Submitted by Thorstein Polleit via The Mises Institute,
The US is by far the biggest economy in the world. Its financial markets — be it equity, bonds or derivatives markets — are the largest and most liquid. The Greenback is the most important transaction currency. Many currencies in the world — be it the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the British pound or the Swiss franc — have actually been built upon the US dollar.
A payout of more than 100 million euros ($106 million) may be beckoning for options investors if the German 10-year yield drops to zero in the aftermath of France’s elections.
German 10-year bunds currently yield about 0.30 percent, so a decline to zero would represent a significant increase in demand for haven assets. That would mirror moves seen after the U.K.’s Brexit vote.
As Le Pen's odds of victory in the French elections rises, so the spread between 'risky' France and 'safe-haven' Germany has soared...
After nearly a full month has passed since his original confirmation hearing back in mid-January, the Senate has finally voted to confirm former Goldman Sachs banker, Steven Mnuchin, as Trump's Treasury Secretary, adding one more official former vampire squid to the team of Trump's "Goldman Guys." One Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, broke party lines and voted in favor on Mnuchin resulting in a final vote tally of 53-47. Mnuchin's confirmation once again puts a Goldman Sachs veteran in charge of the Treasury for the first time since Hank Paulson departed the office in 2009.
Plunging volume and narrowing breadth among the most popular exchange-traded funds indicates U.S. stocks are peaking, according to Tom McClellan, editor of the McClellan Market Report.
As Nasdaq 100 ETF QQQ has soatred post-election, volume has cratered...
In his recent TV appearance, last week David Stockman suggested that President Trump would be better suited to spend some time actually addressing economic issues instead of the administration's travel ban for immigrants from Middle Eastern countries, which Stockman called "a giant misfire." Employing the 1992 Clinton Campaign motto of "it's the economy, stupid," Stockman noted "Trump was elected because flyover America is hurting economically.