Europe

One of the reasons for the recent historic flattening in yield curves is not just the ongoing disappointment in inflation prints which have missed expectations for the past three months, but also the ECB's recent sharp downward revision to its inflation forecasts, which as it revealed in its latest policy meeting, were cut across the board, with HICP now expected to drop from 1.6% to 1.3% in 2018, sending Bund yields tumbling.

That the sharp drop took place even with the ECB's balance sheet rising to record highs of €4.232 trillion as of the latest week...

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In an eventful overnight session which saw a historic transition in Saudi Arabia, an unexpected Republican victory in the Georgia Special Election, China's inclusion in the MSCI EM index and Travis Kalanick's resignation, S&P futures continued to fall, alongside stock markets in Asia and Europe, while oil prices extended their drop despite a larger than expected draw reported by API on Tuesday.

Authored by Ann Pettifor via RenegadeInc.com,

Britain is preparing to leave the European Union with no real plan and a government in disarray, writes economist, Ann Pettifor. How can we trust economists at the Treasury not to impose more disastrous policies?

If the British economy crashes as a result of Brexit, it will not vindicate economists. It will simply illustrate once again, their failure.

Authored by Federico Pieraccini via The Stratgeic Culture Foundation,