Europe

The elite appear to have a great deal in store for President Trump’s first four years... quite a few tricks up their sleeves, if you will. As SHTFplan.com's Mac Slavo notes, the wars are already being manifested; but the larger elements of financial upheaval may take years to play out, even if there are a number of chaotic events, a bit of panic, and more of the great squeeze that is sucking the vitality of the country dry. Depending upon how things play out, people could end up better or than four years ago, or much, much worse.

Authored by Christof Gisiger via Finanz Und Wirtschaft,

Raghuram Rajan, Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago and former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, warns of more turmoil ahead if the developed world fails to adapt to the fundamental forces of global change.

Is That Armageddon Over The Horizon?

Paul Craig Roberts

The insouciance of the Western world is extraordinary. It is not only Americans who permit themselves to be brainwashed by CNN, MSNBC, NPR, the New York Times and Washington Post, but also their counterparts in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Japan, who rely on the war propaganda machine that poses as a media. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39573526

• Futures flat as geopolitical risks weigh; earnings eyed (Reuters)
• Brent oil rises for 8th day on possible extension to supply cut (Reuters)
• U.S. accuses Russia of Syria gas attack 'cover up' (Reuters)
• Xi Tells Trump China Wants Peaceful North Korea Solution (WSJ)
• Tillerson, Lavrov Hold Talks in Moscow Amid Rising Tensions Over Syria (WSJ)
• Russian diplomat says U.S. stance on Syria 'a mystery' (Reuters)
• Trump's message to bankers: Wall Street reform rules may be eliminated (Reuters)

S&P futures are unchanged and Asian stocks closed mixed, however European stocks rebounded for first time this week, led by auto stocks after Daimler’s quarterly profit, as a break in alarming political news prompted traders to "swoop" - as Reuters puts it - on equities, cooling a safe-haven rally that saw the yen and gold at five-month highs and global government bond yields to drop their lowest this year.