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Update: the all-important inflationary forecast has been raised modestly, as follows: 2017 from 1.3% to 1.7%, 2018 from 1.5% to 1.6%, 2019 kept unchanged at 1.7%. He also said the  council will continue to look through changes in inflation if judged to have no implication for medium-term outlook for price stability, and notes that substantial degree of monetary accommodation is still needed. As usual, he adds that the "ECB stands ready to increase asset purchase program in terms of size, duration."

Just when you thought it was safe to go all-in on energy stocks, credit, and commodities because, well, what could go wrong; crude's collapse in the last few days (amid record long speculators) has smashed Energy credit markets and sent high-yield bond prices cratering.

WTI Crude collapsed to a $48 handle at its lows today...

Sending yields on Energy bonds to 3 month highs (and prices tumbling)

And the result for high yields bonds is the year's gains evaporated in 5 days...

Amid massive fund outflows...

One week ago, when oil dropped for the first time in 2017 below $52.80 - Gartman's sell threshold - we said that Dennis Gartman had been stopped out of his February 21 Brent/WTI crude long trade reco. After all, that was the price level Gartman had said would trigger the liquidation. It turns out he was being somewhat "generous" with this number, and Gartman somehow kept his position on. In retrospect, he should have sold, especially after yesterday's 5.5% plunge, oil continued to tumble this morning, sliding another 2.5% below $49.

Moments ago the ECB kept all three rates on hold, however in a dovish addition, it kept its current forward guidance which some analysts had expected may be scrapped, by noting that "the Governing Council continues to expect the key ECB interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases."  As a result, the EURUSD has sign a modest drop on the announcement while Bunds futures gained once algos noticed that contrary to some expectations, the forward guidance would remain.

We have just lived through the most spectacular global bull
market run for the fixed income markets.  This bull market rallied the bond market to
the lowest yields ever!  Over a third of
all global fixed income was trading with a negative yield.  The most accommodative central bank policies
made heroes out of bond fund managers. Bond investors that stayed fully
invested with fingers crossed, hoping for the greater fool theory to eventually