Europe

Submitted by Elijah Magnier, Middle East based chief international war correspondent for Al Rai Media

Iraqi forces continue to advance on al-Qaem, the last "Islamic State" (ISIS) stronghold in Iraq, which will put the last stone over the terrorist group’s grave and on the so-called “Islamic State Caliphate” that so much occupied the world’s headlines over the last few years and indeed, large parts of Iraqi and Syrian territories.

The bond market's reaction to the Trump Tax Plan...

Yesterday's brief late night dip in ES has been promptly bought with US equity futures fractionally lower, Asian shares inching higher on Thursday and Europe unchanged ahead of today's Super Thursday, where we get the Republican tax bill revealed shortly before noon, the BoE's rate hike announcement, and Trump appointing Jay Powell as the next Fed chair, as well as as earnings from companies including Apple and Starbucks. With the dollar dropping slightly, markets seem to have taken a shine to the euro and EM FX, specifically your high beta currencies.

Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,

In a recent interview with Mises Weekends, Claudio Grass examined some of the advantages of the Swiss political system, and how highly decentralized politics can bring with it great economic prosperity, more political stability, and a greater respect for property rights. 

Greece is planning a 30 billion euros debt swap which will convert 20 existing bonds into 5 (or less) new issues in the next few weeks (although the exact timing remains uncertain). The bonds are expected to have similar maturities to the existing notes from 2023-2042.