Europe

In what has been another quiet overnight session, which unlike the past two days has not seen steep, illiquid gaps higher in US equity futures (the E-mini was up 3 points and accelerating to the upside as of this writing so there is still ample time for the momentum algos to go berserk), the main event was the price of Brent rising above $50 for the first time since November with WTI rising as high as $49.97.

As shown in the chart below, Brent crude surpassed $50 a barrel for the first time since November, lifting commodity companies and buoying currencies where oil is produced.

Submitted by Thad Beversdorf via FirstRebuttal.com,

I happened to be going through the Red Cross audited financials this morning (this is not typical morning reading for me but I’m doing some due diligence on another matter).  Under the Notes to Financials I came across the organization’s pension assets breakdown and what I found was a bit shocking.

More than half of the organization’s pension assets are level 3 assets.  For those not up to speed on the level 3 assets here is the definition from Wikinvest.

Many economic indicators are at their worst since the Great Depression …

For example, we noted in 2009 that more Americans will be unemployed than during the Great Depression.

We noted in 2010:

The following experts have – at some point during the last 2 years – said that the economic crisis could be worse than the Great Depression:

 

Following Monday's news that that EU, via Angela Merkel, had suspended plans to extend visa-free travel with Turkey, a public slap in the face of Turkey's president Recep Erdogan who had expected the deal to be ratified due to his threat of "unleashing" millions of refugees back into Europe, we said that "the question is whether the infuriated Turkish leader will resort to making good on his threat, and once again send out countless refugees along the Balkan route whose end destination is well-known: the wealthy countries of Central Europe."

Submitted by Paul Rosenberg via FreemansPerspective.com,

It’s really just a matter of time; the working man’s deal with his overseers is half dead already. But there’s still inertia in the system, and even the losers are keeping the faith. Hope dies slowly, after all.