Europe

A few weeks ago, Mario Draghi, the president of the ECB, and ECB member Weidmann confirmed the interest rates would continue at a relatively low level as this would be very helpful for the governments of Eurozone countries to get their finances back under control. This indeed seemed to be absolutely necessary to us, and in a previous column we already pointed out the devastating impact on the public finances should the interest rates on government debt increase by 1-2% on average.

Britain’s minister for leaving the European Union, David Davis, urged lawmakers not to hold back PM Theresa May’s ability to negotiate a Brexit deal in talks she could trigger as early as this week. Davis on Sunday called on lawmakers to vote to drop two amendments that were added to a bill authorizing the talks with the bloc’s other member states, saying May should be able to enter with no strings attached the WSJ reported.

European bourses advance and Asian share rose led by a surge in Hong Kong stocks which rose the most in three months as Japan hit 15 month highs. U.S. futures are little changed along while the dollar rebounded from session lows after Friday's selloff. Crude oil has continued its retreat, down 0.2% and sliding for a 6th straight day after breifly dropping below $48 in overnight trading.

Via The Saker,

In all the political drama taking place in the USA as a result of the attempted color revolution against Trump, the bigger picture sometimes gets forgotten. And yet, this bigger picture is quite amazing, because if we look at it we will see irrefutable signs that the Empire in engaged in some bizarre slow motion of seppuku and the only mystery left is who, or what, will serve as the Empire’s kaishakunin (assuming there will be one).

Only lowering our living standards will achieve sustainable growth. That’s the message from Satyajit Das, a former financier who anticipated the GFC. Debt, energy consumption, housing affordability or superannuation – it’s all based on a financial system that’s in fact a completely fictional model. This model was always doomed to fail – eventually.

Beyond growth as we know it – How can we stop consuming our future?

Full Interview below