Business

Back in 2014, a scandal erupted when media reports confirmed what many had previously speculated about China's banking system: namely that much of China's staggering loan issuance had been built (literally) upon air and that trillions in loan collateral had been "rehypothecated" between two, three or many more debtors - or never even existed - forcing banks to accept that they would never recover much if any of the pledged collateral - in most cases various commodities - if the economy were to suffer a hard-landing resulting in mass defaults.

In perhaps the least anticipated FOMC statement in months - with expectations of no rate-change and normalization on path - all eyes were on inflation/growth wording.

As traders commemorated the 30th anniversary of Black Monday, amid the rising uncertainty of US tax reform, European sedition, MidEast tensions, ongoing Asian sabre-rattling, and global monetary policy hawkishness, US equity markets experienced the quietest month in their history.

Despite historically being the most volatile month of the year...

The CBOE Volatility Index recorded the lowest monthly average in its history, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

As we previewed earlier this morning, today's FOMC announcement will most likely be a snooze-fest, with consensus expecting the Fed to leave its target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 1.00-1.25% as it continues to evaluate to what degree recent disinflation is temporary or persistent.

Gold prices are rallying, but retail gold dealers and shops are struggling to survive.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, businesses that sell gold coins and other products made from the precious metal usually thrive during years like 2017.

Gold futures have gained more than 10%, boosted by a weaker dollar and by big investors looking for a haven during recent geopolitical tensions surrounding North Korea and Iran.