Europe

Trump’s foreign policy speech yesterday veered between a few sensible comments and a large number of contradictory and worrisome assertions. Like previous Trump statements on foreign policy, this speech was all over the map. While he insisted on the importance of a coherent foreign policy, he demonstrated that he does not have one. The speech offered his supporters and detractors material to justify their earlier opinions of him, but offered too few specific commitments to give us a clear idea of how Trump would handle a wide range of international issues.

As we approach the mid point of earnings season (this is the busiest week of the Q1 earnings season with 39% of companies having already reported in the US, 33% in Europe and 17% in Japan), here is a quick summary of where we stand.

Here is a quick rundown courtesy of JPM:

It is very fitting that on today's April 28th anniversary of the bull market, the day that officially makes this the second-longest "bull market" in history, the market got a stark reminder of just how it got there: through constant and relentless central bank intervention, which has been "beneficial" to stocks for the most part, however last night was anything but.

Gold and Silver Update - It's Game On!

Posted with permission and written by Sprott USA (CLICK FOR ORIGINAL)

Gold continues to consolidate. Two months of sideways price action is proving the yellow metal’s early-year gains were justified while setting the foundation for another move up.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has officially banned ‘Islamisation’ from Hungary in order to protect the country’s culture and language.  Orban said the government opposes mass migration because it dilutes the principles of the Hungary constitution. Metro.co.uk reports: These comments follow the country’s decision to build a razor-wire fence last year to stop migrants from entering its borders. Orban said in order to be able to protect the citizens of Hungary they must know who wants to come in and why.