Europe

Just over a year ago, a black swan landed in the middle of Europe, when in what was then dubbed a "Spectacular Development" In Austria, the "bad bank" of failed Hypo Alpe Adria - the Heta Asset Resolution AG - itself went from good to bad, with its creditors forced into an involuntary "bail-in" following the "discovery" of a $8.5 billion capital hole in its balance sheet primarily related to ongoing deterioration in central and eastern European economies.

After four consecutive quarters of declining EPS for the S&P (including the estimated 9% plunge in Q1 earnings) is it time to declare victory over the global earnings recession? Here is the answer according to Morgan Stanley's Jonathan Garner.

Has the Global Earnings Recession Finished?

We think it's too soon to declare that the global earnings recession has finished and remain neutral equities in our asset allocation framework.

Someone seems to have hit the emergency button at the Fed, as even though the central bank said that everything was just fine with the American economy just a few weeks and months ago, the situation has currently escalated into a full-blown panic mode.

Guest Post - Path to the Great Reset

By Joe Withrow

Author of 'The Individual is Rising'

The financial, political and economic powers wish you and I to remain confused about what constitutes money because this promotes apathy and the desire to let the 'experts' remain in control. And while the subject can be complex, it can also be summarized rather elegantly when the author wishes to clarify rather than confuse. We welcome Joe back for another lesson in simplification.

Cognitive Dissonance

One month ago, when Mario Draghi unveiled his quadruple-bazooka QE expansion, which for the first time ever included the monetization of corporate bonds, the German press, in this case Handelsblatt, had a swift reaction. It did not approve.