Global markets were oddly calm on Friday, the last day of trading before the first round of France's closely fought presidential election, with European stocks posting modest declines ahead of Sunday's main event, Asian shares rising, and set for first weekly gain in the past month, while U.S. futures were unchanged. French bond yields hit three-months low even as the euro has seen some recent weakness.
Authored by Nick Giambruno via InternationalMan.com,
On April 23, French voters could drive the entire European Union into its grave.
Doug Casey and I recently discussed this historic election—and why it matters to US investors.
Nick Giambruno: Doug, you predicted the fall of the European Union a few years ago. What has changed since then?
Authored by Rachel Nuwer via BBC.com,
Via Disobedient Media
Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,
It's Easter time again, which means it's time to talk about chocolate. Simaran Sethi at the Los Angeles Times this week highlights the plight of cacao farmers:
What wasn’t factored into the celebration [over falling chocolate prices] is the deep suffering of the subsistence farmers who grow cacao, the seeds of a pod-shaped fruit that, once harvested, become the cocoa traded on the commodities market and destined for the chocolate eggs and bunnies that fill most Easter baskets.