Asia

Authored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,

I’ll start today with a confession: I’m an unabashed optimist.

I believe that this is one of the most exciting times in all of human history to be alive. And with good reason.

Think about it– compared to thousands of years of violent warfare that ravaged most of the world’s major cities, we live in an era of relative peace.

Pockets of conflict will always exist. But right now there’s no major world war… no persistent threat of nuclear annihilation.

European, Asian stocks have rebounded as investor anxiety over Trump economic policy and US tax reform eased following yesterday's remarkable comeback in the US market. S&P futures point to a slightly higher open, with oil higher and the dollar rebounding off fout month lows. It is a relatively quiet day in the US with the economic calendar focusing on wholesale inventories, consumer confidence and the Case-Shiller index.

In what is emerging as the latest headache for Donald Trump, a state-run Russian bank which has been under U.S. economic sanctions since 2014 disclosed on Monday that its executives had met Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and key policy adviser, during the 2016 election campaign. As reported previously, Kushner has been asked to discuss the contact, and a meeting during the same period with the Russian ambassador, with a Senate committee probing Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election.

Global Warming Is Real Say the Academies of Sciences of All of the Major Countries, But a Handful of my Readers Know Better

Paul Craig Roberts

I am fortunate in having readers who look after me. Some have offered me refuge in their countries and their homes from what they expect otherwise will inevitably be the midnight knock on my door. Others correct my mistakes from typos to content. As I have never considered myself infallible, I carefully read what they have to say.

Gold, Silver Rise 2.5% and 3.2% As ‘Trump Trade’ Fades

Gold and silver jumped another 1% overnight in Asia, building on the respective 1.5% and 2.2% gains seen last week. The 'Trump trade' is fading, impacting stock markets and risk off has returned to global markets with the Nikkei, S&P 500 futures and European stocks weakening.