Business

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Project Syndicate writer, Hans-Werner Sinn, explains why the ECB’s asset purchases and Target2 imbalances constitute “Europe’s Secret Bailout”.

Under the ECB’s QE program, which started in March 2015, eurozone members’ central banks buy private market securities for €1.74 trillion ($1.84 trillion), with more than €1.4 trillion to be used to purchase their own countries’ government debt.

 

Despite a liquidity injection and the rest of the world in 'risk-on' mode over the French election results, Chinese markets are tumbling...

On Friday, we asked "Is China Trying To (Slowly) Burst Another Stock Market Bubble?" as Chinese monetray conditions were tightening dramatically...

And, as Bloomberg reports, it seems the catalyst is further crackdowns on shadow-banking.

The key economic releases this week are the durable goods report on Thursday and Q1 GDP on Friday.  It iweek is the busiest week of earnings season, with 40%  of S&P 500 equity cap reporting. In addition, there are a few scheduled speaking engagements by Fed officials this week. 

Fox News Channel parent News Corporation may be wrapped up in the sexual harassment accusations surrounding host Bill O’Reilly, but, as International Business Times' Lydia O'Neal reports, the company is facing another long-running scandal involving what appear to be exuberant payments to a Democrat - payments that occurred even as News Corp. was lobbying the New York State executive branch, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo oversees.

Wall Street still exudes widespread optimism that 2017 will provide another year of solid gains for stocks amid stable albeit unspectacular economic growth and only gentle interest rate rises. However, as The FT details, all is not well in reality, and the following seven charts will hearten investors of a more bearish persuasion...