Europe

Forget the "great rotation" out of bonds into stocks: 6 months into the so-called reflation trade, which so many strategists predicted would unleash a new era of euphoric stock buying driven by bond sales, it just isn't happening; in fact bonds have seen fund inflows on 17 of the last 18 weeks. Instead, two other "great rotations" have emerged: one out of "active management" into passive, or hedge funds to ETFs, while the other - more recent one - is out of various asset classes and into Europe.

Authored by James Bambino via Platts blog,

This is the third and final segment of a three-part look at why oil prices have failed to rally despite OPEC’s best efforts at managing supply cuts. Not only have prices failed to rally, both NYMEX WTI and ICE Brent have fallen around 9% over the past three weeks. In case you missed them, be sure to read part 1 and part 2.

Refiners do what is in their best interest, too.

Despite yesterday's whopping beats by Amazon and Google which sent the Nasdaq to new record highs after hours, and brought Jeff Bezos "this close" to overtaking Bill Gates as the world's richest man, this morning futures S&P futures are little changed ahead of the closely watched Q1 GDP report, European stocks and Asian equities are slightly lower, oil is higher after Russia's energy minister Novak said Russia had reached the 300kbpd oil cut per the OPEC pact, and the dollar was modestly in the red.

Authored by Jeremiah Johnson (nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces) via SHTFplan.com,

As reported Monday, April 25 on almost all mainstream and alternate news sites, Britain’s Defense Minister Michael Fallon has openly declared that his country will carry out a preemptive nuclear strike even if not attacked, as such:

“In the most extreme circumstances we have made it very clear that you can’t rule out the use of nuclear weapons as a first strike.”

Marine Le Pen Update

Paul Craig Roberts

That Marine Le Pen has gained sufficient electoral support to have pushed aside the two traditional French political parties and is one of two candidates for President of France on May 7 has Washington, the EU, and the French elite determined that she be defeated at all costs.