Europe

Lego cemented its status as a vaunted turnaround story with the success of the “Lego” movies which – fun fact – were produced by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

With the latest ECB statement due out in just two days, traders are curious to see how Mario Draghi will escape from the trap in which the European central bank has found itself: on one hand, seeking to temper the recent dramatic rise in the Euro, on the other running out of QE eligible private-sector debt to monetize, especially in its largest captive market, Germany. While we don't know how Draghi will succeed (or fail) in this endeavor, overnight Deutsche Bank has released a useful analysis breaking down what share of bond markets the biggest central banks currently own.

Authored by Michael Snyder via The American Dream blog,

Yesterday morning, with the US closed for holiday but with S&P futures trading modestly lower on the latest set of North Korean geopolitical fears, we asked "is this time different", referencing last week's similar setup, when futures gapped lower on Monday after the Kim regime shot a missile over Japan, only to surge into the end of the week.

Submitted by Bill Blain of Mint Partners

Blain's Morning Porridge: Is there actually any point investing in bond markets, and what are "alternatives"?

     “They got a name for winners in the world, I want a name when I lose. They call Alabama the “Crimson Tide”. Call me Deacon Blues.”