Americas

Over the weekend we reported that as Obama was speaking at the APEC summit in Peru, hoping to salvage his global trade legacy, the TPP, China's President Xi Jinping officially called for the launch of the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific for "institutional guarantee of open economy", a move many had expected would take place as China was eager to fill in the void left by the US in any trans-Pacific trade treaty.

• Record highs for Wall Street quartet send other stocks higher (Reuters)
• Oil prices rise to highest this month on hopes of OPEC deal (Reuters)
• OPEC Likely to Reach Output Consensus, Delegate Says (WSJ)
• Trump’s Targets in First 100 Days: Trade, Regulation, Corruption (BBG)
• Trump Poised to Push Nafta Changes, Pressure Mexico on Trade (WSJ)
• China Touts Its Own Trade Pact as U.S.-Backed One Withers (WSJ)
• Trump to kill trade deal on day one (Reuters)
• Overtime Pay Rule to Go Into Effect, but May Not Last (WSJ)

As US stocks push to record highs, trading volume is dwindling and broad market breadth is terrible...

Submitted by Eric Bush via Gavekal Capital blog,

We all know that stocks are a leading indicator of economic growth and disappointingly recent breadth measures suggest that economic activity may slow over the next several months.

Submitted by Erico Matias Tavares via Sinclair & Co.,

Americans will be celebrating Memorial Day this weekend, to honor those who fought and died for the values they have traditionally cherished the most as a nation: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.