Business

One of the reasons for the recent historic flattening in yield curves is not just the ongoing disappointment in inflation prints which have missed expectations for the past three months, but also the ECB's recent sharp downward revision to its inflation forecasts, which as it revealed in its latest policy meeting, were cut across the board, with HICP now expected to drop from 1.6% to 1.3% in 2018, sending Bund yields tumbling.

That the sharp drop took place even with the ECB's balance sheet rising to record highs of €4.232 trillion as of the latest week...

Having been bullish of stocks in recent weeks, Dennis Gartman is starting to turn in the other direction. The catalyst for his latest bout of skepticism, aside from stocks having been "universally lower" when he posted his daily note sometime in the early morning (that is rapidly changing) are, well, the stars - namely that today is the Summer Soltice. We'll let him explain.

• Republican Handel Wins Georgia House Seat, Dashing Democrats’ Hopes (BBG)
• Uber CEO Kalanick Quits as Investors Revolt (WSJ)
• Saudi King’s Surprise Shakeup Clears Son’s Path to the Throne (BBG)
• After weeks of secrecy, U.S. Senate to unveil healthcare bill (Reuters)
• Latest Election-Hacking Hearings to Focus on State-Level Events (WSJ)
• Trump’s Net Worth Slips to $2.9 Billion as Towers Underperform (BBG)
• Oil Returns to Bear Market (WSJ)
• Brexit Dominates May's Program as Some Manifesto Pledges Ditched (BBG)

Here we go again.

In an eventful overnight session which saw a historic transition in Saudi Arabia, an unexpected Republican victory in the Georgia Special Election, China's inclusion in the MSCI EM index and Travis Kalanick's resignation, S&P futures continued to fall, alongside stock markets in Asia and Europe, while oil prices extended their drop despite a larger than expected draw reported by API on Tuesday.