Business

Authore by Leonid Brershidky via Bloomberg.com,

During Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual press conference on Thursday, a friendly journalist asked Putin whether the escalating tension in relations with the U.S. and the crumbling of arms control treaties would draw Russia into an unsustainable arms race. "We will ensure our security without engaging in an arms race," the president replied, citing widely diverging dollar numbers for the U.S. and Russian defense budgets. 

'Twas the morning of Xmas and all through the markets, not a human creature was stirring...but it appears the machines took major advantage of the low liquidity...

Around 730amET, it seems the algos went on a deep stop hunt, flash-crashing EURUSD by four big figures, taking out the November 7th low stops - all the way back to the lowest print since mid July.

Prices then stabilized after ramping back higher.

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Isn't it obvious that if we set out to design the most perverse, toxic and doomed system possible, we'd end up with the Keynesian Cargo Cult's insane permanent growth/Landfill Economy?

Few topics are off-limits nowadays: the personal and private are now splashed everywhere for all to see.

Authored by Sven Henrich via NorthmanTrader.com,

With most global markets closed for Christmas, the only overnight action was in Asia, which saw Chinese equities fall with tech stocks and names linked to Apple the worst performers after a report that Apple cut forecast iPhone X sales forecasts, while property firms surged on speculation of coming consolidation. As a result, after opening higher, the Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.5% lower on the day, the blue-chip CSI 300 Index fell 0.3%, the Shenzhen Composite Index retreated 0.9%, while the ChiNext small-cap and tech Index dropped 1.3%.