Moments ago Morgan Stanley became the fourth major US bank to report earnings which unlike its previously reporting peers, JPM, Wells and Citi, were far more simple to digest due to the lack of bank loan balance sheet arbitrage and reliance on Net Interest Margin. After all, after Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley is the closest to relying almost entirely on marginal trading revenue as well as its all important wealth management unit.

A huge crack running for 100m (328ft) has opened up along a section of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. It was said to be over a metre deep on April 12th and appeared between Bowleaze Cove and Redcliff Point at Preston near Weymouth. People have been urged to stay away  from the popular clifftop beauty spot a as the soil is very unstable. This area is well-known for landslips due to its geology of permeable limestone over impermeable clay. The movement has been going on for several years but this latest slip has happened quickly.

Failure to proceed with crude output freeze plan seen as a "serious blow" to oil-market sentiment by Energy Aspects; Barclays expects mounting tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran to boost volatility. Separately, Kuwait oil workers strike viewed as price-supportive.  Here, courtesy of Bloomberg, is a summary of what analysts have said so far on meeting’s outcome as well as comments on Kuwait:

Barclays analysts including Miswin Mahesh

Following yesterday's OPEC "production freeze" meeting in Doha which ended in total failure, where in a seemingly last minute change of heart Saudi Arabia and specifically its deputy crown prince bin Salman revised the terms of the agreement demanding Iran participate in the freeze after all knowing well it won't, oil crashed and with it so did the strategy of jawboning for the past 2 months had been exposed for what it was: a desperate attempt to keep oil prices stable and "crush shorts" while global demand slowly picked up.

The Nature of a Career Politician

Written by Jeff Thomas (CLICK FOR ORIGINAL)