Asia

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, countries all over the world suffered dire consequences. The irresponsibility of the globe’s biggest banking institutions, institutional investors, regulators, and consumers plunged economies in the United States, Europe, and Asia into a panic. The blame lies with those who exercised poor judgment in their creation and sale of shoddy derivative assets, but also with regulators for perpetuating a broken system of opacity.

It's a busy week as traders return from the long Thanksgiving holiday, with inflation releases in the Eurozone and Japan. We'll also get the second estimate of US GDP, housing data and ISM manufacturing, UK monetary aggregates and PMIs in China. Finally, the Russia-OPEC meeting takes place in Vienna on November 30, while the Senate hearing of Fed chair nominee Powell and Yellen's testimony before Congress will be closely watched. The Senate tax vote, tentatively expected on Thursday, will be the week's key event.

The traditionally illiquid post-Thanksgiving week has started with a series of whipsaws across stocks and bonds, as European stocks turned positive after starting the day on the back foot, initially mirroring a slide in Chinese stocks and price action in U.S. equity futures as investors look to a possible - and absolutely critical - tax-plan vote in the Senate this week.

Authored by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog,

After the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 and the death of the Soviet Union was confirmed two years later when Boris Yeltsin courageously stood down the red army tanks in front of Moscow's White House, a dark era in human history came to an end.

Via TheAntiMedia.org,

The U.S. and South Korea announced Friday they will conduct a massive air force exercise over the Korean Peninsula next month as a notable show of force targeting North Korea - despite warnings that the Trump administration’s decision earlier this week to add North Korea to the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism could further provoke the isolated country.