Europe

Despite Goldman Sachs "short gold" recommendation - which came within pennies of being stopped out last week - traders, investors, and safe-haven seekers continue to push into the precious metals.

Last week it was all about the ECB, which disappointed on hopes of further rate cuts (leading to the Thursday selloff) but delivered on the delayed realization that the ECB is now greenlighting a tsunami in buybacks (leading to the Friday market surge). This week it is once again all about central banks, only this time instead of stimulus, the risk is to the downside, with the BOJ expected to do nothing at all after the January NIRP fiasco, while the "data dependent" Fed will - if anything - hint at further hawkishness now that the S&P is back over 2,000.

• Fed to sit tight on rates at March meet, hint at hikes to come (Reuters)
• Election setback a 'wake-up call' for Merkel, media and politicians say (Reuters)
• Germany’s Merkel under renewed attack after populists’ poll success (FT)
• Temperatures Rise on Eve of Next GOP Contests (WSJ)
• Carl Icahn setting up son to take his place: sources (Post)
• Turkey Vows Swift Retaliation After Bomb Kills 37 in Capital (BBG)
• One of Ankara bombers was female PKK member: Turkish security sources (Reuters)

The biggest macro development over the weekend was China's latest "gloomy" economic update, in which industrial production, retail sales and lending figures all missed estimates, however now that we are back to central bank bailout mode, bad news is once again good news, and the Shanghai Comp soared +1.7% among the best performers in Asia on calls for further central bank stimulus while the new CSRC chief also vowed to intervene in stock markets if necessary. In other words, the worse the data in China, the better.

Authored by Michael Klare via TomDispatch.com,