Europe

Over the past several months, we have frequently noted the staggering increases in the number of refugees Obama has permitted into the United States just as his Presidency is winding down.  In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, we noted that in the first 84 days of the 2017 fiscal year (October 1, 2016 - December 23, 2016), the Obama administration has accepted 25,584 refugees into the United States, an 86% increase year-over-year (see "Refugee Admissions Surge 86% YoY As Obama Rushes Arrivals Ahead Of Trump Inauguration").  And while we were expecting a large increase in refugee admittances

In a dramatic example of blowback against the establishment in the post-Trumpian world, Hungary announced it plans to crack down on non-governmental organizations linked to billionaire George Soros now that Donald Trump will occupy the White House, according to the deputy head of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party, cited by Bloomberg.

Earlier this morning we reported the bizarre story of how two hackers had managed to penetrate the email accounts of not only ECB head Mario Draghi, but also former Italian PMs Matteo Renzi and Mario Monti, as well as countless other highly placed politicians and executives. On the surface this may have been a non-event, especially if the hackers were unaware of the potentially market-moving content of the various emails hacked, and had no means of acting on the uncovered information.

The Czech Republic is in the grip of Islamophobia following terror attacks in Europe. The Interior Minister Milan Chovanec has warned citizens that a Super Holocaust is about to be committed in Europe and wants Czechs be able to use their guns against Muslim terrorists. The government is rushing new gun laws through parliament, working toward amending the constitution. In the near future ordinary citizens may be able to shoot a potential terrorist on-sight in the absence of police.

Submitted by Paul-Martin Foss via The Mises Institute,

With a new year come new opportunities as well as new issues to take into consideration. Here are the five most important issues to keep an eye on in 2017.

1. Trump Presidency