the European Central Bank as a condition for approving a planned merger with Banca Popolare di Milano that will create Italy's third-biggest banking group.

A week in the life of Italian banks... bloodbath...

We were amused to report early on Monday that just as oil was trading within pennies of $46 and set to tumble, while US equity futures were about to commence their biggest two day gain in two months, none other than Dennis Gartman chimed in with yet another can't miss "prediction" when he said that "it is time to buy crude oil and to sell equity futures, with the only problem now to decide how to weight the position."