Business

More Japanese exuberance overnight (as USDJPY and Nikkei stumbled hard) sent Bitcoin to fresh record highs, blowing through $2800 and nearing $2900 this morning - now up 200% year-to-date.

It seems the momentum trade has caught the eye of Mrs. Watanabe...

But as we noted overnight, it's not just Bitcoin that is soaring, Bloomberg reports that Remixpoint Co., Infoteria Corp. and Fisco Ltd., have all seen volatile swings in their share prices after announcing businesses related to digital currencies.

With Treasury yields at their lowest since the election, it appears a shift towards safe-havens (or Trumpflation unwinds) is well underway. Gold is nearing $1300 this morning - its highest since the election. WTI Crude has sunk back to a $47 handle, ignoring dollar weakness as the Qatarstrophe raises more doubts about OPEC coordination.

A weaker dollar is helping precious metals (and Bitcoin) but not crude - a break in the relationship regime we have seen this year.

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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