Asia

Via Disobedient Media

As China's economy has boomed, corporations and individuals with historically close ties to the government have been the major beneficiaries. Sitting flush with massive amounts of cash on hand, power players in the Chinese markets have increasingly sought to branch out and increase their investments in foreign countries. Many of these investments target key industries despite their own government often restricting or forbidding the same kind of foreign investment domestically.

With traders realizing that the "Thursday Turmoil Trifecta" looms, world stocks dropped and safe-haven assets rose as investors focused on the growing tension in the Middle East, while caution spread across markets in a week full of risk events including James Comey’s congressional testimony to the ECB’s policy meeting and Britain’s increasingly uncertain election, all in the span of 24 hours. As a result, European and Asian stocks as well as S&P futures all fell, while gold, yen and Treasuries gained.

Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,

The military/security complex spent seven decades building its empire. The complex assassinated one American president (JFK) who threatened the empire and drove another (Richard Nixon) out of office. The complex does not tolerate the election of politicians in Europe who might not follow Washington’s line on foreign and economic policy.

Autohred by Jim Rickards via The Daily Reckoning,

China is not only one of the world’s largest debtors, it is one of the world’s largest creditors.

China uses debt not in the customary financial manner, but as a political tool to generate employment and maintain social stability. Likewise China uses loans and investment as a tool to advance its strategic interests. This may be good geopolitics in the short run, but it will be a disaster economically in the long run.

Today's stunning expulsion of Qatar from the Saudi "circle of friends" prompted some analysts to ask if in Qatar's immediate futures is a departure from OPEC.