Europe

When we reported yesterday about Putin's surprisingly harsh response to last week's House legislation to launch new sanctions against Russia, which also binds Trump from unilaterally removing sanctions without getting Congressional approval, we concluded that "now we await the US re-retaliation in what is once again the same tit-for-tat escalation that marked the latter years of the Obama regime, as the US Military Industrial Complex breathes out a sigh of relief that for all the posturing by Trump, things between Russia and the US are back on autopilot."

As many traders quietly leave for summer break soaking up even more liquidity as they go, a busy US calendar unfolds in the week ahead, with ISM, PCE price data and, of course, payrolls in the spotlight.

Key Events, courtesy of RanSquawk

By Bill Blain of Mint Partners

Politics - More Destabilizing Than You Think!

“With comedy we can search for the profound...”

Dark skies, torrential rain and thinking about putting the log-burner on.. Welcome to high-summer in England. Markets are thin and the crowds trying to clamber on the train were noticeably lighter this morning. (Actually, the sun was shining this morning as my train sat listlessly somewhere “Sarf” of Wimbledon..)

Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,

The Congress of the United States by almost unanimous votes in both House and Senate has made it clear that Congress would rather destroy the President of the United States and to increase the risk of nuclear war than to avoid conflict with Russia by normalizing relations.

Authored by James Rickards via The Daily Reckoning,

With the U.S. preparing to confront China and go to war with North Korea, Russia is an indispensable ally for the U.S.

There are huge implications on capital markets as these hegemonic powers continue to edge toward war.

Here’s an overview of some of the financial implications of improved relations with Russia…