Submitted by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog,
Simple Janet should have the decency to resign. The Fed’s craven decision last week to punt on interest rate normalization is not merely a reminder that she is clueless and gutless; we already knew that much.
It appears the 'shrug' of markets assuming a post-Paris panic-buying bounce has faded and now stocks and crude are tumbling as bonds and bullion are bid...
As we detailed earlier,
While stock markets are modestly lower, and "off the lows", perhaps in anticipation of the quite unbelievable panic-buying that occurred after the French terrorist attacks, investors have seemingly rotated from black gold to pet rocks for safety as the former drops back below $41 and the latter bounces back above $1250.
For the past month, despite the biggest quarterly bounce back from its lows in Dow Jones history, the market skepticism has not only remained but intensified: JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, SocGen, all have warned that this is a sucker's "bear market" squeeze, not the start of a real rally. Techniclans have been just as vocal in their skepticism, while the smart money has been selling relentlessly (not in its 8 consecutive week - more shortly).
This morning's Brussels bomb attacks have led to risk-off sentiment across European asset classes, with Bunds higher and equities firmly in the red, although if the Paris terrorist attacks of November are any indication, today's tragic events may be just the catalyst the S&P500 needs to surge back to all time highs. FX markets have also been dominated by events in Brussels, with USD and JPY strengthening, while EUR and GBP softening throughout the European morning.