Asia

Remember the G-20 "Shanghai Accord" from February 2016, a meeting where the world's political and financial elites were rumored to sit down and unveil a plan how to boost the global economy? Well, according to a new research note out from Deutsche Bank, it was this event - together with the unprecedented credit expansion out of China that immediately followed - that catalyzed the ongoing global economic rebound, a recovery which has had nothing to do with confidence in Donald Trump policies.

Gift of Real Gold - Give It This Valentines Day 

For the love of gold(Don’t) put a ring on itIs gold jewellery going out of fashion?You’ll never get what you paid for itDevaluation: Synthetic diamonds, 3D Printing and Rise of the machinesBuy gold - No one has cracked alchemyGive the gift of real gold - They will thank you for it  

For the love of gold

Asian stocks hit their highest level in 18 months, with positive momentum lifting European shares which were helped by Societe Generale earnings. Yields fell on some of the euro zone's battered low-rated bonds as investors put aside the political risks that have dominated markets this week. After trading flat, S&P futures bounced as US traders walked boosted by a spike in the USDJPY, ahead of earnings reports from Coca-Cola, Reynolds American, CVS Health, Nvidia and Twitter.

In preparation for a possible conflict with the U.S., China has shown off its Dongfeng 16 (DF-16) medium-range ballistic missile during military drills. The Chinese Ministry of Defense released a video showing the Dongfeng in action at an unspecified forest setting during the Chinese Lunar New Year. The highly accurate ballistic missile system is nuclear capable, with a range long enough to threaten U.S. and Japanese bases in Asia. The DF-16 is said to be accurate to within a few meters of its target and has a range of over 600 miles.

By Vincent Cignarella is an FX strategist who writes for Bloomberg

The Japanese yen is becoming more and more of a proxy for the Trump trade. If that’s true, dollar bulls better keep bailing.

Since the beginning of the year, the yen has nearly halved its post-election losses and has broken several major resistance levels. This is a signal the currency has momentum. If the dollar drops another leg -- a trading term for a short-term trend - it could be a sign that the Trump-inspired rally is over.