Authored by Nick Cunningham via OilPrice.com,
WTI recently dipped below $50 per barrel for the first time in a month, erasing the strong September rally. It’s no coincidence that after two weeks of price declines, OPEC has tried to talk up the oil market again, hinting that more drastic action could be forthcoming.
Former Fortress Principal Michael Novogratz is not shy to share his opinion of virtual currencies. In June he explained "cryptocurrencies were likely the biggest bubble of his lifetime," but remained positively constructive with 20% of his net worth in various coins including Bitcoin and Ethereum as he made billions.
"Novo" - as his friends call him - has had a good run...
Is it complacency, or simply trader paralysis?
A question we first asked three months ago is getting a second wind this morning, when in a report by Deutsche Bank's Alan Ruskin - "Vol: freeze or flight?" - the macro strategist points out that "the new 2017 Nobel laureate for Economics is not the only one at a loss to explain low stock market volatility, and thinks investors are in ‘freeze mode’ in the midst of global uncertainties."
According to Ruskin, however, it's all about to change.
In what appears to be a desperate, early-morning marketing push to avoid the embarrassment of his tax reform package meeting the same fate as his Obamacare repeal effort, Trump released the following tweet storm touting the "unprecedented $5.2 trillion" in stock market gains since his election and promised those gains would "grow by leaps and bounds" if "Congress gives us the massive tax cuts (and reform) I am asking for."
In its latest OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (October) the oil cartel has increased its oil demand estimates for 2017, 2018 on strengthening world economy, and weaker outlook for supplies from its rivals.