Business

With traders realizing that the "Thursday Turmoil Trifecta" looms, world stocks dropped and safe-haven assets rose as investors focused on the growing tension in the Middle East, while caution spread across markets in a week full of risk events including James Comey’s congressional testimony to the ECB’s policy meeting and Britain’s increasingly uncertain election, all in the span of 24 hours. As a result, European and Asian stocks as well as S&P futures all fell, while gold, yen and Treasuries gained.

From "Blain's Morning Porridge" by Bill Blain of Mint Partners

“You are about to embark on the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months.”

I find myself in something of a quandary this soggy morning. Wracked with nagging doubt. Why? Nothing to do with Theresa May effectively throwing the UK Election, that auto-loans are in serious trouble, or worries Qatar might escalate into something quite unpleasant (and I don't just mean for Barclays..).. These things are all noise, the daily fun and games.

Update: on Tuesday, Deutsche Bank said it had responded “promptly” to request from U.S. Democrats seeking information from the bank on its client relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, a spokesman said Tuesday.  It added that the bank can’t comment on individual client relationships and supplying information about relationship to external parties would be violation of law, spokesman says

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Following last week's admission by a former Deutsche Bank trader that he and many other traders conspired to manipulate the precious metals markets, court documents expose chat messages that show the level of rigging and how an uknown trader known as "the legend" taught them the "tricks from the... master."

Autohred by Jim Rickards via The Daily Reckoning,

China is not only one of the world’s largest debtors, it is one of the world’s largest creditors.

China uses debt not in the customary financial manner, but as a political tool to generate employment and maintain social stability. Likewise China uses loans and investment as a tool to advance its strategic interests. This may be good geopolitics in the short run, but it will be a disaster economically in the long run.