Business

• Saudis, U.A.E., Bahrain and Egypt Cut Ties With Qatar (WSJ)
• Saudi-Led Alliance Cuts Ties With Qatar (BBG)
• Saudi, Egypt lead Arab states cutting Qatar ties, Iran blames Trump (Reuters); Qatar asks citizens to leave UAE within 14 days: embassy (Reuters)
• London Fortifies Bridges to Protect Pedestrians From Attack (BBG)
• Bank at Center of U.S. Inquiry Projects Russian ‘Soft Power’ (NYT)
• Democrat Questions Russia Link as Comey Heads to Hill (WSJ)
• Chats by Metals Trader Reveal Spoofing ‘Tricks from the Master’ (BBG)

In a rare negative move on Apple, Pacific Crest downgraded the tech giant from Overweight to Sector Weight. As StreetInsider notes, analyst Andy Hargreaves says the upside from the iPhone 8 appears to be priced in to the stock. He tells clients in a Monday research note that the risks to Apple might not be priced in, referring to the risk that iPhone sales could potentially decline in FY 2019.

Nigerian Banks!

"No Brainer" US bank stocks languish unchanged in 2017 and even the unstoppable FANG stocks are lagging badly behind Nigerian banks.

It appears all those emails from Nigerian princes are paying off?

Or, as Bloomberg notes, since the Nigerian central bank eased a dollar shortage by opening a currency-trading window for foreign investors in April, lenders in Africa’s biggest economy have soared.

The jobs report was disappointing. The prices of gold, and even more so silver, took off. In three hours, they gained $18 and 39 cents. Before we try to read into the connection, it is worth pausing to consider how another market responded. We don’t often discuss the stock market (and we have not been calling for an imminent stock market collapse as many others have).

Citigroup Chief Economist Willem Buiter says Australia is experiencing “a spectacular housing bubble” that needs to be addressed with tougher regulatory measures – something we’ve noted time and time again.

A shortage of housing, coupled with record-low interest rates, has made Sydney the world’s most second-most expensive property market. The city’s home prices jumped 16% in the 12 months through April, stoking record household debt and putting home ownership out of the reach of many.