Asia

"I want it all... and I want it now...!!!"

Credit spreads have collapsed in recent weeks - back to post-crisis lows...

While U.S. equity futures were little changed in a rerun of every other morning this month ahead of a diagonal ramp that closes the S&P at daily all time highs, things were more volatile elsewhere with the dollar sliding as investors weighed the possibility that current Fed Governor Jerome Powell, seen widely as far more dovish than Kevin Warsh, might take the reins from Janet Yellen, who Bloomberg reported was said to be getting the cold shoulder.

Authored by Chris Hedges via TruthDig.com,

With China still enjoying their National Golden Week holiday, it appears the algos are unable to maintain their normal patterns of behavior...

Instead of the ubiquitous rise in USDJPY, sparking risk-on sentiment for all to follow, tonight USDJPY is falling at the open and that means gold is up (albeit marginally)...

But it's not just JPY, all the majors are bid versus the greenback sparking a notable downdraft to the Dollar Index...

With the Trump administration lately focused mostly on domestic policy - even as Mueller's ongoing Russian probe continues to hang over Trump's head - US power and influence in the Middle East has found itself in retreat, a continuation of unsuccessful and/or failed policies implemented by the Obama administration, resulting in a power vacuum that has to be filled, and one country has emerged willing to take America's spot.