Business

The kneejerk - USD up, stocks down, bonds down - reaction has faded and with The Fed statement pitching its dovish tent back in domestic concerns while keeping a hawkish eye on global developments. The Long bond is back in the green but it appears machines are busier running oil stops higher and dumping gold.

Oil is insane as it explodes 2% into the NYMEX close...

And once NYMEX closed - bonds now beating stocks

VIX was slammed as the statement hit...

Since Yellow-Yellen's March dovefest, stocks have rallied, China has stabilized, and while economic data has been weak in general - jobs and inflation (which is what The Fed claims to care about) have been positive. So how does The Fed make June a live meeting, tilt hawkish, and still protect the narrative of recovery and the sanctity of their equity market (which is all that really matters):

In order to attract and retain small and big business alike, it has long been a tactic by states and local governments to offer tax breaks - just ask Elon Musk who has been a happy recipient of taxpayer generosity over the years. However, as times have got touch in Obama's "recovery", government subsidies of at least $50 million have plummeted by 70% Bloomberg reports.

Submitted by Axel Merk via Merk Investments,

Is gold, often scoffed at as being an unproductive asset, more productive than cash? If so, what does it mean for asset allocation?

Earlier this month we reported that the move higher from the February lows was not only the result of the biggest squeeze ever - something that had been known before - but that something surprising had emerged: according to JPM's Prime Broker desk, it was only ETF covering that was driving the squeeze as recently as of the end of March.

To follow up on this, a massive short squeeze continues to prop up the market with yet another move higher throughout April.