Europe

Following yesterday's deadly terrorist attack, in which a truck driver rammed into a crowded Christmas market, killing 12 and injuring 48, the German mood has been dour, deteriorating further this morning when the interior minister of the German state of Saarland said on Tuesday that Germany is in a state of war. "We must say that we are in a state of war, although some people, who always only want to see good, do not want to see this," the minister, Klaus Bouillon, told German broadcaster SR.

Authored by Steve H. Hanke of the Johns Hopkins University. Follow him on Twitter @Steve_Hanke.

Donald Trump has tabbed Andy Puzder to lead the Department of Labor. Puzder is the CEO of CKE, the restaurant outfit (read: Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.). CKE, thanks to Puzder saving it from the bankruptcy hammer, employs 75,000 workers (read: jobs). Puzder knows that “high” minimum wages, such as the $15 per hour one thrown around by progressives, is a job killer for those with poor job skills.

For evidence that the market bears are all but extinct look no further than the latest letter from erstwhile bear Bob Janjuah, in which the Nomura strategist throws in the towel in a near-term correction and predicts that "the trends over H1 2017 should be higher (especially US) equities and yields, steeper curves, a stronger USD, and mixed performance in credit (especially in the IG sphere) and EM.

Submitted by Jayant Bhandari via Acting-Man.com,

India’s Currency Ban – Part VI

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced on 8th November 2016 that Rs 500 (~$7.50) and Rs 1,000 (~$15) banknotes would no longer be legal tender. Linked are Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, and Part-V, which provide updates on the demonetization saga and how Modi is acting as a catalyst to hasten the rapid degradation of India and what remains of its institutions.

With a commanding lead over his competitors, it appears Holland's anti-Islam, anti-migration Geert Wilders is willing to make his point more aggressively after yesterday's deadly attacks across Europe.

In a shocking tweet, he summed up his (and we suspect many Germans) feelings...

pic.twitter.com/drbYbGGxg8

— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) December 20, 2016